If holidayers in Goa can pry themselves away from the beach for a day, they usually go on a day trip to Panjim, the capital of Goa, Old Goa the old capital and a spice plantation. Of course, that's what I did too. Sometimes you just have to follow the pack!
Panjim is a modern Indian city situated along a busy shipping river. Goa was occupied by the Portuguese for a long time and their influence is very evident here. Just like in Pondicherry, the buildings, especially along the river, have a distinct European flavour. Again, streets are wider, there are more trees and things are a bit cleaner. There are lots of higher end shops and restaurants and women dress more modernly here.
Old Goa used to be Goa's capital until outbreaks of malaria and cholera forced the people to move down the river to Panjim. Now it's an over touristed little town with ruins, old cathedrals and various other old buildings, mostly of the religious persuasion. The most fascinating building was the one we stumbled on first. The fantastic ruins of a monastery that had been destroyed because of the outbreaks.
Only one corner of the building still stands at its full height and the rest is a mess of bricks and mortar. Beautiful though!
In typical Indian style, only three bits of painted wall are being protected from the elements and the tourists, and only the main chapel has been restored at all. I prefer it that way though. It was so much fun to wander around the ruins in their natural state. You'd see an archway here and a window there with only your imagination to fill in the gaps. There was a group of four puppies living just outside the cathedral who were so cute I just wanted to take them all home.
After that monastery, the rest of the cathedrals were a bit of a disappointment. Not nearly as artistically crumbling, it felt as though you were in Spain or well, Portugal! The main attraction, the Bom Jesus Cathedral (the brown building in the picture) was crowded with Indian Christians and was fairly nice although a bit too ornate and tacky for my taste.
At the spice plantation, we got a nice home-cooked Goan lunch and a little bit of watered down feni, a liquor distilled from cashews, a Goan specialty. We took a short walk through the edge of the plantation and saw such things as cocoa, cinnamon, turmeric, jackfruit, pineapple, betel nut, vanilla and chilies. It was all very interesting to see what is a vine (vanilla), a bush (chilies) or a root (turmeric).
It was a long, hot day but interesting! I was so ready for a refreshing swim and some aloo gobi when we got back.
No comments:
Post a Comment