If you want to know more about the beaches and party scenes in Goa, this is not the place; if you want to know about the villages, the heritage buildings, the forts, the food; then read right on.
I do not enjoy going to a place without knowing the history, the context or any backstory. These help me connect to the place, understand events that took place there, the people living in the place - their preferences, their way of life, and the architecture styles.
I did extensive research for nearly a week and finalized a skeleton of an itinerary for myself (wanted to keep things fluid with a loose structure). I was staying at a resort on Betalbatim beach. Chose this beach as it is not crowded - perfect for my morning and evening walks on the beach. Will divide this post into five parts - Loutolim (village of noted cartoonist Mario Miranda), Divar Island, Panaji (capital city of Goa), forts (Reis Magos and Cabo de Rama) and finally food!
Loutolim:-
Mario Miranda's work speaks to me. His ancestral village, where he spent a majority of his life was the first item on my list. Although the Mario Miranda house is not open to public, there are many houses in the village that welcome people in and show them around. I went to Menezes Braganza House and explored every nook and corned in the place. Fernandes Heritage Home was a quick pit-stop. I lunched at the Figueirado House and took a tour of the place. There is a house called "House No. 2"; as it was the second house to be built in Loutolim; which serves food and drinks. I could not visit this place due to time constraints.
I explored Loutolim on a hired two-wheeler; taking in the place, one lane at a time. Coming from Bombay where I spend more time navigating the traffic rather than enjoying the ride; this was a refreshing change.
Big Foot museum: This museum depicts how Goans lived, their way of life, in terms of what they ate, what they drank, what they wore, what they celebrated, how they celebrated etc. Would not highly recommend it, but if you are in Loutolim and have some time to spare you can head out here. The commentary is dull, the scenes created are not very engaging and there is no easy exit: you have to go through the entire scheme they have planned in order to reach the exit.
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| Postbox at Loutolim |
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| Showcasing daily life at a Goan bakery |
Menezes Braganza Mansion: Amazon Prime studios was shooting a series - D Company- here when I happened to walk in. The place was bustling with actors, directors, cameramen, make-up artists and a melee of support crew. Some people were checking out the script, some getting make-up done, some rehearsing; there were also folks preparing and serving tea, setting up their camera, lights and other equipment.
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| Exterior of the Braganza House |
The highlight of this 400 year old mansion is the grand ballroom with its marble floor, chandeliers, long mirrors to give an illusion of a larger space and plenty of light coming in from the multiple doors; each of which opens up to a balcony. The chairs and trunks are made from a wood that was available in the good, old days. There is an ill-maintained piano at one end of the ballroom. This place was gorgeous - wish this is maintained well. We must do more to protect and maintain heritage structures; as a people and as a government
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| This room was the highlight for me |
Fernandes Heritage Home: I rode 45 minutes one way, just to spend 5 minutes here. I just stood outside, admired the place and left. Happy to report that it was worth the effort.
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Fernandes Heritage Home
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The Figueiredo Mansion: I called in advance to book a lunch experience here and lunched with the lady of the house, Maria de Fatima Figueiredo de Albuquerque herself. She quit her career in Portugal in cosmetics to help her mother with this place. I had the pleasure of her company during lunch. We conversed on a variety of topics - the lunch was excellent, I enjoyed our conversations more.
My family temple is in Goa; her family owns the land, I frequent O' Pedro in Bombay and she knew the chef personally, she even interacted with Mario Miranda himself.
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| The Figueirado Mansion |
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Main ballroom; all set to serve one
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The table was neatly laid for one. Just like I learnt from the movies, I worked my way in. My meal started with a soup; followed by chamussas. Main course was mussels, prawn curry, pork vindaloo with sannas; and orange roll for dessert. The food had an authenticity to it. I learnt that a chamussa is a Portuguese version of a samosa which has a flaky crust and vegetable filling. I had never eaten mussels before; I had to ask my host how to eat it - the closed mussels were to be left as-is and the open ones were to be eaten.
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| Mussels |
When I mentioned being on the fence regarding bebinca, a Goan delicacy made of mainly coconut and jaggery, she insisted I try some she had herself prepared. It tasted heavenly. Reaffirmed my belief that anything prepared with perfection is an altogether different dish as compared to an average preparation of the same.
Fatima and her son are both committed to the upkeep of the place. I instantly saw the difference between this place and some of the other neglected houses. I was given a tour of the place post my meal. Most items have a backstory, a history of their own. There is a centuries old cradle which she used, a crockery set from the East India Company which is some two centuries old, an 18th century German piano which is in a decent shape, porcelain from China...
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| A joy to see these typewriters |
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| The piano here was better maintained than that at Braganza House |
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| One with Fatima, the lovely owner of the place |
Divar Island (ruins of Kadamba dynasty):
I planned to spend a few hours with a friend from school. Since she lives in Goa, we wanted to do something that was new for both of us. I stumbled across a blog describing Divar island - how the folks in the blog drove for hours together to find an old church after almost giving up; and how it was an amazing, life changing experience for them. Since my friend had not visited Divar island, we finalized on this place. It sounded like a fun, long drive!
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| Pretty homes dotting the landscape of this island |
Within 2 mins of entering the island, we reached the church; and it was a small place; in every 5 mins we would end up at the church. The place is pretty and you could walk or cycle around; but nothing really to do and we did not spot any commercial establishment / café either. This is again, something I would not recommend; unless you plan to cycle around; but you could do that anywhere else in Goa; why here?
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| The famed church |
Panaji:
Panaji is the capital city of Goa; Altinho, a hilly neighborhood where the elite reside. The Chief Minister of Goa, officially resides here. My friend and I explored the hill on foot taking in the houses, the colours, the architecture and the landscape.
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| Interesting how this tree turned out! -Bishop's Palace |
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| Walked past the residence of the Chief Minister of Goa |
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Church on the main square
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Fontainhas: Goa's Latin Quarter, Fontainhas is recognized as a heritage area by UNESCO. It has buildings from the colonial era in the brightest of colours; and they are painted every year post monsoons so that the area remains vibrant. There are experiences on Airbnb you can book to explore this area with the locals.
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| Vivid colours |
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| Loved the dreamy amble in the by lanes of Fontainhas |
Forts:-
Reis Magos Fort: pronounced as "ray maag" by locals. This fort has been recently restored and inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Goa in 2012, Shri Manohar Parrikar. From the top, the vast blue ocean dotted with coconut trees stared at us.
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| View from the top of Reis Magos fort |
This hut at the top of the fort was symmetrical and the colour combination was soothing to the eye.
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| Loved the design of this structure within the fort walls |
The fort has an entire section devoted to displaying Mario Miranda's works. I bullet journal, this way of visual journaling resonated with me. Even the mundane was brought to life with these visuals.
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| A collage of a few of Mario Miranda's journal posts |
Cabo de Rama Fort: Switching on Google maps and plugging in my earphones; I rode to this place for 50 odd kilometers. I still have a tough time deciding whether the journey or the destination brought me more joy. The ride was gorgeous, the roads were smooth, the wind on my face felt soothing. Once in a while I diverted from the path to explore areas I found interesting. Ending up doing 125+ kms at the end of the trip; never have I felt this satisfied and exhausted at the same time.
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| View from Cabo de Rama fort |
Food:-
Ritz Classic: Stopped by here to grab a late lunch and the "popular" thaali was over. I went ahead and ordered a crab xacuti in receiado sauce. I got an apron, a cutter and thoroughly relished every morsel; making a complete mess - just the way crab is meant to be eaten!
Crab Xacuti
Martin's Corner, Betalbatim: Headed over here for dinner on my last night in Goa. Had prawn balchao along with poees - standard Goan fare.
Martin's Corner - beautifully decorated for Christmas and New Year
Fresh catch on display
Chef Fernando's Nostalgia: This place is more than just a restaurant; it has incorporated a lot of local elements and the vibe here is relaxed and happy. The place was lively for a Thursday afternoon, with lovely music playing.
At the bar
Tried the ox tongue on my server's recommendation. The idea of eating a tongue was weird and icky to me. To my surprise, I rather enjoyed it; the texture was smooth and it was incredibly soft. I tried sanna too; which is like idli but it did not appeal to my taste buds. Maybe it is something that grows on you - not sure I would have it that many times.
Ox tongue, a delicacy in Goa
Xanti Bakery: This is a place my cab driver bought me to. This was not something that came up in my research. Love discovering such hidden gems known and loved by the locals.
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| Xanti Bakery, Betalbatim |
Since I visited this place just a few days after Christmas they had a lot of delicacies that is generally prepared this time of the year. Bought a lot of items back home which had a longer shelf life. Packed little prawn patties to have back at the resort with my evening tea.
Last shelf had items I could take back home
Café Bodega: A pretty café on Altinho hill that has a museum in the same building. The café is around an open space - very tastefully done. The seating was socially distant and we placed our orders via WhatsApp.
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| Café Bodega |
This place is known for its red velvet cupcake, I also had their smoked salmon bagel with cream cheese along with a Vietnamese cold coffee. Smoked salmon with cream cheese is a classic combination that compliments each others flavors perfectly.
Smoked salmon with cream cheese in a bagel
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| Vietnamese Cold Coffee and a Cappuccino |
Can't wait to go back; so much more of Goa left to explore, so many more culinary experiences I'm yet to try....
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