Friday 6th - Panjim

We sleep well and enjoy a very civilised breakfast on the roof terrace. Today's plan is to explore Panjim a little bit and suss out a few things to do over the next few days. We dawdle through the shopping area, buying a pair of shorts for D. There are quite a few Russian tourists about and a surprising number of sales assistants who can speak their lingo. Our wanderings take us down to the esplanade overlooking the River Mandovi and we decide that it is time for a cup of tea. The Quarterdeck Bar and Restaurant is ideally situated with tables by the river and they serve a decent pot of tea. The loos are clean and the open kitchen looks pretty spotless too. We are prepared to forgive the reggae versions of Country and Western standards.

R has awarded Panjim her prestigious Pothole-free Pavements Award but this has to be set against the solid barriers of parked scooters and motobikes that make it difficult to leave the footpath when you want to cross the road. The traffic flows freely at quite high speeds and at times in endless flows, making crossing the busier roads difficult. We want to check out the boat jetty but have difficulty getting there. When we do we discover that the price quoted for an evening cruise in LP is severely out of date. 

R wants to visit the Church of the Immaculate Conception so we stroll through the backstreets with their gently decaying non- Indian architecture and then climb the steps. At the top we discover a service in progress and no admittance for rubber neckers. Time for a beer and then a siesta. We head for the rather upmarket Panjim Inn, recommended by V, a rich Indian friend. As we idle we watch huge plates of food heading up to the restaurant on the balcony. How can people eat so much in the heat. Actually it doesn't feel quite as hot here as it did in Mysore or Hampi.

Around 4 p.m. we head out again with the church as our first target. This time we are admitted but it's a no photo zone. Next up is a visit to the small but well maintained Municipal Gardens which include a pillar that used to be topped by  statue of Vasco da Gama. After the Indians took over Goa this was removed and replaced with the Indian national emblem. He did get to keep his railway station. By now it is getting close to the cocktail hour. At the Quarterdeck D noticed that their snack menu includes Bhel Puri so that is where we head. The bowl of puffed rice and sundry spicy stuff was superb. It probably tastes even better served in a newspaper cone on a train. The beers were not bad either.

Janette,  owner of our Guest House had suggested a trip across the Mandovi on the Betim ferry to visit an old fort. This idea had particular appeal for D when it was mentioned that the ferry ride is free. It turned out to be such good fun that we stayed on for two consecutive return trips. On one of them R got a glimpse of a dolphin but the real fun was watching the crowd of pedestrian and 2 wheeler passengers manoeuvring on and off at either end of the trip. 

We decided that we had better get off before the constabulary were summoned and took a walk along the esplanade as the sun began to sink. A lucky guess takes us to the Municipal Market, a large indoor hall with stalls in a couple of adjacent streets. This is another real market selling useful things to the locals rather than tourist tat. We find a young man sitting on a pile of coconuts wielding a curved machete. For 30 rupees he lops the top off, gives you a straw for the milk and when that is finished he splits it open and extracts the flesh. This is moist and delicious, not at all desiccated like the ones at home. D asks the chap how many fingers he has. He laughs and holds up a full set.

For supper our choice is the Ritz Classic, recommended by P and a few others on the IndiaMike forum. Approached down an alley,  it doesn't look very promising until you get up to the first floor where a very smart doorman greets you. Goa is famous for seafood and we opt for garlic butter prawns, spicy squid and vegetable pulao with a butter naan chaser. Another splendid meal.