Before leaving North Goa we had some planning to do. The initial taxi from Majorda to Candolim set us back 1500 Rs, which was outrageous. A taxi from Candolim to Agonda however, was quoted at almost 3000 Rs which was our entire daily budget. We needed another way to get there, luckily a helpful man in a travel agency told us what to do;
First bus from Candolim - Panaji (30 minute journey/ 20 Rs each),
Second bus from Panaji - Margao (45 minute journey/ 45 Rs each)
Third bus from Margoa - Canacona (1 hour journey/ 20 Rs each)
A twenty minute wait for the bus.
Last bus Canacona - Agonda (40 minute journey/ 20 Rs each)
It wasn't the most simple of plans but luckily the Goan bus service is a well honed machine! We managed to find each bus with little to no trouble - if we ever looked even slightly lost someone would appear to point us in the right way - and although slightly crowded at times, it was never unbearable. Plus it saved us roughly £25; including the mess up at the end where we got off at the wrong stop!
Our first accommodation in Agonda was lovely, but wasn't ideal. Set in the jungle, a 20 minutes walk uphill from the sea. The only thing wrong with the room was the lack of A/C (felt like we were in a slow cooker over night) and that, along with the distance from the main strip was a deal-breaker for us. The last thing you want after climbing a steep hill in 34 degree heat is to sit in an oven.
Although our first impressions of the town were not entirely favourable, Ben likened seeing the corrugated metal sheets/ plastic tarp monsoon protection to what he imagined an internment camp to look like. The beach however, was beautiful. It was white sand and palm trees, 3 km long and practically deserted. As Agonda beach is a turtle nesting ground, no sun-loungers can be placed out on the sands, the restaurants, huts and hotels have to be a certain distance away and no hawkers can set up their stands. For us this was perfect.
Having decided to stay a week, we went on the search for a more convenient accommodation. We found a "hut" available, (not quite on the beach,) with a small shared garden space. Although smaller than where we were currently staying it was closer to the ever increasing restaurants and it had A/C. Score! It was on the walk back from room scouting that we found Bandekar, one of the most "local" eating experiences that we've had in India.
As if we hadn't walked far enough that day, we decided to walk the long way round the village on our return to see what there was. What we found didn't look like much, a grubby building with a corrugated roof next to a mechanics, it really didn't scream good food! Hot and bothered we decided to pop in for a drink. This is where we met Expat Becky and her local partner Vasu (a lovely couple that seem to have a finger in every pie; scooty rental, boat trips, kayak rental, shisha pipes, rooms to rent... basically if you need anything, they'll sort you out!).
After getting chatting we found out that Bandekar was where the locals came to eat, armed with this knowledge we decided to give it a go. As the place was menu-free, Ben went up to the freezers to see what we should have. Maybe i should have supervised as the food didn't stop coming, 2 crabs, 10 tiger prawns, 1 grilled red snapper and a fish curry (with accompaniments) later I was completely stuffed..and worried about how much it would cost. I shouldn't have fretted 750 Rs was the grand total, beautiful food and local prices - we really got lucky on this occasion.
Later on in our stay I recommended Bandekar to a Australian/New Zealand family that we had met in a cafe. I was then overcome with bouts of anxiety for the rest of the day, fearing I hadn't quite explained how rustic the place was. I feel this is mainly because i completely forgot how "rustic" can sometimes be used as a synonym for quaint and I was using it in more meaning basic (slightly scary) in appearance. This wasn't helped of course when we passed them that evening and saw how dressed up they were. We didn't see them again on the trip as they were only visiting for a few day but I really hoped they enjoyed it!
To continue the trend of walking a ridiculous distance to see other beaches near to where we were staying, we headed to Palolem. It is situated 10 km (ish) south of Agonda, not being too crazy we decided to get a tuk-tuk. Palolem was reminiscent of Calungute in the north, plenty of restaurants and shops line a road leading to the seafront. Our walk along was accompanied by the chorus of "Come in my shop! Looking is free!". As it appeared the contents was pretty much the same as everywhere else we saw in Goa, we politely declined... not that this made any difference to the shouters.
The beach was picturesque, a 1 km stretch of white sand with waves lapping at the shore enclosed both ends by rock formations that jut out into the sea. It would have been peaceful if you could walk 20 meters without a jewellery hawker appearing and asking the same old questions "Where are you from? How long are you staying?" Of course always finishing the conversation with "Want to look at my Jewellery?" and mostly not easily accepting no for an answer. On occasion these interactions would be joined by the boat men who wanted to get you on a boat trip out to butterfly bay or to see some dolphins. Slightly in land the town's vibe slowly gets a bit more "hippie-ish", with cool little cafes that sell mainly vegan and healthy food. While along the seafront, expensive seafood restaurants and more western food can be found.
Of course, one beach visit just wasn't enough! From Palolem we headed inland along palm tree lined roads to the next beach along: Colomb. This small village only 1.9 km away couldn't have been more different. We reached a small cove covered with jet black rocks in lieu of sand; instead of tourists milling along the shore we shared the beach with fishing boats moored on the land along with crows fighting over small fish left over from the days catch. All the beach huts visible were poking out from their monsoon protections, from our vantage point up a small hill of stones we could see another small sand beach but this too was deserted. With the monsoon over-staying it's welcome this year it seemed Colomb was waiting for it to completely to disappear before getting ready for the season.
Another 1.5 km south is Patnem beach. Although not quite as busy as Palolem or even Agonda, Patnem beach was gearing up for the season to start. We walked along the beach to the sound of carpenters' hammers fixing up the beach huts ready for visitors, and although there was only a few other tourists wandering along the beach there seemed to be a disproportionate number of hawkers. The beach is just shy of being 1 km long and when fully functioning is known as a chilled out town with many different options for yoga retreats. The south end of the beach is stopped by a large rock formation, by climbing it we could see another beach just further down; but after a slight disagreement on whether Ben should risk climbing over -while the tide was coming in- we decided to call it a day on the beach exploration. To get back to Agonda, rather than splashing out on a taxi from Patnem we decided to catch the bus from Canacona (locally known as Chaudi) which was only 2.2 km away.
Exploration of the beaches south of Agonda completed, we set about exploring Agonda itself. We spent many afternoons wandering along the shore and sitting of the beaches at dusk trying to capture the perfect sunset. It was a few weeks into our stay when we discovered a fishermen's cove on the southern end of the beach. Hidden behind large boulders, during low tide you can access a smaller beach which is filled by small fishing boats and generally seems to be where the fishermen hang out!
5 km inland from Agonda in a small area named Vagona we found the Animal shelter Agonda, the shelter had been recommended as a wonderful place to visit by Becky and it didn't disappoint! When we arrived we was greeted by the 25 shelter dogs, 6 cats and a lone one-legged hawk who roam around the property - the hawk, not able to roam, was kept in a cage for it's safety. The shelter is run by Brendy, a wonderful caring woman from Greece who along with her assistant look after all the dogs and cats in the local area. As we ended up staying in Agonda for 5 weeks, we ended up visiting regularly and I'm going to write a small separate post all about our experiences here.
Feeling brave we decided to rent a scooter from Becky and Vasu, to explore Cola beach which is situated just north of Agonda. Driving a scooter is most definitely not my forte, before Ben hopped on the back we thought it best i should have a practice. I couldn't seem to turn my head without the bike following suit, thus becoming the queen of over-correction. This led to a very haphazard driving style where i weaved back and forth down the street, reaching the daring speeds of 5 km/h. At this point, much to my embarrassment we bumped into Brendy who gave me a pep talk... it was pretty much what Ben had been saying this whole time, but i took more notice of Brendy as she was a scooty driver herself and had given me a lift on occasion.
Confidence boosted, Ben hopped on the back and off we zoomed (still not going faster than 35km/h). Once I stopped fretting it was actually a fun experience, puttering along the jungle-lined hilly roads, wind in my hair (and what is left of Ben's). We soon reached the small lanes that lead down to Cola beach. We quickly realised that my scooty driving skills weren't up to the task of the small, rustic and practically washed away roads, so we decided to walk the last 2 km. The small beach was completely deserted when we arrived and the beach huts were just starting to be reassembled. Luckily for us, one of the resorts anticipated people coming to visit the beach so we were able to grab some breakfast and a drink there. Without it, our trip would have been pretty short as we expected there to be shops, which there was none. Although anyone can visit Cola, it seemed staying there was pretty exclusive, with only three resorts in the area.
On the southern side of the beach, was a stunning Lagoon. As the sea was pretty rough along this stretch, the lagoon was a perfect place to swim! After a quick crocodile check, we spent our morning swimming and playing around in the water. As the day progressed we were joined by both Western and Indian tourist, all taking advantage of the calm waters to cool down. In the Lagoon however, we made a horrible mistake. During our rough-housing and play we forgot a vital rule for surviving India... Do Not Swallow The Water! We had been told several times that not only was tap-water unsafe, drinking from streams and rivers was also a great way to get yourself sick. For some reason this good advice went straight out the window at Cola beach and this is how we both spent a week in bed with a suspected case of dysentery. What fun!
Another mishap to happen here was Ben's tooth exploding. No prior pain, no warning, his tooth just spilt in half while eating a crusty tuna mayo, avocado, boiled egg roll. Strangely, this couldn't have happened at a better time as Goa is well known for it's high standard of dental work, with people visiting from all over the world to take advantage of the quality and price. Within two days Ben's tooth was as good as new. With some insistent nagging, I too ended up in the dentists chair getting three fillings and my teeth cleaned for the first time in 9 years. Sorry mum!
After we had recovered from our swimming mistake it was time to explore again. This time we ventured to Butterfly beach, set between Agonda and Palolem this beach can only be accessed by hike or by boat. As the boat trip to get there was over 1000 Rs we decided on the hike approach. The walk there was scenic; wandering along dirt tracks bordered by meadows with grazing cows, passing a greenhouse filled with orchids, and later through the jungle on smaller tracks that sometimes branched off into the unknown. Occasionally monkeys flew from branch to branch overhead and butterflies flitted among the flowers. It was beautiful until we reached a huge pile of rubbish that seemed to mark the final track down to the beach. The track seemed to be a dry stream-bed, in which we had to scramble over small boulders to finish our descent to the beach.
After the hour long trek - google maps estimated 30 minutes, but I don't think it took into account the flooded dirt tracks and different terrains we had to traverse - we made it to butterfly beach. It was a mess! There wasn't a view that didn't contain rubbish strewn about; a section of the beach had the remains of a bonfire filled with glass bottles and there wasn't a butterfly in sight. I can forgive the lack of butterflies as the flowers to attract them weren't in bloom, but there wasn't an excuse for the rubbish. To top it all off the sea was too rough to swim in, Ben gave it a go and ended up spinning around on the sand like he was stuck in a washing machine... don't worry he got up eventually while i stood safely on the shore giggling. We were so glad at this point we didn't splash out for the boat trip, especially when seeing boats appear in the bay then head straight back out to sea again without landing; I guess it was too choppy to get to shore. After an hour to rest our legs and explore we headed back home.
After a while Agonda started to feel like home. It was such a welcoming village and people seemed to want to get to know us, one vendor yelled "Benny" anytime Ben would wander past his shop! We had a wonderful time here, it was nice to see the village setting up for the busy season; every week new restaurants and shops would pop up and more tourists would arrive. We spent time relaxing in cafes with amazing sea views, swimming and chilling on the beach, playing with the local dogs and trying out the new restaurants. One of our favourite dinner spots was Dersy's, they had a wide range of delicious curries, a lot of which we had never heard of before.
Just outside of Agonda is where we went to our first ever pool party. We were invited by a cool looking dude who pulled up on a motorbike handing out flyers, with that sort of promo we thought it would be a "cool" event to attend. Here our expectations didn't quite meet reality; expecting a stunning pool surrounded by trendy people and banging tunes, we actually got a medium sized pool surrounded by mainly British people -two of the older members completely off their trolley and doing some questionable dance moves - and the tunes were okay. We also learned that underwater photography isn't as easy as it looks, we got some questionable results! The party really got started when the Israelis arrived, you could clearly see the difference between their rhythmic dance moves and the awkward 90's dancing from the rest of us. In the end, with many drinks later (I can drink certain alcohols again - yay!) we actually had a pretty fun time and we wandered the 2 km back to town happy and sightly stumbly.
It wasn't always paradise. With new rules put in place to restrict beach huts and restaurants to protect the turtle nesting ground, sometimes a place would get set up only to be destroyed if it didn't comply with the regulations - it was sad to see all the work gone to waste but I suppose it was to make a point. Then there was the cyclone.
At the time we didn't know it was a cyclone. We went to bed during a bad storm and woke up in the middle of the night with the rain sounding like a marching band on top of the roof (we weren't sure if it was just the band of monkeys that seemed to enjoy plummeting from a nearby coconut tree then running off) and waking again in the morning with a tree knocked down outside our hut and some of the privacy screens on our porch ripped away.
Our digs got let off lightly, one restaurant we frequented had its concrete stairs down to the beach completely wiped away, along with the wall that stopped the sand from collapsing. The power was down in most of Goa for an entire week while the storm raged, even the back-up supply in our hut ran out. Left with no phones, no internet and no lights. With no internet to tell us, we didn't even know it was a cyclone till it was nearly over. We spent evenings eating by candle light and days staring at the roiling sea. Eventually, the storm stopped, the power came back and the town quickly got to work on fixing the damages.
Overall we had an amazing time in Goa, it was a stunning place filled with friendly people, the sweetest beach dogs. and the most biscuit hungry cows (I was literally mobbed after opening a packet in the street). It was a place for relaxing and for fun. We didn't want to leave but felt if we stayed any longer we never would. After our time in Paradise it was time for something different, so we headed inland to our next stop - Hampi.
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