From the beaches of the North we next headed for Panaji, which became the state capital of Goa in 1843 after Old Goa port had silted up and the residents fled the plague. We stayed in a lovely Portuguese style guesthouse in the colourful old Quarter of Fontainhas. The main sight nearby is the church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception which dominates the centre of the town and is beautifully illuminated at night, meriting two pictures! We also enjoyed the local (sophisticated or what ?) graffiti……..
We managed to have scheduled our visit to Old Goa itself to coincide with the annual festival to commemorate St Francis Xavier so we had a crazy bus journey crammed under peoples' armpits as the entire local Catholic population made the pilgrimage.
The next day, having enjoyed our first scooter experience, we decided to repeat it with a more ambitious project, the flea market in Anjuna. Recipients of Christmas presents from us may be grateful that we resisted any purchases, perhaps because it was just so hot! The roads were a bit of a nightmare to navigate, particularly the one way streets around the city so were relieved to get back to enjoy a fish curry.
We then treated ourselves to a night at the Leela hotel in Cavelossim before meeting up with Lucy again. Most memorable were the fabulous 75 acre grounds with superb flowers including the largest species of orchids we have ever seen, and a praying mantis that was not small either….
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