Goa: 3rd Installment

Panjim—Old Goa
The 3rd city we found ourselves in was Panjim. We got there on a very crowded bus (squished standing room only) through a beautiful scenic drive. At the end Andrew and Anne decided to stay at a cute, welcoming guesthouse, while Mike and I decided to take the cheaper route and set off trying to find the Vaz guesthouse without a map. It turns out we took an entire tour of downtown Panjim until we finally found someone who knew where Vaz was and pointed us to a small side street that we would never have found alone. Luckily we were both flexible and enjoyed our walk and talk through the city. When we finally checked in to this hole in the wall guesthouse, we jumped on a bus to Old Goa. Mike has never glowed more than when seeing the old churches and buildings in this Portuguese settlement. There were multiple, beautiful churches in a confined spot that we could walk around to and see the different architecture of the times. Our favorite was ruins that had been one of the largest churches and monasteries around. We could only imagine the sheer beauty that it once was. There were gorgeous tile paintings and structures left behind. On the bus ride back from Old Goa was probably the most crowded I’ve ever seen. Andrew, Mike, and I were standing up holding on to the railing but we could have let go and just been held up by the people around us. If one person swayed, everyone else swayed. It was incredible. Luckily we met a couple of foreigners before the bus ride and struck up conversation with them to keep our minds off our tired arms.
That evening we went to a restaurant that was recommended in the Lonely Planet that was quite notable. We were the only ones there and it took an hour and a half to get our food. It was a couple of tables outside and a normal kitchen with a bathroom attached with a curtain. We played cards as we waited and pretty soon the gas fumes from the kitchen were so prominent it was hard to talk about anything else. Finally we got our food and much to our disappointment the wait did not result in good food. To make up for the sad dinner we went and played cards at a cute establishment in an ally way covered with lights. We finished our card game and got drinks.
The next day we had a check-out time of 8 am so we packed our bags and had a breakfast of papaya outside of Andrew and Anne’s guesthouse. Our final day in Goa was spent with our bags on our backs exploring Panjim itself. We climbed up to this elaborate temple on the hillside and got a wonderful view of Panjim. Then we went through town exploring the rich culture in the buildings and churches. After a long walk with heavy bags we discovered a huge park on the inlet of the ocean. We read and crashed here for a couple of hours, enjoying the relaxation. I went to a huge vegetable and fruit market (how could you pass that up!?) to get a hodge-podge dinner for the train ride. One of the best parts of cities are the food markets. I light up and love exploring the different stands and chatting to the sellers. We walked along the coast to catch our train, where there were multiple people selling water, chai, and candy. Mike couldn’t pass up chai off the back of a bike. The train ride home went relatively fast and we were back in Pune before we knew it!