GOA ESCAPE

Day-1

Finally the day has come, after a year full of restrictions we will be stepping out for our first trip. What better destination there could be to relax and at the same time party hard than goa. Yes its the chilling goa. We reached Goa from Gujarat via connecting flight from Mumbai. We have traveled in flight tens of times but this time it was totally different, we see people masked up, wearing PPE kits everywhere. There was too much excitement and bit of fear, but as they say "Goa is ON".After reaching Debolim international airport, we hired a cab to reach our first stay Little India cottage at calangute. It's a cool beach cottage with traditional Indian ambiance. In spite of on the beach this cottage is well isolated from the loud music from the beach sacks. After a long journey we had a night walk at the beach and that ended our day.

Day -2

It was a sunny morning, a perfect day to explore the beautiful beaches of the North goa. To add more adventure to our trip rented Thar and do self driving. After having our breakfast we started our journey towards Arambol beach, our first stop was at Asvim beach. We were mesmerized by the beautiful view at the beach. Spending some time at the beach and clicking some pics we moved further. Next on the list was manderiam beach, to kill the heat we relaxed our self at sun beds at the beach and had some Mocktais while viewing the waves. Like any other North goa beaches Asvim and Manderim beach are very less crowded, best place to be if one has to spend relaxing time in North goa. Moving forward we reach one of the famous beach in the North, yes the Aramboal beach. Aramboal beach is very famous among foreigners; there is beach, mountain, fresh water lake and green scenic view. For those who love adventure sports, aramboal is known for paragliding along the shore line from above the Arambol Mountain. As we love adventure sports were much we tried our hands in paragliding. It was a great experience gliding at 75mtr height, having a eagle watch of the long shoreline of North goa. It costs 2000 per person and 500 extra for video. On the way back we went to famous chapora fort also known as dil chahta hai point. Then we moved to the hotel and watched the sunset at calungate beach relaxing on the sunbeds.

Day-3

On the next day as well we continued with our adventure hunt. Goa is famous for adventure sports, u get to see almost every adventure activity here. Everyone thinks of water sports when they come to goa, but we decided to go off the beat. We started our journey towards mayam lake for bunjee jumping, from baga beach in Thar. There are quite a few bunjee jumping operators in goa, but we opeted for jumping heights as it is the only permanent platform bunjee jumping and it's high safety standards. Many adventure freaks comes here and it's hard to get a slot in peak season. After a wait for an hour we were briefed about our jump, and then we were taken to the jumping point in small groups. We were geared up with safety harness and it was time for the jump. The initially excitement for the jump died in a second after looking 55 mtr down towards the lake standing at the edge. We backed our self, this is the point when there is fear after this there will be thrill. And we jumped waving the hands and giving a smile towards the camera. Yeahhh I have done it was the scream that filled the silence of mayam lake. It was exciting and thrilling indeed, was very happy we completed the adventure on our bucket list. Then we started heading towards Saturday night market in Aropra, it's a famous market for shopping opening on Saturday. But due to COVID restrictions it was closed. So we went to anjuna beach, by the time we reached anjuna the sun had started setting down. There many good cafe at anjuna beach to chill one can try. Then we headed back to our hotel in baga near to Tito's lane. Baga is famous for its night life with many good clubs with loud DJ and boos, perfect place for party lovers. One can not miss it if you are in goa. We too booked our passes online for Tito's club, the atmosphere here was very lively. We saw people lost in the loud beat dancing and enjoying, happy faces all-around. It felt like we have entered a whole new world, we're there was no virus outbreak out there everyone living their normal life.

Day 4

After parting and exhausted by the previous day, next day morning was for leisure. We went for breakfast and played pool at beach shack. After resting for a while we rented a scooter to explore remaining places in actual goa style. Portuguese have ruled goa for 450 years heavily influenced Goan culture, cuisine, and architecture. We went out once the sun had started to slide down from the peak of the day. First we went to Agonda fort, its a seventeenth century Portuguese fort. Still standing tall after so many centuries. It has a water storage cannon which was the largest in whole Asia at the time. You will have a good view of the sea from the fort, a must visit place in goa. Then we went to Sinquerim Fort view point. Then we started heading towards panjim the capital city of goa. As the roads in goa a small doing journey on scooter is the best way to explore goa. You can park it easily any where enjoy the scenic view on the road side and goa is loaded with such views. We went to Dona Paula view point, also famous as Singham point after shoot of movie singham. Unfortunately it was closed due to construction work. There after we went to Fontainhas famous yet not explored by most of tourists. Fontainhas is known for it's portuguese architecture, which includes narrow and picturesque winding streets like those found in many European cities, old villas and buildings with projecting balconies painted in the traditional tones of pale yellow, green, or blue, and roofs made of red coloured tiles. After roaming for long we were hungry so we stopped by Confeitaria 31 De Janeiro one of the oldest cafe in goa. Its a Instagram delight and you can try out different Portuguese as well as local goa dessert. Then we headed back to our hotel.

Day-5

Complete exploring North goa it was time for the South goa. South goa is known for its white sand beaches, clear blue waters, cool atmosphere & very less crowdie, perfect place who love spending time in peace. As we have to covered a long distance we hired a hatchback car from baga and started our journey towards South. Goa tour is incomplete if one has not visited the heritage churches of old Goa with Portuguese architecture. Among them first is Basilica of Bom Jesus it’s a world UNECSO heritage site with baroque and Portuguese architecture. If you are interested in history and culture there is so many treasure for in Archaeological museum of Goa which is just opposite side of Bom Jesus Basilica.As you entering to museum there is map showing you which palaces you have to visit there, so you can visit those places without any trouble. According to map we visited one by one churches like Se Cathedral church which is largest church in Asia , St.Francis of Assisi church ,St.Cajetan church and Church of our lady of the Rosary.

It was a true gem for art lovers as you will see carvings and designs on walls high ceiling, it felt like we were looking to Indian version of ancient Rome. A heritage site in true sence, holding history and culture of thousands of years. Then we started heading towards South our destination was Colva beach were we have booked a luxurious resort to enjoy some private life. After filling our tummy we went around the resort and then for a walk at the Colva beach. We returned to our suit and set our camera to take a hyper lapse of the sunset in the sea from the balcony of my room. We too watched the sun setting in the waters relaxing in the Jacuzzi of our room. With this sun set it ended another day of our trip.

Day-6

We continued our journey further south, our final stay was at Agonda beach. On our way we first stopped at betul fort, it was build on orders of Shivaji on the mouth of river sal at betul. We had a breathtaking view of the beach from the fort. We spend some time clicking few pictures of the beauty and continued our journey. The road journey was also so exciting as well, green lush surrounding, mountains and winding roads, perfect cocktail for who loves driving. Then we reached Cabo de Rama, one of the oldest fort in goa has a rich past. It's said that lord Rama & his wife Sita had stayed at this fort during their exile from Ayodhya. This fort is spread in huge area surrounded by the sea. There are many spots from were you can enjoy the beauty of mother nature and get lost.One such spot is pebble beach, it is a small bay covered with pebbles. After exhausted by the hot sun we settled ourself on a stone under the shade of the tree soaking our legs in the water. The atmosphere was so calm, when the small waves passed over the pebbles at the beach the sound it made felt like nature is playing some instrument, it was truly blissful. To kill the heat and thrust we had coconut water natural drink. Then we stopped by cabo de Rama view point and cliff point, we have named it as unseen goa as very few tourist were being spotted here. We finally reached our Agonda, checked in at our beach hut and took our lunch. After resting for a while we stepped out as it was our final day and we wanted to explore every bit of the place.

Day-7

Second day in south Goa we went to Palolem beach it is one of most famous beach of South Goa. It is a stretch of white sand, calm waters, lined with palm trees and colorful wooden beach huts. Goa trip is incomplete without a boat ride in the blue sea. We booked a boad to explore few places using the sea route. We went for dolphin watching, spotted couple of them, turtle rock, butterfly beach and then dropped our anchor at honeymoon island spend some time there. Butterfly beach is truly a hidden gem of the south semicircular bay in the shape of a butterfly. An unexploited paradise, where you can spot millions of butterflies flying over the hilltop. Once you turn your attention to the turquoise water, you can spot goldfish and crabs playing about. You will have to take a boat ride to reach this beach as the land route demands you to undergo a challenging hike through the forest. On the way back to the shore we went to watch sunset, but we're disappointed by the cloudy weather. We went back to our cottage at Agonda had our dinner on the beach under the stars.

Day-8

It was the day to go back home after a exciting and rejuvenating trip. Inspite of having few hours left we were in no mood to skip the siteseeing of Agonda beach as we didn't had chance to visit the previous day. We woke up early and went for a morning walk at the beach, the atmosphere was so fresh. The pristine shoreline of this beach is peppered with pretty cottages and shacks. Casuarinas, palms and back waters further add to its splendid beauty. This combined with the first light of the morning dawn made it so perfect, beauty at its best. We freshup overself had breakfast and headed straight to airpot. A wonderful journey came to its end, but the memories will stay for ever.