Tales of Tiracol Fort, Goa.

I was in Goa on a vacation with my family in the end of April 2015. We (me and my brother) took a day break from our conventional routine itinerary of sightseeing or beaches of our family trip and thought of exploring on something on our own. Another important reason was that we met an old friend there who was also travelling in Goa with his friends; he asked us to join them to Fort Tiracol which was 45/50 kms away from the main city;it was situated in Maharashtra border. We started from Candolim at 11 am in the morning on our bikes; it was a very sunny and hot day but the beautiful landscapes and seascapes that we saw while riding on the road had made us forget the scorching heat and humidity at once. The road that leads to the Fort was amazing and the ride was worth it even on a hot sunny day. But the better months to travel Goa are always November to January. Although it was not the right month to visit Goa, but still Goa has different shades in different seasons and all the shades are beautiful in their own way. After 1 hour we reached the Tiracol River and we took the ferry to cross it to reach the Fort. A ferry comes after every 15/20 minutes to the shore and these ferry rides are free. The ferry journey lasted only for 10 minutes and we reached the side where the Fort was located. We drove for another 5 minutes and we finally reached the Fort. When we entered the Fort, we saw a small open restaurant outside the Fort and then we got to know that the Fort is under renovation process; a heritage hotel is being constructed which will be opened for tourists in the month of November or December end this year. (It was told by the hotel supervisor who was very cordial and helpful because ,he allowed us to use the wash rooms of the hotel). When we asked him ," What will be the tariff of one room per night?" He smiled and said," As of now we are thinking 10000 per night." We still think that he was serious but we will know once the hotel is open for public. We went to the terrace and the view we saw from there was just beautiful and peaceful at the same time. Although it was sunny and hot,but it was windy; we sat there for some time and we were in no mood to leave the place unless our stomachs were crying out loud for food. As I had mentioned earlier that there was an open restaurant with beautiful blue chairs outside the Fort; we decided to have lunch there and ordered the Italian menu (only menu) of the restaurant. The red sauce pasta was delicious and also the Green Chicken Salami Salad. After devouring the food and the beauty both into our body and mind we left the Fort with a hope of coming again and staying in the luxurious hotel someday.

We reached our hotel late night after roving around different untrodden roads and unknown villages on the way while returning to the city. After this trip, I had realised that one should just choose a road and travel, no matter where it leads to but 'on the way' journey can be a journey in itself. Just want to twist the cliche quote "Follow your Heart" to "Follow your Road."