If you are reading this, you might not believe it but our routine in Goa is a bit like being at home with slightly less housey stuff to do and a whole lot warmer! We sleep; get up late after reading in bed with a cuppa or two; perhaps go to the shops for supplies; go for a walk (usually on the beach); have some lunch; have a bit of a relax and then have some dinner and sleep again – pretty routine really!
That all said, being in India is obviously culturally different, even though, here in Goa, a fairly significant proportion of the population is Christian which is why there are lots of Christmas decorations around with many houses decorated with lights and Christmas trees on their porches… there are also a lot of churches!
According to t’internet, “After the Portuguese Conquest of Goa in 1510 and its subsequent rule by Portugal, Goa’s indigenous population underwent a large-scale conversion to Roman Catholicism. The first converts to Christianity in Goa were native Goan women who married Portuguese men that arrived with Afonso de Albuquerque and the city of Goa (known as “Old Goa”) became the centre of Christinisation in the East…”. Now, according to the last census (which was actually in 2011 as, due to the pandemic, the 2021 census in India was postponed to 2024, so I think they are probably still working on the figures!), just over 60.1% of the Goan population is Hindu, with 25.1% being Christian – a further 8.3%, Muslim (the rest are made up of small percentages of Sikh, Buddhist, Jain or no religion stated).
One of the reasons I originally wanted to visit Goa (over 30 years ago now!) is that my Nanny Wilson (my Dad’s mum) was from here… Unfortunately, I don’t think even my Nan knew a lot about her own family as, according to my Dad’s “Autobiography”, which he started writing in 2005 and finished in 2013, 10 years before he passed away, my Nan was orphaned at a young age and raised in a Catholic convent… here’s an extract:
“Details of my mother’s early life are a bit hazy. Her mother and father were Portuguese and their surname was Lavocah. It was common practice in the eighteen hundreds to deport people for the slightest reason, mainly to bolster up the colonies that they had acquired. The Portuguese, a very diverse and mixed race, were not too fussy about keeping records. They deported my Portuguese grandparents, for reasons I do not know. It was either that or face imprisonment.
My grandparents agreed to be deported to the Portuguese colony of Goa on the west coast
of India. They had three children, all born in Goa, India.
My mother was born on the 21st February 1900. Soon after she was born her mother and father died, having caught some kind of
disease, probably malaria or dysentery. Since they were now orphans my mother, along with her older sister and younger brother, were brought up in a convent”.
So, it seems I am from criminal, Portuguese stock – how exciting! It’s a shame that we do not know more about my Nan’s family history and I often wonder whether anyone is Goa is a distant relative of some kind… I’m not really sure how you would even start to find this out – another project for my retirement perhaps although perhaps I should practice on the side of the family where at bit more is already known – like my Mum’s family who were, as far as I know, West Londoners through and through!
So, what have we been up to these past few days? Well, despite taking things pretty easy, we’ve not been completely idle! On Wednesday (18th December), after a couple of hours spent on the beach, we successfully collected and demolished the pies we ordered last week – Pete loved his beef and onion pie but I didn’t really like mine (Chicken & mushroom) which is a miracle as, as Pete would contest, I am a proper pie person (try saying that after a drink or two!)… the pastry was OK; the chicken & mushroom was OK but I really didn’t like the sauce (or as our local Goan restaurant menu calls it “Sauch” – gotta love a translated menu! 🤣🤣). I am sure we will order some more pies before we leave here in January but I think I will avoid the chicken & mushroom next time and, although I was disappointed, it was nice to have a night off from curry, rice and nan! We also picked up Pete’s Amazon parcel from Ida’s so it’s good to know that if we desperately need anything (which is doubtful) we can order it if necessary!
Yesterday (19th December), we decided to go to Mobor Beach the other side of Cavelossim as we needed to get our scooter to the garage for a 5100km oil change (Joe asked us if we would do this when we picked up the bike at the start of our holiday which we didn’t mind doing!)… fortunately, on our way, Joe was outside his house (he lives just down the road in a village called Tamborim) so we were able to check which garage… I think he must use a few as Pete was sure that he said to take it to one in Carmona but after we told him we were on our way to Mobor, he gave us directions to a “garage” in Cavelossim. I think the description he gave was something like “…as you go up the hill before you get to Demello’s chemist, there’s a shed on the left” – and he wasn’t lying… see the picture below!
Top: A visit to the local bike “garage” (or “corrugated shed” as we’d probably call it!) to get the oil in our scooter (Registration ending 4084) changed!
Bottom: Christmas Decs at the beach shack in Mobor
After the “garage” we stopped at the opticians to get some glasses cleaning cloths and spray (sun lotion+moisturiser+sweaty heads = greasy glasses! 🤣). The Optician showed Pete her equipment (ooer!) and, I think, has probably talked him into having his eyes tested although, after a poor experience in the past with having glasses made in India (although not in Goa, that was in Kerela), he’s not committed to getting new glasses and the eye test is apparently free… we said we would think about it at least!
Next stop, the beach for a nice, cold glass of fresh orange juice, lunch and a stroll before returning back to the apartment, a quick shower and then waiting to see if Brother Steve would be able to get a FaceTime call through to me from him & Mum… we had to wait a bit longer due to Mum’s iPad not having been charged up by the staff at the Raikes (grrr…) but it worked in the end and it was great to catch up with Steve and see that Mum is doing OK… she’s not got a scooby that Christmas is just around the corner, despite various Christmas activities going on at her home and the Christmas party (which Steve was really looking forward to 🤣🤣🤣) taking place that afternoon! But who cares – it was nice to see the Christmas decs I put up before we came away are still up in her room anyway! Thanks Steve – means a lot to me that you visited and that you took the time to make the call to me too! Also, glad that you at least got a surprise present off Mum whilst you were there… say no more! 🤣🤣🤣
A nice FaceTime call with Mum & Brother Steve!
Here are some flowers for my Mum… pics taken whilst we’ve been out and about on the scooter! By the way, I’m not some sad boff (ooo, no offence Mel Speak Garden Design if you are reading this!) that knows the names of all these plants… whilst Pete and I were looking at the photos on my iPad, I notice an “info” tab and it tells you what the plant is! Not sure if that’s some iPad or Canon (the make of my camera) thing but it’s blumming clever that’s for sure… so, if anyone out there disagrees with my description, please send your complaints to Apple or Canon and not me!
Bottom Left: Golden Trumpet; and on the Right, different coloured Great Bougainvillea (I knew that one… one of Mum’s favourites when we used to go on hols overseas together!)
Last night I had the best nights sleep I have had in ages and as a result, it took me ages to get going this morning (20th December)… we needed to go and get some cash out so biked it up to Varca where the nearest free cash withdrawal ATM is… unfortunately, it kept declining my card for some reason but gave Pete some! I managed to find another ATM which was a bit more forgiving – probably due to the additional charge that particular bank makes for withdrawals! The long and short of it is that we now have a few rupees to keep us going and shouldn’t need to worry about visiting an ATM until after Christmas!
After this excursion, we headed to the beach but only stayed for about three hours – enough time for an hour in the sun, some lunch and a little walk. It was very windy today – a lovely warm wind but we know you have to be very careful when it is like this as it makes the heat of the day very deceptive! The wind meant that all the little birds were well hunkered on the beach too – see pics below!
After a quick stop at the apartment, we headed off to the local supermarket to get some supplies as we’ve decided to have a night in tonight… ooo, toast and cake for tea! You can’t beat it 🤣
The other birds are Plovers (the iPad says “Snowy Plover” although Pete’s bird book says “Kentish”) hunkering down out the wind on the beach!
Bottom Left – the shacks have put their Christmas trees up!
Right, time for cake – mmmm… Lr8s! Xx
All the gubbins… 
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