Wednesday 18 June 2014

A Small Adventure in South Goa



Looking up for cheap, yet cosy and comfortable resorts in MakeMyTrip.com,landed us with a resort in South Goa, a few kms from Margao. While the only image in my mind of Goa had been that of the beaches , I was in for a pleasant surprise. Goa gave us the much required change from the polluted air of the city. The lush green everywhere , the scattered  red roofed cottages, each cottage different in its own style, each  blending with the nature like it belonged there , the age old churches..like a place untouched  by noise and other pollution, that we call a by product of urbanization. 

Renting a rickety scooty – the only one available near the resort then – my husband and I made our way towards Palolem  beach that was 25 km away. There were hardly any petrol bunks to be seen and we were asked to buy petrol  from a General Stores that looked hardly any different than a small and messy storeroom. Taking the only road, we started off with a full tank. In a few kms, there were no more settlements to be seen. With only the lush green everywhere, interspersed with a few barren lands , few monkeys jumping in the low branches,  the road blocked in a few places by herds of untethered cattle.. it was similar to a ride through a jungle. With the sun hiding behind the clouds and the occasional drizzle, it was just perfect. 

Due to the onset of monsoon, the usual calm blue sea was instead  brown and the waves lashed out angrily at the shores. The lifeguards shooed us away to safety taking shelter from the rain themselves.  Not too eager to get back, we set off for the Agonda beach 10 kms away using Google Maps. It was around noon and soon we were  brought back to reality by the rumbling of the stomach and nature’s call. Being off season, almost all the restaurants were closed and we were left with no option but to head back to our resort 16 kms away. 

The long route that was refreshing was now un-ending and tiring. Almost halfway back, right in the middle of nowhere, is when we noticed the pointer moving towards “E”. With not a soul in sight, with not even a bird in flight, the whole place was suddenly eerie and scary. It’s weird how the brain works. That same path that was perceived romantic suddenly felt eerie. We sped fast to reach before the fuel ran out, only to end up in a junction that we had never seen before. Only a small dilapidated liquor shop stood there. Inside were a few men hunched over cards.  On enquiring  the elderly  man outside hoping he was sober, we returned back in the same direction as he suggested.

Driving back in the direction pointed for another 4 kms, we came upon a barren land with no vegetation. A lone man in torn shirts and trousers was digging right beside the road. Adrenaline and fear rushed in. The hunger and the need to heed to nature’s call long gone. There was no road to where the Arrow in the  Google Maps pointed. The only option was to head back and take the longer 16 km route the Map showed. Cursing under the breath, we took a reverse and raced. I wondered what would happen if  we broke down somewhere with no settlements nearby. Were the people friendly?  Would  take advantage of lost stranded tourists? A thousand questions came into my mind. When we are scared, the mind conjures the worst imagination and brings every news ever read that were shelved deep inside the subconscious. Every news on women being raped flashed across in few  seconds. The occasional creaking from the vehicle didn’t help things either.

Just when the fuel pointer showed a steady E, and it was running on reserve, we came across a few cottages. There we were pointed to a hair saloon in Bali from where we bought petrol! Breathing out a huge sigh of relief, we took the longer route ensuring we always had some people in sight and reached our resort.Muttering a heartfelt thanks towards the heavens, we attacked our lunch.

1 comment:

  1. Once again a nice article. The suspense element is good..

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