I was in Goa for the first time and I wanted to see the place! So on the third day of our stay here, I booked myself for a day tour of South Goa by bus. We were staying in
Calangute which is in the North of Goa and thanks to my friends all the famous beaches here were covered! So, going to see the other side made sense! None of the others were interested in the tour....all they wanted to do was lie on the beach whole day long just drinking & eating & drinking some more!
Boarded the bus around 9am from
Calangute. The drive itself was nice and the beautiful weather helped! We headed to
Panaji and stopped for a while at
Miramar Beach while we waited for some more passengers to join the tour.
Then off we went to see the South. This was old Goa. The Portuguese were here long long time ago and they built many beautiful churches but the influence of the Indian artisans could be seen in the architecture.
The tour first takes us to
Basilica of Bom Jesus which holds the remains of
St. Francis Xavier. The body of the Saint is here on display in a silver casket and it is said that the body is as fresh as the day it was buried. The Saint is said to have miraculous powers of healing and so pilgrims come from all over the country.
Then on the other side of the road, we walk down to
Sé Cathedral of Santa Catarina. This cathedral is dedicated to
Catherine of Alexandria and is one of the oldest and most celebrated religious buildings in Goa and also one of the largest churches in Asia. This was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese army over a Muslim army leading to the capture of Goa. It was on the day of the feast of
Saint Catherine, hence the cathedral was dedicated to her.
The tour then continues to the famous two temples in the South. First was the temple of
Shri Manguesh at Priol. I am told that this is the ancestral village of the famous Mangeshkar Family of India (
Lata Mangeshkar, Nightingale of India and her equally accomplished playback singer, Asha Bhosle).
Then onwards to the temple of
Shree Shantadurga at Kavale. It is believed that there was a fierce war between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu which sent the world into turmoil. Lord Brahma prayed and asked Goddess Durga to stop the war before the world comes to an end. The Goddess held Lord Shiva on one hand and on the other Lord Vishnu and brought a reconcilation thus bringing peace to the world once again.
After a brief halt along the way for lunch, we proceed too see
Ancestral Goa at Loutolim. The tour only had time for us to see an old Portuguese Mansion. Got eductaed on how the Portuguese lived in style back in those days!
Then the last place to see was the Colva Beach. It was really crowded with tourists from all over India. There were less of foreigners here unlike the other beaches that I had visited.
After a full 12 hours of South Goa, the Bus brings us back to where we started. As I walk back to the hotel from the Tour Agency's Office, my friends pick me up on the way. We head for one of the many lovely bar/restaurant, "
Cavala". They had a Live Band playing such wonderful music and singing old time favourites! We were at a bar for some time just enjoying the music, the band. Then for dinner we head to
"The Fiesta" and I am glad we did. This is a beautiful place and I just felt in love with the place. It's an open air restaurant bulit on different levels with lovely nooks & corners. Very pretty and very well maintained. The food was equally very good!
All in all, a really wonderful day!
At last, I got to visit Goa!
We were here at the beach for a while and about an hour before midnight headed to Nikhil Chinnappa's Party "Submerged". The music was great & Nikhil was good. His wife took turns to play too. The place also had a pool and towels were in ready for those who decided to take the dip & for those who got thrown in by their friends! 
There's something about the sea which I can't fathom. I can sit for hours by the sea and just look at the vast expanse of water. It's so soothing and I am at peace with myself.
