Ahhhhhh..... Goa.
Based on what we read in The Lonely Planet, we opted to visit Palolem Beach which is located in the southern part of Goa. By now we know ourselves pretty well and know we prefer the backpacker/yoga/ meditation vibe as opposed to the higher-end /package tour/ don't eat the meat in India vibe found more in the north. Here, all the huts on the beach are built and rebuilt every season to accommodate the throngs of tourists that visit from November- March. It's quite fascinating to watch the village morph as the days go on. We were here early enough and stayed long enough to notice the transition.
Our spacious kitchen was lacking cupboards but had everything we needed including ice cube trays!
We are finding India to be our favourite place on the trip so far. It's easy to really live here because it is so inexpensive and the people and the landscape are incredibly beautiful. There is not much to do here Palolem in terms of tourist traps so we are happy to just hang out and get to know our surroundings.h
Once you get over the obvious issues India has with how to dispose of it's waste, it's so intense,beautiful and exotic
Based on what we read in The Lonely Planet, we opted to visit Palolem Beach which is located in the southern part of Goa. By now we know ourselves pretty well and know we prefer the backpacker/yoga/ meditation vibe as opposed to the higher-end /package tour/ don't eat the meat in India vibe found more in the north. Here, all the huts on the beach are built and rebuilt every season to accommodate the throngs of tourists that visit from November- March. It's quite fascinating to watch the village morph as the days go on. We were here early enough and stayed long enough to notice the transition.
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| looking for the perfect place to play paddle ball |
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Samson's kiosk was a daily ritual for our boys. They rented skim boards and sold beer! The huts in the background rent for about $20-$30/night
We quickly realized that we needed to spend more time in Palolem and that the beach hut scene would wear thin so we rented a big beautiful Mc Mansion! Our 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 4 verandah house was perfectly located in the quiet of the jungle yet just a 5 minute walk from the beach.
All of this was just $37/night and Baby, our cleaning lady, charged a mere $4/ day to keep the place sparkling for us. She did our laundry as well which meant we had NOTHING!! to do all day except play and adventure with our boys, devour copious amounts of delicious and cheap Indian food and sip Old Monk rum at sunset. Now that I think about it...why did we ever leave?
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| Fresh yogurt sold in tiny clay pots, chai and fruit and muesli on our verandah! |
It doesn't seem to matter where we go we become the "tourist" attraction. We think it's pretty funny but the boys, especially Bowen, are a bit weirded out by it.
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| say cheese! |
We are finding India to be our favourite place on the trip so far. It's easy to really live here because it is so inexpensive and the people and the landscape are incredibly beautiful. There is not much to do here Palolem in terms of tourist traps so we are happy to just hang out and get to know our surroundings.h
Once you get over the obvious issues India has with how to dispose of it's waste, it's so intense,beautiful and exotic
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| beautiful spices |
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| village life |
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| I think this house is super cool |
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| Just how does a big dog like that get up on the fence? |
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| assorted tea for sale- dust from the road included! |
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| One of my favourite flowers that grow here and in Mexico. The Food We made several friends in Palolem which made it feel even more like our home
This Nepalese guy sold us our weekly supply of Tibetan Yak Cheese which is a bit like Parmesan. Wheels of the stuff are loaded on the backs of the delivery guys in Nepal and brought to The German Bakery for sale. Now there is a delicious clash of cultures
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| Grilled shrimp, rice and salad on the beach for about $4 |
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| Fresh brown bread from the wood fired oven .60c a loaf |
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| Feet first at the seafood market- shrimp for dinner tonight at home |
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| Door to door honey sales. This guy climbed the tree to cut down the hive himself |
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| New friends Sam and Sara- also travelling for one year, come to our house for a dinner party.We eat from banana leaves because we don't have 6 plates |
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| We met Robbie and his wife in Fort Cochin. Robbie came to visit us in Goa while his wife went off on an Ayurvedic retreat. We have been to many of the same places in the world and found him to be great company |
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| Nitin, the best Chai maker in all the land. At just 10 rupees( .20c) a cup we could afford to drink liters of it and sit in his cool cafe for hours |
Cows, water buffalo and goats rule the road here
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| Hollis was having trouble sleeping. The three powders the beach "Dr" mixed up for him worked |
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| Colorful jewellery everywhere. I just can't resist |
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| These poor guys painted the electrical boxes with silver paint using their bare hands |
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| This little guy was found on our kitchen counter one morning. We have no idea how he got up two flights of stairs to visit us. Hollis had a much bigger one visit him in bed in the middle of the night. Let's just say the reception was less than welcoming. |
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| It looks impossible to us but everyone in India seems to be able to carry heavy goods on their heads. |
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| cows trick or treating |
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| We loved the built in benches on the porch |
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| Every morning this woman wandered the streets banging on her drum and waiting at the gates for donations in her hat. The baby just slept through all that racket. |
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| Laundry drying on the side of the road is very, very common |
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| An eastern and a western toilet in one. Sit or squat, it's up to you The Beauty Outdoors
One of the many things we enjoyed was the pure beauty of Goa. We got up early one morning to kayak the nearby river with Robbie, our new friend from Sun Valley, Idaho. What a treat! That's when we noticed all the monkeys who soon after came to entertain us each morning as we ate breakfast from our verandah. The locals try to scare them away with fireworks and slingshots but we loved them
 An early morning kayak trip up the river- so quiet and beautiful  
We had all of Turtle Beach to ourselves
Family Time
The best part about this trip is the incredible amount of time we get to spend together. Sometimes we are doing fun things and sometimes we are just moving from one place to another on a boat, train, taxi, bus, airplane or tuk tuk. Whatever it is, we are doing it together.
Both boys are getting very very good at skim boarding, frisbee and Uno
    This Indian fellow was amazing at frisbee and would search us out each night to join in the game. We loved that about India, if they want to join in they don't sit on the sidelines and wait to be asked  . This little guy loved my bike so I decided to take him for a spin 
New Friends
 Sara and Sam from Switzerland come to our place for dinner
My new gal pals from my 3 day workshop led by Ujallah come to say goodbye as we get ready to leave for Mysore
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| If ever I was to switch to the other team I would want it to be with this woman. Ujallala led talking meditations that changed our lives Beach Time   I won't bore you with endless beach shots Suffice it to say the beach rocked and we got to know every square inch of it Now we are on to Mysore where we will celebrate my birthday
~Liz~
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