Goa, India...Part 1

After our stay in Mumbai we took a flight further south to the state of Goa. Mumbai’s airport was beautiful, very modern, clean and quiet. It was the first time we had traveled through a “ silent “ airport. No announcements are made unless it was an emergency. Also great art installations...

Interestingly Goa was ruled by the Portuguese for many centuries...On 25 November 1510 in their second attempt, they succeeded in conquering the island of Goa (Tiswadi). Consequently, the Portuguese became the first Europeans to establish their colonies on the Indian sub-continent. They ruled Goa until 1961 when they were defeated by an invasion of the Indian army and navy. As a result there are many Portuguese influences found throughout the state of Goa.

Our first stop was the capital, Panaji which was different from any other place we had visited so far in India. First of all the architecture felt more European...

And so colourful...

The Post Office...

Some of the houses in the older part of the city where we stayed...

  Many houses were brightly coloured and well kept, though others were not...

It was a very pretty city with great food as well...

Street food and fast food...

 We found  this place the first evening and went there every night...

Reminded us of cafes in Europe...

One of our favourites, butter garlic calamari...( a weird color due to the lights, but oh so delicious!)

The city is located on a river that leads out to the sea so there is lots of shipping and one of the reasons the Portuguese settled here was to use the port for the spice trade back to Europe.

One of the main exports today is iron ore which can be seen in the red soil and in our clothes and shoes everytime we wash them. One of the things we will remember from our trip to India and Nepal so far is the amount of dust in the air everywhere... may be different colours but it is always so present.

Since this is a Christian region there were lots of churches in the city....

Here is the main church sitting high on a hill in the centre of the city...

Overlooking one of the main boulevards...

Some interesting street art, wonder about the symbolism here?

Don found this beer store on the sidewalk where you buy a beer and then sit behind a curtain to drink it so you weren’t conspicuous. The beer was cheap and cold and you had company over your shoulder...

A short bus ride away, with all the ladies sitting on one side is Old Goa. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, when Old Goa’s population exceeded that of Lisbon or London, Goa’s former capital was considered the ‘Rome of the East’. You can still sense that grandeur as you wander what’s left of the city, with its towering churches and cathedrals and majestic convents. Its rise under the Portuguese, from 1510, was meteoric, but cholera and malaria outbreaks forced the abandonment of the city in the 1600s. In 1843 the capital was officially shifted to Panaji. Some of the most imposing churches and cathedrals are still in use and are remarkably well preserved, while other historical buildings have become museums or simply ruins. 

Some of the huge churches built during that time...

Beautiful well kept grounds...

Soaring interiors...

Lots of gold...

Some details of the intricate art work that is done in many mediums...

Wood carvings...

Gold leaf...

Plaster ceilings...

And even the stone carvings on the tombstones from 1694...

There was well preserved beauty everywhere in this abandoned town...

Then there were Grottos and Glamour Shots...

Also in the BOM Basilica here in Old Goa lies the body of St. Francis Xavier, a well known Jesuit missionary who came to this area in 1542 as part of the Portuguese desire to convert the local population to Catholicism. Most of the citizens were Hindus and Muslims, however the conversion held and as a result this region of India has a high percentage of Christians. 

Indian Christians view this site as a pilgrimage to honour St. Francis Xavier and to visit his relics which are held inside a silver casket in the church. That day there were lots of pilgrims and even though I did not get a good picture, he is at the top of this one!

This stop has been interesting to us for the fact that yet again we see a different side of India, one influenced here by the historical presence of the Portuguese who have left their mark in many ways in Goa.

Now with our fill of history and architecture we head for a rest time to the famous beaches of Goa!