My dad blogs from his Balcao in Goa…

View from my Balcao … GOA IN THE RAINS.

"Gimme shelter" is the cover of one of the Rolling Stones popular albums.
And as the cloud cover in the sky bursts forth in a torrent of whiplash South West monsoons in the tiny state of Goa, nature’s power to upstage man’s arrogance is manifested in the sheets of rain that come down unforgivingly on your red-tiled-roof, beginning June and going on unabated till mid-September. you will ask for just that – shelter from the storm !.

Goa-in-the-rains is downtime for tourism and a celebration of calm & tranquility, a throw-back to the good times when tourism was not on fast-forward, but that was long ago & far away in time.

May-days are eagerly count-downed. Thankfully, last year, Mr Monsoon came a-calling on the dot on June 1st, putting an end to the agonising wait of sweltering heat that gets menancing by the day with a precious let-up in the evenings as the cool sea-breezes allow some respite.

As you meander along the relatively emptier highways, streets & bye-roads you can rediscover the serenity of the Goan countryside with its graceful cloak of green saplings, green-washed foliage and rain-washed countryscapes. White-washed Churches appear whiter, red-tiled-roofs seem just that redder, even the black asphalt of the road shines bright. Fishing is on enforced downtime (seafood is hard-to-get) as the storm-clouds gather on-the-run as if waiting to empty themselves into the churning grey expanse of ocean afar. Watch, ( from afar – the cosy confines of a stray-shack thats still doing the rounds ) in awe the breakers crashing to the shores, as nature, intruding its erstwhile frolicsome avtaar, comes down heavily, literally & figuratively, on man-made support-systems that suddenly seem so frail and vulnerable, against its mighty onslaught.Take a sunset strolle down the Panjim Causeway, with it array of raintrees along the boulevard – pretty sight.

Goa becomes its old self – quieter, less infested with loud tourists, table-space is easily available at the local shack or downtown restaurant, no road-rage and lots of spac to manouver your two-wheeler as you merrily ride the storm in your 2-piece rain-gear, or just stay indoors, pour a fiery feni ( fried breadfruit or ganbi-roasted shrimps) and watch the rain descend for hours at a stretch. Enjpy Goa in the rains !

“It was our 10th anniversary and we wanted to do something special. We always wanted to visit India since we had heard so much about it. So we decided to fly to India and spend our anniversary there. While surfing the net we came across Mitaroy Suites. “A boutique Hotel for Couples”, it said on the website. A few emails later, we had reserved our own Romantic Suite.

From what we had heard from my friends who had been there, Goa was all about beaches, rave parties and cheap backpacker rooms. However, we were going to do things differently. We were going to stay in an old Portuguese bungalow in Fontainhas, the Heritage Zone of Fontainhas.We were going to explore a little known part of Goa and discover the remains of 400 years of Portuguese Heritage!

We flew directly to Goa’s Dabolim International Airport on Qatar Airways with a short stop over in Doha. We had been warned to avoid the private taxis and so we took one from the pre-paid taxi line and soon we were on our way. The sun was high in the sky and the sea glistened in the sunlight as we drove past. Half an hour later, we passed by the People’s High School (the landmark behind which the Mitaroy Suites was located) and then we had arrived.  

We were expecting a “regular” heritage hotel but we were pleasantly surprised by what we saw instead. Mitaroy Suites is an old house that merges in with the rest of the houses in the district of Fontainhas. It thus felt very authentic, while at the same time in a perfect condition. Joaquim (or Jack as he prefers to be called), the caretaker, welcomed us with a traditional welcome drink that was cold and delicious. Mihir, the owner, had reserved the Blue Suite for us, which was on the first floor. The suite in which we were staying, on the first floor, is incredibly spatious, with a large living room, a bedroom, a fairly spacious bathroom, and a small balcony. It was decorated with style, nice colonial-style furniture, and felt very soothing and welcoming.

As the sun set slowly, the bustling sounds of the neighbourhood drifted through the air. Jack told us that Fontainhas was home to the last surviving Portuguese families of Goa. After a quick shower, we headed “Down the Road”, a small bar and restaurant that was actually down the road from our hotel. Sorpotel and Goan bread, washed down by a few chilled Kingfisher beers.

When we arrived back to the house, it felt completely different in the night time. Two small lanterns were flickering in the darkness, inviting us to sit outside a little longer. So we took our bottle of hand-pressed Goan red wine (the entired mini bar is complimentary) and sat outside on the “sopor” or traditional Goan red stone bench listening to the crickets chirp in the night time.

The next day we woke up fully refreshed. After a large breakfast of hot Goan bread rolls, boiled eggs, mildly spiced potato vegetable and beef rolls, we set out to discover the neighbourhood. The sun was already high in the sky. Fontainhas is truly a magical place. We saw a few boys playing cricket in the square, a dog sleeping in the sun, an old lady peering out from her window and women with their black umbrellas walking briskly to market. The local St. Sebastian church was painted in white and drew us towards it. Inside, the church was small and cool. Tucked away in a corner was the only crucifix of Jesus with his eyes wide open. It had been used during the Portuguese Inquisition and it must have been a truly frightening sight for the poor Goan peasants.

We passed through many quaint bye lanes and past many interesting houses. Some old, decrepit but with character, a few modern ghastly ones – all of them had people sitting out on their balcaos watching the world go by. Most of them waved out to us and some called out a hallo. Walking through Fontainhas, we had a sense of old world hospitality and charm.

For lunch Jack recommended us to go to Linda’s. Known officially as Viva Panjim, most of the locals refer to it simply as Linda’s. A small local restaurant, it is famous for its prawn curry rice. So we sat outside on the verandah in the sun and order prawn curry rice and two cashew fenis (a fiery local Goan brew). After a while Linda came out to chat with us. Linda, friendly and typically Goan, told us stories about life in Fontainhas and about the latest fishermen’s catch. Our prawn curry rice arrived and we began to dig in. The gravy was perfect, orange and mildly spiced, and the prawns were tender and succulent.

Fully satiated, we went back to the house for our afternoon siesta and another evening of sunsets, chirping crickets and hand pressed Goan wine. For the remainder of our holiday, we did a bit of sightseeing and went once to the nearby beach to put our toes in the water and walk, hand-in-hand, across the sand as the sun slowly set. However, we spent most of our time discovering the little nooks and crannies of Fontainhas during the day and whispering sweet nothings to each other during the night.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover a Goa that was beyond the beaches and shacks. The fond memories of Fontainhas and Mitaroy Suites promise to remain with us for a long time, until we return again…”

Antonia and Pedro, Spain