Woke at 8:20 after a surprisingly excellent nights sleep. Cathy and Tamil slept on and Walter and i talked for hours. Walter, never met a Walter before and he just tickled me! Walter moved to Goa in the late sixties and happily lost himself to hippydom! He smoked and chilled his way through the 70'S and raved through the 80's and 90's. Apparently 94 was a very good year because the Police accepted all bribes and let it all happen on Bamboo Cove, Coconut Beach and many other exotically named illegal venues. They sounded absolutely mad and Walter lit up like the gold of Diwali as he reministed these years. Walter is a Canadian, c. 55, tall, slim with oriental features and dreadlocks and is married to Tamali...who looks 22 is Bangalese and a Braham and spoiled rotten.
Walter had a 60's view of Ireland and a keen interest in the Inuits of Canada-a culture myself and Cathy are very interested in. It was just great talking to Walter - he had such a giddy streak and five hours passed like five minutes. When Cathy and Tamali (i will probably spell someone's name several ways - forgive me!) rose we all shared our food and the couple at the end joined in. The lady gave me something i was sorry i said yes to but you got to be adventureous her because there's so much to discover! It was great our tastebuds and our hearts travelled new landscapes together!
Tamali is a singer and dancer of traditional Indian folk and very passionate about keeping it pure and keeping it alive - she was electric.
Walter thought we were mad to be going to Panaji and painted a canvas with the brilliant colours of Vagator so we stepped off the train at Tivim said goodbye and head for the coast!
The autorickshaw took us through many villages, full of life and very full of Catholic churches...different from the temples of Hinduism or the Mosques of Islam yet somehow very similar in their stature and the devotion of each patron.
On the recommendation of Walter we booked into the Alcove. This was a little less expensive than Kemps Corner in Mumbai but my god it had the most spectacular view from the bedroom overlooking the Coconut trees which framed the Arabian Ocean spread out before us! The rooms were spacious and spotless and we didn't have to do too much checking for insects or flying objects - happy days! Thank you Walter!
Our evening meal had our tastebuds jumping for joy and we watched the sun set on the horizon - heaven!
Namaste xxCathy&Dee
