In the south of Goa

The move to our second oasis is imminent. The farewell from Mamagoa is bearable, as we know it does not yet mean the end of the vacation together. We make a stopover in the capital city 'old Goa' or Panaji. However, we miss the actual Portuguese charm of this city. We stroll through the streets and through a park located by the water. The temperatures actually indicate a much-needed cooling-off. However, since we have locked our luggage at the bus station, this is not possible. In addition, I make a terrible mistake. We discover an absolutely snow-white church with blue decorations. But the impressive thing is the bamboo scaffolding attached to it. It seems to be leaning only on the facade. Since I have already climbed the stairs, I also want to take a look inside. In addition, I am motivated by a construction worker who sits at the top of the scaffolding without shoes and apparently takes a break. I can only manage to climb the first two steps when I am vigorously waved away by the security guard. Startled, I follow his instructions and then realize that I haven't taken off my shoes (flip-flops). This behavior is still so unnatural to me that I probably made a terrible tourist mistake. Some shops have a sign with a prohibition on shoes... unfortunately, there wasn't one at the church.

At the bus station, we are picked up by our driver from the new hotel. He doesn't seem to be driving a car very often in this area 50 kilometers away. His driving style is very cautious and reserved until he gets back into familiar territory and steps on the gas again. After endless minutes, we turn off the paved road and onto a narrow bumpy path in the bush. After a while, our driver stops abruptly and suggests that we have arrived. Anni and I look at each other with some concern. We have paid a lot of money for 7 days and now we are standing with the taxi in a discreetly littered dead end with a few scooters in the bushes and a pickup truck with a generator. However, when we enter the hotel grounds, we are stunned. On the hillside there are bungalows with thatched roofs, which have huge glass facades with balconies. The view is directed towards the sea, which is 20 meters away. It's amazing. And the best part: there are no mosquitoes here!! The food is also absolutely commendable. We confuse the hotel staff with our absence during lunch (after all, it's all inclusive). But our day trips cannot be reconciled with having lunch on site... apparently this is not so common here. Most of the guests enjoy the little visited private beach with sun loungers and pavilions.

Anni's birthday seems to be an appropriate occasion to test our luck in two ways. The way to the neighboring town of Agonda does not lead directly along the beach. In a way, there is no beach here anymore, only rocks. This is where our adventure begins. We were clever enough to wear sneakers and we do not regret it. It's actually a fun bouldering session with great grips and moves... if only there were soft mats underneath us instead of the sea with its sharp rocks. At one point, it gets very tricky and two anglers advise us to take the path above the rocks. There are so many different small paths here that constantly cross, so eventually we have no choice but to return to the sea through the jungle. Termites, rustling trees, giant spiders, and my fear of a hanging snake accelerate our pace considerably. At some point (after sore hands and a bloody knee injury), the scrambling comes to an end. Now we are at a lagoon that flows into the sea and forces us to stuff our clothes into bags and carry them on our heads with our arms stretched high. Present fishermen show us the cheapest way. It's tight, but our stuff stays dry and the spectators on the beach congratulate us on a successful crossing. ANYONE CAN DO THAT :) In the afternoon, we borrow the only surfboard on the beach and fail spectacularly. The waves here seem to be much bigger and stronger, so the front of the board likes to dig into the water when approaching, the back is lifted up, and you are thrown into the water. You whirl around wildly and can do nothing about it except take a deep breath and endure. Well, that didn't work out so well, but renting a scooter with a matching license plate did! On the following day, we take advantage of the high tide, which makes the waves less dangerous, and manage to stand on the surfboard again. On the third day with our little scooter, we completely run out of gasoline in the tank, so we end up stranded in the middle of a mountain and miles away from our destination. Fortunately, a helpful Indian immediately stops and takes me to the nearest 'gas station' on his scooter. Actually, it's a grocery store with filled 1-liter gasoline bottles. We only use half a liter and give the rest to our savior in need. In the next few minutes, more scooters and cars stop and don't want to leave us alone anymore. In the end, we finally make it to the gas station and then walk back to the hotel. We try to go to bed early because in the morning a taxi driver is waiting for us at 7:30 am. From the hotel, we get a warm breakfast to go, but we can't eat it in the car. That's because our driver accelerates and overtakes everything in his way, just to brake sharply shortly before the car-free zones and bounce over the speed bumps. Thank God there are seat belts this time. After 1.5 hours, we arrive at the national park and can buy a ticket for a jeep with 5 rather plump fellow passengers. Contrary to our assumption, you can only walk a short distance through the well-prepared jungle. But the ride is also spectacular! Multiple times, we cross a river with our vehicle and are afraid that water will enter the cabin. We arrive at the parking lot with dry feet, and on the way to the waterfall, we encounter some photogenic monkeys. You are allowed to swim in the pretty cold waterfall with a life jacket, which we gladly do. The whole thing is quite touristy, but we find it very worthwhile :) The following day is our last day together in paradise. We spend it extensively on the beach and in the water, because Anni must be well-rested when she leaves for the airport at 3:45 am.