We arrived back from the Karnataka trip mid afternoon feeling exhausted. I should point out that the Tigers were in a sanctuary, not in the wild. I dont think we would have seen even one if they had been wild, but this trip was as good as. We booked it with our Thomas Cook rep it was about £82 each.

We still had time to squeeze a couple of hours sunbathing and decided to go to the beach rather than stay around the hotel pool as all the blocks around the pool create early afternoon shade. We were mindful of the fact that half way through our holiday we had very little tan and a lot of hard work sunbathing ahead of us!

Took our hand luggage back to our room and discovered a new pet. An upside down cockroach in the middle of the room. Yuk!! We didnt keep him for long!

It was noticable that Candolim was several degrees warmer than Karnataka had been and the mist had seemed to disappear as we now had blue skies at last.

We had a lovely dinner in inferno that night, steak and a sizzler but both with the smallest jacket potatoes we had ever seen. This had to go down as one of our favourite meals.
It was great to see the guys in Bending Bamboos again that night. Isnt it strange how even when we are desparate to get away from it all we tend to get ourselves into a new routine as soon as possible.

The following morning we were bright and early to the beach and it was great to be welcomed by Dennis from Bay View with two bottles of cold water. He asked how our trip had been and after a little chat we asked him for two fresh watermelon juices. He told us that they were already prepared for us and cooling in the fridge. this is one of the reasons I loved the Bay View, the guys there made everyone feel special!

Having been away for a few days, I was now quite receptive to the beach vendors and interested in what they had to sell.I saw a bedspread go by that I quite liked the look of but once again, remembered that I was on a mission to reduce the weight of my suitcase. One lady was quite persistant and I told her all I needed was a bandana.-easier to sunbathe in than a hat and helps stop my hair from frying.My one had got a bit dirty. The next day she appeared with an "England" bandana.I would rather have had an Indian one but never mind.I think she asked for 150 and I gave her 70 which is a lot for a small piece of cloth but I have to say I felt sorry for the ladies trudging up and down the beach all day long carrying all their bags and I didnt mind paying 70 at all. A few days later she brought me another one which I gave her 50 for. By now she had left her heavy bags and was only carrying one small one. She told me that she was getting bad pains in her shoulder. As someone who now has arthritis in my shoulder which I believe was caused by so many years carrying a heavy school bag backwards and forwards to school I really sympathised.
Walking back to the hotel that evening I decided to have a look in Danish Arts along the beach road. Up until now I had not seen much that had really caught my eye but but it was a different matter in here, I was like a kid in a candy store. I bought 3 silver rings with different stones all for about £70.We went in there several times during the rest of the holiday and my friend bought a lovely bracelet for £55 and i bought a pair of silver and coral earrings for £7.I could have bought a lot more in there and was disappointed that we would be leaving before the new delivery of stock arrived the following week. You can get an idea as to the type of things for sale on their website at Punjazzo.

Final part to follow later in the week.

Jackie

Sounds like you had a great time. Looking forward to the final instalment

The final installment of my trip report, not sure whether this is for me to tie up the loose ends or to avoid the ironing but either way..thanks for reading.
We were down to the last 3 days of our holiday and the dreaded question arises: which favourite restaurants we will re-visit before we leave.Does everyone do this? I say its the dreaded question because its the first verbal acknowledgement that our holiday is rapidly approching its end.
Unlike many holidays there were still so many places we had not even tried and apart from the trips we had not even ventured out of candolim.We were going to Inigo's and would eat there and so decided on the Fishermans Cove and Inferno for the last 2 nights in Candolim.
The Fishermans Cove happened first and we had already decided we were going to "splash out" on the lobster.It was not priced on the menu but we had seen it at many places for 800/900 R and so assumed it would be the same here. We both chose the garlic version and I have to say it was delicious.When we got the bill, we noticed that we were charged 1200R for each lobster, a bargain compared to prices at home but more expensive than we had seen anywhere else.Note to anyone reading: I think if we had asked the price before ordering it would have been cheaper.
The next night we went to Inigo's market. Our rep had told us it would cost about 300 for a cab each way. Actually, it was really refreshing when we walked out of our hotel to say "How much to Inigo's?" instead of "No Thanks", when asked if we wanted a taxi.The reply was 400 return provided we were out by midnight. If we were going to be later then it would be better to get a separate taxi back. We didnt expect to be there longer than 2 hours and so this was fine.
My initial reaction to Inigo's was: it seemed familiar. But I had never been to Goa before and I just can't think where it reminds me of. Hidden amongst the usual cheap tat there were some quite nice things (I saw some sandals and a necklace that I liked) but I have to say I was put off by the persistance of the vendors and was guilty at times of making a beeline through the alleyways instead of browsing. We had a souvlaki each which was very tasty (Greek food in Goa?) but it had a drop too much olive oil which I dripped down my top and made me feel uncomfortable. There were no spare serviettes, and we couldnt get a desparately needed beer due to the beer vendors having run out of glasses.
We hadnt bought anything apart from the food and so I decided to get a couple of those heavily embroidered cushion covers which i thought would look nice on my garden bench in the summer evenings.I just stopped at one stall and asked how much they were. 100R each.I got 2 bright blue ones for 150 but now I wish I had looked around a bit more as I would have liked some white ones with the embroidery and sequins on aswell.
Since returning home, I have seen some suspiciously similar looking cushions in Cargo (with pads) for £29 each.
After about an hour and a quarter we wandered back to find our cab, not as difficult we thought it would be. Once in the cab, it must have taken about half an hour to get out of Inigos though, we were on a steep slope and there were cars and cabs cutting in from both directions. I found this quite stressful even though I wasnt doing the driving! By the time we got back to the hotel I was in desparate need of a drink!
The next evening was our final meal in Goa and there was no dispute that this would be Infernos's. We knew the meal would be filling and decided to share a portion of Bombay potatoes as our starter.I'm putting this in the trip report as this stands out as my absolute favourite dish I ate in Goa and it only cost pennies!
After the meal we went off to Bending Bamboo's for the last time. We had packed earlier and were in two minds whether to stay up until the coach picked us up for the airport or to try and get a couple of hours sleep. We opted to try to get some sleep and so eventually had to say our sad goodbyes to our friends at the bar. As it happens I was still wide awake when the alarm went off.After getting ready we took it in turns to take our bags down to reception. On my way there, I met a lady who was just coming in from her night out. She was telling me she wished it was her that was leaving. I would have gladly swapped places with her at that moment!
Going back to our room for the suitcase I met one of the security men who had been stationed around the hotel and greeted us every day with a cheery salute.He asked if we were leaving and then asked me for some money as he has a family and is very poor. I can't explain why but I was so disappointed by this. We always tipped in restaurants, bars and shacks, our tour guides and I suppose the security men get left out and feel the need to ask but I didnt like to be asked.
The trip back to the airport invlolved several pick-ups after ours. Unfortunaley, a number of people must have decided to take a taxi but they had not told the rep and so we had to sit and wait outside their hotel for 20 mins just incase they had overslept.
Finally arriving at Dabolim, despite the delay we were still one of the earlier coaches and so the queues were not too bad.I knew we were not allowed to take rupees home but assumed wrongly that we could spend them at the airport. We did not have many rupees left but I think i must have got a rate of about 200 to the £ when exchanging them back!
Miraculously, my suitcase weighed exactly 20 kilos and my firends was just a tad over but no fines to be paid. There are 2 small duty free shops but nothing there to tempt me so early in the morning.
Its now six weeks since I got back from Goa and the suntan has almost gone but the feelings I have about this wonderful place and people, I am sure will stay forever.
Jackie

Lovely report Jackie, Goa has a habit of getting under your skin I am glad you enjoyed it so much, love shirleyv x

That was great Jackie. thanks for sharing all your experiences with us

A great first time report, Goa next year it is then

great report that
Quick question on the following as I'm still waiting to go to Goa in November

I knew we were not allowed to take rupees home but assumed wrongly that we could spend them at the airport. We did not have many rupees left but I think i must have got a rate of about 200 to the £ when exchanging them back!

How come you can't spend your money in the airport?

You can buy snacks and drinks from the shop loungeside with rupees but not from the duty free shop .