Part 3: One year in Goa - Exploring and traveling around Goa

<< Read Previous: Part 2: One year in Goa - Life during COVID-19 lockdown

During our one year stay in Goa, we stayed in the same village for the first six months. We went to the market to buy groceries, played at the grounds across from our home, and went for walks to a nearby river and hills. There were lockdowns imposed across the region so the public transportation was completely halted. We could have taken a private taxi but we were not in a hurry to go see places. We were happy in nature and all the fun we were having there. 

Nora and Kathi at a sunset point near our home

We discovered after a few months into our stay that there was a small river called Kushavati that passed by close to our home. It was just a few minutes walk. We went to the river often to enjoy the clear water and sometimes swam in the river. There were also a few sunset points near our home where we went in the evenings to watch sunset. Every few days we walked to the market to buy groceries and there was a children's park with swings, slide, and coconut plants. We almost always spent some time in the park on our way back from the market, and we all enjoyed the play time there. Some times we also took long walks to a church that was on the top of a hill with amazing views of the village. We spent the first six months of our stay exploring the village and surroundings. During this time, other than some rumours, there were no official accounts of any coronavirus infections in the village. This made it easy for us to go out in the mornings and evenings and explore the village and its surroundings. Monsoon season started at the beginning of June and there was plenty of rainwater for Nora and Nina to get wet and play in the water at home.

Kathi and Nora swinging at the park on our way to the market

Nora  sitting in the rain and exploring the patterns of water lines

Nora and Nina enjoying in the water being supplied to nearby rice fields 

Nora, Kathi, and Nina exploring the skeleton of a cow on a hill near our home

Nora swinging from the vine of a tree

Nora riding on Kathi's back on our hike to a nearby hill

Nora playing with the fish in Kushavati river which was a few minutes from our home

As the lockdown restrictions slowly started easing, we took a local bus and went to the nearby city of Margao. It was the first time after almost six months that we were outside the village of Chandor. We took the opportunity to go to the nearby Colva beach. Nora and Nina had a wonderful time at the beach and the waves of the sea and sand were a lot of fun for them. Beaches were just an hour by bus from our home but we had to come back early as there were no buses from Margao city to Chandor after 6pm.  We wanted to enjoy the beaches during sunset and also stay there after sunset. So, we booked an apartment for a few days in North Goa in a town called Calangute. It was a few hours ride by bus. We spent a few days in that town exploring the beach during sunset and also during the day. We enjoyed this stay so much that after a few months we went back again to Calangute and stayed in the same apartment for four more days. Goa is famous for its beaches and rightly so they were maintained really well. We had a wonderful beach time during the year we were in Goa.  

Nora, Nina, and Kathi enjoying the views from Lower Aguada Fort near Calangute

Nora watching the sunset at Calangute beach

Nora running on Palolem beach

Nora dancing to the loud music on Calangute beach

Nora, Nina, and Sam enjoying the beach during sunset at Calangute beach

Christmas was a wonderful time in our village. As the majority of the population in our were Christian, The celebrations of Christmas went on for a long time there. One of the things that was particularly nice for us to see was the preparation of Cribs by almost everyone in the village. Every household had their own unique ways of setting up a crib for baby Jesus. They started building them from early December and left them around their homes until the first week of January. Many churches in the village also had cribs setup by people who lived nearby them. On the night before Christmas, we took a long walk after sunset and we were able to see all the amazing work and creativity locals put into creating cribs and setting them up. Another event that was interesting for us to watch was Carnival. There were many local events organized by families and separate ones by young people. There was one event where local folk musicians made visits from home to home, sang songs, collected money, and had some drinks (alcoholic). It was wonderful to watch how locals celebrated Christmas and Carnival. 

Kathi, Nora, and Nina watching the Carnival musicians 

Christmas Crib near our home

Christmas Crib at a home near market

Main church of Chandor decorated with lights for Christmas

Christmas Crib

Christmas Crib at a church in Chandor

Christmas crib made by our hosts

During our year in Goa, we spent most of our time in Chandor village and we really enjoyed it. Once in a while we took a few days or made day trips to explore nearby villages or other touristy places in Goa. During our trips to Calangute town in North Goa, we also explored the capital city of Panjim and nearby historic city of Old Goa with chapels and churches built in 16th century. On another trip, we went to a nearby town called Vasco de Gama which was an industrial town with a few beaches. We took the local train to come back from Vasco de Gama town. We had a lot of fun being on train after a long time. We explored a few small towns nearby whenever our enthusiasm to travel kicked in. 

Kathi and Nora walking in front of St. Catharine of Alexandria in Old Goa

Kathi and Nora walking towards Se Cathedral in Old Goa

Nora running in front of St. Augustine tower in Old Goa

Kathi and Nora walking towards Panjim Church in Panjim

Nora sitting next to the Mandovi river in Panjim

Historic Fontainhas area in Panjim

Historic Fontainhas area in Panjim

Nora and Kathi walking through a market in Vasco de Gama

Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa

Nora and Nina enjoying the train ride from Vasco de Gama

Nora walking towards a beach in Vasco de Gama

Goa is also famous for some unique sweets that are available only in this area. We rarely eat sweet stuff, but we enjoyed a few local sweets like Bebinca, Dodol, ..... once in a while. One sweet that we will remember forever was Bebinca. It was a layered sweet dessert loaded with sugar and butter. As we were not used to eating a lot of sugar, we could feel our heart race after eating it. But we really enjoyed eating it :)  

Bebinca

We had a lovely time in Goa for a year and the memories we made here will be close to our hearts for many years to come.