Goa, India

 Goa is the smallest state in India. It was a Portuguese colony from 1570 until 1961. It was a trade hub for the Eastern spice trade. In 1961, a now independent India invaded and was met with little resistance. Goa was annexed to India after a 36 hour battle. It finally became a state of India in 1987.

It is a very green area, and gets lots of rain. It is quite poor and rundown, and sadly there is a lot of trash and litter everywhere. There is a large river separating areas of Goa, and we drove for about an hour to reach the capital of Panjim. 

Riverside walkway at Panjim

There we saw some remnants of  the Portuguese occupation.  We were able to visit the Catholic Basilica of Bom Jesus completed in 1605, and a world heritage monument. Across from it is  the Cathedral of Saint Catherine built by the Jesuits, and consecrated in 1640.

Basilica of the Bom Jesus

Cathedral of Saint Catherine
Front entrance to the Cathedral.

Statue of Jesus in front of the cathedral.

We also visited a family home built in the Portuguese style that has been continuously inhabited by the same  family since the Portuguese occupation. They are Christian, and their antique filled home was beautifully decorated for Christmas!
Portuguese colonial style exterior.


Living room

Chickens, ducks and a proud turkey ruling the roost in the backyard of the Portuguese house.


Your local neighborhood cow wandering in the road just outside the Portuguese house.


Our last stop was a small smelly fish market, and a large, colorful fruit and vegetable market.

Street outside the market.
The fruits and vegetables at the market were all very fresh looking, and nicely displayed.


This was the flower section. They are stringing white , red and yellow flowers for temple offerings and celebrations.

The man on the right is stringing flowers.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Image
 Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam. Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French Colony of Cochin china and later the Independent Republic of South Vietnam from 1955-1975. On July 2, 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding province and was officially named Ho  Chi Minh City.   In the years since the Vietnam War, the city has prospered. We have been very impressed with the cleanliness of the city, and all the modern amenities. There are now 100 million people in Vietnam, and ten million living in Ho Chi Minh City. The lovely view of downtown  Ho Chi Min City from the fifth floor outdoor dining deck area of our cruise ship. There are several passengers on the boat who were here serving in the military during the Vietnam War (known locally as the American War). There are many sights and museums dedicated to that period of  history. We have been told by other passengers that sadly, many of these  museums highlight the atrocities t...
Read more

Koh Ma Island, Thailand

Image
 We returned to drop anchor in the waters just outside Ko Samui Island again, but went by speedboat to a nearby island, Koh Ma Island to snorkel. There was some colorful coral and about a dozen species of colorful tropical fish. It was not good as snorkeling in the Maldives, bur was still a very fun day.  Ko Mah Island is pretty but quite hilly, with a lot of steep rugged rocks going down to the shoreline. We parked our boat on the beach and had a nice Thai curry lunch in a casual restaurant on  the beach. There were several small resorts on the sandy bay where we had lunch. Looks like a nice place to relax and look out over the bay. We are now headed to Cambodia.
Read more

Richard's Bay and Hluhluwe Game Reserve, South Arica

Image
 We arrived at the pretty harbor port of Richard's Bay, then immediately took an hour and a half bus ride to the Hluhluwe Game Reserve for our game drive. Richard's Bay is primarily an industrial shipping  port since it has a very deep harbor. Pulp and paper processing and metal smelting is done here, but there are not sightseeing city tours. The modern port just opened in the 1970's. Approaching Richard's Bay harbor. Our drive to the  reserve was pleasant, and the homes by the highway were much nicer in the countryside than those that we have seen in other African countries.  Most had sturdy modern construction and glass windows, with neat yards surrounding them.  The game reserve is very mountainous, and because it is the wet summer season, the vegetation was very pretty and green. We were lucky to see a good variety of animals up close, including the rare white rhino which is not actually white.  A herd of Cape Buffalo. These are very dangerous when the ...
Read more