Goa on an Indian bicycle built for one..

What a day!!! What sights!! I arranged a cycling tour of Goan villages for Carey, Rachel, Colin and I. It was a very early start this morning, although we had some delays because the others had trouble getting a taxi from their hotel to the Marriott. I hired a car and driver for the day, because our cycling tour, through Cycle Goa, was down in Cavelossim which is considered South Goa. I am at Miramar Beach near Panaji (the capital city of Goa) and it's about an hour and a half drive. We got to Mobor Beach in Cavelossim at about 10 am and started off on our journey with Peter, a nice british bloke who owns Cycle Goa. We had to borrow bicycles from someone in town because this is still considered the "off season" and the only reason Peter agreed to take us is because American tourists are so rare and I made the effort to email him to arrange the tour! We kept a leisurely pace and biked through many of the villages in South Goa, prawn farms, salt paddies (who knew?), and we saw our fair share of wild pigs (and piglets!!), water buffalo, cows (of course), roosters, and a plethora of stray dogs. Granted Goa is still just as covered in trash as the next Indian state, but the monsoon has made everything so lush and green!!

We biked for about 2 hours and then took a rest at Papa Joe's for a refreshment, and opted to take the long way back which included a ferry ride across one of the rivers (that was an experience in and of itself, you'll just have to see the pictures... of course there was a creepy Indian man who probably now has 50 pictures/videos of us on his phone. A lot of people in India have my picture... I don't think I want to know what they do with them). All the Goan villages were so quaint and I couldn't even believe the sights I was seeing along my ride. It was so far the highlight of my Indian adventure. Goa was, up until 1986, ruled by the Portugese, so the evidence is still quite apparent in the architecture and presence of Catholic churches in the center of every town. And it was so nice to bike!!! SO nice!

We returned back to our driver in Cavelossim at about 4 pm, and were quite sweaty and wet because most of the time we were biking, it was of course raining. We grabbed some lunch and did some shopping at some of the quaint village shops. I got a lovely wall hanging and some knick-knacks to bring back. Eventually we made our way back to the Marriott... hung out in my room for a bit (everyone that has visited me is equally obsessed with my bed) and then had coffee (well they did) in the lobby. I then bid farewell to the other Mumbaikers and headed to the spa to confirm my appointment tomorrow, and had some dinner and hit the gym to stretch out. There's a high probability I am going to be sore tomorrow. The bike... an Indian bike... had a very uncomfortable seat, and by the end of the trip my bum was quite numb and in pain. But it was well worth it! Peter was a great guide, and like I said, the sights were unbeatable. I am working on uploading a video and pictures which will tell a much better story. The pictures of me aren't very good... but hey, I'm in India and it was raining and very very humid. I wish I could have captured more moments on camera... but I repeat, it was raining, it was humid... and I can't bike and click at the same time.

So far the Goa vacation has been just what the doctored ordered. The girls came over last night and enjoyed the jacuzzi with me and joined me for dinner (so I didn't have to sit alone, with me air of intrigue reading my book) and we had a lovely time.

For now, I am looking forward to a hot shower and crawling into a big soft bed! (See pictures and video below)

http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld/GoanAdventuresAndRelaxationMarriottStyle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCZfFyjZEU8

Enjoy!