Holiday Hazards

Greyrocks - particularly Ruth given her record- has received many warnings about taking care and anticipating hazards. Here are four of which we have experience this time in Goa.

Oversized Flip-flops

Ruth has awkward feet and only wears sandals for eleven months of the year. She is also mean when it comes to clothing purchases! Back in Fuerte she was persuaded to buy another pair in the Chinese shop and subsequently fell over twice when going up steps. Bob and friends blamed oversized sandals. Here, during Chloë's visit Ruth wore seriously oversized plastic things to the beach and as she came out of the milk shop tripped over and had to be hoisted up by strangers from the middle of the road! The damage was a small cut to a big toe, a substantial tear to the nail and general bruises and grazing. Lapsed first-aider Chloë cleaned her up and the only legacy is a wait for the nail to replace itself (thus dealing rather dramatically with a troublesome ingrown one)! The offending footwear was then bequeathed to the boys at The Nest

Tuk-tuk Elbow

This one can't do any damage now!

One evening soon after the three of us were jammed in the back of a tuk-tuk on a very hot evening proceeding down Palolem's very busy main road. Ruth had her left elbow resting out of the open window. (India drives on the left) As we passed a parked car it was clipped by the wing mirror! Ouch! More bruises!

Falling Coconuts
This is a hazard thankfully avoided! Greyrocks has written before of coconut incidents, and now is the season! Our room is surrounded by mature palms and last week there would be the occasional thud as a coconut fell spontaneously. Our landlord was quick to act and so we spent several morning hours watching as a very mature and skilled man shinned up each tree to lob off branches and release the fruit to the (slightly) cordoned off area below. This resulted in a lot  ("lovely bunch") of coconuts, and each occupied room receiving one duly punctured and with a plastic(!) straw!



Frisky Waves

We have been in the sea everyday bar two, and the wave conditions have been variable:- from "millpond" to "bloody big waves"! In previous years Ruth had been rather cautious - not wanting to fall on new knees, but is now fairly cavalier and can deal with the big waves either before or after  they break. On the one occasion, however, she was knocked forward by a monster wave and couldn't get up. She tried to signal to Bob at the sunbed, but to no avail, and so wallowed in the shallows until he noticed, and then he couldn't get her up alone. A nice woman came to the second side (the replaced shoulder!) and all was well!

Not so lucky was a 27 year old Indian man who perished last week after a heart attack whilst swimming. We saw the incident from a distance discerning that the body, which was spotted by Swedes, was brought ashore by the lifeguard in a jet-ski.

Lifeguard vigilance has since increased!

Half a nation rejoices!

We are in India (sort of!) and so have seen many out-of-state groups on the beach having a whale of a time, and keeping the lifeguards alert! Goans are less inclined to celebrate as a distinctive minority!
The Press is also keen to point out that this 71st Republic Day comes at a time of huge divisions and social, environmental and economic uncertainty!
For the largest democracy in the world has elected a government through populist appeal to "fear of the other!, and little else that is thought through! It is led by a demagogue, and has caused both thinking liberals and those under threat to take to the streets in despair! The country's international reputation plummets. Ring any bells??

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Professional shot on 26th December

As ever Greyrocks has spent the majority of sunsets on the beach with a "sundowner" and a circle of friends. Initially - and-annoyingly for most of those observed by Chloë - the sun's final setting was always obscured by the band of pollution on the horizon. Some great colours, but not a "touchdown"

Captured by Maggie on 17th January

There then followed some "funny weather" including a remarkable night time low of 15 degrees! Last week there was a spate of strong afternoon winds, and on Friday - at last - a "touchdown".

The Full Moon on 11th January had also been a sight or sore eyes!

Intermission:- Breaking News!

And on the subject of "scum tourists":

Who's going, who's gone and who "ain't goin'" to Goa?

For those unfamiliar here is a reprise of Greyrocks' theme tune for these jaunts!

Greyrocks is over halfway through its time in Palolem, and a month away from heading back to Europe. The short answer - and topic for much debate - is "a lot fewer European tourists this year - and particularly fewer Brits!" (Well, every cloud ...!)

Just the job:- Ibericus - but over-ordered again!

Greyrocks is here, though - for the eighth time - and for the first time across the "festive season". We came over in a manner that largely replicated the January 2019 model:- except that we had an extra night at the Barcelona hotel/ This we had thought would be an opportunity to take their shuttle to the Ramblas and have a short and possibly wet day in the city. We were, both, however, suffering with "the cough and cold", so had a pretty lazy day in the environs of the hotel, including a fruitless hunt for a pharmacy to get discounted medication for Bob. (This was in fact solved at the airport at 6.15 am next morning!) We also discovered that there is now a "food court" in the same mall, with an interesting set of options. This makes our favoured overnight hotel an even better choice!

We flew with Qatar to Doha at about 0830. The Economy cabin was more full than last time, but we still had spare seats around us. The disappointment was some very lumpy conditions soon after take-off meaning no bar service and a late breakfast, as a result of which we arrived (well on time) less "merry" than expected. We had both found media to our taste - notably "Blinded by the Light". In Doha we knew the ropes, and were in fact shepherded through the first class security procedures and into the cavernous departure area. Some of the three hours or so of lay-over was spent in the only "general access" outlet with alcohol, where we treated ourselves to bottle of  French wine! The onward flight direct to Dabolim airport was full, and the Swedes behind us created a sizeable stink about the lack of a non-veg main meal! We hunkered down to more movies, with Ruth following up a tip from Bob of "The Aftermath". It finished ten minutes before landing! No real hassles at Immigration -although Ruth was let off lightly on the fingerprint front (nearly at the threshold of 70 years!). The nice official was impressed with our new five-year visas! The taxi ride was very fast, and the door to our room had been left open! An easy journey overall!

So here we are for fifty nights - with the first few being  a deux pending the arrival of Chloë. In that time we obviously met up with old friends and locals, but also had a long chat with a Tibetan monk in mufti,  walked around enough to discover the film offer would be limited this season, and saw the preparations for Christmas. Amongst the visitors to Goa, therefore, were the Holy Family and their exotic animal friends! Our Goan Catholic landlord arranged them in a sort of "Belen" at the base of the "tree" with lights and other decorations!



Chloë was here! She experienced Goa (and indeed - Asia) for the first time across twelve nights, staying in the room next to ours! Following the demise of Thomas Cook we got her seats on Oman Air via Muscat.  We arranged to take a taxi up to the airport to meet and - mindful of delays and queues - followed advice and didn't set off until shortly before her landing time. With still 15 minutes to go to the airport we started to receive texts asking where we were and telling us she was waiting outside the terminal and being harassed about a taxi! It seems that owning a pen took her to the front of the visa queue! Those on Facebook can see (we imagine) her rich account and some fine photos we still await! 

Say Hello to the Queen

She did manage a cookery class, several yoga sessions, and some shopping for spices, clothes, booze and toiletries  - although Ruth, who loathes bargaining, found herself in the doghouse for speaking unhelpfully during these expeditions! What Chloë missed was seeing wildlife, such as monkeys and dolphins (bathroom frogs and spider excepted) boat rides, kayak hire and going to neighbouring Agonda! And there was the food! Momos, Indian breakfast eggs and tropical fruit figured a lot on her agenda, and our festive meal at Dropadi was pure heaven for all three of us (tiger prawns masala and lobster in butter and garlic. On her last day she found room for the dessert she had been craving: Hello to the Queen! Greyrocks passed on that one!
She shared - sometimes reluctantly - our non-culinary evening activities of live bands, cinema and quizzes, but these are in a dedicated later post! to top it all on the way home - suffering inevitable from "the cold and cough" - she got a free upgrade rot the Muscat-Heathrow flight

Leo Varadkar was here! The  taoiseach came on a private visit.

But quantity and quality of the tourists in this key period is a concern! At peak hours and in places easily accessed on foot the beach has been heaving with Indian visitors, but European numbers have been well down, "They are going to Thailand and Sri Lanka" is the usual explanation. And the local press returns again and again to this "North-South divide" on "quality"! This is an example from the Goa Times last week:

“I haven’t been to Calangute beach in the last 10 years,” says noted musician Lester Godinho who lives in the vicinity. “The kind of tourist—Indian and foreign—coming to Goa of late is nothing short of scum,” stresses the 61-year-old.

‘Cheap’ tourists, who barely patronise establishments and are rude and unruly, often leave the state with litter, almost zero contribution to the economy, and a seething local population.

“You sell yourself as cheap, you will attract cheap tourists,” says a prominent Baga-based restaurateur wishing not to be named. He’s alluding to Goa’s infamy of being a destination for cheap alcohol, drugs and women.

“Quality tourists require quality resorts, quality transport, quality beaches, quality excursions,” says Martin Joseph of the Indian Association of Tour Operators. “We already have that model in place in South Goa. We should be promoting the South to niche markets.”

Some of us "down here in the Deep South" might dispute that behaviour is universally civilised here, but as a friend quoted "You are not a tree - you can move!" Greyrocks has been doing a a fair amount of "shack- shifting" - particularly since high season ended!

2019 - A Year to remember and weep!

Festive tree in "our" garden

But first: Greetings to readers resident in Spain on Kings' Day! Greyrocks hopes you did not find coal in your shoe this morning or that if you did that it was worth it! It is odd not to be witnessing this ourselves, for here in Goa the date has a different significance:- accommodation prices go down from the peak season level of the last two weeks! We will see an influx of tourist that started in the early hours. (Much more in a later post about tourism statistics!)

 Chloë left a couple of days ago and we have resumed a lifestyle more in tune with our advanced age!  Fortunately both colds are almost over - but more on that later!

2019 was  - for Greyrocks in particular - a "Bad Year"! The early months in Goa were a delight, the bit back in Fuerteventura passed quickly, the time in Montpellier - including the visit by Chloë and Jack had us thinking about relocating, the time in UK had some good times with family and friends, but the dark cloud of Brexit was ever-present - and indeed some foul weather, and then we escaped to France! Oh dear!

Ruth's birthday "chute" changed almost everything and its consequences in terms of disability are still with us - as indeed are communications about hospital bills! For those who missed it, this link has the gory details! It halved our time in Paleo, but by the time we left there Ruth was at least walking well and UK was still in the EU! Nor had we encountered much evident Brexit support amongst the tourists! There was still a glimmer of hope! We end the year thinking that we will never see anything but an insular, selfish, greedy, arrogant and largely impoverished Britain, and a self-destructive World!

So wit, humour and vision are vital and Greyrocks mourns the passing  during 2019 of four anti-establishment geniuses in those fields:

RIP: Neil Innes, Jeremy Hardy, Jonathan Miller and Clive James.

Cheer yourself up (assuming this is all as depressing for you as for Greyrocks) with his gem of a conversation with the last two, our favourite "Bonzo" song and something from Ginger Baker who is another of our heroes now departed.

And a Happy New Decade!!!