Feb 13, 2005 - Day 222 in Old Goa, India

Julie writes: Stanley and Marion had booked a local tour through the government travel agency for today to go to Old Goa , a waterfall accessible only by 4-wheel drive and a remote Hindu temple from the 13th Century. While Charles was sick yesterday they even went into the office in Panjim, the capitol of Goa to confirm that the Sunday tour would go as scheduled. So we all left Candolim by local bus to make the journey to Panjim again today for the tour. At the same government travel agency, they said no, no tour today. We arranged with their help (guilt trip, I hope) to hire a driver to take us to Old Goa and the temple. Thank goodness for Marion and her inventiveness and ability to speak the local dialect, and for Stanley and his resourcefulness and ability to prioritize, organize and verbalize options when the going gets tough. At the end of the day, we all agreed that our personalized tour was probably more interesting and enjoyable than the agency tour would have been. Lunch at a roadside café in the middle of nowhere, with minimal amenities (cold water handwash, footprints toilet out back) was delightful thali platters of several vegetable dishes, yogurt, bread and papadum and cold bottled water and cokes. The lunch cost us 70 rupees ($1.60) for all four of us! Charles and I are eating almost everything except the local water, raw vegetables or unpeeled fruits. I don’t know what got to Charles the other day, but I have had no problems so far, happily. Knock on wood. I’ve actually enjoyed having a little down time here and one of the most memorable experiences is my acquaintance with a tailor, Anil, and his wife, son and grandson. Marion arranged for me to meet him when I talked about Charles’s travel pants with 4 hidden secret pockets. Anil works a 12 hour day sewing at a business, but also does work on the side out of his home, one-room with a kitchen alcove with power, but no running water. There is a well next door. Anil stitched up the basic slacks AND a red silk Indian dress with pants for me overnight. I went for a fitting tonight, changing clothes in the kitchen alcove while Anil and others kept their back turned. I was worried about soiling the clothes because sweat was pouring off me. He’s done a wonderful job of creating exactly what I described, but the best part of the experience has been getting to know them a little and seeing a glimpse of daily life in a home here. Krishna, the 2 year old grandchild, was sick with a fever on the family bed, a spread on the tile floor, but he wasn’t disturbed by the activity around him. Alesh, the teenage son was my interpreter when Marion wasn’t with me because Anil and his wife, Neeru don’t know English. He was a charming, inquisitive boy, obviously smart, and I know he’s a big help to his parents. Neeru also makes bags to supplement their income, so guess what everyone is getting as a souvenir from me? Very simple bags from a simple woman doing what she can to help her family. I couldn’t resist. The last photo is of the tailor and his family. The other photos are of the old temple, Stanley, Marion, Charles at the old temple, temples in the Goa are and the christian churches of Old Goa.