India.Goa

   Palolem Beach is considered the most picturesque beach in the state of Goa. Along the entire stretch of the beach, a palm grove extends, which is the highlight of this place. Building from stone and brick is not allowed here, so all the houses (bungalows) and restaurants are made of particle board and wood. During our stay, the beach was quiet and peaceful, but with the arrival of December, more tourists began to appear, and the sound of music in the restaurants gradually increased...

  First of all, I want to show panoramas of this very beautiful beach, which made us want to stay here for as long as possible...

 Our cabin was located in the epicenter of all this beauty, in a place called Rosi Paradise (the first entrance on the right in the photo)...

 Two Indian families took care of the property, keeping it very clean. The cabin had a large bed with a mosquito net and a shower with a toilet behind the wall. On the balcony, we had two chairs and a table. It was very convenient to sit on the balcony during the hot daytime, in the shade of coconut palms, and play cards, occasionally running out to swim in the sea. In the evening, we would share our impressions while munching on Indian cookies. We also loved falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the waves. These sounds reminded us of what a wonderful place we spent our day in before going to sleep, and after waking up, they gave us a positive outlook for the day ahead. The cabin was about 50 meters from the waters of the Indian Ocean, and the sound of the waves was so powerful that it seemed like our cabin might be washed into the ocean at any moment...   

  Spending our days leisurely, we kept discovering new angles of the places we had come to love...

   Our tripod was always our best helper in taking photos together...  

   The sea creatures added even more life to the beach...

   And these are the tracks left by a crab...  

  One of the days coincided with Diana's birthday. To mark such an important occasion, she decided to decorate her hand with Indian henna art, which she got at a nearby shop...

  In the evening, we had a candlelight dinner on the shore of the Indian Ocean. The local chef prepared lobster and a delicious dessert called "Hello to the Queen"... 

 Almost every day, we had breakfast at the same restaurant, ordering the same Indian breakfast, which included (by choice) - tea (masala or herbal), onion pakora (onion fritters) or curry, and two chapatis or rotis...

   Our lunch consisted exclusively of fruits that we bought at the market...

  After sunset, all the tables from the restaurants were moved to the sand, and candles were lit on the tables. Every evening, with the sound of the waves and listening to the voice of the Indian Ocean, we enjoyed tasting new dishes, with various seafood as the main ingredient...

One of the most impressive dishes was the Seafood Sizzler (flaming seafood). The waiter poured a flammable mixture over a plate of prawns, squid, and kingfish, lit it, and brought the flaming dish to us. This was one of the most delicious dinners we had ordered...

We were also delighted with the king prawns in garlic sauce with various sides...

  We even ordered shark. We had to choose between these two and settled on the larger one...  

   The waiter took our order to the kitchen, and forty minutes later, we received a baked shark surrounded by various salads and french fries. The taste of the meat was simply amazing, with the characteristic flavor typical of seafood, it felt like eating a truly marine fish...  

For dessert, we loved the pancakes with banana, papaya, and pineapple in chocolate...

  All the dishes we tried were very tasty and beautifully presented. Every evening, our dinner was a feast for the stomach... For drinks, we mainly had lemon tea or masala tea, but we also ordered cocktails a few times. How could we be in Goa and not try cocktails? We ordered Mojito, Pina Colada, Margarita, and Palolem Cocktail, of which the first two were our favorites...

  After dinner, we walked along the entire beach every evening, which was lit up by the lights from the restaurants and the rising moon. These moments are deeply etched in our memory...

  One day, I discovered a great attraction - kayaking. For several days after that, I could be seen on this floating device conquering the waves...

  We also rented a two-seater kayak to paddle to Butterfly Beach, which is hard to reach for an ordinary tourist... :) It took us about forty minutes to get there, and we found ourselves on a completely deserted beach...              

I would also like to thank the Arabian Sea for the waves that delighted us so much...

We found entertainment at every step. For example, while walking between the palms, Diana wanted me to pick a coconut for her... Of course, I was excited about the idea of climbing a palm tree for coconuts, which I eventually did. The result of my "heroic" act was three coconuts and scratched legs that reminded me of themselves every time I entered the salty water. But it was worth it. I broke the coconut on a sharp stone, which added even more authenticity...

    We also used a simpler and less painful method by buying coconuts at the market...  

 We can't forget to mention the sunsets and sunrises we witnessed all this time. Those who have seen the movie "Knocking on Heaven's Door" will probably understand what we mean by the concept of a sunset over the sea...

 Sunrise was no less spectacular...

   Our stay in Goa was a logical conclusion to our journey. We complemented the sense of peace we had gained with new shades of relaxation, which gave us inner strength and charged us for new achievements...