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Friday, January 31st – Panaji to Velsao Beach, 17,155 km
It is a sunny morning with some broken cloud and a gusty wind coming in from the north-west. After another wonderful breakfast and Venite Hotel, we leave Panaji, heading west past the centre of town and turning south around the headland where we pass Miramar Beach. It's good to see it even if we won't be stopping. It is a long, wide beach with palm trees near the road in parts and some grassy parks in other places. Mostly its long, empty and inviting. When we do see people they are usually White Western hippy-types.
The road makes a sharp left at the end of the beach, heading east half a kilometre inland from the south shore of the headland. It leads us through the University of Goa grounds and then south-east to a ferry crossing over another branch of the Mandovi River. It is a small, old ferry used by pedestrians, scooters and bicycles mainly. The river is about a kilometre wide at this point. A solid line is palm covered banks awaits us on the far side.
We disembark on the far side and make our way back to a highway that crosses the river on a high bridge. We don't want to stay on the highway as it has no shoulder and steady truck traffic, so half a kilometre later we find a small side road that winds through a partially wooded valley and rural farmlands. It must be laundry day in one village we pass by as we see clothing spread over the grassy fields. With the wind bending the palms it looks as though the laundry is the carnage in the aftermath of a storm.
The side road climbs joins a larger road heading west that is following the top of a ridge. From the ridge there is take a service road that drops down to the sea and runs south behind the beach about half a kilometre from the shore. From the service road, dead end roads run down to the edge of the beach. One of these leads us to Velsao Beach, one of the first beaches we can access south of the ridge we had to cross. From Velsao the wide, smooth beach stretches south as far as the eye can see. This is the unspoiled part of Goa that Frank and I have been most interested in visiting.
The Velsao Beach Tavern is the only commercial building on this stretch of beach. It has a wonderful veranda with bamboo railings overlooking the beach. It is run my Fernando and Maria, an Indian couple with Portuguese names. They are very friendly, perhaps in part due to the lack of business. We are the only customers. We have been riding for 103 km today so we are ready so a refreshing mango lassi. Our plan is to cycle on down the road and take a room in the first available hotel, but Fernando talks us into staying here. They serve dinner at the tavern and there is a space where we can pitch Frank's tent behind the building. They will even let us use their bathroom for showers.
Frank wants to set up the tent while it is still light. The area for the tents is a pleasant, level dirt lit with patio lanterns around the edge. The perimeter of the yard is surrounded by a thicket of semi-tropical plants. It is very cozy, like a secret garden, but around the base of the perimeter or the yard are a series of nets. We ask Fernando what they are for. That’s to keep out the snakes, he replies, such as cobras and black mambas. What is it with me and snakes on this trip? I can’t seem to get away from them. I suppose we should stay indoors if we want to stay out of their way.
It is a lovely night and we sit on the patio sharing drinks with Fernando and Maria after our tent is set up. They tell us they have owned this place for three years since moving down from Panaji. It is not a very busy place, they admit, but they expect in time more development will come along. The beach is so lovely I can’t see how it wouldn’t attract development. Meanwhile, their place is paid off and life here is gentle and peaceful. It is warm enough to sit out in a short-sleeved shirt tonight, this last night of January. There is an almost full moon reflecting off the sea. The lights of the veranda light up the foam at the water’s edge. I can see white crabs chasing the waves and retreating as the next wave arrives. I could watch them for hours.
PHOTO 1: river ferry
PHOTO 2: river ferry
PHOTO 3: laundry day
PHOTO 4: Velsao Beach
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