February 1, 2016
To Colva Beach: a change of plans
"I think I'm more worried about the tourists on motorcycles than all the local's traffic" Rachel says. Riding into Palolem, during our stay and today riding to Colva Beach, the thing to do for tourists is to rent a motorcycle. Not just young backpacker types, but many retired, grey hair types.
The heat, humidity and hills at the start of today were tougher than expected. The climb took us up and over a ridge before dropping back to the coast. Original destination was Panjim 80kms, and at noon we stopped to eat, idli for Patrick and puri for Rachel, at a restaurant in Benaulim.
With another 40 kms to go, we decide to stay here and enjoy the afternoon. Riding toward the beach, Patrick stops at a vodaphone office. Once again after crossing into another state, we can't access data on the sim card. This office wasn't much help, fortunately though it seems along the coast most lodging offers free WiFi.
While waiting for assistance with the sim card, Rachel spots two people walking with one carrying a handlebar bag as a purse...one of the telltale signs of a touring cyclist! (the tan is another one) They are German and have completed their cycling from Mumbai to Goa. We check out the place they are staying, but we decide to go onto Colva Beach instead, finding a nice room on the beach.
After the temperature cooled down, we went for a walk on the beach and checked out different restaurants for dinner by looking at menus, written in English and Russian. As tables were set up on the beach with candlelight, we watched the sunset, and selected a tuna to be BBQ'd along with chips, salad and rice. For less than $23, we had a wonderful meal, though expensive by Indian standards.
We've decided not to rush through Goa, to ride shorter days and take fewer full rest days.
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 12,317 km (7,649 miles)
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