Cyclone!

We drove to Old Goa, the original Portuguese capital of Goa. It is a World Heritage Site filled with old churches. We didn’t go in any. I think our driver was scandalized that we didn’t want to see the parts of the relics of St. Thomas that are in the main church.

It drizzled off and on. To us that was a good thing, It kept the temperature down. To the people that came to Goa to lie on the beach I assume it was a bummer. We then went to the new capital (that is still old) and drove around looking at the charming homes.

Once again we got into an accident as a motorcycle tried to squeeze between our van and the curb. It scratched our van, but after a few words between our driver and the motorcyclist, the incident was over. Our driver told us that the police are so corrupt and crowds gather that no one would bother to call the police or stop unless it is a major incident. We are glad we live in the USA.

We returned to our lodging and I had a massage.

At the hotel the rain continued to get heaver. To us it was a monsoon. To the Goans it was a strange time for a heavy rain but not a monsoon. We ate outdoors under an open sided veranda at the hotel. It actually was fun listening and watching the rain as we ate. We finally got to drink some Feni the strong alcohol made from cashews. We had lobster and shrimp again.
Goan is big on seafood!

The internet is unusable here, that is why there has been no posts. The electricity is spotty. I imagine that the rain makes it even worse. There are power failures about every 2 hours or so, then there is a wait of about a minute and generators kick in. When the electricity finally returns things go dark again as the power is switched.

We found out there was a cyclone approaching Goa. The rains got heavier, all of sudden we started to wonder, what are we doing in Goa if a Cyclone is on the way? The rains got very heavy, the electricity went out for the night. Our roof leaked over our bed. Not a great night for sleeping.

We awakened wondering if we would get out before the cyclone hit. The rain continued, actually the rain was nice straight down and heavy.

We left our historic house and headed for the airport, hoping our flight would be reasonably on time. Bottom line, glad we got to Goa, enjoyed the rain, if you want a tropical exotic experience I think Bali is more interesting.

We got to the airport and realized that the cyclone was now headed for Bombay, which is where we are flying to. We were following the cyclone. Our flight was delayed for over 5 hours, but we finally made it. The cyclone missed Mumbai, although there were heavy rains.

I had an interesting experience while waiting for the plane. I carry a small man’s travel bag, and I left it when we went to a different location at the airport to wait for our flight. I finally realized I didn’t have it, and went searching for it. It had a lot of money, credit cards, cell phone etc. in it. I went to where we had been sitting and their was a guard with my bag. I followed him into the office and everything was intact, all the money was there etc. I was fined 1000 rupees, for leaving an unattended bag. But I was happy to pay it and get my stuff back.

So even though there is a lot of corruption with the police, I tip my hat to the honorable guards at the Goa Airport.

We are now in Mumbai at the Intercontinental Hotel, where the roof doesn’t leak, the air-conditioning works, and I have Internet!

At the airport we said goodbye to Ferris and Courtney who are leaving tonight to return to the States. We will continue our adventures in Mumbai!