A few around Goa.

Goa 2013 pictures and review.*

Thought I'd put a little bit together from our recent trip to Goa, for those of you who haven't been can have a look round.*
Used a couple of cameras, my cannon 650d *and a little compact for around the beach should the bag have been 'borrowed' whilst there.

Anyway, we wasn't sure how we would find Calungute, Blaggers recently visited the place, and well, shall we just say, we know how lucky he is, it looked no worse or better than our last trip, so I guess it escaped Yorkshires answer to Armageddon for now.*

First day and it's off to the beach shack. Early morning arrival means a good full first day.*

This is one of the shacks we use.*



As you can see from the background in picture, the back always looks worse than the rear, they do rake the crap together every once in a while and burn it.*
You can't beat the smell of burning plastic in an evening.*
Main picture.*
One of the vast amount of cattle that wander around freely, they visit the restaurants around the town to be fed.*
We are after all in the land where the cow is sacred.*
*

Had a few days just chilling out and catching some well earned rest and some vitamin D.*

Gill was fancying a little run out, so we got our ever faithful taxi driver Jonny to take us to CoCo beach, I'd never been here before, i thought it very basic with very little in the way of buildings.i was to learn very soon this part of the coast wast hit hardest when the Tsunami hit Thailand and its never been rebuilt, apart from the boats taking tourists out on boats to have a glimpse of the dolphins.*

Coco beach


Our captain for our 2hour trip and a back drop of the beach


Having travelled to many countries that boast dolphin sightings without ever seeing them, I was sceptical to say the least.*
Chatting with the boat operator though, he seemed confident we would spot some as there were at least 20 living out in the bay?
Knowing we wasn't going to drop right on top of them I decided to change my lens for the 75-300.*
Good call, they were definitely keeping their distance.*
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For picture taking I was well out of kilter. The sun was in front, the distance far and the water was vast and the boat was rocking 'funny it should do that out at sea?' and to top it, it was quite hazy.*
As many are aware? I'm just beginning the relationship with the cannon. I wasn't taking any chances so I just slipped it onto sports mode and hoped for a better picture?
My patience paid off, Gill said one had just come up on the left of the boat. Yeah, right behind was the sun!
I have cropped the photo with snap seed on the iPad and so far this is the best I've come up with. Quite good detail but perhaps room for improvement?



To end the dolphins, IMO there's no wonder they don't show that often the pressure they are constantly under with a dozen or so boats at any given time chasing them down for the tourist.*
One more spot the tourist need to steer clear.*
Goa's central jail.*


After a few more beach days, we booked up on a trip here its in three parts.*
Spice land
Elephant ride and bath
Dudhsager water fall


Two of the things we've done before, '1st two' but it was all tied up in one, and it got us out for the day.*
1st stop was at the spice plantation for breakfast.*
After breakfast we had a short drive back to the main road where these two chaps was waiting to great us and take us for a ride.*

Now forgive me, but does that mahout not resemble a certain forum member?

So off we went with a trumpety trump.*

 

Next part of the trip, we went off to bath the elephant, he'd already got started when we got there.*



A few folk took up the offer to sit on the elephants back, you get some cracking photos, and a damn good soaking. Ive some cracking pics of them, but I have yet to ask their permission if I could put their image on a public forum.*
But the girl in bikini is strictly for my eyes only.*
Both Gill and I swerved at this point, as the last time we took this trip and had the bath 'and both my parents' we was very poorly for the next 48 hours.
Coincidence? Or the piss and shit that was swimming around in the pool? You decide.*
That out the way, we headed off to pick up a jeep to take us through a safari park to the waterfalls.*
Seriously, I couldn't get any pictures of the 8km journey, both hands were strictly for holding on.*


After around a 15 minute stumble over rocks we saw our first monkey


And then another.*


A little further on, and I can see the Dudhsager waterfall perched in the high peaks of the western Ghats and part of the Mandovi river.*
The bridge you can see is part of the Vasco to Londa railway line.*

Hard to believe it's twice the height of Blackpool tower.*

Into the plunge pool.*


There's been a board up since 2006 with a list of names, 16 at present.*
How do you get your name on it?
Drowning, and 16 have managed it so far, surprisingly only one is a European, the rest were Indian.*
A dangerous place, the decent and accent is littered with rocks and trip hazards.*
Gill and I had only just climbed back up when two guys from the Goan mountain rescue were going down to recover a young lad who had broken his ankle.*
Proper job he did too, bone out the skin the works.*

Moving back down from the falls we headed back to the spice plantation where we was to have dinner before our guided tour of the different plants.*
Just after dinner, in the distance a rumbling could be heard, tbh I thought they was working a mine, and the noise was from the detonators, but with Goa severing all exporting of iron ore with Japan/China and Russia this was highly unlikely.*
Yep, our first Goan thunder storm. And as far as storms go, what a beauty.*

For Gill birthday treat, a couple of days later we had an over night stay on a converted rice barge.*
Ours was called Laid Back Waters.*
Similar to this.*


Our room for the night


Chilling on the sun deck.*


The rice barge took 200days to convert. There are just three bedrooms all with their own bathroom. Which was very good, because the next day Gill decided to be poorly and make loads of fish food. Bleh!
We sailed off into the sunset heading to the river mouth and watch the sunset over turtle beach before heading back up river to moor up for the night.*

 

The next morning after breakfast we sailed/cruised around 15km up river before heading back to finish our trip around 1pm.*
Main attraction bird watching and just watching the world flow by.*
Oh and Gill hurling every 10 minutes for the next four hours.*



I reckon I could add for ages, and probably will, I'm just trying to shake off the 5 1/2 hour time difference at the moment, strange, my body tells me it's time to get up, yet I'm sat in work typing this, and photo bucket has decided to give me the arse, and I just know that if I have a Gary V's iPad I'll win so I'll post up what I've done so far and add a little later as it goes.*

Thanks for looking.*

 

I did hear about the mini heat wave Si

An eagle I belive Lambeth. But we will have to wait for the twitchers amongst us for the type.

 

Fantastic pics mate

 

Forked tail is usually a Kite, but I'm no expert.

 

Probably because Hindus are vegetarian, Michael. It was gagging for a burger.

 

Still, you're not likely to argue with a beak that looks like a pair of Molegrips with two Stanley blades welded to it, eh.