Go Go Goa!

Saturday 27 July 

I really like Goa!  It feels very different than Kerala in a lot of ways (even though the landscape is very similar- tropical, jungly, and very, very green).  You can see the influence of centuries of Portuguese influence in the architecture, as well as the influence of being a massive tourist hot spot in the number of touristy shops, how people dress, oh, and the KFCs and Dominoes and other western influences. 

While there is still garbage all over the place, there are a ton of "do not litter" type signs and garbage cans everywhere... it feels like the first time I have seen a city make an effort to be clean.  There are still a ton of stray dogs and cats everywhere, but I have also seen a handful of animal clinics and dogs with collars being treated as pets.  It also feels like there is more space here- things do not feel so compact and built up here as they did in Kannur and Mangalore.  It feels like there is an effort to conserve the natural state of things here and I like that.  I know that this is not really representative of the rest of India in that there has been a lot of European influence over the last few centuries, but i guess that is a big part of this country's story... overall this feels like a great place to chill out, explore a bit, and relax between the crazy of volunteer camp and what I'm sure will be ridiculous insanity in Mumbai. 

Because it's Monsoon season a lot of things are closed- however there are a lot of things still to see.  We grabbed a bus to Old Goa today and explored a few old churches and a temple- we needed to balance out the slightly overbearing, over the top indulgence of Catholic Churches with a bit more of a modest Hindi Temple.  

The "Bom Jesus" cathedral   

Bom Jesus facade

Hindi and Christian cultures meet

Yep, Opulent.

Just across the street from the Bom Jesus is the largest cathedral in Goa- the Se Cathedral.  Also beautiful, also over the top in the way that only Catholic Churches can be.  

 ... but with a bit of Indian influence as well as the Portuguese.  

And to balance it out a bit, we visited a Hindi Temple before heading back to the apartment and homemade dinner... Of course I can't access those photos now, but I'll post later :)