So.....
I had Monday morning off before work began on Monday afternoon. My driver from Sunday was quite persistent that he could show me around the local sights on Monday and have me back in time for my first meeting at 1:00. He name is Ligorio and if you're ever in the Goa region you need to hook up with this guy. (+91 90 115 33468)
Side note on Ligorio. I first stepped into his car yesterday and we discussed what I wanted to see and he suggested a few places to go. Once that was settled, he cranked up the radio and sped off. He must have purchased a special radio that had a volume knob that went to 11 (for all you Spinal Tap fans) cuz he had that think cranked up and it was blaring 'The Final Countdown' from 80's heavy metal band Europe. That pretty much set the stage for our time together. Lingorio is 32 and drives like a bat out of hell. If you want to know what it's like to drive with him, imagine the scariest roller coaster you've ever been on, throw in some oncoming traffic driving in your lane (or actually, we were often driving in their lane) with 'The Final Countdown' playing at ear splitting levels and you'll begin to understand the experience. Once I realized that we weren't going to wreck and that there was some sort of unwritten law of the universe that allows traffic to flow the way it does in India, and it becomes a fun experience. We don't get to have any fun in the US! We should try driving in any lane we like and then we'll know what it's like to live.
Back to today.
The first place we went was Old Goa. It was here that I learned that the Portuguese ruled this part of India for almost 500 years. They only just left in 1961! (a fact that was mentioned to me no less than 20 times an hour). Because of their rule, Christianity is the major religion and there are old Catholic cathedrals to tour. This one was built in the 1500's:
The only reason it's a ruin is that the Portuguese government ordered it to be destroyed before they left. You can't tell from this photo, but the remains of this building were huge and the original structure was massive. Such a shame.
There were some other cathedrals still standing and in operation like this one:
The next stop was a spice farm. The place was 150 acres of think jungle but they had planted tons of different types of spices. I can't even remember them all but they had lemongrass, cinnamon, four types of pepper, these really tiny green chilies they said were 2000 time hotter than normal peppers, lavender, all spice, and tons more.
This was also the home to some elephants. When we got there, there were some Russians who were getting an elephant bath:
Ah, comrades, you look like you're having such fun.
As for me, I was greeted in what I was told was the traditional fashion with a flower lei and a red dot placed on my forehead:
It was just a coincidence that I was wearing my Google Maps t-shirt that had the big red logo on it. Part of me thinks that they marked me to all the workers as a sucker because after I got that dot, everyone I ran into asked me for a tip. "Sir, tip for me sir?"
I didn't have my swim suit on but I couldn't let my former communist friends have all the fun with the elephants so I had to take a ride for myself.
This falls under the category of been there, done that. It was interesting but not life changing. Maybe it's like when you take a trail ride on a horse at home and they guide you on a known path going really slow. Maybe if I didn't have a guide and I could really ride the elephant how I wanted to, it would run widely through the thick jungle making that elephant trumpet noise while I did the Tarzan yell. (actually, I doubt it could run at all)
One final stop on the way back to the hotel at a local Hindu temple afforded me a quick look at some wonderful local archicture:
I had Monday morning off before work began on Monday afternoon. My driver from Sunday was quite persistent that he could show me around the local sights on Monday and have me back in time for my first meeting at 1:00. He name is Ligorio and if you're ever in the Goa region you need to hook up with this guy. (+91 90 115 33468)
Side note on Ligorio. I first stepped into his car yesterday and we discussed what I wanted to see and he suggested a few places to go. Once that was settled, he cranked up the radio and sped off. He must have purchased a special radio that had a volume knob that went to 11 (for all you Spinal Tap fans) cuz he had that think cranked up and it was blaring 'The Final Countdown' from 80's heavy metal band Europe. That pretty much set the stage for our time together. Lingorio is 32 and drives like a bat out of hell. If you want to know what it's like to drive with him, imagine the scariest roller coaster you've ever been on, throw in some oncoming traffic driving in your lane (or actually, we were often driving in their lane) with 'The Final Countdown' playing at ear splitting levels and you'll begin to understand the experience. Once I realized that we weren't going to wreck and that there was some sort of unwritten law of the universe that allows traffic to flow the way it does in India, and it becomes a fun experience. We don't get to have any fun in the US! We should try driving in any lane we like and then we'll know what it's like to live.
Back to today.
The first place we went was Old Goa. It was here that I learned that the Portuguese ruled this part of India for almost 500 years. They only just left in 1961! (a fact that was mentioned to me no less than 20 times an hour). Because of their rule, Christianity is the major religion and there are old Catholic cathedrals to tour. This one was built in the 1500's:
The only reason it's a ruin is that the Portuguese government ordered it to be destroyed before they left. You can't tell from this photo, but the remains of this building were huge and the original structure was massive. Such a shame.
There were some other cathedrals still standing and in operation like this one:
The next stop was a spice farm. The place was 150 acres of think jungle but they had planted tons of different types of spices. I can't even remember them all but they had lemongrass, cinnamon, four types of pepper, these really tiny green chilies they said were 2000 time hotter than normal peppers, lavender, all spice, and tons more.
This was also the home to some elephants. When we got there, there were some Russians who were getting an elephant bath:
Ah, comrades, you look like you're having such fun.
As for me, I was greeted in what I was told was the traditional fashion with a flower lei and a red dot placed on my forehead:
It was just a coincidence that I was wearing my Google Maps t-shirt that had the big red logo on it. Part of me thinks that they marked me to all the workers as a sucker because after I got that dot, everyone I ran into asked me for a tip. "Sir, tip for me sir?"
I didn't have my swim suit on but I couldn't let my former communist friends have all the fun with the elephants so I had to take a ride for myself.
This falls under the category of been there, done that. It was interesting but not life changing. Maybe it's like when you take a trail ride on a horse at home and they guide you on a known path going really slow. Maybe if I didn't have a guide and I could really ride the elephant how I wanted to, it would run widely through the thick jungle making that elephant trumpet noise while I did the Tarzan yell. (actually, I doubt it could run at all)
One final stop on the way back to the hotel at a local Hindu temple afforded me a quick look at some wonderful local archicture:
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