GOA (Palolem) :-
Review about The Nest:
This is one of the many sea shore huts available in Palolem. We had booked well in advance and asked specifically for the first hut facing the sea we eventually did not get it as that hut was under construction when we arrived there. But the one which was provided to was in good condition. They have a decent choice of food if you wish to eat there. Food is bit expensive, but it is the case every where in Goa. If you are looking for south indian breakfast only choice is Udupi Hotel at Kanakona which is 2KMs away. These huts come with basic creature comfort and if you are too concerned about safety better choice is a resort or a hotel. But the staff there informed that there has been no case of theft from these huts, however they recommend to keep all the jewelry and electronic gadgets safe and you can leave your laptops or other belongings with the staff when you are venturing out and collect it back on return. These huts keeps reminding you that you are next to the sea every minute day in day out. These huts being temporary setups there bathroom fittings and electric fittings are prone to malfunction. If you plan to stay in any of the beach huts in Goa, please check all the electric and bathroom fittings and see if they are functioning before checking in.
Goa needs no introduction. Its in all travelers list of must visits; a holiday destination in world map. And we were there too.
Planning for this trip happened well in advance and we had booked our sea facing hut at The Nest, Palolem more than a month in advance. We had planned this trip for the early part of the holiday season in Goa to beat the crowd which gathers during the later part of the season. In Goa these temporary setup of sea side huts come up after the monsoon and they stay till end of May.
Day 1 ( 27/10/2011) :-
We left home at 5:30 PM and reached Majestic bus stand by 7:00 PM. Our bus was scheduled for 7:30 PM. We left from Bangalore in time. Had a good dinner on the way in hotel Anand Bihar. We reached Canacona at 6:30 AM.
Day 2 ( 28/10/2011) :-
We took an auto to Palolem and reached The Nest at 7:00 AM. Here people were still sleeping after previous night's work and were not expecting us to arrive there early morning. Our room was not ready yet so were given a temporary room to keep our luggage and freshen up.
The Nest
We freshened up and went for a walk, had our breakfast in Udupi hotel and returned back to the room. Mohan promised our sea facing hut by evening. Extended monsoon had delayed construction work and most of the rooms were still under construction. We went for a walk on the beach side, took some pictures and returned back tired.
One of many beach side huts
These huts are as colorful as Goa is
Waiting for the sailor
Palolem beach
We came back to room, took bath and went out to explore the other side of the sea shore. Water was clean and with clear sky on top of it, entire beach was looking blue. This has to be the one of the cleanest beaches i have seen.
Blue is the color
Beautiful beach
Curlew Sandpiper
Nature at its best
Walking in the sun and lack of sleep because of over night journey had made us tired by now. We went back to the hut and had a power nap for half an hour. It was time for lunch, had our lunch in the restaurant. Sat in the shades on the beach side restaurant for some time, had a coffee and went out for a walk again. Did some shopping and went for boating on the back waters near the beach. This boat ride is of one hour and you get to see some birds here.
Boat ride at Palolem
The balancing rock
The bee eaters
Pied Kingfisher
After the boat ride we went to the shopping area and did some shopping. It was time for sunset now. We returned back to the beach and waited for the sunset to unfold. It was bit cloudy so we could not see the sun go down. Never the less sky was very colorful and we enjoyed our walk back to the our room.
Once we returned we were given a permanent room. This room was better than our temporary room. But unfortunately we could not get the sea facing hut which we had booked earlier as these rooms were not set up yet. We shifted our luggage to the new room, went out again and had our dinner in Cuba Restaurant. Came back and retired for the day.
Day 3 ( 29/10/2011) :-
Woke up early and enjoyed my morning coffee and the calmness of the sea. After bath and breakfast hired a scooter and left for Madgao. Our first pit stop was Agonda beach. Agonda beach was calm with very less tourists, but it lacked the liveliness of Palolem. We took some pictures and left from there.
Agonda beach
We went to Kolva beach in search of paragliding. Kolva was crowded and paragliding was expensive there. We cold not even find a decent place to have lunch in Kolva. We happened to meet a guy called Antony who asked us to go to Marjoda and meet Shanthi for paragliding. We went to Marjoda. It was lunch time, we feasted ourselves to Tandoori Mashroom and Veg Pulav in Raja's Paradise, Marjoda and went looking for Shanthi. We bargained for a decent price and did paragliding. It was a wonderful experience and a great adventure. Susham's only purpose of this tour and long pending dream was finally fulfilled.
Kolva beach
Paragliding
After having a birds view of the Kolva beach we started our return ride back to Palolem. On our way did some shopping and returned back at 5:15 PM. A total of 105 KMs of ride. Road was narrow but in good condition. We took some rest and went for a walk after sunset.
Beautiful late evening sky
A colorful night at Palolem
It rained a bit on that evening, after rain stopped we had our dinner, played cards till mid night and went to sleep.
Day 4 ( 30/10/2011) :-
Woke up early and went to the beach. Went to sea and enjoyed the sea water for about an hour. Came out fully drenched.
Dunlin
Palolem beach, early morning
We took bath and went for breakfast. Had heavy breakfast at German Bakery. Pan cakes were so big and filling, it made us lazy. We spent rest of the day sitting on the sea shore, reading book, drinking lime soda and Sprite to digest the breakfast. Skipped lunch and had some snacks in the evening. Went out for a walk, clicked some pictures, collected sea shells and returned to the room.
Palolem beach
Palolem beach
We came back, rested for a while and sat outside to watch the sunset.
We had our dinner, sat on the sea shore till mid night and went to sleep. Perfect lazy day.
Palolem beach at mid night
Day 5 ( 31/10/2011) :-
Again a lazy day where we did nothing other than eating, sleeping and sitting on the sea shore. Last morning of this trip started with enjoying the sea water. After almost an of enjoying our sea bath, freshened up and had our break fast in Udupi hotel.
Morning walk
Came back sat on the sea shore, read book, did some general discussions till lunch. After lunch took an afternoon nap and got up by 4:30 PM. After the evening coffee, went for a walk, did shopping, had an ice cream, came back and sat out side waiting for the sun to go down.
At 6:45 PM we packed our bags and did final settlement. We were informed by Mohan that the train will arrive at Canacona 8:00 PM. We took an auto from Palolem to Canacona railway station. When we reached there, we were informed that the train has already left. We rushed to the bus stand and got the last bus for the day to Madgaon. This would have not been possible without the help of the auto driver who helped us. We reached Madgaon railway station and train left at 10:30 PM. We reached Bangalore at 11:30 AM on 01/11/2011 and reached home by 1:00 PM. Though we had to deal with some confusion in the final minutes in Goa, all in all a wonderful trip. Goa, we will be back again.
Review about The Nest:
This is one of the many sea shore huts available in Palolem. We had booked well in advance and asked specifically for the first hut facing the sea we eventually did not get it as that hut was under construction when we arrived there. But the one which was provided to was in good condition. They have a decent choice of food if you wish to eat there. Food is bit expensive, but it is the case every where in Goa. If you are looking for south indian breakfast only choice is Udupi Hotel at Kanakona which is 2KMs away. These huts come with basic creature comfort and if you are too concerned about safety better choice is a resort or a hotel. But the staff there informed that there has been no case of theft from these huts, however they recommend to keep all the jewelry and electronic gadgets safe and you can leave your laptops or other belongings with the staff when you are venturing out and collect it back on return. These huts keeps reminding you that you are next to the sea every minute day in day out. These huts being temporary setups there bathroom fittings and electric fittings are prone to malfunction. If you plan to stay in any of the beach huts in Goa, please check all the electric and bathroom fittings and see if they are functioning before checking in.
