Stories about Divar Island , Old Goa, Fontainhas, Tambdi Surla temple, Portuguese , Adil Shah. The stories about secrets of the jungle, nightlife in jungle, trekking up to a hidden waterfall. Stories of different kinds of food & relishing it with the stories around.
“History is not about a lesson but it's about a story well told. ”
Island Divar, one of the beautiful gems of Goa. The time you get down from the ferry you WILL feel like breathing a different air. You are entering a world of greenery, silence & beauty. Those small roads you travel across will make you fall in love with this pretty Island. No hospitals , no police station, that’s how Island people take pride in explaining secrets to their good health & no crime rate and the respect for the Mondovi river which plays the biggest role in their lives , that’s how you will understand this Island. Thanks to Gaurish our story teller for giving us a vision of a different Divar altogether.
The Monsoon Goa Experience:
Bioluminescence walk is about entering into a pitch dark jungle. Just following what your naturalist is saying you can’t derail from your trail as there could be numerous reptiles and snakes around you. The first thing you hear while entering into the jungle “At this time the reptiles and snakes activities increases:D “A fear starts gripping your mind but still keeping one step at a time and walking in a queue like good school students following a little torch light not knowing what might jump onto you while you are walking.
Alongside listening to the stories of whipper snakes which don’t have an antidote and suddenly you spot one. Boom.. what next..?? Your naturalist picks it up from the bushes and starts explaining its characteristics and you keep wondering why that snake is not responding and letting us listen to his stories and then there comes a point where he leaves the snake in the bushes and even asks us to put off that one light and ask us to just stand there.
While the thoughts of that snake are still lingering in your mind, suddenly you realize your eyes are adjusting to that darkness and you see something start glowing slowly and slowly. Its glow gets brighter and brighter as someone is throwing a light on it , it starts glowing a little green and you are just in awe of how and what all nature has to offer.
You also realize you have got the confidence of walking in the jungle too 😀 You walk back with all the fear, the uncertainty of the path , the creatures jumping here and there and the beautiful experience you just had.
This was just the start of the fun we were going to experience in this terrain , next morning waiting for us was a beautiful morning walk where we spotted the famous Great Hornbill & Malabar Grey hornbill. I have been to Nagaland for Hornbill festival but could spot one only in Goa. Maybe that’s how the universe bonds everything together.
We got back and after a good breakfast started for a waterfall trek . With the umbrella and the raincoats on we once again started walking in the jungle and yes a different trail from the last night, so yeah whipper might just keep waiting for us ;). Crossing the streams, alone or holding hands, slipping here & there, trekking difficult but not so difficult terrain was worth all the effort as you reach the point where you can view the gorgeous falls.
After all the efforts we have put in for this trek, what was awaiting us was good food, a cookery session followed by a folk dance performance called “ The Lamp Dance”.
The Lamp Dance:
The group had arrived traveling 45 kms and had been setting up for their performance. A girl who will sing the song, few to play musical instruments and few women dressed up in beautiful sarees with brass lamps in their hands with lighting diyas. To our surprise those lighting diyas were going to be part of their dance performance and that too on their head, and what made that possible, their 10 years of practice and the amazing balance they hold. When I showed their performance video to my nephew his first reaction was why don’t they try for India’s Got Talent. Yes, the performance was worth experiencing which also makes you realize how much you get into understanding different cultures but we still are far away from knowing so much. I did try my hands on it and could do it for a few nanoseconds and of course the diyas were not lit. 😛
Fontainhas, Feni & Tapas:
This was the second last day of the trip. We tried covering a bit of touristy Goa and as we were out of the jungle area we were welcomed by the heat and as you by now know what type of Goa we were in :D. So we just thought of having some good food and relaxing for some time to recharge ourselves for the evening waiting for us. We enjoyed Fontainhas stories and our hearts filled with joy for the small but beautiful live musical performance.
Evening was all about dance, good food, delicious mocktails, feni & the stories around which couldn’t have been better without our story teller Petulla.
Goa is much more than beaches, even more than the experiences mentioned here. For a group trip what always makes it more special is the group. A beautiful place is enjoyed with beautiful people and I had them with me on this trip. We enjoyed & cherished all aspects of this trip & as a trip lead am really thankful to all of them.
