Spiritual Goa and Little Appu: Churches, Temples and the Beach

I'm resisting the urge to label myself complaisant. There have been no posts for a while. The reason? Well, I've been sitting on the beach mostly. Actually it's been very therapeutic: generating space and time to clear the rubbish bin of life. It's not all lazy days and hazy ways though, as I've also visited some amazing churches in Old Goa and witnessed a Hindu festival...

There are some pretty awesome beaches in Goa. As someone who grew up by the sea, it makes me feel immediately at home. There is something so pacifying about being next to water. Having a great expanse of space to gaze over seems to do the same thing metaphorically in the mind. It clears space. Many people I have met here by the sea, seem so content with their lot.

Last week, I went to Morjim Beach, a bit further north up the coast from Anjuna. Less crowded with golden, silken sand, this beach has more of a boutique feel to it, catering for the upmarket Westerner. After a lunch of delicious salads and pasta with broccoli (broccoli arriving much to the delight of the present diners) it was time to relax on the sun loungers. Usually, the time spent on the regular beaches at Anjuna and Vagator is frequently interrupted by the passing tradesmen and women, "Madam, you want to take look at my shop? I give you good price." However, Morjim beach seems to attract less of this, so you can be left in relative peace.

Beautiful Lelia, a celebrity in her own right

Somehow though, my friends and I managed to get chatting to a Lelia, who was selling sarongs on the beach. She managed to charm us with her bright and easy nature. She seemed so happy to be where she was right then, even though much of her business had eschewed her for the designer beach shacks, one of which is Jade Jagger's new enterprise. "Do you know Jade Jagger?" Lelia asked me. "No, I don't know her." "She's very nice," Lelia replied, not seeming at all aroused by her celebrity status.

Then there was Little Appu and his friend. Going solo on Anjuna Beach, I fancied a bit of alone time. When I heard two little voices, saying, "hello, hello," I thought, just ignore them, they will go away. But there was something infectious in their little chirps, so I decided to speak to them. They'd come to the beach to play so I asked them what games they normally play on the beach. Blank faces. Maybe they didn't understand. "Where I come from, we build sand castles on the beach." Again, empty stares. "You, know? Castles, they're like giant houses." Then came smiles and nodding.

It seemed they only had a stick to play with, so they started to draw pictures in the sand and were delighted when I asked if I could take their picture.

Appu with his friend and the elephant he drew for me

I left them to their games and promptly drifted of into a gentle dream. When I woke up, they were gone, but they left behind this mural, including a "sand castle" in the bottom left corner. I hope you can make it out from this picture.

As I said, on one of my more adventurous days, I visited Old Goa, with it's plethora of perishing churches. It was a disorientating experience. Coming from a Christian country (even though I'm not a Christian) I would have thought that I could relate to these buildings. Not so. In fact, wondering round, I felt rather disconnected, disturbed even. Perhaps it had something to do with the many goggling faces, which seemed to cry out from every crevice. Here are a selection of my favorites. 

But then there was something I found quite beautiful about the town's golden patina. The town was originally built by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, but was eventually abandoned due to plague in the 18th Century, hence the crumbling feel of the place.

Much more, colourful and inviting was the Hindu temple that we visited nearby. They happened to be in the middle of a festival.

A typical scene - a dog asleep amongst the hubbub

Ok, so true to form, I'm going to sign of sharp, as it's time to hit the beach again! What? It's therapy, right?