Thursday, October 12 Beach Day In Goa, Sunset Cruise

We walked over to breakfast, which was amazing. Endless amounts of South Indian breakfast, porridge, fresh tropical fruit, breakfast meats, eggs, and milkshakes. The weather was a perfect 80 degrees, with sea humidity, and a nice ocean breeze. We walked along the idyllic palm-fringed, sun-kissed Sinquerim Beach to the sister hotel for the pool. For the first time in three months, I put my feet in the sea. A year ago I swam in the Indian Ocean at Zanzibar, but this is the first time in the Arabian Sea part. Within six months I have touched three of the four oceans of the world. Now I just need to go in the Arctic Ocean. The water was comfortably warm, I think because the coastline is not mountainous and so the trenches are not deep. We got to Fort Aguada Hotel pool, which was picture-perfect minus the junky rusty black tanker anchored in front of the beach obscuring the view. The pool had a ledge that made it look like the water was falling down an endless cliff. The pool faces the picturesque beach and Fort Aguada. The fort consists of a basalt citadel that sticks out into the sea, golden beaches on either side. Tons of comfortable padded lawnchairs were available. There were probably 20 people sitting around the pool all day, and no more than three in the pool at any given time. I don’t want to know what this place is like in the off-season. They probably pay guests to stay here. I don’t think the sunblock I used works. I got really dark and look like I’m Indian. I didn’t even want to get dark. Which is funny because if you met me a year ago, you’d think I was actively trying to get skin cancer and leathery skin. For some reason my Dad didn’t put on sunblock on his stomach, and now his torso looks like a Japanese flag. After a day at the pool, we got a cab to Panaji, the capital and largest city. For India, the roads are open, really well-paved, and wide. But since my parents just got here, they found them congested, bumpy, and narrow. We went on a sunset river cruise, with traditional Indian dancing. That meant that they had Goan dancers. The women wore silk saris and tons of gold. The guys dressed in skirts and waved paddles. The rest of the time, the emcee tried to get people to come dance on-stage. One was for couples, one for men only, one for women only, and one for kids. This one young boy was up there the whole time, and had a crazed look on his face as he played air guitar and gyrated his hips. A lot of people got up to dance, to mostly cover Bollywood tunes that I know. I’m so used to this scenario that it no longer surprises me. My parents were shocked that the sexes were separate, people of all ages got up to dance together (even if they couldn’t dance at all), and no alcohol was involved. It was a fun night. My parents apparently don’t like Indian food because the spices and milks are different than their tastes. They ate at the Thai Restaurant, while I ordered a delicious spicy Goan lobster dinner. It reminded me of lobster dinners in Rosarito, Mexico. This restaurant is meticulously clean, though, unlike the cheap trashy cabanas we go to on our date parties. It also cost $25, whereas in Rosarito it would have cost $2.50. It also reminded me of the surf n’ turf buffet at Chumash Casino, where I ate six full lobsters, three bowls of clams, two steaks, and five desserts and got violently ill afterwards.