The ultimate guide to Goa

The Global Jigsaw goes to India's most culturally eclectic, coastal corner

Deu boro dis dium folks,

I’ve been planning a treat to look forward to after my cancer treatments are done. And the plan, at the moment, is to rent a villa in Goa for a month. Goa is India’s smallest state, a coastal paradise, and its most popular tourist destination. It is also a physical manifestation of syncretism, with strong Portuguese and Catholic influences in everything from food to architecture.

For this week’s newsletter, we have a guest post by Anjali Menezes-Kelling, a Goan-native who has spent years living in the UK and France, and is currently based in the Spanish Ballearic island of Mallorca.

She recently visited her homeland with her German husband and two children, and brings us her ultimate guide to a vacation on the island, packed with unusual recommendations for everything from restaurants and forts, to workshops, sports and music.

Anjali and her family in Goa

I hope you find some inspiration in it for your next big trip.

This Is My Goa

Goa, my slice of paradise, lies on the southwestern coast of India, overlooking the Arabian Sea.  It has served as our family elixir and escape chamber to retreat to, away from the hustle and bustle of Bombay, the city where I grew up. In India our summer holidays begin in mid-April, and this was always a time in my family to embrace the ‘Susegad' way of life, all the way through to June when the monsoons arrived. The word derives from the Portuguese word sossegado, a concept associated with the culture of Goa, meaning a relaxed, laid-back attitude towards life.

Goa is different from the rest of India. A blend of the hippie and hip, it’s a celebratory fusion of the Indian and Portuguese. The latter arrived at this corner of the subcontinent in 1498, and stayed for almost 500 years, until 1961 - the last Europeans to depart India. But they left behind their imprint on everything from architecture, to cuisine, to the religion and surnames of people – my own, Menezes, being a case in point.

My grandfather, the late poet, translator and academic Armando Menezes, uprooted his family from Goa to study and teach in Bombay. Yet, every summer, the entire family made an annual pilgrimage to Goa - either by train, plane, bus, or boat. It was a time for celebration: meeting old aunts and uncles, lazy days eating mangoes, and dousing ourselves with fresh well-water in the ancestral home on the island of Divar.

Goa offers tourists white sandy beaches, churches, temples, colourful markets and an active nightlife. Alcohol is taxed lower here than in other parts of India, and meat dishes like beef chilli fry and sorpotel, a tangy pork curry, add spice to any foodie’s gastronomic adventures. It’s also a cultural hub, with a vibrant film, art, literary and music scene.

After 14 years of living abroad, I relocated back to Goa in 2012. I had to discover the Goa of my childhood holidays, anew. This time as a wife and mother. But I barely had to scratch below the surface to find gold dust enough to coat all our needs.  Here is my ultimate guide to the vacation of a lifetime in my slice of paradise:

As a family, we are so different that we had to find facets of Goa that would suit us all. I’ll break it down by adult family member. The kids are game to do most things that we introduce them to, so it was easy enough to have them tag along wherever we went.

My German husband Sven is a keen kitesurfer and cyclist.  He loves water sports, cooking, gardening and art. So, if you are anything like him, here are some leads:

Kim Sabir and his team at Adventure Breaks offer trekking, kayaking, coast steering, camping, sailing, rock climbing for people of all ages and all levels of experience. Recently, Sven did a half-day trip to Neuti Beach along the Konkan coast. Through mango orchards and down to the shoreline, he scrambled across the rocks and crossed a tidal stream. After a delicious Malwan lunch, he explored an ancient sea fort before returning home with breathtaking photos of his trek. 

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