Baga Beach - The North Goa Trail (Goan Odyssey - Part 2)

The journey through Konkan was exhilarating in terms of what we experienced, sure to raise the spirits of any person to perform more and acheive more, the fruits of hardwork, teamwork and dedication was on display at how the Konkan rail has been implemented. (Click here to read part 1 of Goan Odyssey - The Konkan Experience)


Day 2 @ Goa.

The cab arrived exactly on time in the morning at our hotel in Calangute and as expected from the Goan people, the cab driver was so courteous and within no time we felt as if we were travelling with one guy who is very very close to us. We had chosen to take a cab for the days sojourn since there was possibility of rain.

The plan for the day is to roam around North Goa, where there are lot of beaches. North Goa is popular among the budget travellers and those who love to get to know Goan culture and mix up with Goan people. South Goa is not so dense and is mostly the home for big budget hotels and resorts, an ideal location for those who want to escape from the nuansces of day to day busy life and chill out in solitude.

The first destination of the day was the Baga beach, the place having the same name as that of the Baga river which joins the sea at this point.



The cab driver told about lots of places to cover in North Goa, but we do not intend to run around the places, a reason why chose to take a cab for a day pacakage than opting for the North Goa tour bus which will run around showing all the available picnic spots. Two sight seeing trips in bus are available. One christened North Goa tour comprising of a lot of beaches and the other christened South Goa Tour which is the longer one and covers beaches and some famous churches as well. Tickets can be booked from the all the hotels in Goa. The fare is Rs 150 per adult and includes only the travel fare. This option is good if one intends to seeing all the picnic spots available in Goa.

Right next to where we parked there was a temple.

Almost all temples in Goa seems identical, the major reason being the paint scheme followed. As we stepped into the beach we could see that the beach was already bustling with lot of activities.

That is the northern end of the beach where river baga mates with the sea.

Suddenly a gang of 3 to 4 local people came to us and began offering hell lot of things. These people were talking politely but their persistence made us lose patience. Finally we had to beg them to leave us alone for some time so that we could take a look at the beach and feel it before deciding on what to do. Afterall the best thing to do in a beach is to lie down, and relax enjoying the gushing wind and taking a dip in the sea. All the guys who were offering rides left but one of them still kept following us which did not make us comfortable.

We could understand that it is part of their life and Goan people makes a livelihood out of tourism and this being a seasonal offering they have to save money too.

We kept walking towards the southern end hoping to get out the crowd and even more to escape from the hoards of localites.

Soon the next bunch of persuaders arrived, this time the offering was for a sea side bed. We understood that it is better to enjoy their ramblings than to get irritated coz we are not going to escape from them. Since many offerings were there, the price point also varied and we soon found that if we don't abide to their offerings for some time the cost drastically comes down. Finally we took two beds for a paltry Rs. 50 per hour.

Lying down on the beach side watching the timeless waves has a attraction quotient and we felt as if we are going to spend the whole day here.

The Baga beach is really beautiful. The color of the sand and the cleanliness is evident wherever you look. This is evident from the photos too.

Soon I found myself in the swimwear and walking against the lashing waves, feeling the sand, gazing the horizon, enjoying the chillness of the sea water.

My daughter soon followed suite and she enjoyed making sand castles and watching them washed away by the sea. Sun was glaring at us in full glory at times, but it was generally cloudy.

By this time all the guides and those offering rides were gone as they seemed to lose hope on us.

There were simple boat rides in which they take us deep into the sea against the waves, jumping up and down.

The scooter boat ride also seems to be quite exciting. The rider of the scooter boat rides it standing while the tourist sit in his front enjoying the bumpy ride, the weightlessness one feels while falling down and the high speed cruise.

The parasailing seems to be most interesting of them. The parachutes were painting a lovely picture in the backdrop of the sea and the clouds and I loved capturing the parasailing moments.

Most of the rides seem not suitable for kids, hence we did not venture into any one of those. Got to do atleast a boat ride in the sea before we leave.

We spend atleast 2 hours in the water and one more hour out of it gazing at the sea. As it approached noon the beach became more and more free of tourists

Being at Goa means being at the beach side, the shallow beach allowing us to venture deep and take a dip. Baga beach for sure is a place to spend atleast half a day. We too did the same. By the time we were back inside the cab, it was already time for lunch. We started heading to the next destination which also happens to be a beach side but there was something more than a beach - a superb hill above which there was a fort too. I will share the photos and trip log in the next post.

The Goan odyssey has started with a typical goan beach and pleasure of being at Goa getting into our heads. There was a buzz everywhere, with lots of tourists around and everyone seems to be enjoying.

My kids were enjoying and so were the parents !!

Click here to read Part 3


The Goan Odyssey -The story so far...


Part 1. The Konkan Experience - Watch the beautiful pictures of Konkan rail route 
Part 2. Baga Beach - A beautiful beach
Part 3. Vagathore Beach & Chapora Fort - A place with diversified ambiance.
Part 4. Fort Aguada & Anjuna Beach
Part 5. Panjim - A scooter expedition
Part 6. Calangute 
Part 7. The Dolphin Trip