Day IX - India trip 2026

The residents of Goa mostly speak Konkani. It was interesting to know that there are two variations of Konkani - the regular Konkani spoken en masse and the Catholic Konkani which has a heavy Portuguese influence tinged with its own grammar.

After a good night sleep, I followed up with a heavy breakfast taking full advantage of the buffet spread with a varieties of Indian items like Dosa, Idli, Upma as well as the regular spread of continental dishes like fruits, cereals, bread, egg, sausages, potato wedges and so on. In Odia we have a saying "AME ODIA LOKE MAGENA MILILE RALA AAU GARAM PICHU HAPUDI PAKEIBU", meaning "We Odias can slurp hot coal tar or black pitch used to make road surface, as long as it is given to us free". Being a true Odia, I helped myself well at the breakfast buffet of all free items.

We traveled by bus to Nandanvan Spice Farm in Kodar, about 30-40 minutes drive from the resort. A guided tour of the Spice plantation was followed by lunch. The plantation looked dark and deep, the foliage kept environment cool at middle of the day when temperature hit 90°F (32°C). The soil was still damp from irrigated by sprinkler earlier that morning. When I queried the tour guide about the dry environment outside the plantation, she said - "You should visit Goa during the monsoon season between June and September. It doesn't rain here, it simply pours. Rest of the year it stays predominantly dry in Goa".

Being a nature lover, its flora and fauna, I saw a Resin producing plant from which "Jhuna", a product when lit produces smoke used during Puja (worshipping). I saw plants of cashew, betel nut, bay leave, turmeric, green ilaichi (cardamom), nutmeg, clove, cinnamon and last but not the least, black pepper, called the black gold during the medieval time of history. The Portuguese discovered it in India and found the Goa weather most suitable for its plantation. Black pepper plant is a climber which goes around tall trees. I saw one climbing on a betel nut tree, its nascent green fruit sprouting on both sides of the stem a la beads on the long braid of a tribal girl. Our girl guide told us that come April, these green fruit will turn red, the tiny round shaped pepper inside becomes dark in color, ready to be harvested as black pepper. The Europeans preferred black pepper to the chillies because unlike chilli pepper which gives instant heat, the heat from black pepper is milder with a distinct flavor which takes time to bring out the heat, titillating the taste bud.

Mid afternoon after a quick lunch at the Spice farm it was time to head to Benaulim beach, known for its various Water sports activities. Many took part in fancied jet skiing, paragliding etc. I stuck to a ten seater boat ride about a mile into the sea from coast. It was fun with all the salty water flashing all over your body. Yet I would consider the beach between Puri and Chandrabhaga in Odisha better with its golden white sand and rolling waves. However the Goa beach was lot cleaner. Unlike the Puri beach which is strewn in litters and at shit at places where you can hurt your feet if you walk barefoot, the Goa beach hardly had any debris. The coast guards were patrolling to chastise any recalcitrant tourists trying to break rules.

After returning back to hotel and freshening up, it was time to hit Joecons Beach Shack Benaulim right on the beachfront, sipping Bahama breeze cocktail on a breezy evening. As a fitting finale to the reunion, we had our last supper accompanied by live band and karaoke with Arabian sea roaring in the background. I loved Serradura on supper manu, a local sweet dish of Portuguese origin which I ate for the first time.

It was a lovely evening filled with nostalgia, the last one before our departure. We all agreed "ZINDAGI NA MILEGA DOBARAA", such life will not come again. Earlier that evening our friends went to the beach to enjoy the sunset. Sun might have set over the British empire, but Sun never sets over our friendship. God bless the REC 90 batch. More later...