Ahmet Erkun

Moving south overnight, today we arrived in the State of Goa.

No face-to-face immigration formalities this morning. Nonetheless, we had to pull out our landing cards at the small terminal to get another stamp, and then show them again a few steps away at the gate as we left the port with our guide, Stanley.

The Portuguese were the first to arrive in the area — in 1510 — and the last to leave — in 1961. Thus there is a heavy Portuguese influence on everything … from architecture, to culture, to food.

Under Portuguese rule, a kind of local nobility evolved over time. They were mostly Hindu Brahmins who had converted to Christianity. They built big mansions with wide verandas, paneled ceilings, private chapels that were ornately decorated, and window shutters that used oyster shells instead of glass, which was very expensive.

Our tour today took us to see some of the grand old houses of South Goa. Our destinations were the villages of Chandor and Quepem. Joining us once again were Sonia & Boris and Pat & Norm.

Since we were a bit early for our assigned tour time at the mansion in Chandor, Stanley suggested stopping for a walk in Margoa, his hometown. He was hoping to take us into the Church of the Holy Spirit, but a funeral was in progress, so we simply wandered along a row of houses dating back to the Portuguese colonial era. The houses were a mix of run down ones and restored ones. One of the latter was a beautiful house from 1892 … painted a brilliant yellow with white trim. The owner was quite gracious and bid us happy travels and said it was OK to go up the steps to take a peek into the entry of his home.

Continuing our drive to Chandor, we were faced with a bit of quandary to get to the house we were to visit. The road with the higher bridge was closed for construction. The A/C unit on top of our van was too tall for us to go under the secondary bridge. No worries, we were told. Asking the locals for directions, we found an alternate route. It took us longer to get there, and we missed the time for our private tour, but we made it … and were given a tour nonetheless.

Braganza House is perhaps the grandest of all of the colonial mansions in the state. Over 450 years old, it is so big that it takes up one side of the village square. In fact, two families live in the house.

Our tour guide for the visit was the grandson of the family who has been living in the house since it was first built … he said he was the 15th generation. We went through each room that is open to the public, and he pointed out special features and collections. He explained that the tiles in the visitor hall were Portuguese; the wood in the library Flemish; and the marble in the ballroom Italian. The chandeliers were brought from Venice and Belgium, and there was lovely colored glass from Venice in the French doors of the 28 balconies overlooking the square. A lovely house where the collections would have easily kept us there far longer than we had today.

The next mansion was in the nearby village of Quepem. Palacio de Deao — approximately 215 years old — was built by a Portuguese nobleman who was the founder of the village and also the dean of the church. This house was constructed in a fusion of Hindu and Portuguese architectural styles.

We walked through a gate blanketed with white bougainvillea and into a well-manicured garden that was dotted with statues. The house gleamed under the hot sun. The owner, who gave us a tour of the public rooms, purchased the house that was in ruins and restored it over a period of three years … with the stated goal of preserving the local heritage. Another lovely house.

Lunch was at the family-operated, by-reservation only restaurant at the Palacio. We sat outside … in an area that was described as the belvedere … a covered deck, if you will, overlooking the gardens … with a glimpse of Kushavati River through the heavy foliage. There were four or five other tables, all well spaced out … one occupied by a couple of fellow shipmates also on a private tour … one occupied by a very famous Goan singer. Of course, we would have been none the wiser to the latter had our guide not gotten really excited about seeing him and told us who he was.

The food was very tasty … some of it a bit spicy hot … but there was plenty to pick and choose from. Our host suggested the mangosteen tea they prepare themselves … with or without alcohol. Mui and I chose the latter. It was delicious and refreshing.

First up a selection of starters … crab served on the shell; aubergine crostinis; and miniature shrimp empanadas. Then came the soup course … tomato. Finally, a selection of main courses to share … red rice from the owner’s garden; jackfruit vegetable; a pumpkin tart … more like a quiche; some kind of green vegetable that we were told helps with digestion; salad with avocado and pomegranate seeds; and two curries … chicken and shrimp. We completed the meal with a delicious flourless chocolate cake with chopped cashews. It was served with cream and strawberry jam toppings … if you chose to add them. We did. The cake was one of the two options for dessert — the other being crème caramel. We did get one crème caramel for the table … to taste, but we all agreed that the cake was the winner!

After lunch, we piled back into the van to start the drive back to the port. Along the way, we stopped at a bazaar to pick up mangos and cashews … and a special order of the “hottest peppers” we could find. None of us were willing to check to see how hot they were, but they have been delivered to the Chief Engineer and the Captain, so we’ll ask for a report!

Once back at the port, we had to go through the red tape formalities again. First, we were asked to get out of the vehicle before we got to the small terminal and go through security. Of course, in addition to being frisked, we had to show our landing cards. Then, we got back in the vehicle for the short drive to the terminal. Yes, again we showed our landing cards.

We wrapped up our day in Goa with a beautiful, colorful sunset that accompanied Insignia as we left our berth to continue south to our next port of call in India.Læs mere