Walking tour of Old Goa

I slept pretty well, despite quite a lot of noise from the street outside.

I got up at just after 8 as I had booked a walking  tour of Old Goa this morning. I made myself a coffee and strapped my foot quite tightly. It actually felt OK as I set out.

It was a 15-minute walk to the starting point of the walk - The Viceroy's Arch - along busy streets and past the Gandhi Memorial roundabout. I attracted quite a bit of attention, with people wanting to talk to me and take my photo. They were all very friendly. Yashasvi, my guide, told me later that, although there are Western tourists here, they tend to just arrive at the monuments by coach or taxi. They don't just walk down the streets! Even at the monuments, I was asked numerous times for a photo. Yashasvi told me that many of the local tourists are from remote rural locations and have never seen a white face before!

At the start of the tour, Yashasvi explained all about the Portuguese colonisation of Goa. The Viceroy's Arch was built in 1599 by Governor Francisco da Gama to mark the Portuguese conquest of the city by his great grandfather, Vasco da Gama who 'discovered' it 100 years previously. One side of the arch, which was completely restored in 1954, has a stone statue of Vasco himself, and the other side has one of St. Catherine. The position of viceroy remained in place from 1599 to 1961 when Goa finally gained its independence from the Portuguese. 

From the arch, we walked down to the Mandovi river, where regular ferries go back and forth to Divar Island.Read more