Day 27 - The Saddest Goodbye

14:20
Neither of us has slept brilliantly. I think it’s last day blues syndrome, but Vicki is adamant it’s due to snoring. The truth is perhaps somewhere between the two. Irrespective of the cause, we’re both a little on the jaded side, and not helped by the 07:45 alarm. What fuckery is this? We’re quickly packed up and on the road by 09:00. Vicks plugs into an audio book, and I watch the last couple of episodes of The Agency - a cracking spy thriller type thing on Paramount+.

The drive is quicker than expected. I’d anticipated around 2 1/2 hours, but we’re pulling up to the terminal a little before 11:00. I’m gutted to be saying goodbye to Vicki. We’ll see you in a couple of weeks, but the joy I felt at our meeting 5,000 from home last Wednesday, is equally balanced by the sadness at saying goodbye at this end of her trip. Indian airports are highly reluctant to let anyone into the terminal who isn’t actually flying, so we say our goodbyes at the drop-off point, and I get back on the road.

In a fairly unsurprising turn of events, it quickly becomes apparent that my driver doesn’t know how to get to Morjim, my overnight stop. He could get there from Patnem, but not from Manohar Airport. As a result, I direct him from the back seat. We manage to avoid getting lost - just.

My hotel is fine. You can tell Vicki’s no longer along for the ride, as I’m back at the slightly rougher and definitely readier end of the spectrum. It’ll do for tonight though.

I haven’t eaten yet today, so head down to Morjim Beach. It remains a very beautiful little place, but has become even moreso a Leningrad-by-Sea than our past visits. It’s weird - the whole vibe is a bit dulled and moody by comparison to South Goa. Even the service team in the bar where I eat lunch are less friendly than their southern counterparts - no doubt in no small part due to being used to being shouted at constantly by the largely Russian tourists that dominate the beach. In the hour I’m in the bar, there are 4 separate instances of voices being raised by patrons towards the team working there. I’ve not heard a raised voice in 3 weeks, so it jars more than slightly.

Lunch is good. An aloo palak - potato cooked in a spicy and rich spinach sauce, mopped up with some roti. I power my way through it, washing it down with a couple of Kingfisher. I amble back to my hotel via La Plage, a French focused beach restaurant that is (or least was…) spankingly good. I book a table for dinner later.

Back at my hotel, I read for a little while. I’ve got aims on a deep and delicious nap. At LEAST 2 hours. I hold on until Vicki’s boarded, and her flight’s ready to depart, but having been assured she’s ok on her flight, for me it’s next stop sleeptown, and no stops along the way….

23:00
WHOA. My afternoon nap turns into an extended sleep. Just over 3 hours. I wake up a little confused, but ultimately very refreshed.

I mooch for a while, and have a shower. There’s some confusion (entirely my fault) with shower operation, and I only twig after I’ve had a pretty cold shower that there’s a switch for an immersion heater that I woulda/coulda/shoulda flicked before attempting the shower. Live/learn etc.

I mosey down to La Plage for my 20:00 reservation. It’s a bijou and bougie little place, just off the beach. The menu is a wonderful blend of local ingredients, classical French technique, and styles from around the world. My starter is a great example - a ceviche (South American) of Kingfish (Indian) with green curry (Thai) flavourings. It’s brilliant. Astutely balanced acidity, heat and sweetness, perfectly seasoned. A sensational dish. My main is more traditionally French - a fillet of beef served with a peppercorn sauce, and some sauté potatoes that have spent quite a lot of time getting to know some beef fat. The beef is beautifully flavoured and well aged. I’m not typically a fan of beef fillet, but this is given some extra bang by being barbecued, and the charred finish is delicious. It’s comfortably the most I’ve spent on a meal for one throughout my trip, but worth every rupee.

I head back to my hotel via the off licence and supermarket for some grocery supplies. My 3 hour nap earlier means I’m not particularly tired, but I’m conscious I’ve got another reasonably early start tomorrow. I read for a while, before drifting into a deep sleep…Meer informatie