After a lovely week of doing not much on the beach in Palolem, I finally made the move to head North. I took 4 different local buses; for the eqivalent fare of about $1.50, and a few hours later ended up in Anjuna. Anjuna is another hippie infested beach side village in Goa. I was pretty comfortable in Palolem and once I got off the bus it took about a 10 minute walk on a road, and then a 20 minute hike on the beach in broad day, 30 plus degree sun, with my backpack and so I ended up staying at the first guest house i came across. Slightly over priced, but worth it just so i didnt have to keep on walking!
The day after arriving I actually picked up and left and went back south to meet the diving crew back in Calangute, near Baga for the day. It was nice to see familiar faces. We spent the diving "Suzy Wreck", which was the sunken ship Jess and I had attempted to dive first time round when the visibility was pretty much nonexistant. I had a great day, all kitted out with their equipment and jumping right back into my role as an underwater Lara Croft with my dive watch, a huge knife strapped to my leg and a few other bits and bobs hanging off of me (ive always been an accessories kinda girl). On the hour and a half boat trip home we saw tonnes of dolphins off the boat and the ocean was calm and peaceful (the total opposite of my experience with Jess doing the same route a week or so back).
We went out for a cheap, spicy and fantastic lunch at a local joint and then I loitered around the dive shop until it closed for the day. We gathered a small little crowd and Richard, one of the dive masters guided us through a great night visiting the shadiest back alley bars and food joints in Calangute. I loved it! I would never even come close to setting foot near these places solo, but with this bunch it was safe and a good glimpse at a more local side of Goa.
I made it back to Anjuna but not back to my own place. A few of us crashed at one of the girls' places who was actually living in a local house. The owner of the shop asked me to dive again tomorrow and help out cause they had a big group and were short numbered, so I got to dive the wreck again- on the house!!! What a life. I loved being back under water again. I usually only do a few dives a year, depending where I am travelling so having 6 back to back dives, I was SO at ease under water and able to pick out lots of different things and really be comfortable with the experiences.
A few days later I got back to Anjuna, and the landlady at my guest house looked so relieved when she saw me. She had been worried cause she noticed I had come back, and it felt really nice to have someone worried about me and looking out for me, even if it wasnt really necessary!
From Anjuna I headed further north on more local buses, which i am becoming a pro at navigating (though I almost did miss my stop cause i was too plugged into my ipod), to Arambol.
Same, same but different. Another beach town, more shops, bars on the beach and cows wandering about. My plan is to stay here for a few days, sucking up all the beach sun and sand I can and then head to Mandrem, apparently pretty close to here, to do some yoga.
Although I feel like Goa is a little un-India, I can't help be swept up by the ease of life and how nicley one day rolls into the next.
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