Panjim

…We left the boat at Panjim and boarded a bus bound for Margao, where we were to catch a further bus for Colva beach.

This beach, unlike many of the alternative beaches, was almost deserted, that is, except for the Budget bus passengers, who all seemed to converge on this beach, like the swarms of insects that followed us everywhere. Well, I suppose the family that plays together stays together.

As I tagged along with Kevin, we walked along the beach together, far enough to get a safe distance between the others and us helped him to pitch his tent and he kindly allowed me to store my burdensome, rucksack inside. One had to be extremely careful with some of one’s more valuable possessions. I would never part important items, e.g. my passport, student cards and money and I carried them on my person at all times.

I became more suspicious of thieves after speaking to an Irish girl on the boat. She thought she was very smart and buried her passport on the beach, so that no one would be tempted to steal it. Unfortunately, she was on her way home as she had forgotten where she had buried it.
Kevin and I kept the sleeping bags in the tent during the day and brought them out at night, not to sleep in, as the heat, even through the night, was stifling. They were used merely to sleep on top of, to keep us out of the path of hungry insects or whatever. This was a long way from sleeping out in Vondelpark, Amsterdam and getting soaked to the skin as a result. Now one could predict the weather with great accuracy each day and always be absolutely correct….