-Brian Mendonça
As the rains kick in over Goa in June, the best thing is to
drive into those off-beat places which you have always wanted to visit.
Paying a call to Siolim, we took the road up North planning
to have our lunch at Morjim beach, Pernem. The winding roads took us over the
bridge over the Chapora river. The view was breathtaking - both while going as
well as while returning. The broad swathe of the river as it demurely ran its
course was a sight to behold. Picturesque coconut trees lined the rim of the
waterfront.
As we proceeded on our journey the signs read ‘Chopdem.’ The
jetty for the river was on our left. My friends come fishing here. Next time I
am going to join them.
The greenery all round us rejuvenated us. Though it was not
raining, the sky seemed overcast. It made our journey in the afternoon very
pleasant.
The first destination we typed on our GPS was Golden Eye beach shack at Morjim. After
a long drive we reached the spot and got out of the car with bated breath. The
place had received good reviews about its food. Imagine our exasperation when
despite the bevy of white taxis stationed at the parking, we were informed that
the restaurant was closed for the rains. (A note in tripadvisor.in says
November to April).
What do
these guys do for the remaining half of the year?
We could see the lip of the sea in the distance. To view it
more closely we would have to take the track around the restaurant. The only problem was that the path now seemed
stolidly occupied by grazing cows. We
decided against the adventure.
As we looked around we saw most of the shops and restaurants
were shut for the impending monsoon. The stretch from Morjm to Ashwem was in
some places like a ghost town. Most of the signs were in Russian. We drove on aimlessly past 3 p.m. The online
restaurant reviews were useless now. At
our wits end we decided to inquire at Tahira Beach resort, Ashwem, if they
served lunch. The receptionist jerked a finger at the back.
We walked the somewhat precarious stepping and emerged
almost onto the beach to Arabian Sea
restaurant. None of this could be seen from the road. It was open because it
was contracted by OYO which had acquired the property nearby. They required a
restaurant to cater to the needs of the guests. The waiters spoke Bengali.
We tucked into our prawn curry (somewhat marred by the
wedges of tomato) and rice, as the waves crashed in front of us. We remembered
the members of the D’Souza family from Immaculate Conception colony, Borivali
who were wiped out in the waters of Aarey-Ware beach, Ratnagari last Sunday.
As we walked back to our car we noticed workmen assiduously
putting huge plastic sheets over the roofs of the cottages at Tahira beach
resort.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Pix taken by the author on Morjim beach, Goa on 5th June 2018. Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, St. Inez, Goa on Sunday, 10 June 2018.
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