Baga Beach – The Little Goan Paradise

This time when I went to my house for the weekend I decided that I had to try to visit one part of the beaches in Goa. The Goan journey has been so often described by my friends that I for once wanted to go there, enjoy the scenic beauty and the heavenly experience that people claim one gets on a visit there.

So Goa it was for me this time when I went for my weekend visit home. Mom and Dad were quite pleased that I had decided to take a break from my studies and they were more than willing to allow me to go with my friends to Goa.

There was no ticket booked for the paradise that I wanted to visit, so we tried getting a Tatkal ticket and sure enough we did. So Thane station witnessed me and my friends sharing a lot in common and fooling around in the wee hours of the morning to board the train to Madgao. The train chugged into the station and we had just a couple of minutes to get into the train. The crowd and the entire scene of getting into the crowded compartment is still remembered by all of us as an experience never to be repeated again. Such was the jostling and pushing in the train that when the train left the station ultimately we were still left wondering whether all of us got into the train or not. The Shatabdi sure was a comfortable train yet it was still left to us to make ourselves comfortable in the train. As I got into the comforts of my seat, I longed for a chilled glass of water. Soon after some time, the entire commotion subsided and we were feeling the lightness of the eased tension and finally began to enjoy the journey.

I took my camera out and took the best pictures ever but the stained glass window of the train did not allow me to pursue further. After six hours we reached the Madgao station. As we got out of the train, the station looked completely ready to receive all the people who would get down there with warmth and love. The station was hot and the climate sultry. We took a prepaid taxi and reached the MTDC hotel here. The facilities were good and the rates were also reasonable. It was good that we had booked this as otherwise it would have been difficult for us to get a booking immediately.

After a quick shower and an hour’s relaxation we set out and had lunch at a local hotel. We had a good many beaches to cover, and we headed first for the Baga beach. This beach which is actually an extension of the Calangute beach is very famous amongst tourists. Even I had heard most of my friends talk about it so I headed there first. Anyone who visited Calangute is sure to visit the Baga beach. Maybe we were the only ones who first visited the Baga Beach. The beach is so name apparently because of the creek called Baga which is found to empty in the Arabian Sea.

As we entered the beach sands, we saw a lot of people taking part in the water sports for which this beach is quite famous. I was looking forward to the cruise in which we could see the dolphins. This beach has Calangute on one side and Anjuna on the other.  It starts with the Fort Aguada in one corner and ends at the Sinquerim beach on the other. This same beach is known as Candolim beach afterwards and at the end it joins with the Calangute beach. We looked at the beachside and watched the sun set. We enjoyed the cool breeze of the beachside and were quite reluctant to believe that this is the same place where we felt so hot in the afternoon. Goa comes to life in the evenings and as we walked back to the hotel we saw the market of Baga beach. This market apparently is a weekly market and people come here to shop. Various articles like household articles, textiles, meat, fish and many other things were being sold. The vibrant colors and the shouting and yelling added to the confusion yet there was calmness amidst all this and this was the calmness of the satisfaction a tourist gets after coming here. Goan food and cuisine was also being vended and we binged on most of them. There was a band playing in the distant hotel and that ambience along with the hot roadside Goan Food made our evening worthwhile. This was freedom, this was what I wanted. Away from the grime, schedule, sweat and toil, evenings of untold relaxation and lots and lots of rejuvenation. If you haven’t been to Goa you haven’t been anywhere.

We walked back to the hotel and our tummy was full so we just settled to watching television and prepared ourselves for the next day. Early morning saw us up and about and watching the sun rise in the morning glow. The sky had become orange with the sun’s light innocence and we went across to the beach for some parasailing. Business had not started in the beach, but there was this sole man who had decided to get ready for water sports. As he saw me approaching he came forward with his equipments. I chose to parasail, and was it fun. There were many foreigners here who had come to Goa specially to enjoy. They were water skiing and surfing.

The parasailing experience was ecstatic and adventurous. This place is also a good place for fishing. The brown sand was much in contrast from the sand in Calangute. Yet this beach is frequented by all the tourists. As I walked back after parasailing and saw Naveen go for water skiing, I nodded my head in disbelief. How could Navin go water skiing if he was afraid of heights? Yet he was enjoying. WE walked along after this and reached the place where the sea and the river met. The sight was so beautiful and lovely that it was difficult to figure what was looking better, the spray or the black rocks.

It was wonderful and as Anoop, Navin and Abhishek walked I captured some of the beautiful early morning moments on camera. Calangute is very famous for its strong undercurrents. But Baga was relatively calm and the place was thus a good place to swim and the sand was a good thing to play with here. The clean white colored sand ensured that one enjoys to the fullest here. We played around with the beach sand for a long time and after a lot of laughter and giggle we were settled. WE just watched the beach side come to life with the tourists trooping in. We were early birds, but there were many who were just getting into the mood to enjoy the beach.

Baga beach would be around 9 km from Mapusa and around 16kmfrom the Panaji state. Actually we could have got down at Thivim. A taxi would have taken us to Baga but we were better off getting down at Madgao. The warm days were replaced by cooler nights here and the winters are sometimes really chilly.

We went to a nearby beachside hotel and had some breakfast. After this we decided to go on the dolphin seeking ride. We went into the boat and passed by a lot of greenery. We failed to see any dolphin that day. I felt so disappointed that the dolphin could let us down. As we were turning back, I heard a splash of water. It was a surprise. The dolphin came up. Whoopee! What a beauty it was. I clicked the entire movement on camera. I was happy we went and we surely ensured that we see one dolphin.

I have been to the Calangute beach and I found the Baga beach a little dirty. The waves from the sea were like beautiful ladies trying to sweep the sand of the beach underneath their feet. There weren’t much people here so the area was comparatively calm.

We enjoyed the scenic beauty and then proceeded towards the Baga Retreat House. We trekked up. Established in the year 1953, this house apparently is dedicated to St. Xavier.

As we trekked up to the Retreat House, we also remembered that we had to see the Baga River. This was on one side of the beach and this was a major entertainment factor for the children. The place where the river met the sea was a beautiful area and we were thrilled to hear the musical water flowing into the sea. Yes, as the river gurgled into the sea, it sounded as if it was singing a song. !

By the time, we finished the trek and saw the Baga River it was time for lunch. We lazed around a lot in the shades of a tree in the beach and then had hot lunch served to us by the waiter in the hotel. He brought us the food and this was one thing I liked about Goa. People allow you to enjoy the place and you can just be yourself.

After a couple of hours, we decided to go to the Medicinal Springs. The lunch was so tasty that we were completely rendered tired. WE had a good siesta and after tea we proceeded towards the Medicinal Springs. We walked past the BOm Viagem Convent. The scenic beauty completely hypnotized us and we were even more excited seeing the green expanse caused by the mountain ranges covered with cashew. The Springs were at a place called Mottant and they were just magnificent. There were many tourists here as it is believed that there is a lot of medicinal value for these springs. We dipped ourselves in the spring and enjoyed the pleasantness of the water. Even it was slightly warm yet we did feel rejuvenated. I felt I should tell my aunt to come here. She would be cured of all here rheumatic pain. It was touching to see the elderly sit here and allowing the water of the sea to fall on them. They believed that it would cure them of their aches and pains so common withhold age. In fact, they were just doing what people used to do in ancient times.

WE walked back and took a rickshaw to our hotel. Night set in and the entire beach area came to life. It was as if Cinderella had donned her shoes and the party had begun. The sleepy slow town gradually became a vibrant hub of noise, laughter, gaiety and cuisine.

We had to return the next day but who cared. All we knew then was that it was the time to enjoy bask in the glory of the beauty and warmth of the beach and just chill without any inhibitions.

Thus ended my short weekend stay. I was sad I couldn’t spend time with my parents but I was also happy that we spent it so fruitfully. With the coconut palms waving goodbye to me, I was surprised to find a lump in my throat as I left.

Parting thought: Just visit Goan paradise Baga Beach.