Day 01: Discovering fontainhas on a walking tour.
This was my recording of the experience:
Utterly charmed on the walk this morning, exploring Fontainhas, Goa. A place where the older generation still sit behind barred, glassless windows, watching the world go by. Traditional fruit and veg sellers stroll by, large baskets on their heads, selling their wares from window to window, gossiping as they go.
Two ladies sitting by the roadside were sorting rice, picking out the stones, bagging it up and selling it alongside coconut oil in whiskey bottles, used for the hair and the body, or so they told us. They had beautiful smiles, which are always hard to capture; locals often ask to be photographed but feel they must be serious when faced with the camera.
An occasional piece of street art, the modern side of India, somehow blended into the tropical surroundings almost unobtrusive, being overshadowed by the colourful buildings which line the narrow, crooked streets of this one time capital of the state.
It seemed that every street had an exquisite example of a wonderfully maintained church, the imposing white walls, brilliant against the cerulean sky. Posters of Jesus offering free Bibles in the adjacent street to Joseph’s, the local’s most popular bar. Such charming irony.
The Portuguese culture was still evident here, hanging on, in spite of modernisation. Most people skip this area, heading straight for the beach. They really do miss out.
Goa quiz:
- Who knows why the houses are traditionally painted blue, yellow, green or red?
- What were the windows, still found in the area, traditionally made from, which allowed the light to penetrate but not the stares of nosy neighbours
