We are standing in the soft sand, with eagles flying overhead, colorful wooden fishing boats behind us, small lagoons of warm water created by the high tide, and a river which emerges from a green belt of lush foliage and tall trees.
Where are we?
We could be somewhere in the Caribbean, but no. We are in India. In Southern Goa. Yet another wildly different dimension of India. Where Arambol beach was busy and full of activity and energy, Palolem Beach is one chill spot. This beach easily compares with any beautiful beach in the world.
We have been travelling almost 3 months now. Palolem beach will be our last stop. We are ready to go home to Sri Lanka, and Palolem beach offers a perfect way to close this travel chapter.
Our friend Brook is moving to Goa, which will become her new home base. We are pleased to be around to help with the process of transitioning to her new life in India. Brook has been in India twice before, and she feels very much at home here. Much more than in her native Montana, in the U.S., where she has spent the last year and a half (after her baby was born in Sri Lanka). One of the main driving forces for this particular location of Palolem, is the international Kindergarten in Palolem.
Perfect bathing with a little one. Warm shallow clean waters. Yup, this too is India!No big hotels here, only small rustic cottages which line the beach. This is our breakfast view.There is always lots to do when you move to a new country. We spend a fair amount of time discussing priorities: house first, sim card (an ordeal in and of itself), visit the Kindergarten, find physical therapy work. Lots to talk about…. while chilling on the beach.India ~ always colorful. This beach is impressively clean, as you can see. Goa has a no plastic bag rule, and there are garbage and recycling cans at almost every entrance to the beach. Fishing is still the dominant trade here in Palolem.The two cutest butts at the beach. Yonder there are large boulders and places to explore. But there is no rush… even the dogs are chill here.
Ben gives Jaia a ride for our sunset walk to the rocks.
This is one very cute “lil puppy”.
To say that Brook is non materialistic is an understatement. Most mom’s lug round an inordinate amount of baby gear. Brook is more of a minimalist and does it simple: a wagon and a babypack and a few baby books compromise the sum total of her baby “stuff”. We both admire her strength and independence and the fact that she does not operate from a place of fear.Of course where there is a dog, there is Ben. But this one, particularly cute in how much she is enjoying her strokes.It is not often I willingly am up to see the sunrise at 5.00 a.m. The light pours into our little cottage at the crack of dawn and the birds beckon me to go for a morning beach walk (while Ben is getting an early start on catching up on his work emails).Colorful little cottages for rent dot the beach, which has the feel of a bygone era.All moved in to a cute little rental house just a block from the beach. It’s not everywhere that cows walk right by your front gate!Introducing Jaia to one of her new neighbors. Up close and personal.The view from our little Palolem cottage.
While Brook is busy settling in to her new home, Ben and I are going on a river eagle “safari”.
We walk from the beach at low tide to the area where the river is fuller and a fisherman offers boat rides to see the eagles. A rustic bamboo bridge crosses over the river, which gets full at high tide. The forested area here is protected by the local government.This will be our ride along the river…Settling in to watch the eagles
In Goa, there are 28 species of raptors / birds of prey ( i.e. eagles, vultures, kites, buzzards, falcons and harriers). The Indian and Greater Spotted Eagle that have made the shallow river and surrounding forest in Palolem their home, are globally threatened. Fortunately the government is protecting their habitat here.
Eagles perched in the trees. While they are keeping still, it is hard to imagine how wide their wingspan is.Exhilirating to watch these huge beautiful Indian Spotted Eagles swoop close over our wooden boat. Close enough that we can feel the air generated by their wings as they fly by us. There appear to be two species of eagles, larger brownish and cream colored ones, and smaller grey ones.Their wing span is about 4 feet wide.It’s a feeding frenzy. The boat guy is throwing food for the eagles out into the air, and it is amazing how accurately the birds are able to grab these, often in mid air.
30 seconds of eagles swooping by majesticallyThe ink black cormorant drying his wings, is almost invisible along the edge of the river.
Seeing these glorious creatures, makes us think about where else we have been fortunate to witness them before in the wild. In Ecuador, years back, we had a chance to see the large Condors. Very much on the list of endangered species, much like most wildlife in the world today, sadly.
After the excitement of seeing so many eagles up close, we stroll meditatively across the sand as the sun sets on Palolem beach.
It all looks so wonderfully peaceful and relaxing, but I’m sure there was plenty of activity trying to help Brook get situated. I’m in awe of her gumption! What a great three months you had on your travels; I enjoyed following along!
Interestingly, Brook’s transition was relatively smooth and easy. She has done this before in other countries and that definitely makes a difference. Jaia, her little one, who is not 2 years old yet, has lived in Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico, Montana and now India.
It’s always incredible to see wildlife in their natural habitat. The boat man was throwing food to the eagles and I did wonder how sustainable that was and whether it negatively was impacting the eco system.. however, it did bring them swooping right over and in front of us for a closer look. I suppose that the season for taking boats of eagle watchers is rather short, so it probably does not impact meaningfully.
So beautiful! Unfortunately, whenever I see a sea-level community now, I can’t help but wonder how climate change and rising tides could impact them. Do you know if they’ve seen any changes?
Janis, we think about climate change and sea levels rising, no matter where we go.
Because the bottom line is, everyone will be impacted it is just a matter of degree and when. The small little cottages you see here are actually only up for the “holiday season” and are then taken down because during the rainy monsoon season there is hardly any beach and flooding does occur. The vendors too in their little shops all close up after April.
India is facing a climate change crisis of historic and gargantuan proportion. But it is not about sea level rise, it is about drought. It is estimated that nearly 600 million Indians will be without reliable access to fresh and clean water by 2030. Already, massive swaths of previously arable land has turned to desert and the entire region of South Asia is considered to be ground zero for climate related catastrophes.
I did not know this about drought conditions in India. That’s one thing I wasn’t expecting since normally we only hear about flooding from the monsoons.
How ironic that with the threat of rising ocean levels, the double jeopardy comes from a lack of water.
Yes and we have similar issues here on the tiny island of Sri Lanka. Severe drought and severe flooding. If only the technology to make sea water into drinkable water was more established….
That she is.. It is not easy being a single mom for starters and definitely is not easy changing countries even though she makes it look that way. For example, the baby got sick shortly after they moved in and then Brook got sick from the baby.
The neighbors own the small spa shop next door and they were very enamored with the little blonde blue eyed Jaia. Luckily she has two women right there, very happy to babysit and help out. The Indian way. It takes a village.
The end of the beach with its river and wild area was indeed beautiful and magical and so restorative in a way that only nature can be. The eagles were the cherry on the top!
Well, that’s a very lovely way to wrap up 3 months of travel, it all looks so relaxing and idyllic. And, what a sweet little girl and her lovely mama. Good practice for you for future grandbabies!
Patti, yes, perfect way to end our 3 months. Being in India for extended amounts of time, such as we were, can be overwhelming. No energy for big Indian cities this time!
Jaia is adorable… Yup no grandkids yet, however, I have several nomadic good friends all in the child bearing age and am definitely enjoying getting to know their little ones. (An added benefit to having friends the same age more or less as my own kids).
Agesim I think is an issue in Western society, where people tend to coalesce with others in the same age bracket. I do not think of age as a defining issue for friendships and fortunately nor do my friends 🙂 Being nomadic and changing countries is something we all have in common as a bonding experience.
Ann, we have really enjoyed having extended time in Goa so that we could be both at the beach and as well in the countryside. Definitely a huge contrast to the large bustling Indian cities.
We were very happy to be able to offer up a bit of support at a time of transition, although no doubt Brook would have managed fine solo. She is pretty badass 🙂
“Mesmerized”, Joanne that is exactly the feeling we had while sitting idly on the boat while the eagles swooped by. It brought me to tears I was so moved by seeing so many eagles so close. Feel extremely grateful and fortunate.
Another beautiful post. I like what you said about Brook: that she does not operate from a place of fear. That is so important, and something I try to do and am mostly successful at. But could do better…
And I’m with Ben about the dogs!
Deb YES. Totally agree. Ben and I follow that guiding principle too, as much as possible. One of the reasons living in the U.S. was so hard for Brook, was the voices around her operating from a place of fear. It can be crippling.
Ben.. loves on dogs no matter where we are in the world. They find us and we find them.
Great post. I love seeing all the raptors. Surprisingly, I’ve been seeing lots of eagles every time I go to Iowa City. They’re making a comeback there too
Thanks Sharon. The raptors was definitely a highlight. Any time we see wildlife in it’s natural habitat we are pretty happy campers. Glad you get to enjoy them too!
What a lovely spot. I so admire Brook. I think her and Jaia will be happy there. I love the cow picture and the one with Ben and the dog. They both look very happy. xo
Pretty special place Darlene. No doubt about that. It is a great place for Brook being near the beach, Indian culture and also the opportunity to make a living being a physical therapist. I love those photos too!! We have so many photos of Ben loving on all the cows, but we had to be selective (and after all, we did post a few of those on our earlier Goa posts)… Thanks for the lovely comments.
The 28 species of raptors do not hold a candle to the Peta/Ben-species – The photo of you in the boat is WONDERFUL – the perspective, colors, pose . . . worthy of framing.
Hahaha ok you have us laughing hard at this one!! Made my morning….:)
I had to go back and check out that photo you mention. Thanks, nice to know you like it so much as I was not going to put that one in the post, but Ben was pushing for it…
I so enjoyed this post, Peta and Ben! It had all the elements for a fantastic vacation or end of your travels: peace, a beautiful beach, colorful scenes, the company of friends, friendly dogs (we are getting our doggie fixes while on the road as well, fortunately) and wildlife encounters. The eagles are amazing (I’ll ignore the “feeding the wildlife” part :-)). Yeah… Mark and I definitely have to check out this part of India, especially this part of Goa. Maybe Brook and Jaia still live there by then and we can go say hi! I won’t be any competition for the “cute butt” contest, though. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it so much Liesbet and you summed it up beautifully! Right on….
Yup I was definitely bothered by the feeding the wildlife part, but Ben told me to let it go and enjoy the sight because he knows I can be vocal about that kind of stuff ahaha.
Too funny on the butt comment, yup that is tough competition for most of us… Hopefully you do get there, and I highly recommend Palolem and Patnem (right next door) beaches as being worthy places. Let me know when you are on your way and I will connect you with Brook, for sure. You guys would get along great, of that I have no doubt…
Brook is a wonder and an inspiration. Definitely not operating from a place of fear. I’ll be looking forward to hearing updates through you.
I am so impressed by the no plastic bag rule in Goa! Do you see any hope for that kind of initiative spreading in Asia? The beach looks pristine and one we would so enjoy visiting.
I second that re Brook. She is very inspiring and definitely a unique character 🙂 Her Indian visa is about to run out in days… (two months already) and she will be arriving here for her visa run, so we are excited and looking forward to having her and Jaia stay with us. We moved to Sri Lanka together, so it’s “home” for her as well.
Fantastic no plastic rule. So impressive. I wish it would spread to other parts of Asia, and am hopeful, but it will take time and the ocean is running out of time. Climate change is upon us and requires radical shifts in a lot of different directions and general way of thinking that most people have.
Gorgeous super clean beach in Palolem, way cleaner than many other parts of the world.
Three months on the road is quite a while but looks like you and Ben have seen quite a few sights. You and Brook look so happy in the photo together. Nothing like spending time with great friends, especially meeting them half way in the middle. That river eagle safari looked like a great private cruise on calm waters. Lovely to hear wildlife’s habitats are protected, and I am sure the birds were happy to see yo 🙂
Thanks Mabel for stopping by and your comments. We started in Bali, then went on to Flores Indonesia, then Penang Malaysia, Koh Lipe in Thailand and finally six weeks in India. Considering we thought we were going for ten days, which turned into 3 months, yes, quite a while!
The eagle sightings was definitely a highlight as was our time with Brook.
Well, Brook like us, is very much a nomad. So maybe she will be there, or maybe she will have moved on. In fact, she is about to do a visa run and come and stay with us in Sri Lanka for ten days. But hopefully we will be back in Goa as we really enjoyed our time there.
I’m just catching up on your time in Goa. What a fabulous adventure! I had no idea that it is so beautiful. Through your blog, you’ve introduced me to so many places that I otherwise know very little about. It’s such a treat to experence these exotic places through your photos and words! Your experience with the eagles is fantastic. I love that you “dig deep” wherever you go. 🙂
Laurel, Ben is very happy with your “dig deep” comment, as that is a phrase he uses often in response to our travels, i.e. doing deep dives so that we don’t limit ourselves to the first layer of discovery.
We too were surprised by the beauty of the beaches in Goa, having been to other beaches in India that were rather funky. So this was a terrific discovery. So glad that you are enjoying our adventures with us.
A beautiful post, Peta. Rich in content and stunning photos. I have never visited India, yet I realize I have a different picture of India in my mind from books, movies, and media. You do show a “wildly different dimension.” The beach is gorgeous and as you say, clean.
Brook is inspirational and courageous to build a new life in India. I was not aware about the existence of International kindergarten. Amazing photos and information about the eagles. Gorgeous sun rise, worthy of the 5am wake up. Thank you for sharing a beautiful part of our planet!
Erica, this was our fifth time in India, and each new part of India we discover keeps teaching us that our preconceptions are out of sync with the reality of India’s rich and complex tapestry. You might be interested to check out our archives for India, and see what a wide range of experiences we have had there, in different parts of the country.
Thanks for the comments Steven and Annie. I had to go back and look at the photos re your “scarves” comment… so it must be Ben’s scarf. Yes, I am a big fan of thin shawls, scarves, especially when travelling as they are so versatile.
Goa, but especially Palolem and Patnem beach are both great places to enjoy some relaxing beach time in an environment that has a distinctively old fashioned feel to it.
Love all your photos and narrative. This looks nothing like the India that tourists (like us) see. No bustling traffic, temples with long lines of visitors, etc. Just beautiful scenery and a lady who’s a minimalist. Kinda refreshing, don’t you think? And a great place to raise a child. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you…. Haha I like that “just beautiful scenery and a lady who is a minimalist”… Palolem beach could be anywhere in the world, except for the fact that there are cows wandering along the beaches and of course the colors of saris in the streets. But it could not be further away from Delhi and Bombay in almost every respect.
Wonderful place to raise a child! Yes. She chose well.
Really enjoyed this lovely visit to Goa and Palolem Beach, Peta. The beach is beautiful, I liked seeing the people and cottages and beach scenes here. Of course the eagles were an exciting thing to see for you both and for me, and amazing birds. Can’t be sure about the ID, sorry.
Thanks Jet. Glad you enjoyed this post and our eagle sighting. It was a really incredible and memorable experience for both of us. I think we got the identification right…. 🙂
What glorious photos of the eagles you captured! It’s so heartwarming to see that many decades since my visit to Goa, it is still a wonderful haven for nature.
So interesting to see the eagles there. I am very fortunate to live on the west coast of Canada where there are many bald eagles. Almost every day I see them flying by from my window, or perched high in the trees near the sea when I travel around our rural area. Last weekend, we had a pair of raptors riding the thermals over our backyard. With the help of Google, we identified them as turkey vultures. That was exciting. I have never seen turkey vultures up close before.
Thanks for your interesting comments Jude about the eagles in your part of the world. How lucky you were to see them in your own backyard. What does “riding the thermals” mean? Sounds like some kind of geological situation?
We hope to one day travel to your region as we have heard wonderful things about the nature there.
Those raptor images are magnificent. Going, Going, Goa. How cool is it that Brook and Jaia will move there. I know what it is like to be called to a place that is not my home of origin. Wishing Mama and Baby best of luck in their new lives.
It all looks so wonderfully peaceful and relaxing, but I’m sure there was plenty of activity trying to help Brook get situated. I’m in awe of her gumption! What a great three months you had on your travels; I enjoyed following along!
Interestingly, Brook’s transition was relatively smooth and easy. She has done this before in other countries and that definitely makes a difference. Jaia, her little one, who is not 2 years old yet, has lived in Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico, Montana and now India.
Shaping up to be a good little nomad!
Peta
How amazing to see so many eagles all at once!
It’s always incredible to see wildlife in their natural habitat. The boat man was throwing food to the eagles and I did wonder how sustainable that was and whether it negatively was impacting the eco system.. however, it did bring them swooping right over and in front of us for a closer look. I suppose that the season for taking boats of eagle watchers is rather short, so it probably does not impact meaningfully.
Peta
So beautiful! Unfortunately, whenever I see a sea-level community now, I can’t help but wonder how climate change and rising tides could impact them. Do you know if they’ve seen any changes?
Janis, we think about climate change and sea levels rising, no matter where we go.
Because the bottom line is, everyone will be impacted it is just a matter of degree and when. The small little cottages you see here are actually only up for the “holiday season” and are then taken down because during the rainy monsoon season there is hardly any beach and flooding does occur. The vendors too in their little shops all close up after April.
India is facing a climate change crisis of historic and gargantuan proportion. But it is not about sea level rise, it is about drought. It is estimated that nearly 600 million Indians will be without reliable access to fresh and clean water by 2030. Already, massive swaths of previously arable land has turned to desert and the entire region of South Asia is considered to be ground zero for climate related catastrophes.
Peta & Ben
I did not know this about drought conditions in India. That’s one thing I wasn’t expecting since normally we only hear about flooding from the monsoons.
How ironic that with the threat of rising ocean levels, the double jeopardy comes from a lack of water.
Yes and we have similar issues here on the tiny island of Sri Lanka. Severe drought and severe flooding. If only the technology to make sea water into drinkable water was more established….
What a thoroughly inspirational post!
You’ve definitely help made my feet itchy again! Kudos to Brook for being so adventurous, grounded and brave!
That she is.. It is not easy being a single mom for starters and definitely is not easy changing countries even though she makes it look that way. For example, the baby got sick shortly after they moved in and then Brook got sick from the baby.
The neighbors own the small spa shop next door and they were very enamored with the little blonde blue eyed Jaia. Luckily she has two women right there, very happy to babysit and help out. The Indian way. It takes a village.
Peta & Ben
What a beautiful and magical place – the boat looks like a lot of fun!
Nice to read you!
The end of the beach with its river and wild area was indeed beautiful and magical and so restorative in a way that only nature can be. The eagles were the cherry on the top!
xoxo
P & B
Well, that’s a very lovely way to wrap up 3 months of travel, it all looks so relaxing and idyllic. And, what a sweet little girl and her lovely mama. Good practice for you for future grandbabies!
Patti, yes, perfect way to end our 3 months. Being in India for extended amounts of time, such as we were, can be overwhelming. No energy for big Indian cities this time!
Jaia is adorable… Yup no grandkids yet, however, I have several nomadic good friends all in the child bearing age and am definitely enjoying getting to know their little ones. (An added benefit to having friends the same age more or less as my own kids).
Agesim I think is an issue in Western society, where people tend to coalesce with others in the same age bracket. I do not think of age as a defining issue for friendships and fortunately nor do my friends 🙂 Being nomadic and changing countries is something we all have in common as a bonding experience.
Peta
What a gorgeous part of India! And your friend is lucky to have you help her settle into her new home there.
Ann, we have really enjoyed having extended time in Goa so that we could be both at the beach and as well in the countryside. Definitely a huge contrast to the large bustling Indian cities.
We were very happy to be able to offer up a bit of support at a time of transition, although no doubt Brook would have managed fine solo. She is pretty badass 🙂
Peta
I was totally mesmerized by your riverboat adventure. To see all those eagles up so close! What an amazing privilege!
“Mesmerized”, Joanne that is exactly the feeling we had while sitting idly on the boat while the eagles swooped by. It brought me to tears I was so moved by seeing so many eagles so close. Feel extremely grateful and fortunate.
Peta
Another beautiful post. I like what you said about Brook: that she does not operate from a place of fear. That is so important, and something I try to do and am mostly successful at. But could do better…
And I’m with Ben about the dogs!
Deb
Deb YES. Totally agree. Ben and I follow that guiding principle too, as much as possible. One of the reasons living in the U.S. was so hard for Brook, was the voices around her operating from a place of fear. It can be crippling.
Ben.. loves on dogs no matter where we are in the world. They find us and we find them.
Peta
Great post. I love seeing all the raptors. Surprisingly, I’ve been seeing lots of eagles every time I go to Iowa City. They’re making a comeback there too
Thanks Sharon. The raptors was definitely a highlight. Any time we see wildlife in it’s natural habitat we are pretty happy campers. Glad you get to enjoy them too!
xo
Peta
What a lovely spot. I so admire Brook. I think her and Jaia will be happy there. I love the cow picture and the one with Ben and the dog. They both look very happy. xo
Pretty special place Darlene. No doubt about that. It is a great place for Brook being near the beach, Indian culture and also the opportunity to make a living being a physical therapist. I love those photos too!! We have so many photos of Ben loving on all the cows, but we had to be selective (and after all, we did post a few of those on our earlier Goa posts)… Thanks for the lovely comments.
Peta
Wonderful relaxed feel to all this, Peta 🙂 🙂 The eagles are an amazing sight.
Yup Jo, super chill and relaxed, just the way we like it (ideally). The eagles were a huge highlight of our stay there. Just incredible.
Peta
The 28 species of raptors do not hold a candle to the Peta/Ben-species – The photo of you in the boat is WONDERFUL – the perspective, colors, pose . . . worthy of framing.
Hahaha ok you have us laughing hard at this one!! Made my morning….:)
I had to go back and check out that photo you mention. Thanks, nice to know you like it so much as I was not going to put that one in the post, but Ben was pushing for it…
Peta
I so enjoyed this post, Peta and Ben! It had all the elements for a fantastic vacation or end of your travels: peace, a beautiful beach, colorful scenes, the company of friends, friendly dogs (we are getting our doggie fixes while on the road as well, fortunately) and wildlife encounters. The eagles are amazing (I’ll ignore the “feeding the wildlife” part :-)). Yeah… Mark and I definitely have to check out this part of India, especially this part of Goa. Maybe Brook and Jaia still live there by then and we can go say hi! I won’t be any competition for the “cute butt” contest, though. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it so much Liesbet and you summed it up beautifully! Right on….
Yup I was definitely bothered by the feeding the wildlife part, but Ben told me to let it go and enjoy the sight because he knows I can be vocal about that kind of stuff ahaha.
Too funny on the butt comment, yup that is tough competition for most of us… Hopefully you do get there, and I highly recommend Palolem and Patnem (right next door) beaches as being worthy places. Let me know when you are on your way and I will connect you with Brook, for sure. You guys would get along great, of that I have no doubt…
So enjoyed your commentary 🙂
Peta
Brook is a wonder and an inspiration. Definitely not operating from a place of fear. I’ll be looking forward to hearing updates through you.
I am so impressed by the no plastic bag rule in Goa! Do you see any hope for that kind of initiative spreading in Asia? The beach looks pristine and one we would so enjoy visiting.
I second that re Brook. She is very inspiring and definitely a unique character 🙂 Her Indian visa is about to run out in days… (two months already) and she will be arriving here for her visa run, so we are excited and looking forward to having her and Jaia stay with us. We moved to Sri Lanka together, so it’s “home” for her as well.
Fantastic no plastic rule. So impressive. I wish it would spread to other parts of Asia, and am hopeful, but it will take time and the ocean is running out of time. Climate change is upon us and requires radical shifts in a lot of different directions and general way of thinking that most people have.
Gorgeous super clean beach in Palolem, way cleaner than many other parts of the world.
Peta
Three months on the road is quite a while but looks like you and Ben have seen quite a few sights. You and Brook look so happy in the photo together. Nothing like spending time with great friends, especially meeting them half way in the middle. That river eagle safari looked like a great private cruise on calm waters. Lovely to hear wildlife’s habitats are protected, and I am sure the birds were happy to see yo 🙂
Thanks Mabel for stopping by and your comments. We started in Bali, then went on to Flores Indonesia, then Penang Malaysia, Koh Lipe in Thailand and finally six weeks in India. Considering we thought we were going for ten days, which turned into 3 months, yes, quite a while!
The eagle sightings was definitely a highlight as was our time with Brook.
Peta
Now you have a friend living in Goa, you’ll be back to visit her.
Well, Brook like us, is very much a nomad. So maybe she will be there, or maybe she will have moved on. In fact, she is about to do a visa run and come and stay with us in Sri Lanka for ten days. But hopefully we will be back in Goa as we really enjoyed our time there.
Peta
I’m just catching up on your time in Goa. What a fabulous adventure! I had no idea that it is so beautiful. Through your blog, you’ve introduced me to so many places that I otherwise know very little about. It’s such a treat to experence these exotic places through your photos and words! Your experience with the eagles is fantastic. I love that you “dig deep” wherever you go. 🙂
Laurel, Ben is very happy with your “dig deep” comment, as that is a phrase he uses often in response to our travels, i.e. doing deep dives so that we don’t limit ourselves to the first layer of discovery.
We too were surprised by the beauty of the beaches in Goa, having been to other beaches in India that were rather funky. So this was a terrific discovery. So glad that you are enjoying our adventures with us.
Peta
A beautiful post, Peta. Rich in content and stunning photos. I have never visited India, yet I realize I have a different picture of India in my mind from books, movies, and media. You do show a “wildly different dimension.” The beach is gorgeous and as you say, clean.
Brook is inspirational and courageous to build a new life in India. I was not aware about the existence of International kindergarten. Amazing photos and information about the eagles. Gorgeous sun rise, worthy of the 5am wake up. Thank you for sharing a beautiful part of our planet!
Erica, this was our fifth time in India, and each new part of India we discover keeps teaching us that our preconceptions are out of sync with the reality of India’s rich and complex tapestry. You might be interested to check out our archives for India, and see what a wide range of experiences we have had there, in different parts of the country.
So glad you enjoyed this post so much.
Peta
Great idea, Peta. I will check out your India archives. I like putting interesting and beautiful sites on my evening reading list. 🙂
Loved the eagles. And aren’t scarves a wonderful addition to every outfit! You’ve definitely sold me on adding Goa to our list.
Thanks for the comments Steven and Annie. I had to go back and look at the photos re your “scarves” comment… so it must be Ben’s scarf. Yes, I am a big fan of thin shawls, scarves, especially when travelling as they are so versatile.
Goa, but especially Palolem and Patnem beach are both great places to enjoy some relaxing beach time in an environment that has a distinctively old fashioned feel to it.
Peta
Love all your photos and narrative. This looks nothing like the India that tourists (like us) see. No bustling traffic, temples with long lines of visitors, etc. Just beautiful scenery and a lady who’s a minimalist. Kinda refreshing, don’t you think? And a great place to raise a child. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you…. Haha I like that “just beautiful scenery and a lady who is a minimalist”… Palolem beach could be anywhere in the world, except for the fact that there are cows wandering along the beaches and of course the colors of saris in the streets. But it could not be further away from Delhi and Bombay in almost every respect.
Wonderful place to raise a child! Yes. She chose well.
Peta
Really enjoyed this lovely visit to Goa and Palolem Beach, Peta. The beach is beautiful, I liked seeing the people and cottages and beach scenes here. Of course the eagles were an exciting thing to see for you both and for me, and amazing birds. Can’t be sure about the ID, sorry.
Thanks Jet. Glad you enjoyed this post and our eagle sighting. It was a really incredible and memorable experience for both of us. I think we got the identification right…. 🙂
What glorious photos of the eagles you captured! It’s so heartwarming to see that many decades since my visit to Goa, it is still a wonderful haven for nature.
Thank you! Yes, the state of Goa has done a nice job of protecting it’s natural resources. Seeing those eagles was a treat indeed.
Peta
Thank you for the video of the eagles – majestic in flight. Still can’t see the other photos – maybe your next post.
Glad you enjoyed the video of the eagles. Sorry you can’t access the rest of the photos.
Peta
So interesting to see the eagles there. I am very fortunate to live on the west coast of Canada where there are many bald eagles. Almost every day I see them flying by from my window, or perched high in the trees near the sea when I travel around our rural area. Last weekend, we had a pair of raptors riding the thermals over our backyard. With the help of Google, we identified them as turkey vultures. That was exciting. I have never seen turkey vultures up close before.
Jude
Thanks for your interesting comments Jude about the eagles in your part of the world. How lucky you were to see them in your own backyard. What does “riding the thermals” mean? Sounds like some kind of geological situation?
We hope to one day travel to your region as we have heard wonderful things about the nature there.
Peta
It means gliding on updrafts of air. I do hope you travel here to Canada’s west coast sometime. It is a special part of the world.
Jude
Those raptor images are magnificent. Going, Going, Goa. How cool is it that Brook and Jaia will move there. I know what it is like to be called to a place that is not my home of origin. Wishing Mama and Baby best of luck in their new lives.
Thanks Lisa for the compliment on the photography. Can you believe I actually took those with my little cell phone?
Brook and Jaia are well settled in their new abode and loving life in Goa.
Peta
Another enchanting post. Wonderful photos as always. Love the beach houses. Thank you for the delight and education of your posts.