We had got 4 days off from work, at a stretch and decided to go to Goa.

As usual, I began planning the trip. I wanted to explore south goa so I had booked “Dudh Sagar Resort”, in Mollem, Goa. 

We were going to decide the rest of our journey on our way.

As my husband was not taking interest in the goa trip, we landed up in an argument that involved not talking for a day. (trip could have got cancelled)

One day before our journey he kind of managed to persuade me and we decided to go to goa.

We booked a cab, from my place to “Dudh Sagar resort”

Day 1 – 23rd January 

On the way to Dudh Sagar resort, we crossed the Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary, which is a Mollem guarded area, situated in the Western Ghats.

With greenery all around, the road trip had beautiful views to enjoy. But we couldn’t locate any wild animal.

We reached our resort. It was amidst nature very near to the Dudhsagar Waterfall, hence the name “Dudh Sagar Resort”. 

Our cottage was in the middle of tall trees. 

We freshened up and decided to go to the “ Tambdi Surla Temple”, a Shiva temple.

We arranged for a cab from the resort to go to the temple.

The temple is situated inside the Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary. The road to the temple was filled with nature and peace.

We bought some flowers to offer the deity at the temple gate.

There is a small lake at the side of the temple.

The temple is beautiful. It was built in the 12th century. The temple is the only temple built from basalt. It is now an ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) protected monument. 

It was a serene experience!

Day 2 – 24th January

Candolim beach 

The next day due to some official work which came up last minute, we had to cancel our trip to the “Dudh Sagar waterfall.” 

After the work was done, we decided to go to Candolim beach, North Goa.

We booked our cab and headed north of Goa.

We had booked a hotel online. When we reached the place the hotel was shut down. 

We didn’t know what to do?

We saw a restaurant and decided to eat something and find another hotel.

As it was last minute, we didn’t get any hotels. 

The restaurant guy suggested a hotel nearby. We were irritated and were arguing with each other related to the hotel.

We finished our food and with our luggage, started walking to find the hotel. We were tired and frustrated.

On our way we came across the “Albuquerque Holiday Villas,” and my husband suggested we ask them if they have any rooms available. 

Voila!! We got a room.

The ambience was beautiful and amazing. We couldn’t have found such a hotel online.

The best things happen when we leave it to the universe.

The Candolim beach was 10 minutes walk from the hotel.

We kept our luggage and went to the Candolim beach as I was desperate to see the beach.

The calming sound of the waves was soothing and relaxing. I stood at the edge of the waters to wet my feet. Then I soaked my legs in the sand. 

We sat outside one of the restaurant shacks and had our candlelight dinner.

Fire, space, air, water, sand – all the 5 elements of the universe, made the evening beautiful and memorable.

Day 3 – 25th January

The next day we booked a bike to roam around in Goa.

Around 10 AM, we got our bike and decided to go to Aguada fort.

I used my Google map for directions while my husband was riding. (I love to direct my husband …hihihi)

We parked our vehicle and took the entry tickets at the gate.

Aguada Fort was built in the 7th century. It is a Portuguese fort. 

Aguada”, means “watery ” in Portuguese. As it is surrounded by the Arabian sea, it was a spot for transportation through ships.

Fort Aguada was used for use as a prison and we could see a lot of prison cells around the central white fort.

It has a lighthouse too.

The fort is protected under ASI.

While returning from the fort, we saw a “Dolphin watching boat tour” on the way. 

We were very hungry and decided to have our lunch in any restaurant on our way. 

After a nice meal, we went to the “Dolphin watching boat tour” and booked a boat ride.

It was a 45 minutes boat ride. We were in the middle of the sea, searching for dolphins. We could see ducks and fish. 

The boat riders would ride the boats fast to catch up with the dolphins and after a while, we could see the dolphins jumping in and out of the waters. 

It was my most memorable moment of the trip.

We went back to our hotel and rested for a while and again went to the same shack on the beach to have our candlelight dinner.

Day 4 – 26th January

Baga beach

I had never been to Baga beach so decided to go the next day on our bike.

In the morning we would go to Candolim beach for a swim and breakfast. 

We came back to the hotel got ready and went to Baga beach.

On the way, I shopped in a few stalls. I bought a beach dress and a few magnets and earrings for family and friends.

The ride to Baga beach was full of traffic. It was around 4 PM and all shops, restaurants and hawkers had started their business in full swing. The roads were packed.

We somehow reached Baga beach at 6 PM and it was getting dark.

The beach was lit up with fairy lights and was packed.

We sat in one of the shacks and had some snacks.

We preferred Candolim beach to Baga beach so decided to get back to Candolim beach for our dinner.

Day 5 – 27th January

The next day, we booked a cab back home to Pune. We were tired so mostly slept on our way home. 

The Goa trip was refreshing as we had not been out of the house for a long time.

And Goa gives you a nice tan as memories!