Goa 2010 and beyond

What I enjoyed about Goa this time round was the sense of the familiar - we knew the beaches and the nice restaurants to go to.This is the starting point for discovering more than just its coastline in this tiny indian state.  So some of the time this trip was spent exploring the hinterland, driving through lovely little villages with their portuguese style houses, their nativity displays and their Xmas lights.

We walked through fishing villages and saw the men fixing their nets and displaying their catch.

We caught the beauty of the sun rising, marvelled the enormity of the iron ore barges and took  ferry rides to islands and off them.

We took a dug out into the mangrove swamps and visited the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary.

A few words about this man. He is India's original bird man.Born into a Muslim family in Bombay in 1896 and orphaned of both parents he was brought up by his maternal uncle and aunt.Alis chance encounter with an unusually coloured sparrow apparently started off his passion for birds.If you are interested to read more pick up his book " The fall of the Sparrow " - full of delightful stories of his childhood and his own experiences travelling in the country and recording some of the bird life he came across.

We watched the majestic Brahminy kites warming themselves in the early morning sun.

Saw the silhouetted outlines of the cormorants and the egret.

Enjoyed the wonderful view of this Marsh Harrier.

We got lost on the back roads and used our noses to follow the smell to the sea.

The making of most, to end a year and start another, at a cracking pace.