Day 17: Fri 21 Nov 25 - Panaji to Candolim

Fri 21 Nov 25 - Panaji to Candolim (Amrit Goa)

An early morning walk around the Portuguese Quarter with Greg was followed by breakfast then bidding farewell to Mike, Khila and their support team. Greg gave a fitting thank you and farewell speech before handing over tips collected from the 11 riders for the four support team (Deepak, Thambi, Anthony and Deepak's brother). At midday, a taxi came to collect us, and drove us 12 km across the river to our next destination for our remaining 3 nights stay in Goa, the Amrit Goa in Candolim Beach. The Amrit Goa main building is a gorgeous 300 year old Portuguese Villa, which has been renovated magnificently to reflect its colonial past. Set a long way back from the main road and away from any traffic noise, it's centrally located near countless restaurants, bars and markets, and only a short walk to the beach. Needless to say, we're very happy to be staying here for the next 3 nights (except the internet is poorly). After settling in, Greg and I went to a nearby local restaurant for a late lunch and had a very tasty chicken Biryani each with a bottle of water, for the combined sum of 320 Indian Rupee (less than $6 - amazing). The rest of the afternoon was a bit lazy, with a short rest back in the bungalow, followed by a beer at the beach watching the sun set with the 3 aussies and 4 pommies, then a light dinner in the main street at a much fancier restaurant, which ironically turned out to be the most disappointing of the trip. I love Goan Fish curry at home, so I thought I would try it here in its home of origin (Goa), and it was less than average.  There are a lot of tourists in Goa which I suspect are mainly Russian by some of the signage around town. Candolim is a clean town by comparison to many other places we've been through, and it has a good vibe. The traditional Portuguese architecture and many brightly coloured villas give the township a lot of character. It's easy to see why it could be a popular holiday destination.

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter - Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter - Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church


Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter - The Harbour and new span bridge

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter

Early walk around the Old Portuguese Quarter


Amrit Goa main building from by bungalow

View to the pool from inside my bungalow

Amrit Goa Bungalow - mine of the left

Dining room inside the main building

Relaxing and watching the sun set at Candolim Beach

Relaxing and watching the sun set at Candolim Beach

Very clean Candolim Beach

Path to the beach - don't try to climb over the fence (Shards of broken glass cemented to the top)

Chapel in the main street

Amrit Goa in lit up at night

Amrit Goa at night across the pool

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