If I don't come home...I'll be in Goa!

Other than the ridiculous long (10+ hour), uncomfortable, cold, loud, sleepless bus ride, everything about my short weekend escape to Goa was incredible. It really could have gone either way- we arrived into Goa without set sleeping arrangements or any plans. With just our backpacks on our backs, we (luckily) were woken up to get off at our stop and after a few minutes of grogginess, decided to take a taxi to Anjuna, a smaller town up north we had read about in the Lonely Planet guide. Another CFHI participant was planning on staying in a guesthouse in that area, and we hoped to find a place close by. The only landmark I knew in Anjuna was a chapel's name and the name of the other participants guesthouse. I ask to be taken to St. Anthony's Chapel and from there ask direction to Vanila Guesthouse. Perfectly, the guesthouse was just down the road past the Chapel and again perfectly, they only had one room left for only one night. We were welcomed by the sweetest old lady, Clara and her daughter-in-law Paulina, into their guesthouse as if we'd known them for years, a comfortable relationship forming in a matter of minutes. We readily accepted and are shown to the room complete with our own private terrace. The sun was shining and our stomachs were grumbling so we leave our belongings and set out to find the sand, sun, and FOOD! The guesthouse id quietly nestled back about 50 yards from the beach, and we go into the first restaurant we see. We sit down at a table looking out over the ocean; the restaurant is completely open- no outer walls, with the ocean, blue sky, and palm trees as it's borders. We all order a tropical drink- papaya and banana smoothie for me, and are instantly in love with Goa! Our breakfast of banana and nutella crepes tastes amazing and gives us just enough energy to make our way (slowly) through the colorful stalls down to the beach where I order another delicious fruity drink and sit lazily in the shade looking out over the vast Arabian Sea and sun shining down on the tanned foreigners, colorful locals, and...cows. Yes, cows roamed about on the beach- looking for any left over fruit peals and sometimes not the left overs- I witnessed multiple of times cows going up to a unsuspecting, distracted people's food and making out with quite a good meal! The rest of the 48 hours in Goa were just as wonderful- amazinggggggggg food! (fresh fish, more crepes, tasty Indian food...), fruit drinks- I think I had about 4 a day!, alternating between swimming in the warm blue ocean and relaxing on the beach chairs, sitting on the terrace and shooting the wind with the other guests, bartering my way down the endless line of colorful, plentiful stalls, talking with the local women and children, and soaking up the sunshine. It couldn't have been better. Goa is a dangerous place! I wanted nothing more than to leave everything and set up camp right there in Vanila guesthouse with Clara and Paulina and live happily every after. I could go on and on about those 2 days, but I'll leave you with just a couple more highlights-We had the pleasure of meeting a kind, open French man named Francios who was also staying at the guesthouse. One afternoon we all sat in the terrace together and were talking about traveling, our internship experience, and life. Every word that he spoke was poignant, wise, and true. For example~“As you travel more, it's not what you do; it's what the trip does to you”Catherine: “Did you do anything interesting today?”Francois, paused thoughtfully for a brief minute and replied: “Well, yes but I can't really remember what” as he quietly laughed and continues, “all things are interesting depending on your frame of mind”“The people of France can be very cold, like the weather and thats the opposite of here. There they are very compressed in space and in mind.”Me: “So are you planning on seeing Agra?” Francois: “Yes and no, it depends. Planning is a funny thing- deciding on what to do in the future is difficult as you may change your mind” Every word out of his mouth was poignant and wise and true. I felt like we were talking with someone who knew the secret of the living, but wouldn't tell us, he would rather show us. Like I said, it is hard to imagine a sweeter family than Clara and Paulina and to top it off, they gave us the most heartfelt sincere send off. We all hugged, exchanged information, and were walked out to our taxi where they blew kisses and waved us away. If I ever come back to Goa, which I really hope I do- I know where I'll be staying!“Come see my shop, I give you good price...” After hearing this throughout the whole weekend by every shop owner in Anjuna we got a little tired of it, but still got a good laugh at the store literally named, with a huge sign up top- “Come See My Shop, I Give You Good Price”