When you picture India I doubt you picture Goa. Goa is a state on the coastal region of India, and we are heading to Patnem Beach, and to a group of beach huts called April 20. A short taxi ride from the train station takes us to the beach, and a short walk down the beach takes us to our hut. We arrive to complete paradise.
After the chaos of Kathmandu, trekking for a month in the Himalayans, the heat and cremations in Varanasi and three nights on the Indian train, we arrive in Patnem Beach and just melt into relaxation. There is nothing to do here but swim, read, stroll the beach and eat. The water is the perfect temperature. Every evening we would head into the water and float for hours until the sun set. We would watch from the water as the restaurants all along the beach pulled their tables out on to the sand, waited till the sun set and candles on these tables were lit. We would then head into our little beach hut and shower the salt and sand off and stroll off to find dinner. I never wore anything but a bathing suit.
One day we walk over to Palolem Beach, next door to ours and are a little shocked at the crowds and the vendors. One day we did yoga on the beach at the retreat next door. We adopted a dog and a cat. We booked seven days here, but when our time was up we couldn’t seem to leave. We had to leave our beachfront hut and move a few steps inland, but we stayed until our flight home forced us to leave.
