Still Sleepless in Goa

I got about 8 hours of sleep Friday night, but it wasn't quite enough.  No problem.  Today was going to be sightseeing day.

We started our day in Old Goa at the ruins of St. Augustine Tower.  Old Goa was the capital of the Portuguese Empire from 1510-1835.  It was built in 1602 by the St. Augustinian Friars.  In 1832 the complex was abandoned due to the expulsion of religious orders and the Portuguese government ordered its demolition.

St Augustine's 46m. high belfry.

The church in 1931.

Photo courtesy of Natalie Murray

photo courtesy of Cindy Dobratz

S DEM DESIOR DEMATO 

S EDES AMO L HER 

LUCRECIA PR DALMADA 

My dad's analysis of this:  I think there are a bunch of Latin abbreviations in there. The only ones I would guess at would be the "S"s are usually abbreviations for "sanctus"="holy".  Maybe the word "amo"="love"....Two names "Desior Demato" and "Lucrecia" from "Dalmatia" (a city name). "Her" could be the abbreviation for "sister."

Maybe a brother and sister are buried there...children that died?

Box where the relics were kept.

Our next stop was the Basilica of Bom Jesus which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was built by the Jesuits in 1594 and took about 15 years to complete.  You can read the fascinating story of St. Francis Xavier here.  Every 10 years his body, which is contained in a silver casket, is displayed.

The main altar inside the Basilica.

I couldn't believe what a tiny person St. Francis Xavier was.

His remains were way up high in a silver casket.

His toe or something is in here.

This is a bizarre melding of the Hindu tradition of offering flowers and burning incense to an effigy and a Catholic monument.

 Just down the street, we went to see the 400 year old Shri Mangesh Temple which is dedicated to Shiva.  the Hindu priest invited us over to see the "float" for a yearly parade that they do.

Sugar cane drinks.

Our next stop was Tropical Spice Plantation for a traditional Goan lunch, a guided tour of the different herbs grown there and their medicinal purposes, and elephants!

Walkway to the spice plantation.

Touch the plant and it withers!

Dude climbing the tree!

Dude climbing the trees!  Freaky!

Evening time, and time to take down the flags.

Traditional street food.  Fried potatoes with chutney and chili.

Last thing was did that day was do a river cruise!

This cute little old Indian lady was so excited to dance with me.

Photo courtesy of Natalie Murray

Some traditional dancing

That was really all I could handle.  A few of us went back to the hotel for dinner instead of going out.  It was still really late!  I only got 30 minutes of sleep before it was time to head to the airport.  We stood in the immigration line there for over an hour before I asked if we could cut ahead so we wouldn't miss out flight.  After landing back in the UAE, I had to fight Sharjah traffic for an hour.  I got home with just enough time to shower and head to work.

By 10:30 that night, my whole body started hurting.  ANOTHER 36 hour day in the books.  A week later, as I write this I still have bronchitis.  Not nice, but I had a great time in India.