Our hut in Palolem

After a week in our villa we headed south to Palolem to stay in a hut on the beach. It was a two hour drive and Sadie slept for a while. Goa is filled with trash. Our driver said that hoteliers and restaurant owners dump their trash in the middle of the night. The locals blame the tourists for the trash and the tourists blame the locals. No one wants to take responsibility, so it just piles up on the roadside.
We had heard that Palolem was a quieter beach, but when we got there it actually seemed crazier! I guess the holiday crowd is inescapable. Our hut was in a little courtyard, not right on the beach as promised, but very close. It was a nice little hut, but not worth the price we paid. Palolem is a beautiful beach though. We saw some wonderful sunsets. We passed the days on the beach just like we did in Anjuna, from restaurant to sand to water, back to restaurant and then sand and then restaurant and then hut. It was very relaxing. We went on an early morning boat ride one morning to see dolphins and then were dropped off at Patnem beach, which we discovered is the truly mellow beach. We had a wonderful, relaxing breakfast and Sadie made a puppy friend.

 Sadie gets SO tan, it's amazing. She just darkens up like a native and never burns. Its enviable skin.

 Our hut had a wonderful little bathtub for Sadie.

 One morning we took a boat out to see the dolphins. It was fun to be out on the water in the morning.

 Sadie loved the stray puppies on the beach, they kept her occupied while we had meals.

 "Holy Cow!"

On New Years eve our plan was to watch a movie or play cards on our porch and have a quiet evening. There was a nightclub right next door though and they blasted us out until 4am! We had an unexpectedly good time though. A local guy stumbled up to our porch and started talking to us. He was so drunk, but actually pretty fun and funny. Our neighbors ended up coming over to our porch and we hung out together until 12, then everyone scattered to watch the fireworks. After that we tried to sleep, but the nightclub had different plans. I went over to peek in and saw there were only 20 or so people! All that noise for so few people!

Our villa in Anjuna

Our villa in Anjuna was an hour from the train station. We were so excited to see it! It was meant for a large group and we had it all to ourselves! There were three bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen and 3 bathrooms! The upstairs bedroom had a balcony overlooking the ocean. We weren't right on the water, but we could see it from the balcony, and it was only a three minute walk. It was nice to have our own space because Sadie got sick the first night and threw up all night. We took turns with her and then all ended up in a downstairs bedroom because she threw up in bed. After that John got sick and then it was my turn. Sadie was so excited to get to the beach she managed to get up the next day and go back to the beach though.
Anjuna beach is kind of a hippie hang out left over from the 60's. There are some groups of long term transplants there and it's kind of a party scene. The Goan government got sick of the noise and made a noise ordinance, so the bumping music has to be turned off at 10pm, which made it easier to sleep. The second day we discovered that the south end of the beach was quieter and had less waves so we began spending our days down there. Our days became a routine of lazy mornings and beachy afternoons. I went to a couple yoga classes in town, which was a 20 minute walk from our villa. There was also a nice grocery store where we stocked up on spices and tea.

 Cows have total freedom to wander the beaches in India. I loved to see them snoozing in the sun on the beach with their faces turned towards the sun. We got charged at a couple times though!

 This was the view from our balcony. The road on the right leads to the beach. We spent most nights after Sadie was sleeping out on our porch.

There is a famous market in Anjuna on Wednesdays. John and I took turns wandering through and then I went back in the afternoon to get some gifts and souvenirs. We got one of those hanging hammock chairs I've always wanted!