 With its
fluorescent painted palm trees and infamous full moon parties,
ANJUNA, 8-km west of Mapusa, is Goa at its most "alternative".
Designer leather and lycra may have superseded cotton Kaftans,
but most people's reasons for coming are the same as they were in
the 1970s: dancing and lying on the beach slurping tropical
fruit. While browsing in the area have a day trip to the famous
flea market.
The Beach
One of the main sources of Anjuna's enduring popularity as a
hippy hang out is its superb beach. Fringed by groves of swaying
coconut palms, the curve of soft white sand conforms more closely
to the archetypal vision of paradise than any other beach on the
north coast. Bathing is generally safer than at most of the
nearby resorts, too, especially at the more peaceful southern
end, where a rocky headland keeps the sea calm and the undertow
to a minimum.
North of the market ground, the beach broadens, running in an
uninterrupted kilometre long stretch of steeply shelving sand to
a low red cliff. The village bus park lies on top of this high
ground, near a crop of small cafes, bars and Kashmiri handicraft
stalls. Every lunch hour, tour parties from Panjim pull in here
for a beer, before heading home again, leaving the ragged army of
sun weary westerners to enjoy the sunset.
Baga Beach
 A Charming Combination
Of Land And Sea
Baga, 10-km west of Mapusa, is basically an extension of
Calangute; even the locals are unable to decide where ends and
the other begin. Lying in the lee of a rocky, wooded headland,
the only difference between this far northern end of the beach
and its more congested centre is that the scenery here is
marginally more varied and picturesque.
A small river flows into the sea at the top of the village, below
a broad spur of soft white sand, from where a dirt track strikes
across an expanse of paddy fields towards Anjuna. The old red
tiled fishers houses behind the dunes have long been swamped by
gaudily lit bars, Tandoori terrace restaurants and handicraft
shops, but one doesn't feel quite so hemmed in as at
Calangute.
Benaulim Beach
According to Hindu mythology Goa was created when the sage Shri
Parasurama, Lord Vishnu's sixth incarnation, fired an arrow into
the sea from the top of the Western Ghats and ordered the waters
to recede. The spot where the shaft fell to earth, known in
Sanskrit as "Banali" and later corrupted by the Portuguese to
Benaulim, lies in the centre of Colva Beach, 7-km west of
Margao.
Only a decade ago, this fishing and rice-farming village,
scattered around the coconut groves and paddy fields between the
main Colva-Mobor Road and the dunes, had barely made it onto the
backpackers map. Now, the shady lane leading through it is
studded with guesthouses and souvenir stalls while the paddy
fields on the outskirts are gradually disappearing under a rash
of gigantic luxury resorts and time-share apartment blocks. For
the time being, however, this remains a peaceful and welcoming
place to unwind.
Either side of the sand blown beachfront, the gently shelving
sands shimmer away almost to the horizon, litered with photogenic
wooden fishing boats that provide welcome shade if the walk from
the palm trees to the sea gets too much. Hawkers, itinerant
masseurs and fruit wallahs appear from time to time, but one can
easily escape them by heading south towards neighbouring Varca,
where tourism has thus far made little impact.
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