Driving down the winding roads of South Goa, we reached Casa de Mendonca, a quaint cottage located in the idyillic village of Velim. Built in portuguese style, it exudes charm and warmth with rich brown wooden doors and windows, neatly arranged Goan tiles on the roof and a splash of yellow and white colors on the walls.A long open balcony opened up to the front porch. At the back was a garden area which opened up to lush green fields. Allen and Sandhya welcomed us with warm Goan style hospitality. Arnav, my son went around to explore the large bacony and strut around the house. On one side of the property stood a small whitewashed church, giving it a feeling of serenity. There was the smell of a lazy Goan afternoon.
In the afternoon, we drove down to Betul at the Sal river edge for a lunch of prawns, calamari and fish washed down by chilled beer. Evening saw us taking the ferry to the peaceful Mobor beach to walk around in the evening and watch the sun going down.
The evening party was warming up as we returned. A pile of wood crackled in the back yard and the stars came slowly alive as night fell.
