A woman climbs the steps of the Church of Srª da Imaculada Conceição, one of the most impressive religious monuments in Panjim.
blessed shoes
Shoes of participants in a traditional Hindu wedding taking place in the late afternoon in the vicinity of Anjuna.
The head
Young girl is carrying a bucket loaded over the sunset and in one of the central streets of Panjim, the Goan capital.
divine rocks
Sculpture of Shiva accompanied by a turtle during low tide on Vagator beach, near Anjuna.
bathing games
Children create stylish positions on the sandy beach of Goa, having great fun.
another goa
Boat passes by an old jetty on an inlet on the outskirts of Panjim, Goa.
A Hindu Wedding
Couple during a marriage ceremony in the vicinity of Anjuna, and according to the sacred and colorful precepts of the Hindu religion.
Sellers and bathing cows
Goan cloth sellers skirt cows in sacred repose on a sandy beach north of Anjuna.
colonial grandeur
The church of Nossa Srª da Conceição, highlighted in immaculate white against the strong blue color over the capital of Goa.
"Little Business"
Girls try to sell bright rags to customers at a beach restaurant, balanced on a very irregular slab of rock.
in a ceremonial trance
A participant in a wedding taking place in Anjuna sings a Hindu chant absorbed in the spirituality of her religion.
Lodging Republic
The peculiar facade of the old República hotel, in the Goan capital Panjim.
under the covers
Scarf and cloth sellers take a break from their tour of the beaches and pose for photography.
A sudden longing for Indo-Portuguese tropical heritage makes us travel in various transports but almost non-stop, from Lisbon to the famous Anjuna beach. Only there, at great cost, were we able to rest.
Text: Marco C. Pereira
Images: Marco C. Pereira-Sara Wong
Winter remains harsh in the tuga homeland and generates a sudden desire to escape to another cozier side of the world.
Seventeen hours after take-off from a frigid Portela, we landed in sultry Mumbai. Blessed by the city's fluid traffic at this late hour, we quickly proceeded to Central Station.
The Long Rail Stretch between Bombay and Goa
There are several hours before the departure of the mandovi express but there is not a single room or business open at the station. With no alternative, we installed ourselves against the wall of a bordering platform, as abstracted as possible from the rats' incursions into the gloomy, oily depression in which the rails rested.
The composition starts shortly after sunrise. We celebrate the fact that the seats bounce like a blessing from Shiva. Once the luggage is accommodated, we land diagonally.
We only woke up hundreds of kilometers later, on the threshold of the state of Maharashtra and with that of Goa announcing itself.
"Old Goa, Anjuna, Panjim?" other passengers asked us to leave at the right station. We leave the train at the Old Goa station and, with darkness creeping in, we transfer in a white Ambassador to an inn named Punan, located on the Anjuna seafront.
Tropical Seaside and Anjuna Backpacker
That night, we still had a look at a rehearsal of rave parties in the vicinity. There was a full moon but the event lacked trance and the incessant approaches of sellers of everything ended up convincing us to return to the new rooms.
The first awakening in Goa is rewarded with an invigorating breakfast on an elevated terrace. We enjoy the meal with pleasure and tranquility. Not as much as we wanted.
Girls try to sell bright rags to customers at a beach restaurant, balanced on a very irregular slab of rock.
It is with surprise that we hear female voices coming from below: “Little business, sir, madam!” just a little business.” Intrigued, we peeked over the balcony and discovered two young saleswomen on the porous black slab. They carry open cloths above their heads.
Teenagers intensify the appeal. "Very good cloth, madam. Please tell me a good price!”. By that time, we were giving absolute priority to the inaugural dive in the Arabian Sea. The wish would not take long to come true.
Sculpture of Shiva accompanied by a turtle during low tide on Vagator beach, near Anjuna.
The rough sands of Goa and the Arabian Sea
After a long bath and a conviviality lying on the Anjuna beach, our appetite comes back to us. We bought pineapple kebabs and sweetened the morning even more. It is, again, short-lasting sunshine.
Indian cows, sacred like all, superb beach queens smell the sweet aroma of the fruit in the air.
In a flash, we have them with their snouts close to their faces, making up what was left of the snack. Its persistence becomes such that it forces us to rise from the fray.
Instigated by the battle won, those bathing cattle chase us as we run around, skewers at our fingertips.
We got far enough away to discourage them and took advantage of the swing to walk along the coast to the north. Also to those sides, more saleswomen and more cows would star in reproductions of the previous scenes.
Goan cloth sellers skirt cows in sacred repose on a sandy beach north of Anjuna.
Revenge is not intentional but, with proper authorization, we join a Hindu wedding so that, without any real warning or invitation, it summons us.
In a photographic way, we disturb him as much as we can.
Couple during a marriage ceremony in the vicinity of Anjuna, and according to the sacred and colorful precepts of the Hindu religion.
Secret Files. Mulder & Scully at an Unexpected Cinema in Goa
We had to wait for the dark night and for the retreat from the terrace of Punan guest house to feel an undisputed peace. This time, for a change, we're the ones to stop it.
An intriguing glare flickers in the air. It doesn't seem to have the party pattern rave it's not even time for it. We decided to investigate. We found an almost full modular amphitheater. Even though we're not big fans, we find ourselves following an old episode of the X-Files series, projected on a giant white sheet.
In the heart of Anjuna, under a hyperstarry firmament, sweating from the heat of the Goan summer, among haughty coconut trees and other attributes of Indian tropicalism, we accompanied the duo Mulder & Scully in “Ice”, an esoteric adventure set in the grandiose arctic setting of Alaska.
But we were at fault with the Portugality of Goa. In the middle of the next morning, we rented a motor scooter and moved to Panjim.
In the capital, we wander through alleys with names as familiar as some of ours, go up to Altinho and to the church of Nª Srª da Imaculada Conceição.
Ao Deus Dará, through the streets of the Capital Pangim
In the neighborhoods of Fontainhas and São Tomé, we speak to several inhabitants with lighter complexions, olive green eyes and other shades, previously uncommon in those parts of India that only the Portuguese historical presence can justify.
Young girl is carrying a bucket loaded over the sunset and in one of the central streets of Panjim, the Goan capital.
One or two older natives dare to exemplify their rusty mastery of our language and even express some nostalgia for the already distant colonial past. “What I can tell you is that we all had a good life together, a Mr. Lourenço assures us”.
The Indian government disagrees, fulfills its role and continues to rescue the territory from the former landlords. It recently announced the enactment of a law confiscating Portuguese property in Goa. The decision still needs to be talked about.
The city's enterprising souls prefer to profit from the cultural legacy. We found it on one of the cruise ships on the Mandovi River. In addition to the crew, a battalion of Indian men and dozens of women from saris.
“Malhão, Malhão” and Other Portuguese Successes, Rio Mandovi Up
We had barely settled in when the hosts start a show that includes interpretations of Anglophone, Indian folk songs. And also Portuguese.
All passengers – us much more than the rest – are surprised by an imitation of a folklore ranch with an Indo-Minho look. Amazement turns to apprehension and, soon, to dread when they summon us to a distorted "Malhão, Malhão".
Indian men, on the other hand, rejoice when their turn comes. After the live performances are over, the animators loudly shout some Bollywoodesque success. As soon as he recognizes him, the mob hurls itself from the tables onto the dance floor.
As if they were all born Shahrukh Khans or other Mumbai idols, they squirm, waving their arms and hands back and forth, up and down wildly. And they emulate, in a delicious onboard ecstasy, the choreographies that they spent their lives admiring.
The women in the group, these, just watch.
On another afternoon, we passed through Old Goa and examined the majestic ecclesiastical heritage left there by our nation of adventurers, discoverers and missionaries, in particular the Basilica of Bom Jesus where lies the body of St. Francis de Xavier, the Apostle of the East.
Departure in Distress for Cochin
When we realized that the train we had to take south was passing the local station in three hours, we went into distress mode.
We ran off to deliver the scooter and got a taxi that was waiting for us at the inn while we hurriedly stuff everything into our backpacks. We pay for the stay and let the driver of this new Ambassador know that he has to follow through.
The man insists on proving to us the quality of those classics. It almost flies into the interior of Goa. Along the way, we still brag about the music on his museum car radio. We ended up buying the tape from you.
Upon arrival, we see Netravati Express already gaining momentum. We still got him. Fifteen hours later, we were admitted to Cochin.
The prominent city of Goa already justified the title of “rome of the east” when, in the middle of the XNUMXth century, epidemics of malaria and cholera led to its abandonment. The New Goa (Pangim) for which it was exchanged became the administrative seat of Portuguese India but was annexed by the Indian Union of post-independence. In both, time and neglect are ailments that now make the Portuguese colonial legacy wither.
It was fortified in 1791 by the Portuguese who expelled the Arabs from the Quirimbas and seized their trade routes. It became the 2nd Portuguese outpost on the east coast of Africa and later the capital of the province of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. With the end of the slave trade at the turn of the XNUMXth century and the passage from the capital to Porto Amélia, Ibo Island found itself in the fascinating backwater in which it is located.
Guwahati is the largest city in the state of Assam and in North East India. It is also one of the fastest growing in the world. For Hindus and devout believers in Tantra, it will be no coincidence that Kamakhya, the mother goddess of creation, is worshiped there.
We arrived at the northern threshold of West Bengal. The subcontinent gives way to a vast alluvial plain filled with tea plantations, jungle, rivers that the monsoon overflows over endless rice fields and villages bursting at the seams. On the verge of the greatest of the mountain ranges and the mountainous kingdom of Bhutan, for obvious British colonial influence, India treats this stunning region by Dooars.
Gangtok it is the capital of Sikkim, an ancient kingdom in the Himalayas section of the Silk Road, which became an Indian province in 1975. The city is balanced on a slope, facing Kanchenjunga, the third highest elevation in the world that many natives believe shelters a paradise valley of Immortality. Their steep and strenuous Buddhist existence aims, there, or elsewhere, to achieve it.
The unpredictability of rivers in the wettest region on Earth never deterred the Khasi and the Jaintia. Faced with the abundance of trees elastic fig tree in their valleys, these ethnic groups got used to molding their branches and strains. From their time-lost tradition, they have bequeathed hundreds of dazzling root bridges to future generations.
150 km of solitude north of the matriarch São Tomé, the island of Príncipe rises from the deep Atlantic against an abrupt and volcanic mountain-covered jungle setting. Long enclosed in its sweeping tropical nature and a contained but moving Luso-colonial past, this small African island still houses more stories to tell than visitors to listen to.
With the arrival of Vasco da Gama in the extreme south-east of Africa, the Portuguese took over an island that had previously been ruled by an Arab emir, who ended up misrepresenting the name. The emir lost his territory and office. Mozambique - the molded name - remains on the resplendent island where it all began and also baptized the nation that Portuguese colonization ended up forming.
The conflict with Pakistan and the threat of terrorism made filming in Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh a drama. In Ooty, we see how this former British colonial station took the lead.
In 1565, the Hindu empire of Vijayanagar succumbed to enemy attacks. 45 years before, he had already been the victim of the Portugueseization of his name by two Portuguese adventurers who revealed him to the West.
As soon as the short winter breaks, Jaisalmer indulges in parades, camel races, and turban and mustache competitions. Its walls, alleys and surrounding dunes take on more color than ever. During the three days of the event, natives and outsiders watch, dazzled, as the vast and inhospitable Thar finally shines through.
On the northern edge of the Indian province of Arunachal Pradesh, Tawang is home to dramatic mountain scenery, ethnic Mompa villages and majestic Buddhist monasteries. Even if Chinese rivals have not passed him since 1962, Beijing look at this domain as part of your Tibet. Accordingly, religiosity and spiritualism there have long shared with a strong militarism.
We descended from the high and mountainous lands of Meghalaya to the flats to the south and below. There, the translucent and green stream of the Dawki forms the border between India and Bangladesh. In a damp heat that we haven't felt for a long time, the river also attracts hundreds of Indians and Bangladeshis in a picturesque escape.
December arrives. With a largely Christian population, the state of Meghalaya synchronizes its Nativity with that of the West and clashes with the overcrowded Hindu and Muslim subcontinent. Shillong, the capital, shines with faith, happiness, jingle bells and bright lighting. To dazzle Indian holidaymakers from other parts and creeds.
Neither the steep slope of some stretches nor the modernity stop it. From Siliguri, in the tropical foothills of the great Asian mountain range, the Darjeeling, with its peaks in sight, the most famous of the Indian Toy Trains has ensured for 117 years, day after day, an arduous dream journey. Traveling through the area, we climb aboard and let ourselves be enchanted.
The Maguri Bill occupies an amphibious area in the Assamese vicinity of the river Brahmaputra. It is praised as an incredible habitat especially for birds. When we navigate it in gondola mode, we are faced with much (but much) more life than just the asada.
The Jaisalmer fortress was erected from 1156 onwards by order of Rawal Jaisal, ruler of a powerful clan from the now Indian reaches of the Thar Desert. More than eight centuries later, despite continued pressure from tourism, they share the vast and intricate interior of the last of India's inhabited forts, almost four thousand descendants of the original inhabitants.
For 25 hours, we traveled the NH13, one of the highest and most dangerous roads in India. We traveled from the Brahmaputra river basin to the disputed Himalayas of the province of Arunachal Pradesh. In this article, we describe the stretch up to 4170 m of altitude of the Sela Pass that pointed us to the Tibetan Buddhist city of Tawang.
Situated in the state of Assam, south of the great Brahmaputra river, PN Kaziranga occupies a vast area of alluvial swamp. Two-thirds of the rhinocerus unicornis around the world, there are around 100 tigers, 1200 elephants and many other animals. Pressured by human proximity and the inevitable poaching, this precious park has not been able to protect itself from the hyperbolic floods of the monsoons and from some controversies.
Majuli is the largest river island in India and would still be one of the largest on Earth were it not for the erosion of the river Bramaputra that has been making it diminish for centuries. If, as feared, it is submerged within twenty years, more than an island, a truly mystical cultural and landscape stronghold of the Subcontinent will disappear.
During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
At 5416m of altitude, the Thorong La Gorge is the great challenge and the main cause of anxiety on the itinerary. After having killed 2014 climbers in October 29, crossing it safely generates a relief worthy of double celebration.
As we wander around Machu Picchu, we find meaning in the most accepted explanations for its foundation and abandonment. But whenever the complex is closed, the ruins are left to their enigmas.
When traveling, it happens that we find ourselves confronted with the lack of time to explore a place as unmissable as it is high. Medicine and previous experiences with Altitude Evil dictate that we should not risk ascending in a hurry.
In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.
At the time of its foundation, the Order of Knights Hospitaller called it "the most humble". Over the centuries, the title ceased to serve him. In 2018, Valletta was the tiniest European Capital of Culture ever and one of the most steeped in history and dazzling in memory.
In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
"Higurashi no Naku Koro never” was a highly successful Japanese animation and computer game series. In Ogimashi, Shirakawa-Go village, we live with a group of kigurumi of their characters.
The independence of the United States is celebrated, in Seward, Alaska, in a modest way. Even so, the 4th of July and its celebration seem to have no end.
If Anchorage became the great city of the 49th US state, Homer, 350km away, is its most famous dead end. Veterans of these parts consider this strange tongue of land sacred ground. They also venerate the fact that, from there, they cannot continue anywhere.
As soon as the short winter breaks, Jaisalmer indulges in parades, camel races, and turban and mustache competitions. Its walls, alleys and surrounding dunes take on more color than ever. During the three days of the event, natives and outsiders watch, dazzled, as the vast and inhospitable Thar finally shines through.
The top of the Debed River Gorge hides the Armenian monasteries of Sanahin and Haghpat and terraced Soviet apartment blocks. Its bottom houses the copper mine and smelter that sustains the city. Connecting these two worlds is a providential suspended cabin in which the people of Alaverdi count on traveling in the company of God.
Finally, we will disembark in Graciosa, our ninth island in the Azores. Even if less dramatic and verdant than its neighbors, Graciosa preserves an Atlantic charm that is its own. Those who have the privilege of living it, take from this island of the central group an esteem that remains forever.
Located high in the northeast of the Gulf of Bothnia, Oulu is one of Finland's oldest cities and its northern capital. A mere 220km from the Arctic Circle, even in the coldest months it offers a prodigious outdoor life.
In 1993, frustrated by the Portuguese government's disregard for his work “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ”, Saramago moved with his wife Pilar del Río to Lanzarote. Back on this somewhat extraterrestrial Canary Island, we visited his home. And the refuge from the portuguese censorship that haunted the writer.
Until Columbus arrived in the Americas, El Hierro was seen as the threshold of the known world and, for a time, the Meridian that delimited it. Half a millennium later, the last western island of the Canaries is teeming with exuberant volcanism.
Aside from the political and military events precipitated by Russia, from mid-September onwards, autumn takes over the country. In previous years, when visiting Saint Petersburg, we witnessed how the cultural and northern capital was covered in a resplendent yellow-orange. A dazzling light that hardly matches the political and military gloom that had spread in the meantime.
Third longest river in southern Africa, the Okavango rises in the Angolan Bié plateau and runs 1600km to the southeast. It gets lost in the Kalahari Desert where it irrigates a dazzling wetland teeming with wildlife.
Restless and inventive Puerto Ricans have made San Juan the reggaeton capital of the world. At the preferred beat of the nation, they filled their “Walled City” with other arts, color and life.
They are the protagonists of events or are street entrepreneurs. They embody unavoidable characters, represent social classes or epochs. Even miles from Hollywood, without them, the world would be more dull.
In search of attractive coastlines in old Indochina, we become disillusioned with the roughness of Nha Trang's bathing area. And it is in the feminine and exotic work of the Hon Khoi salt flats that we find a more pleasant Vietnam.
We are discovering Rangoon when we find out about the Golden Rock phenomenon. Dazzled by its golden and sacred balance, we join the now centuries-old Burmese pilgrimage to Mount Kyaiktyo.
For more than two centuries, only a winding and narrow road connected Curitiba to the coast. Until, in 1885, a French company opened a 110 km railway. We walked along it to Morretes, the final station for passengers today. 40km from the original coastal terminus of Paranaguá.
In the late 80s, two Japanese multinationals already saw conventional photo booths as museum pieces. They turned them into revolutionary machines and Japan surrendered to the Purikura phenomenon.
Once a mere mining outpost, Talkeetna rejuvenated in 1950 to serve Mt. McKinley climbers. The town is by far the most alternative and most captivating town between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
The Caribbean Sea and the basins of several rivers bathe the northeast of the Tica nation, one of the wettest and richest areas in flora and fauna in Central America. Named after the green turtles nest in its black sands, Tortuguero stretches inland for 312 km.2 of stunning aquatic jungle.
Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.
