Marina from Spain landed in Goa sometime in November of last year, and after having spent the months since then in the State, is preparing to return home. When GT Digital met her, she was cooling off by sipping some fresh lime soda.
“I always leave this place with strange experiences. For me, Goa is my second home. Except during Covid, I never experienced the winter in my country. This will be my 27th year here,” she said, smiling.
There was a time when Vagator and Anjuna were prime spots for tourists from all over Europe, who came to get a glimpse of the hippies and how they lived. Marina was one of them.
She recollects that they first stayed in small huts on the beach or in between rocks on top of Vagator beach. “There was a small spring that provided us water to drink, cook and wash. I used to go to the Mapusa market once every two weeks by bus,” she recounts.
As the number of foreigners arriving increased, they moved into rooms with basic toilets that were built by locals. “I used to pay Rs 500 a month and it gradually increased. Today, I pay Rs 12,000 for two rooms, a kitchen and two toilets,” says an amused Marina.
Many repeat tourists stopped visiting the northern belt after the Covid-19 pandemic due to the noise and the crowds during the Christmas season.
“Vagator not only became noisy, but also crowded in December. It became difficult to move around safely, and for us in our 60s, it was risky,” says Lucas from Italy, who is also preparing to return to his country for the summer.
Most of the foreigners, who come for long stays tend to cook at their rented apartments and venture out to the beach in the evenings. For them too, times have changed.
“With the number of people from India coming to stay around, the prices of vegetables have shot up. Things are more expensive and living here is no longer the same,” thinks Lucas’ friend, Mariela.
“We normally arrive in November, and leave by April when it really starts getting hot. This year though, the weather was funny. Hot, then rain and coolness and hot again. I think it is because the environment is being destroyed,” feels Mariela.
For Estafano from Germany, who has shifted from the north to the south, because of the noise and the rush of tourists from other parts of the country, “the beaches in the south are now getting out of bounds because of the rush of locals visiting the beach.”
“I am not complaining about the locals. It’s just that, at this age, I prefer to be alone. Prevention is better than cure,” he says wittily, as he sips a glass of beer at a restaurant near his homestay.
Many leave Goa with good memories, and those who do not, wonder where they missed the bus.
Beaches in the south are seeing a huge number of visitors now that summer has set in. The old, young and the tourists from different States crowd the beaches in the evening.
Amidst the crowd, one sees the occasional foreigners walking on the shore enjoying the waters, as for many of them, it is time to go back home and plan a return trip.
Many leave Goa with good memories, and those who do not, wonder where they missed the bus.