CALANGUTE, GOA, INDIA

Continuing my trip down the coast, I've been staying in Calangute for the past two days. It's a lot more developed than either Anjuna or Vagator--well, I guess "developed" is relative, because it's no metropolis, but there is more of a town here, or at least more of a mess of souvenir shops and restaurants--a little like a post-apocalyptic Daytona Beach, haha. There seem to be a lot of middle-aged Australians here, for some reason, and a good number of Indian vacationers as well. Despite the crowds, there's not really too much to do in Calangute except eat and spend time on the sand...so that's what I've been doing. Today I went to a recommended restaurant on the beach and tried another Goan culinary specialty, beef xacuti, which is sort of a curried beef stew. Not bad, although I should have ordered some rice to pour it over.

Tragically, when I went for a swim this afternoon, I discovered a new definition for "helplessness": Wading out past the breakers and looking back at your T-shirt and shoes on the sand, then watching a big dog walk over to them, sniff them, and then slowly lift his leg....