New Bike

The bloke swapped the bike! He told me he would come round at 12 lunchtime. Now in India that usually means about 12.30 to 3pm... But he was on-time!! He brought another pristine cool-looking Pulsar 150, just 2 months old and with a proper right-way-up gearbox!

So we went off riding for a couple of hours, finding secluded beach-shacks serving the day's catch, passing amazing Portuguese colonial Churches, resorts, villages and farmers fields. On well maintained roads, surrounded by coconut and cashew nut trees, under a powder blue sky and the smell of the sea in the air- I am in heaven!

I also had my first authentic, traditional Goan Vindaloo last night, our first friday night. Made with tamarind, garlic, vinegar and copious amounts of chilli, it was a world apart from the "madras but hotter" rubbish you get in the uk. Despite being a curry lover, and very use to authentic Indian food now, it still got my eyes watering and nose running.

But WOW! Damn, yeah it was good!!

Mixed with chilli-fried rice and scooped up in nan bread, it was possibly the best meal I've had in weeks. Washed down with Goan-made Kings lager, a dry, crisp bitter lager that perfectly off-set the sharp tang of the vindaloo. The other volunteers we went to the restaurant with also had great food, and we all relaxed, debated, and laughed 'till we cried.

It was a great start to our weekend, after our first week of work at the school for mentally Challenged Children, in nearby Margao...