The hippies came in large numbers to Goa after the strife in Casmira. The freaks were bringing in foreign exchange much needed to pay the petrol bills. The coastal belt of Goa became a haven of free drug peddled by those from the north of India. Those who took over Goa in 61 bat an eyelid to these events and instead established several banks as collection points to the much needed US Dollar. BC =========================
[afaik, 'visitors' came only after the Portuguese 'had left' in 1961. The Salazar regime would have made short thrifts of 'hippies' in any case, and in Portugal those entering were subjected to a 'regimental' haircut by the border police ...] It was a truly forgotten paradise, where you found peace and freedom. The Catholic urban population, strongly oriented towards Portugal, welcomed the visitors as fellow Europeans, while the fishermen of the ancient tribe of the Ramponkars, who lived along the beaches, also warmly welcomed the travellers. They did not take offence at the free behaviour of the young Westerners. On the contrary, they rented cabins and houses, started restaurants and shops, and so a close bond was formed. Many travelers built their own huts in the woods or just camped out in the open air on the beach. In the course of the seventies Goa developed into the meeting point of a cultural avant-garde of freaks and world travelers. Beneath the palms, a series of villages with a new culture emerged, where people experimented in every possible way, including by entheogenic means [i.e.: 'substances']. Goa became known as an ideal place to spend some time, meet kindred spirits and hear the latest news from friends all over the world. A solid core of a few hundred inhabitants braved the monsoon rains in summer, but in winter many thousands stayed here for short or long periods of time. A lively market grew up in the most exotic things from far and wide.