Posted by: "Vivian A. DSouza" socorrokar I cannot dispute George's account of what is happening in Goa. But the description is more apt for the beach belt of Bardez, including Candolim, Calangute and Anjuna than any other place. There is a big divide between the aforementioned "Beach belt" where all the tourists congregate and the hinterland which is still largely untouched by the honky-tonk pf tourist centered so called development. After over 11 years in my secluded ancestral village, far from the beach belt, my wife and I have enjoyed the pristine environment, where birds abound, where the customs of the old days still prevail, with frequent "Ladainhas", "Festas", and assorted parties to celebrate First Holy Communion, Christenings and of course weddings and various anniversaries. Life is good ! Fresh fish and Goa "pao" or bread is delivered to the door. We grow our own vegetables and only go to the market occasionally for more vegetables. One can pass his time fishing in the creek that meanders through our rice fields from the Mandovi river. Just this week, fellow villagers shared their bounty of vegetables and live crabs, excess to their needs with us. Such is the generosity of our fellow villagers. Neighbors care for each other, visit each other frequently without a formal invitation, and are solicitious about each other's health. As for the beach, I have never hankered for Goa's beaches, after being spoilt by the pristine beaches of Tanzania. For a beach holiday, there is nothing like the clean pictureasque beaches of the Carribean or even the Southern USA, like Florida. Beaches further North in the USA are too cold for swimming and are crowded with those deprived of the golden tan that Goans are endowed with. Of course we are spoilt by having residences and cars in both the USA and Goa, so we have the best of both worlds. We visit the USA and Canada primarily to see our children and grandchildren, but after a few weeks we long to be back in our bucolic, peaceful, quiet village,in Goa where the only tourists we see are the occasional "birders" as we are reputed to have some of the best bird viewing locales in Goa. "Born a Goan (though not born in Goa), and will die in Goa !" Vivian
