Today we were in the city of Goa which in the 1500s and 1600s Goa was part of the Portuguese Empire in India, and as usual there are a range of excursion for passengers. Back when we made our choices of shore excursions a day at a beach side resort seemed like a good change from temples but to me, today, it seemed less attractive so I abandoned Nina and left her to experience the beach resort by herself. As a result the brief report below is based on hear-say and the photos.

At the dock a local dance group provided a welcome and some traditional dancing before passengers had to pass through Indian immigration processing. The resort destination was some distance from the dock and hence a bus ride was required which gave an opportunity to see some local street scenes and to get a glimpse of a new spectacular bridge crossing Goa harbor. This bridge has linked the south and north areas of Goa and is part of a North South highway along the west coast of India.

The bus ride provided views of buildings from the Portuguese era or at least buildings built in a Portuguese style.

An interesting stop along the way was a museum with many displays of traditional tools and implements from village life and farming. Then it was time for the major destination of the day, The Taj Exotica Beach Resort. As you can see from the photos it is an up market resort with a golf course in addition to a white-sand beach.

Back on the ship the crew put on an Indian Market Dinner and the staff dressed, and the dinning room was suitably decorated, for the event. It was also a very nice dinner with way more food than we could or should eat.