Paloma’s 2nd Birthday

August 29, 2019

Paloma’s 2nd Birthday - Goa

We had celebrated Paloma’s first birthday with her first overnight road trip to the coastal Maharashtra. We took her to Akshi beach, located 125km from Pune.

Then followed a couple of longer road trips to the coast of Ratnagiri, Kelashi (250km) & Malgund (300km).

We observed how comfortable Paloma was during the entire road journeys. Whether it was a ghat or a highway or even a narrow rural roads full of potholes, she had enjoyed a lot and not bothered by the change in her comfort zone.

This made us think to plan a longer trip, and we decided to visit Goa on her 2nd Birthday.

Travel Details.

We were 4 adults & a kid. We travelled in our i10.

The route we chose was,

Pune - Kolhapur - Sankeshwar (NH4) -

Gadhinglaj - Amboli Ghat - Savantwadi - Perane (NH17) - Anjuna.

We returned via the same route.

Day 1 - Pune Kolhapur

We left Pune around 3PM and soon joined the NH4 at Wadgaon Bridge. As it was a weekday there was very less traffic on the highway and at the toll gates. We took a snacks break at Milestone in Satara & reached Kolhapur by 8PM. I was a little worried about the road conditions in Kolhapur as the city had faced the worst kind of flood a week before. But we were surprised to see the recovery and didn’t face any issue while driving through the lanes of the city. We cooked the meal for Paloma at our relative’s place.

We visited one of our relatives in Kolhapur and went to Padma Guest House for dinner. Padma Guest House is one of the oldest restaurants in Kolhapur and has experienced some historic events related to the royal family of the city. Located at the city centre, the restaurant offers simple interiors but amazing food quality.

We had tried menus like Chicken Sukha Masala & Mutton Sukha Malasa. We also tried Veg Thali. It is a must visit place in Kolhapur if you are a fan of spicy non veg food. One must try there the authentic Kolhapur item Tambda & Pandhra Rassa.

We checked in to Hotel Madhuri Executive near Mahalakshmi Temple.

Day 2 - Kolhapur Amboli Goa

Madhuri Executive is located at the heart of the old kolhapur and it is walkable from the famous Mahalakshmi Temple. It has a covered parking for 4-5 four wheelers. The hotel is surrounded by the market.

We had our breakfast in a small cafe Poornbrahma near the hotel. We cooked breakfast for Paloma at the pantry of the hotel and left for Goa at 10am.

We drove till Sankeshwar and left the highway for Amboli Ghat.

Amboli is one of the scenic locations in Maharashtra to visit in monsoons. The ghat has superb views of the Sahyadri Mountain Range and it offers superb waterfalls on the way. A heavy landslide happened a couple of weeks ago near the main waterfall in Amboli, but the route was open for small vehicles. The small town also offers options for food and stay. We had our lunch at a small restaurant Satpurush located just before the start of the ghat road and resumed our journey to the coastal town of Goa. Entire drive through thr ghat was very pleasant. The road condition was excellent and the weather was beautiful. The light and cloud show was accompanied by infrequent drizzling. We connected to the Mumbai Goa highway at Savatwadi and reached Anjuna by 7PM via Perane. There were some bad road patches on the way to Perane from Savatwadi due to work in progress.

We checked in to Lotus Villa, cooked dinner for Paloma & went to restaurant Square for our dinner.

Torquesce Home Stay, Anjuna.

As we had to cook food for Paloma, we were looking for a property fulfilling those requirements. We chose a 2BHK villa on AirBnB in Anjuna, Torquesce Home Stay. The property is well maintained and is a part of a gated community with a running restaurant. The spacious villa is also accompanied by a covered parking and a shared swimming pool. It is well furnished & equipped with Kitchen utensils and appliances like Induction Plate, Microwave Ovens, OTG unit, Refrigerator. All the rooms have ACs. It is also supported with Inverter.

Day 3 - Vagator Mapusa Calangute

The morning came a little late as all of us were tired due to the long journey the day before. My father spent time in a pool while my mother went to a morning walk. It was a pleasant morning with little drizzling. Around 10.30 AM we left to visit the Vagator beach & Chapora Fort.

Then we went to Mapusa. The market in Mapusa is famous in Goa. Ketki & my parents spent some time in the market while I was babysitting for Paloma who was asleep in the car.

We had our lunch at Satyaheera’s Reuchira restaurant.

Then we went to Calangute Beach.

We were at the beach till the sunset.

Day 4 - Bagha Ponda

It was Paloma’s Birthday.

We decided to go on a short trip to old Goa and return by the evening so that we could celebrate the birthday.

As usual, the day began with a morning walk and a dip in a pool for my parents. We had our breakfast and left around 10AM for the trip.

We visited the Baga beach and the market surrounding it.

We then went to the Shri Mangesh Temple & the Shanta Durga Temple in Ponda.

Shanta Durga Temple

It is a private temple complex belonging to the Saraswat Brahmin community & located in Ponda taluka. 450 years old temple was built by Rege family between 1713 and 1738. The architecture of the temple reflects a combination of Indian and Roman style. There is a small pond (Kund) at the entrance of the complex. As you enter you can spot a deepstambh (tower of lamps).

Wikipedia - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanta_Durga_Temple

Shree Mangesh Devsthan

Situated in village Mardol of Ponda taluka, the Shri Mangesh temple is one of the largest and frequently visited temples in Goa. The Shiva temple complex is 450 years old. The temple is also the famous because it is the origin of one of the famous musical families in India, the Mangeskar Family.

Wikipedia - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangueshi_Temple

We had our late lunch in Ponda and by 5PM we left for Anjuna. We returned to our villa by 7PM. To our pleasant surprise one of our closest friend couples, Pritest & Renu, had pre-ordered a Birthday Cake for Paloma. We had a small celebration in our villa where were joined remotely by my brother and a couple of our friends on VC.

Day 5 - Panaji

This day was designated only to the city of Panaji. We had our breakfast and packed up the meal for Paloma and headed to the famous spot of Dona Poula. Unfortunately the small rock structure was under maintenance so we could not enter the complex. We roam around the market nearby.

We then went to the famous church, Immaculate Church in the main town Panaji. Paloma climbed almost 75 steps of the church on her own. We spent some time at the church and then went to the restaurant Ritz Classic for lunch. The popular restaurant located on the 18th June Road offers fantastic Goan food.

Post lunch we visited Goa Kala Academy.

By the time we left from Kala Academy it was post noon. There was a shopping fair organised on the Mandovi River line on Bandodkar Road, Panaji. My wife Ketki and my mother went to explore the fair while my father went to explore the cashew market in Panaji. I was happily babysitting in car for Paloma who was in deep sleep.

We returned to our villa by 8PM.

Day 6 - Goa to Pune via Amboli

We left around 9am for Pune. It was drizzling throughout our journey to Amboli. We halted for brunch in Amboli. Visited the famous waterfall and left for Pune.