The Williams Beach Retreat at Colvo Beach

I am now at the stage where I can tell the days only by looking at the malaria packaging which conveniently has prompts on it. We have moved from the comparatively luxurious Hotel Golden Eye at Calangute Beach, where we had a fridge and a fab view, to The Williams Beach Retreat at Colvo Beach further south and the other side of Panjim, the capital city. This room is very kitsch with a large floral headboard that brings Justine to mind :). There is a pool here which is very nice indeed and the beach is only 5 minutes away and here we have reliable hot water for the showers - Yippeeee. At the family run Hotel Golden Eye, (Flying Dolphin beach shack), we met Latchmi and Vashal who I have a feeling were known to Kerry in the Haven. There was a lot more going on in Calangute but Monty has managed to find a nice beach shack where we might go for a while later after we watch some football and I post this in the internet cafe. The beach is cleaner here and the sea seems to be calming down. A couple of brave girls are wearing strappy tops but I am staying well covered. The story goes that men from neighbouring states come to Goa to see the western women ‘advertising themselves’. We have had great fun on scooters in both of the places where we have stayed. It isn’t unusual to see an adult doing what I can only assume is a school run with 3 or 4 kids on the scooter with him. The children look so perfect in their school uniforms, which is a stark contrast to just about everything else. The end of the Monsoon marks the beginning of a pretty industrious period for the Goans where they prepare, by doing any building work and touch ups, for the charter tourists (which we are old repeatedly start to arrive form the 15th). This was even clearer in Calangute. The Monsoon has left most places smelling like the inside of an unused caravan and I would be running at speed down to Sainsbury’s for some plug-in air-freshener and some orange smelling detergent to help deal with the flies, if I was anywhere close to a Sainsbury’s. Some of you will know better than others what I’m talking about and how I’m feeling…hehe. I bought a very cute pair of fashion flip-flops for about £3 which were destined for the shelves at Dolcis shop if the labelling was to be believed. I think they saw me coming but I did haggle… The little rucksack that I am using for casual wear has to go next – I feel it adds ever so slightly to me image as a newbie. I was delighted to find a pharmacy (with fixed prices so no need to psych myself up for a haggle) where I was able to replenish our stock of ciprofloxacin and shampoo. That is about as exciting as it gets.