Easter break in Goa

For Easter we decided to escape the increasing temperature of Delhi and fly to Goa, an easy 2 1/2 hour flight. We stayed at Casa Colvale, a 12 room boutique hotel by the backwaters of the River Chapora in North Goa. It was a lovely little hotel, very peaceful and calm, a nice alternative to the busier parts of Goa we have all heard about.




View from Casa Colvale


There are two parts to the hotel, both have lovely pools - the one on the top level has an infinity edge which looks pretty beautiful overlooking the river. Unfortunately a factory in the distance does spoil the view slightly.....just don't look at it. The lower villa is home to another pool and the riverside bar and dining area. We stayed in the villa near the river and had room 9, a corner room with a nice little balcony to watch the occasional boats and water buffalo crossing the river.  The hotels has plenty of communal areas with couches and chill out spaces to read your book or just sit and relax.



Villa near the river

  



View from the top pool

  



View of Casa Colvale from "Ollieboat"

 



View from our room



The staff at the hotel were brilliant. We took our 10 month old with us and this obviously brings with it a far amount of work with food and bottle prep etc. The guys were great, they cleaned all her bottles and heated her meals, made the odd dish of mash potato and gave us a good supply of fruit for her. I can't say enough good things about the staff, they were really great. My only suggestion to improve the rooms in the hotel would be to install a little fridge and provide some tea and coffee making facilities. We did however appreciate the iPod docking station and good sized bathroom.



Excellent staff


Given its isolated location, we ate at Casa Colvale most of the time. The breakfasts were simple but tasty and always had plenty on offer. The menu consisted of fresh fruit, muesli, pancakes, eggs and bacon and yummy Goan bread.




Fresh fruit for breakfast





Banana pancake





Masala omlette



Lunches were mainly delicious fresh salads - tuna and greek were our favourites. On our unhealthy days we enjoyed the chicken burger. We ate at the hotel most nights (except for the night market which will be another post) and devoured plenty of fresh fish and prawns. The curries were never quite hot enough for T but they were tasty none the less. The crispy prawn appetiser was delicious and the G&T's were the perfect end to the hot, steamy Goan days. I can recommend the fish of the day - it was delicious and fresh - straight from the sea!

During the day we either lounged by the pool or entertained our bub. However we got out and about a few times and one of our outings was to Aswen beach to eat at La Plage and have a swim in the ocean. Aswen was a 25 minute drive from Casa. It was lovely, if not an occasionally hairy drive to the beach, it is obviously so different from Delhi. La Plage was great, perfect little beach side eatery. I love eating with while having my feet in the sand...... it's just lovely.



Aswen beach



 


Lunch at La Plage

  T and I had tempura prawns, Thai prawn soup, a Budweiser beer and a sweet lassi. The food was beautiful - well worth the trip. Tempura prawns won the meal of the day with the soup being a little bit heavy on the coconut milk.



Tempura prawns




Thai prawn soup


Aswen beach itself has extremely hot sand and very warm water.... so the swim itself wasn't particularly refreshing but it was nice to see the ocean again. There are plenty of huts to lie around in and bake yourself, get a pedicure or a henna painting from one of the many woman selling these services on the beach. You can also buy yourself a new outfit from a couple that have a few great dresses in stock. I bought a lovely dress by a French designer!



Aswen beach


The next day we headed off on the Chapora River for an early morning trip on the hotels "Ollieboat" to see the Dolphins. It was Rs 50,000 for 2 hours, so is a bit expensive but I really enjoyed it.




Dolphin spotting


S also really enjoyed it and fell asleep after she has seen her fill of dolphins.



Boat trip on the river



The river trip itself was very interesting. We saw lots of beautiful birds, water buffalo and people earning their daily wedge on the river.



Goan fishing boat




More boats



Then it was Easter Sunday and we ate chocolate eggs, courtesy of the lovely staff at the hotel.



Happy Easter x

 Unfortunately the trip was marred by the complete chaos at Goa airport, it was an insane mess. So if you go to Goa three tips for leaving the place - remember to collect your mobile from the taxi, check your flight time and leave heaps of time to get through security, it isn't easy and will test your patience.


Contact details for Casa Colvale