Had a prety good nights sleep with the odd interuption of people getting up and the 'coffee,coffee' 'chai,chai' men wondering up and down the carriages, tea and coffee were both really good and after an ommlete sandwich had a bit more sleep before arriving at Goa station around 12:30pm.Jack and Kristina got off at the same stop and had met a German guy on the train so we got the first bus we could to the bus station, the bus to Palolem (near Canacona)was ready to go when we got there so we were relieved to be on our way.

After a very hot and long walk of "newbie in town' along the beach with all our bags we were shown some lovely rooms just off the beach in an area called Mohanbagh. Almost as soon as our bags had hit the floor we were in our swimmers and heading for the beach no more than 40 ft away. Refreshed after 48 hours on the go we walked into the village to find somewhere to eat. We found a great place called cheeky chapatti's which is run by an English couple so everything on the menu was ok to eat which was great as we were all starving.

Wednesday, 16th September

Up and out for an early swim, the cows chilling in the shade on the beach, bit of a day of postcard photos and bahtering with the jewelery traders. The day took a surreal turn when we were walking down the beach and taking a second glance noticed that a whale had beached itself, it looked like it had followed the fishing boat in which had been throwing the odd bits over the side. An hour later with the help of 30 or so peolpe, Tom and Jack included managed to get it back in deep enough water, a really exciting moment especially as it was the first time we'd ever even seen a whale let alone help to save it.

Thursday, 17th September

Hired mopeds so we could have a better look around the local area, found the train station, bank and got some fuel then hit the road in search of a waterfall we'd heard was near by. After a few wrong turns (which ended in dead ends with some very confused locals looking on) we found the waterfall, once we'd climbed above the Indian men having their lunch in their pants we found a quiet area where the boys braved the climb up to the next ledge. A few token photos later and we were back on the road 'home'. Jack and Kristina packed up and squeezed all their things on to the moped to drop it off, Tom carried Jacks guitar down the beach to meet them which made him feel like proper traveller. We said our goodbyes and headed back down to the beach to watch the sunset with the cows now as standard. Tom's hired an Enfield for Saturday.

Friday, 18th September

Another lazy morning, my annoying summer cold has turned into a cough too so I gargled some tea tree oil which seemed to do the trick and went for a swim. Headed out on the pedto the next bay back up the coast, Agonda. Had a lovely lazy day in the scorching sun, read a bit swam a lot. Thunder was rolling it started raining so we headed back to Palolem. Did my first bit of hand washing, swept out our room (Tom swept the balcony area much to the amusement of the local women),had a sort out of our bags putting all the warm clothes at the bottem, hopefully won't be needing them for a while. Wifey chores done I set to catching up with the journal and reading the book dad gave me, a great read so far, high heels and a head torch has got all the advice and tips on how to get by and stay reasonably feminine in the sort of environments that you feel the least in. Paneer with satay sauce, Kerelan king fish and calamari for supper followed by the best chocolate brownie,not brandy as the waiter kept bringing Tom. Drinks at the Guru beach bar to finish off the evening.

Saturday, 19th September

Tom got up early to get the Enfield, I went for a wonder up the beach and met him for brekkie, he'd been shopping too and bought new trousers and a hammock! Tom rode me home, loving the new bike, then went out for a ride. Tom said it was wierd riding it as all the gears etc are on a different side to his bike but has lots more power than the ped. Toms words of wisdom for riding in India 'I learned quickly that staying on your side of the road and expecting the unexpected was the best way of staying alive'. Tested the new hammock out by tying it between two trees by the beach, just the sort of thing we imagined doing when at work or it was raining at home. went for a ride together around the local villages so nice to be able to go down all the little roads you see from the bus or train. Had a few sun downers on the beach and went back to ours to find 30 or so people in our hosts living room chanting, apparently they do it every week at a different persons house and after the service they brought us and Jason(our new neighbour) some food and cake which was so good. Tested out the local Mojitos, pretty nice.

Sunday, 20th September

Sunday lie in, breakfast then out on the bike, found a dam not far from the train station it's so qiet up there and nice to get away from everything by the beach. Tom cheked when the racing is next on then went our for a ride and found another nice beach and wildlife park while I got some all important sunbathing in just in time before the thunder and lightening started.Checked out train times to Hospet which doesn't go until Tuesday 5:20am so that's when we'll make our way to Hampi. First night of real rain tonight so played 's*** head' asyou do when travelling, I won the first game and Tom the second with a 3! Met up with the three Indian girls we'd seen at breakfast and stayed up til 5 at the beach bar playing pool.

Monday, 21st September

I woke up early so headed out to the beach to read my book, Tom got up around midday and both slightly hungover went for a chapatti's brunch before retiring to the hammock. Went for a ride out to the Galgibag beach which in season is a turtle nesting ground, it was deserted...perfect. One last walk on the beach, there were dolphins off the coast which were causing quite a stir. we walked round as far as we could but couldn't get that close. Fingers crossed the rickshaw driver turns up at 5.