We had hoped to move onto Agra, Varanasi, and Haridvar, before moving South to spend some time in Chennai and Pondicherry then flying onto South Easy Asia. The floods in Chennai had somewhat scuppered our plans as the airport there was just getting back to normal, and trains to Varanasi and Agra from Delhi seemed to be booked for the next week. Faced with the prospect of another week in heavily polluted Delhi we had obviously no choice but to take our Christmas vacation a week early and plan three weeks in sunny Goa. Well you would wouldn't you? After some trawling through the flight schedules we found a cheap flight, and then had to figure out the best place to stay in Goa. Though I say so myself I think we did a pretty good job of deciding on Agonda beach. When we arrived we found an idyllic long beach skirted with beach huts, and rolling white surf. A long road behind the huts housed a variety of eateries, and small shops selling clothing and various essentials like water, sun cream and coconuts. We were well and truly sorted... The weather here has been in the region of 32 degrees most days so daily swims in the sea have helped to cool us down after wearing ourselves out trying to get my freckles to join up. John has also discovered his Kindle and has conquered nine books to date. More than he read through the whole of 2013/14 I would say at a guess....so 2015 looks to be a record year in the John reading charts. Despite the heat I've managed to go off on a couple of short rambles to see how many unfamiliar animals, birds or plants I can find. There are loads....most too quick for me and my instamatic... Really pretty. I was also too slow to whip my camera into video mode to catch a big black insect land on a grasshopper, grip him in his legs, and whisk him off into the sky tightly fastened to his undercarriage. It was amazing to watch, and just a shame I couldn't catch the footage to share with you. As neither of us have signed up for any if the Yoga classes, and neither of us are good at just lying about all day we needed something to add some variety to our three weeks? We tried hiring a scooter for a few days which proved to be a new adventure. Having never been on a motorised bike of an kind I jumped on the back in excited trepidation, replete with Wallace and Grommit style helmet, and gripped my knees tightly on each side of John's legs. We pulled away from the edge of the road and headed off to the nearby town of Chandi, to see the Saturday morning. All was going surprisingly well. After a few "discussions" as to whether I had to lean on corners we were managing fairly well. John was remembering to hoot going past cows, people and other vehicles, and we were being repaid with the refreshing sensation of the wind in our hair ( or in John's case follicles). Leaving the market we decided to explore some more, and found ourselves at the entrance to a national park. 65p entrance fee for two adults and the bike, paid in the rupee equivalent, we drove off in search of the elusive leopard who had been previously spotted there. We drove along the potholed roads, spotting monkeys, and various butterflies, before stopping and walking on foot through the trees to the treetop lookout. Thankfully we didn't encounter the leopard on the section of our exploration. As neither of us are good with climbing vertical ladders we gave the viewing platform a wide berth too and returned to the scooter. Flushed with confidence we stopped by the ticket kiosk. I hopped off to return the map, and John in slow motion rolled over complete with scooter onto the gravel. After a few expletives aimed in my direction John brushed himself off, I climbed back on again and we cautiously pulled away again. John got his own back a couple of days later when I borrowed the scooter to go to nearby Cola beach. He'd succumbed to his first tummy bug so was pretty much confined to barracks. Not wanting to waste our rental time I suggested I'd go alone to explore some more of the locality. Complete with helmet, and instructions from John about which handgrip to turn, when to toot, when to indicate, when to get on and off, when to put my feet on the floor, when to brake etc etc I set off somewhat anxious to find my trusty steed. I hopped on, put the key in the ignition and clicked up the stand. All well so far. Then I started to turn the grip on the handlebar ( or release the throttle in technical terms). Obviously ****** off by having been left unused for two days the bike took off careering from the junction across the road, narrowly missing the sign for Monica's beauty parlour, before responding to the application of the brake. So that was my biking career over.....I decided at that point that despite the heat, walking was definitely preferable. There's been a varied crowd here in Goa over the three weeks. Initially we were surrounded by the long stayers, people who come here for a few months each Winter and a few French and German speakers. The second week Russia sent a deputation and we were suddenly surrounded by Moscovites of various shapes and sizes. As Christmas has got closer the number of children has started to increase and the British seem to have arrived. It's giving us lots of entertainment as we overhear the various comments of our fellow countrymen/ women. Our favourite comment so far was the one for an English woman who asked for the Green salad without lettuce. We didn't stick around to find out what she got. As we're supposed to be travelling, not settling, we will be leaving on the 27th and heading for Bangalore on the night bus, ready to fly out to Thailand on the first of January. The start of phase two of our nomadic adventure....... Ps. If you want to escape Christmas at home next year let me know and I'll come here with you