Mumbai - Goa - Mumbai

On the 1st I handover my Chief Officer duties to Tetso and I pack to leave for Goa to see that everything is alright on Kalizma. On the 2nd I carry my small pack ashore and wander around Mumbai aimlessly until late evening when the bus departs for Goa. As it is a first time for me I did not realize they got sleeper beds like in trains and I got a semi-reclining chair. The bus has no dinner stop either so it goes on and on through the night and is punctuated by short loo stops. The road over the mountains in Karnataka is winding and the bus driver makes his best to beat his former speed record Mumbai - Goa. Needless to say I hardly got any sleep on the bus. Next morning I arrive Goa bleary eyed and I'm met by Saini who is picking me up at the end stop in Panaji.

Mumbai to Goa (courtesy of google maps)

We get onboard and I take a short time out to get my thoughts in order before we start tackling pending issues. We discuss engine matters, A/C plant, dry docking, accounts and so forth. All really boring work stuff that I'm not going to write about here.

Evening the 4th  I take the crew out for dinner and we head out for a Goan seafood restaurant, Amigos, at the Sinquerim river in Verem, just under the bridge. The setting is nice but the parking is awful on the top of the road. They have also nowadays a road down the embankment. We ordered all the Goan specialities including a vindaloo and asked the staff to make it spicy as our Naga girls had tagged along and they like their food spicy. Well, the message did not go through as the dishes we got were more like spiced with ketchup than chili so we sent it back to the kitchen. They returned after some time and then they were spicy, a bit, but not much. After finishing up the dinner we went on to Candolim and sat for a few hours at the Jazz Corner listening to some local boys playing songs in Konkan language. Once they finished their set it was time to head back to the ship.

On the 5th I get news that IE is sailing for Lakshadweep and my presence is required, so I wrap up matters onboard and prepare to leave the next day. In the evening I meet my old laundry steward, Nandush Noronha, from m/y Silver and he took me out for dinner to Sea Shells out in Santa Paula. Nandush is now working for a cruise ship as Laundry Manager and cruising Brazil. Sea Shells restaurant is setup very nicely a bit on the side so it is kind of hard to find unless you know exactly what and where you are looking for. The food was excellent Goan cuisine. We exchanged gossip and news since 2008 while having dinner and then I retired back to the ship.

IE in front of Gateway

On the 6th evening I board the bus for Mumbai and brace myself for another sleepless night. At least here they stop for a dinner somewhere in the country side and I have some chicken thali which is not so bad. At least it does not give me delhi belly. I dose through the night and eventually we arrive Mumbai at the crack of dawn. I get a taxi and get myself to the Gateway where the IE tender picks me up and takes me onboard. The day is followed by briefings and last minute preparations for departure the next day 8th.