I’m really grateful to be returning to Goa for the second time in two years. As we plan the trip, I wanted to share some insights, photos, and context for the kids and other family.

Goa is a relatively small state located on India’s west coast (left picture below) with a population of about 1,458,545 according to Goa.gov. Three languages are spoken including English, Konkani (the local language of Goa), and Marathi (the language of the larger nearby state of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located).

On our trip we will mostly be in North Goa (the green area shown in the picture on the right, below) and we will be staying and traveling in Bardez and Tiswadi specifically (i.e. in the west of Goa). It is this area that Dada spent his summers at his grandparents’ house and it is also near where Dada and Dadi now have their main home. This area of Goa is also home to Old Goa (the former capital, where St. Francis Xavier is laid to rest), Panjim (the current capital of Goa), and other important spots that we’ll be checking out on our trip.

Old Goa and Panjim are both worth highlighting a bit upfront, and I will revisit them in other posts (I hope) as the travel unfolds.

Old Goa

Old Goa is where St. Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuits, is interred. I personally find Old Goa fascinating for two reasons.

(1) the sheer magnitude of the missionary footprint in Old Goa in the form of many churches, some of which are mammoth in size and within hundreds of yards of each other

and

(2) it’s now somewhat of a ghost town, beautifully so in my opinion. The churches are like hulking ghost ships that seem to serve (mostly) servants.

Here’s an aerial view of Old Goa and if we look at it like a clock and start with Se Cathedral at the 12-o’clock position, we can see:

• Se Cathedral, which was built over 90 years, from 1562 to 1652, is still an active parish and when we were there in 2022 there was a life-sized Christmas-themed diorama on display outside the church. Dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria because it was on her feast day that Alfonso Albuquerque conquered Goa in 1510, it is the largest cathedral in Asia. You can read more about it here.
• Moving counter-clockwise we can see Church of St. Francis Assisi at the nine o’clock position. The current structure was completed in 1661 and is the culmination of successive structures built by Franciscan friars who landed in Goa in 1517.
• Then at the bottom, near six o’clock, we see Basilica of Bom Jesus Goa where St. Francis Xavier has been interred since. St. Francis reached Goa in 1542 and this cathedral was built by 1609.

I am fascinated by the fact that we see three huge churches – they are really strikingly big by American standards – all within a few hundred yards of each other. This seems reflective of the intertwinement of Portugal (as a nation-state) and the Roman Catholic Church (a religious organization with power in its own right). I was curious about Portugal’s role in colonizing Goa and found this article. I am interested in learning more about the church’s role and the impact on the local community.

Finally, it is important to note that “Old Goa” used to be the capital until 1843, when the city was abandoned due to disease, apparently due to pressures on the infrastructure and related public health concerns. It was at this time that the capital of Goa was moved to Panjim. There has to be more this story and I’m interested in learning more about this, too.

Panjim

Panjim is a hive of activity and where we will likely spend at least a few days with daily excursions and local tours.

We visited Panjim in 2022 and enjoyed many meals and daily walks there including at one of our favorite restaurants, Viva Panjim (their prawn curry is bar none). It looks a lot like Lisbon, from the style of the architecture to the brightly colored homes, some of which you can see in the photos.

We will hopefully make new memories in Panjim in 2023, and explore the city more. I’m looking forward to making new memories and learning more as we go.