04/03/2026
Day 11 - We planned to walk to the far end of the beach to Fort Aquada. Many times we considered walking to the end but only got as far as Dom’s Beach Shack. It was a lovely stroll, looking at different beach shacks along the way and deciding which to stop at on the way back. We got to the end in no time, took some pics, and decided to return to Deva’s. We enjoy this family-run, quiet shack, although it’s always busy now and we just managed to get sun loungers.
We settled in and headed inside the shack for breakfast. Last time, I had one of their delicious Goa buns, like a lovely soft
Morning roll in the UK. Since it was Sunday, we ordered rolls and eggs, and Hubby wanted their homemade chips.
We settled back on the loungers 📖 and relaxed, listening to the 🌊, then ordered more food for lunchtime. Cheese 🍔 and more homemade 🍟 were ordered, along with their delicious onion pakoras, washed down with bottles of Coca-Cola. Sundowner shandies were also had.
Evening - we headed to J129 Sports Bar to watch the Old Firm game. We met some friendly people and chatted away while keeping an 👁️ on the ⚽️.
We planned for an early night, so we headed to Newton's for room refreshments 🍻🍸. On the gin aisle, we got great tips from a lovely older fella full of knowledge on all the spirits. Great asset to Newtons, as we’ve found some staff to be a little less helpful 😂.
Day 12 - We knew there was a planned power outage from 9-4 😦, so we settled at the hotel pool for the morning and then headed to collect our laundry 🧺 from Snow Whites, 219 rupees for 6 items👍.
For lunch, we stopped at Carvella Bistro on Aquada Rd in Candolim. We passed this many times and finally popped in. I ordered a pesto chicken sandwich 🥪, served with 🥔 wedges. Hubby ordered chicken Aglio e Olio pasta 🍝, which was accompanied by 🧄 bread. All washed down with two cold Pepsis 🥤. Great and fast service from the friendly staff.
Day 13 - Tue, our last full day, so we headed back to Stringfellos beach shack. A nice, relaxing day was had.
In the evening, we headed back to the super-friendly Bending Bamboo to listen to our favorite singer, Celestino, accompanied by Russell. Again, super service from AJ, and a nice last meal in Goa.
Day 14 - Time to depart 😞 from the wonderful Candolim. Our taxi driver, Ash, was there on time to take us to Mopa Airport. We were delighted to see people checking in, hoping our flight would take off as planned back to Manchester. As a treat, we upgraded to Premium and look forward to a comfortable flight ✈️ back to the UK, especially since we have a 4-hour train 🚉ride when we get to Manchester.
Candolim, Calingute & Baga have been amazing 💛. We met some great musicians and lovely staff. We will return next January for a month or two. Until then, we have our cashews and music sunglasses to keep us thinking about the great holiday we had once again in Goa 🇮🇳☀️🏖️💛
