Visiting Goa - The Grande Island trip

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The Grande Island trip

The Coco Beach - where from the Grande Island trip commences

A video the start of the journey for Grand Island trip

        After having enjoyed the trip to Dudhsagar falls, we were back to our service apartment known as Treebo Zeebo in Arpora by late evening.  Being dead tired from the trek and the ride, as described in my earlier blog, we decided to have dinner at the complex itself.  Although the apartment has a tie up with some local restaurant, who provides for food on order, we decided to try the local in house cook known as Anna.  We decided the dinner menu based on local Goanese cuisine and the cook went to the market to personally purchase the ingredients required.  My Son who does not partake either fish or Sea food decided to try out the chicken preparation from the small road side eatery run by a lady just across the road.  To say the least, we were all just swept of our feet’s, by the sheer taste and freshness of the food served and decided to have dinner at the complex itself for the remaining days of our stay.  After enjoying the hearty dinner, we had a great night’s sleep, as the Grande Island trip was scheduled for the next day, was to commence at late morning hours.  The next day, after having had the complimentary B’fast that was included in our package at the apartment complex, we started for the Grande Island trip at around 9.00 A.M, by the Tempo traveller that picked us up as the first guests and later on the others and took us to the jetty at Coco Beach, wherefrom all the boats ferrying passengers for Grande Island tour set sail.

The small shack just across the apartment in Arpora run by local lady

A plethora of birds near Coco beach

The inlet from Sea that leads to Coco Beach

A Lesser fish Eagle at Coco Beach

A copy of the pamphlet showing various trips organized in Goa

Copy of hind side of the Pamphlet depicting 

            Grande popularly known as the Grande Island or Bat Island is one of the most sought after tour destination in Goa that has been especially designed keeping in view the likes and dislikes of the younger generation. The only way to reach Ilha Grande is by traversing the Sea on a sailing boat. The package tour to the Island usually includes activities like snorkelling, scuba diving, fishing and a scrumptious lunch at the Monkey Beach, where the aroma of the barbeque fish is mouth-watering.   After the meal, one can also enjoy swimming in the sea.  However, the tour no longer ferries passengers to the Grande Island or Ilha Grande, as the same has been taken over by the Indian Navy, which has a base there, but a few nautical miles away from it.  There are a plethora of tour operators offering this package and the cost varies based on the facilities being offered by the tour operators and I am enclosing one of the pamphlets that are circulated to visitors.

The lighthouse atop Fort Auguda as seen from boat

The merchant's villa as seen from the boat

The panoramic view of Fort Auguda with the jail as seen from the boat

Another group of tourists on a trip

A Sea Gull in flight

The mechanized boat leaves a trail in the sea water

After a long wait at the Coco Beach, the boat ride commenced at around 11.00 A.M and after about 15 minutes of ride, the crew served some patties, but as we had already had our B’fast in Hotel itself, we did not partake the same.  Thereafter, cold drinks were served and also beer to all desirous of having the same, actually the number of persons having beer outnumbered the cold drink fellas by one is to ten ratio.  We spotted many of Sea Gulls following the boat and we quickly found that they were in look out for some quick snacks and the boatmen were throwing the patty pieces, which these birds were eagerly snatching either in air or from the Sea.  The other interesting part about this trip is that one gets a different perspective all together of various landmarks of Goa, from the Sea i.e. Aguada fort, merchant’s bungalow, central jail and a few beaches and big ships stationed or moving in the mid sea.

A large Ocean liner docked

View of Monkey Beach from the boat

Just engrossed in the boat ride

Snorkeling in the sea

Other tour groups enjoying the activities

A fast Navy boat traverses across the Grande Island periphery

Video of snorkeling during the trip - shot by Mr.Deepak (tour operator)

Video of Scuba diving shot by professional divers during the trip

Having travelled for a good hour or so in the Sea, we first reached the Monkey Island, where a few of the crew members de-boarded alongwith the tents and cooking utensils etc. to arrange for the lunch.  Also there being a small toilet complex, the passengers were also allowed to disembark and use the utilities.  After a break of about 15 minutes, we again boarded the boat and headed towards the Bat Island, where the other activities like swimming in the Arabian Sea, fishing, Snorkelling, scuba diving etc. takes place and there were many boats anchored around and tourists therein too were enjoying the activities.  As the unfettered supply of Beer had started taking its toll on many of the youngsters and we had a verbal spat with a group of Engineering students who had come in from Vellore Institute of Technology. This spat occurred, as the camera and other equipment that were kept on the boat got drenched in sea water, as these boys started jumping into the Sea from the roof of the boat and the splashed Sea water, which almost drenched our equipment.  As we were more on reserved side viz a viz a Tamilian family that was enjoying the birthday of one of their family members and guzzling beer in barrels and also other alcoholic hard drinks, were not within their selves but at a boisterous high, we were quietly branded by them as the Angry Bird family.  After about two hours fun and frolic, wherein I too got the Scuba diving and Snorkelling videos shot by the crew members, we headed back to the Monkey Island.  By the time we reached Monkey Island, the tide had started surging and the crew was finding it difficult to put the anchor and finally after much effort they could do it and then we had to wade through waist high water to the island for having lunch.  The lunch definitely was scrumptious with non-vegetarian Goanese cuisine being the main course.  Having had lunch and others enjoying a few more rounds of beer alongwith with hard alcoholic drinks, especially the family described hereinabove, the return journey commenced and my description of these persons can be gauged from the video enclosed.

As the tide had begun rising - the crew found it difficult to anchor the boat at Monkey beach

Having lunch at the Monkey beach

The Grande Island trip is designed basically for the youngsters or persons with happy go lucky attitude, but it is worth every penny spent and the pictorial depiction and videos would do more justice to the description of the trip viz a viz the written description of the same.  However, the only downside of the trip is that they offer Dolphin viewing, but that rarely happens, as it only by chance that Dolphins can be spotted and not always.

Video of the return journey - check out details as indicated in the blog