We started packing up our bags and had a quick shower afterwards. We were planning to leave Arambol before evening to explore some other place. Jamaica gave me phone number of a hotel owner who had a property in Candolim, about a hour drive away. I called 5 hotels to inquire about room availability, tariff etc. but couldn’t make up mind. We decided to visit the places and then choose one.

For breakfast, we walked a bit further than we had last night and found a nice shack on the beach.  After a breakfast of fruit salad and just sitting around, we walked back. Wifey went to the shack for a nap while I joined Jamaica and family for another dip in the sea. The waves were OK but the sun was really strong. After about an hour, I went back to shack for another shower and for final packing. Jamaica had arranged for the same car on first day to take us to Candolim. After saying our goodbyes, we hopped in and drove towards Candolim. Finding the hotels there was fairly easy as most of them are on a single road. We checked rooms of 5 hotels before settling on one. I wanted to get some place near the beach, but wifey wanted something bit more upscale and luxurious.  Most of the places in area are only about 5-7 walk from the beach. There were a large number of properties near the beach too, but we didn’t feel like spending too much time in the heat going from one place to another.

After checking in and a bit of rest, we walked to Candolim beach. Most of the properties near the beach have been converted in to guest houses and hotels and the place looks like a laid back town rather than a village which it officially is. Not as green as Arambol, but not too bad either. The beach itself had a a fairly large number of tourists, mainly Indian. The other difference was the sand, which was more brownish and coarser. For dinner, I was thinking of going to any of the beach shacks there but wifey wanted a change. So we found our way back to the main road. After a bit of walk, we found Over The Flames in Calangute. It had outdoor seating and a karaoke night was on. During our stay, a foreigner performed Nazar Ke Saamne song, much to the delight of locals present there. He pronounced some words in a funny way, but that’s the limitation of writing Hindi in Roman script.

After some drinks and tandoori snacks, we ordered Vindaloo with rotis. I had heard a lot about Vindaloo but never had the chance to try it. There were a few versions, vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian. Almost all of my meals till then had been meat or sea food and I wanted something vegetarian. Waiter asked me if I wanted it spicy. Considering that all except 3 tables in the restaurant were occupied by foreigners, I assumed that the normal version will be bland and flavourless. So like almost any Indian, I asked him to make it spicy. Big mistake ! Wifey tasted a small bit and immediately pushed the whole bowl towards me. I took one bite and nearly caught fire. The dish was hot in a way that it hurt going in and worse coming out. I struggled to eat some with roti, then gave up.

We paid the bill and walked back to the hotel. Along the way, we stopped at a bakery to get a muffin or cake, don’t remember exactly. Upon reaching back, I realised that I had sun burnt skin on my shoulders, face, neck and almost every body part exposed to the sun.  Sunscreen is of limited help, if at all and it gets washed away whenever one takes a dip. I am too lazy to carry and use it anyway.Just 3 days in the sun and it happened yet again. Hot spicy Vindaloo burnt something else next morning.