Today was a first for us…. but certainly not a last….. I’d been reading reviews on Tripadvisor for a river boat trip up the River Sal from Cavalossim which is somewhat north of Patnem but still in South Goa. Betty’s River cruise had been getting rave reviews and it sounded just our cup of tea. With a few provisos….. we would want it to be a private cruise, so just the boat to ourselves, that way we could be sure to tailor the trip to our preference ie no loud music or a cheesy entertainer. I rang them up and got it arranged. They normally have 2 boats, one big and one small. At the moment only the big boat was running and that normally could take up to 60 people. At best we were going to be 23 (in fact we were 22) but he would let us have it for 30,000 rupees to include all the food, unlimited alcohol and soft drinks and of course the 4.5 hour trip.
Got the taxis sorted out and we set off at about 9am. From Eve’s we had Bob and I, Stuart and Fi, John and Susan, Pamela and Eddie, Deborah and David, Gloria, Joseph and Janet, Mark, Kate, Dave and their 2 women friends, and from Sea Front, Marion, Johnny and 2 women friends. Sorry to be so useless with names, I blame the mojitos…. The taxi ride took much longer than it should have done due to traffic and I was majorly stressed but we were all there by 10am and the boat set sail. We could see immediately that we were so lucky to have it privately – it was so spacious.
It was just the most fabulous day. The River Sal is so totally beautiful and with so much of interest to see. Many many different types of birds especially different types of heron. Truly a birdwatchers paradise. But also scenes of interest culturally: large fishing boats in the harbours, unloading their massive catches, small boats with a single man tethered to it and diving for crabs or winkles, men fishing in the river with their feet, trees full of huge fruit bats, beautiful villas on the riverside with gardens running down to the river, the sea just on the other side. There were loads of fish in the river – you could see them jumping and it was like heron city. So, so many of various types.
Service was amazing and friendly. Almost immediately we were served with cups of ice water closely followed by freshly made mojitos that just kept coming and coming….. and of course every other drink you could possibly want. Then a snack plate of chicken with a peanut crunch coating bbq’d on skewers. So succulent.
Then a starter plate of sauteed king prawns in a rich coconut and seafood sauce with a lot of garlic, served with a soft Goan bread. Oh, god, that was just lovely. Bob and I had 3 plates between us. Later on…. some drinks later…. they anchored up and served the main lunch. A huge huge black king fish that they filleted and sauteed and served with salad, rice salad…. just delicious and so tender and well seasoned. Finally a plate of tropical fruit salad soaked in Goan honey brandy. It was all amazing
After lunch we slowly made our way down river spotting more bird life and just enjoying the serenity of the setting. We had loads of space on the boat of course and it was very comfortable with 2 shaded decks, tables and chairs.
Back at the dock for about 1420 and a much easier and more relaxed taxi trip home. I can honestly say it was one of the best days out we’ve ever had from here and I will definitely do this again next time we are in Goa. It was an absolute bargain. The boat trip including all the food, alcohol and travel was £13.40 I don’t know how they do it for that price. The taxis were about £6.50 each including tip.
Tonight we said goodbye to Sheena and Dave. That went so fast and then most of us decried dinner and played games and talked at Eves .
