After an eventful night of being woken up every so often by the neighboring hut owners on their drunken adventures, I rose and ate breakfast bleary eyed and yawning. I had read in a few places that Anjuna Flea Market was a really great place for people watching and for buying really interesting bits and bobs such as clothing and souvenirs to take back home for friends. As it was an overcast and dull day, unsuitable for the beach, I decided to go and see it for myself.
I rode the moped into Anjuna and tried to spot anything remotely similar to a flea market, but came up empty. Next I drove to the sea front and parked the moped, choosing instead to walk along the beach. Eventually I came across the flea market, but it was much bigger than I had thought it would be. There were hundreds of stalls selling everything from spices and herbs to henna dye, clothing and bed spreads to bottles of water, leather wallets to silver bangles and the usual tourist tat of little boxes and tiny carved elephants.
As I walked round I was greeted with calls of ‘…darling…’ and ‘…my price cheap as Primark…’ which I found to be a little strange! Clearly the stall holders pick up these phrases from the tourists.
I ended up buying two kaftan type tops, one short with Elephants all over it and the other more of a beach throw-over which is white with a pink motif running down the front, I bought a little pink silk scarf to wear as a top when I get to South East Asia, again this has Elephants on it.
Following the jaunt at the Flea Market I moved on to Vagator to have lunch in a little restaurant before moving on to the Chapora Fort.
What can I say about the Chapora Fort? It’s amazing! High on the top of a hill with sea and hills below it, the Chapora Fort looks proudly out over the landscape: built in the 17th Century by the Portuguese, the fort is now just a set of crumbling ruins, but what pretty ruins they are. Hidden doorways go through into foliage that is reminiscent of ‘The Secret Garden’ and the crumbling walls make for excellent photos.
Now quite tired, I head back to the hut and have a quick dip in the sea, making the most of the sunshine which had finally materialized, before heading into Arambol to find some food. I thought that there would be loads going on as it’s Halloween, but apparently the party has been taken elsewhere. Never mind.
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