Agonda Beach is littered with people doing yoga. It followed there must be yoga studios around and I was keen to give it a try.

I’ve taken various yoga classes over the years but never for long enough to rise out of the ranks of beginner. However, compared to David I’m a seasoned expert. Which is why I was amazed when he said he would join me.

We spotted a place on the shopping street behind the beach offering drop in classes in Ashtanga Yoga at 4.30 pm. 4.30 pm seemed like a good time, so we headed down that way. The sign pointed up some stairs to the second floor of what looked like a residential building. Arriving, we found ourselves in a massive open space. Three other people were already seated on yoga mats. There was an Indian woman in glasses and culottes who bid us welcome – presumably the yoga teacher. I asked her if it was a suitable class for beginners and she said ‘yes’ – but there was a twinkle in her eye as she added ‘you can try’. How hard was this going to be…?

The answer was very hard indeed. The glasses and the culottes were clearly a cover – as soon as she hit the mat, the yoga teacher was Superwoman! Ashtanga yoga is a tremendous energetic form of yoga based on rapid, repeated sequences of movements which are designed to work up a sweat. And sweat we did. At one point, I glanced to one side and managed to restrain an un-yoga-ly laugh –  to see David hanging upside down in downward dog with one leg in the air was really quite surprising! Shame I don’t have a picture.

Later in the class, she had us doing a spot of nostril breathing, and then taking quick, powerful outbreaths. David’s were so powerful and went on so long I thought he would hyperventilate.

Amazingly, we made it to the end of the class without backing out (although I have to confess I did take the odd time out) and left feeling proud of ourselves and somewhat elated. Whether that was because of the deprivation of oxygen to the brain, or because of the magic of yoga, I still don’t know.

Three days later, we surprised ourselves again by going back and doing it all again. This time, we were the only ones in the class and I think she went a little bit easier on us. David declares himself a convert to yoga and I think we will go again.

The next evening we took a trip to Palolem Beach by Tuk Tuk. Palolem Beach is a few miles down the road from Agonda. The drive took us through the countryside and it was nice to get away from beach and see a bit of green for few minutes. David spotted a monkey sitting in a field.

Arriving at Palolem, my first impression was of a more developed version of Agonda. More people, more shops, more traffic. Once on the beach, it was a similar set up to Agonda – but as the sun began to set, I was overwhelmed by the number of people. There was some sort of fun run taking place: a steady stream of parents and kids were running down the beach, in the opposite direction to us.

The restaurants were bigger and better lit and some were pounding out music. I spotted a bar on the rocks on one end of the beach and suggested we go there to watch the sunset. After our drink, we walked the length of the beach, dodging vendors trying to sell us light sticks, and boys playing football. There was a big stadium style light which lit up the fisherman’s part of the beach, which made it possible to play football in the dark.

We stopped for a second drink at the other end of the beach at a bar called ‘The Cosy Nook’. It was quieter up this end, and a bit more to my taste – in other words, a bit like Agonda. We had a meal on the sands in the busier part of the beach and then headed off to find a Tuk-Tuk. Before we left, we did a bit of bargaining in the shops and came away with a large Indian bedspread and a new shirt for David. As we drove away from Palolem, I felt glad to be going back to chilled Agonda.

Sadly, our time at Agonda has come to an end somewhat abruptly. I would have written more posts but have lost a lot of time due to being ill –  and then the sudden realisation that we are leaving tomorrow, Friday and not Saturday as we thought.

Just time to write a little about the food, which has been wonderful. The beach is lined with restaurants, most of which sell a wide variety of food types. Behind the beach, the road is also lined with restaurants, which tend more towards Goan food although there are also a number of ‘hippy’ cafes selling avocado and chocolate smoothies, bean sprouted salads and so on.

Goan food is delicious and I feel like I have only just started to discover it. It reflects the fact that Goa was a Portugese colony until it was annexed by India in 1961. The curries tend to incorporate sweet and sour flavours, often using tomato sauces flavoured with chilli lime, coconut and tamarind. It is predominantly based on vegetarian dishes and seafood. We have eaten some lovely fresh fish, and particularly enjoyed Kingfish cooked tandoori style.

So, farewell to Goa with its warm, friendly people and beautiful, sandy beaches.  We are sorry to leave but excited about our next destination, Bali.