23/24 Mar - Rest days at Agonda Beach, South Goa

Day's run: 20 km (to Canacona hospital and back)
Total: 1,765 km

Dawn departure. I like to think this is the fishing boat going out to catch the Kingfish I have ordered for supper.

You cant beat a dawn swim in a warm bath-like sea. Just what the doctor ordered.

Moggie having a nap and looking forward to sitting on my lap while I ate my fish. When my back was turned  he dragged the fish  head and backbone onto the seat cushion and made a right mess. When I pointed the oily mess out to the owner he just turned the cushion over! 

So, the deal is done, I'm hiring this Royal Enfield Classic for a month next year so Maria and I can go touring together. It will have suitcase racks and a bigger rear seat fitted so that it can comfortably carry Maria and  her mandatory 25 kg of I-don't-know-what.  : )

I think it's made for the smaller Indian man, but a zillion times more comfortable than a scooter.

I cycled to the district hospital in Canacona and was prescribed 6 days worth of amoxycillin. The deserted hospital was funny, totally opposite to the NHS. I stood in front of the hatch marked 'Reception' and stood waiting for the 9 nurses sat around reading newspapers and magazines behind the glass to enquire after my health. Nothing. In the end I testily enquired if I was in fact stood at reception. I got a response after all the nurses turned round to look at the wall clock..........a quarter to mid-day........was it shift-change I wondered......'Dressing?' öne said, without closing her newspaper.  They've obviously been to the same charm school as the hotel managers. No, I'd like to see a doctor please. Eventually, a doctor appeared in operating theatre garb and he was very good. The consultation cost me 350 rupees. Incidentally, an Indian doctor, now a Professor at Cambridge University, won the Nobel prize for Chemistry this year. Something really complicated to do with bacteria ribosomes. They're probably what  makes your leg swell and go bright red if left to their own devices.

As a parting gift the doctor instructed 'no swimming in the sea and no alcohol'. No way José!!

Later I have my haircut (100 rupees) and chat to the barber from the far north, Uttar Pradesh, who only sees kids every 6 months. As I leave, he introduces me to a Portuguese resident and I have my first Portuguese conversation since leaving home.