Time to go home

Our last homestay, the only one I booked through Airbnb, is down a tiny track, not far from the beach, a pink villa in the middle of nowhere, lovely spacious room with a balcony overlooking the jungle and a kitchen!

I picked it for its close proximity to the airport, so when we heard a low flying aircraft mid afternoon I was not surprised. We are close to the railway line too so occasionally we hear the rumbling of a goods train. 

I didn't however expect twenty or so fighter bombers to zoom over our roof terrace in rapid succession. 

Thanks to the excellent wifi here I discovered that Dabolim airport is used for military training four and half hours a day four days a week! 

I thought at first India had gone to war! 

The lovely part about our last few days was that our friend Wilson came overnight on the train from Kerala to see us. He cooked for us which was a real treat, amazing fish with veg in a pan. We walked through a palm grove with a drove of pigs scuttling through the undergrowth to reach the beach, totally deserted, apart from the fishermen's shacks. It's hard to understand how such a large stretch of sand has not been developed.

We were invited to breakfast at a bakers in the next village, run by a friend of Wilson's who he had known way back in Sharja. They make 'Pão' Portuguese for bread rolls, 4000 a day, which are then sold by boys on bikes, cycling up and down the local lanes ringing their bells. 

Last minute panic when I try to check in for our flight and discover the connecting flight has been brought forward by 12 hours! Yikes I better get packing.....