C U B Anjuna!

Anjuna to Mandrem: one hell of a bumpy ride, both literally and emotionally. From taxi tussles to crab-watching, violent eels to fishy mysteries, and a storm with a side of poker—we saw it all!

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C U B Anjuna!

More than ready to leave Anjuna we all got up early and packed.Check out went smoothly but booking a cab was a struggle. Stu and Jamie tried to haggle for a fair price to get a taxi the short 12km north to Mandrem beach.After being quoted over the odds the guys were more than frustrated. Eventually, through the hotel, we agreed a price of 500 rupees. They had a big cab but were convinced we'd struggle to fit with out bags. that was ok though; they had another car on standby at an additional 500 rupees just in case.Determined to squeeze in and keen to leave the money grabbers of Anjuna in the hope that Mandrem would offer much more of the true India we'd hoped to share with everyone on their trip to Goa, we all made it. With quite a snug, yet comfortable fit.As soon as we were ready to leave the man from the hotel said 'ok 750 rupess to Mandrem'. We argued and said that we were told 500. He said that the extra 250 was because there was 6 of us. The 500 price was for 4 people.Arguing and getting nowhere we left just before tempers flared into fists at said we'd pay the 750...

they werent worth the stress and aggression. They were all the same in Anjuna. All money grabbers. All smiling one moment and trying to cheat you the next.The hotelier demanded that we give him the 750, not the driver. We presume that after all the commotion the driver thought he wasn't going to get paid the full asking price of 750 and would only return with cash for the fair price of 500.The drive to Mandrem was tense to say the least. Some suffering from delhi belly, some trying to forget their anger and an awkward and uncomfortable looking driver who no longer wanted any part of this deal.We also noticed that someone from the hotel had followed on bike to make sure the price was paid in full. What a dramatic start to the day!!Bags in hand and taxi's paid, we walked to Riva resort where we had breakfast and got some tips on accommodation. Riva was both full and out of budget!Jamie, patty and me took a walk across the bridge that separated the beach from the river and saw hundreds of little crabs...

they were small except for one oversized red claw. Fascinated by these little things we watched for ages as they fought one clawed to protect their little sand hole.Up the shore we checked a few huts before stumbling on O'saiba.

This was a beach front restaurant with comfy chill out areas made of blankets and cushions.Out the back there were huts and the Pièce de résistance above the restaurant were the tree top sea view huts.

Patty returned by cab to pick up the bags and the others.Happy to be somewhere tranquil everyone settled into their rooms. Patty and Adams taking the special roof top treasure.

Adams feeling a little worse for wear stayed back whilst the rest of us took to the beach for a little exploration.Two of the party returned after fear that the one clawed crabs would be lurking in its shallows leaving just jamie, patty and me to continue the excursion.After ducking and diving the beach hawkers the real nature trail began. As we walked through the rock pools that the sea had left behind was saw monstrous eels writhing, gasping not for air but for the water where they belong.

Discussing how they could have found themselves beached we all agreed the tide must have left them behind when we saw an Indian man, stick in hand in amongst the pools.

He proudly waved his treasures at us. A few fish, some small shrimp and a substantial crab. A very healthy dinner for this man and his family no doubt. We pointed and asked about the eels, asking if they were good to eat. He said 'no good for eating' and beckoned us over to one of the pools. 'Very strong bite' he said and poked his pole in the water to demonstrate. Within seconds an eel had grabbed onto it with its mouth. The man pulled the stick with full force but the eel kept its mouth clamped. All of a sudden they mans stick pulled free, only to smash through the neck of the eel. A few firm tugs and the eel was prized out from its rock and cast out onto the sand...The mystery was solved.Everywhere the little man had been there were eels in the shore. The sand around the rocks he had not yet attended were clear of writhing sea creatures.We turned back to see his smiling face as he hooked out another eel and smashed its head against the sand.(All of the innuendoes about the man waving his treasures, plunging his stick and tugging his pole were pure accident and completely innocent. Jamie kindly pointed out how these phrases could be misconstrued when reading the post back but it made me giggle so much we chose not to re-phrase)On the walk back we saw eagles and sparrow hawkes circling above. A little closer back home it started to rain and we almost walked straight into a pile of dead fish that had all had their eyes plucked out. Cat fish and snappers, big and small all lay lifeless and eyeless but their bodies untouched- it was pretty disgusting and needless to say, we didn't hang around to solve this mystery!Back at O' saiba we had a chilled out afternoon. Mr O'saiba tried to sell us the biggest red mullet I've ever seen in my life. But with everyone still feeling a bit iffy after casino Buffett we declined.

Jamie had a long awaited haircut from Videl Passoon. We had no idea we had such an excellent stylist in our midst until the following day where some young Indian boys stopped jamie in the beach to ask him about his co haircut and have their photos taken with him.The rain began to pour and we were soon in the middle of a storm. We took shelter in the bar and set up tables facing out to sea so that we could all see the lightning forks stab I to the sea and light up the whole beach.

A few rounds of chase the ace were enjoyed by all but it agreed that some of us need to work on our poker faces.We said our bed time good nights and a sad farewell to Katie and Stu who were set to leave at 4:30am for their morning flight home.

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