All creatures great and small . . . .

Today was our last full day of of the tour - tomorrow we all head away in various directions and at various times to begin our individual returns to 'normal' life. Today however, we still had 2 visits to do and some free time to enjoy.

We began the day at 8.30 with an air-conditioned bus ride to see 2 churches, 1 of which is a world heritage sight. The air-conditioned bus held promise of a cool hour-plus's journey to the 2 Catholic churches but it wasn't long before we dicovered the AC didn't work. Solution: open all the windows and let the breeze do the cooling. It was warm and sticky already.

The drive took us through the only part of Goa that was anything like a 'city' though in reality, it felt more like a regular town. Someone mentioned yesterday they thought the population of Goa was about a million. If this is the case then the bulk - maybe 80% - of that million must live in the little satellite 'villages' that are abundant throughout the area. The town was pretty small!

Stepping out of the van we were engulfed by the sticky air, made somewhat tougher to bear as we had to cover knees and shoulders to enter the churches. The first church we saw was a huge red sandstone building. From the outside it looks a bit like an old, dull 19th century factory - from the inside howevre, it's a different story. The walls are a beautiful, cool white plaster and there are many stunningly ornate gold statues and shrines. The most memorable of these is a silver 'casket' which contains the body of Francisco Xavier. Francisco Xavier was born in Spain in 1506 where he became a Catholic priest. He travelled for a period, arriving in Goa in 1542 where he remained until his death on 3rd December 1552. This is when things got interesting. Apparently his body was interred but, at some point afterwards, was exhumed and found to be in almost perfect condition. His body remained in excellent condition and is contained in a silver and glass casket high above the ground where it is still possible to make out his face. The casket is lowered and opened every few years and the next exposition is to be in December 2014 when the Pope will be present.

The second church we visited - just a few hundred metres away, was a more traditional, large whitewashed church which was also undergoing some major renovation work. It was good to hear that the renovation work for both sites was being supported and funded by a National body as the task of renovation of these 2 glorious buildings would be a mammoth undertaking for an individual or a small community.

Refreshments after the church tour before getting back on othe bus and continuiing on for another 20-30 minutes to a spice farm.

I'm amazed - though maybe I shouldn't be - about how little I know about the herbs and spices we use to cook with and have used for many, many years. I guess we just get used to going to the supermarket and buying the pre-harvested, pre-dried, pre-prepared and pre-packaged versions so we don't even stop to think about where they might come from or what they might look like in their natural state. Today's tour served to open my eyes a bit. We were taken around 2 acres of jungle-like area where we saw and tasted a myriad of herbs and spices straight from their raw source - leaves, roots, nuts, bark . . . . . cinnamon, black cardomom, green cardamom, nutmeg, turmeric, pepper . . . . the fresh, straight-from-the-tree cinnamon was particularly delicious. And the wildlife in the area was amazing too - the spiders and caterpillars were interesting but it was the butterflies that flitted in and out through the trees that caught my eye . . . . huge and colourful and a real bonus that I didn't expect. In this same area (which spans some 40 acres) were also a number of elephants and whilst I didn't quite work out just why they were there, this one in particular stood out as a very friendly and well-loved animal. I couldn't possibly complete and India trip without including an elephant could I?!

After lunch at the spice farm we headed back in the bus and were dropped off at Baga Beach - a large, golden-sand beach where the water was tepid and very enticing, though not enough to get me to swim. A paddle up to the knees was as good as it got. We spent a couple of hours relaxing at a beach bar (where the locals were keen to get us to buy their jewellery, have our nails painted or simply to donate to the young girls who performed a few acrobatic tricks infront of us) before heading back to the hotel to change and head out for a final dinner together. It was a great way to end the tour - very relaxed, beautiful evening, al fresco dining, fun and laughter.

It seems a little strange to think that tomorrow we all head back to our own worlds. The past 2 weeks has seemed like a lot longer as we've packed so much in, seen so much and experienced so much . . . . . I have one more night in Goa before beginning my return, though at a different hotel. I think I might go on a wildlife hunt tomorrow if I can find one . . . . .