Wandering around in Fontainhas

December 29th, 2006  |  Published in India & Around, Living, Photography, Sports & Adventure, Travel  |  10 Comments

You must go to Fontain­has, said my friend Albert on the phone. It’s a her­itage area where you can still see influ­ence of Por­tugese archi­tec­ture. He’s a true blue Goan so I couldn’t pos­si­bly not lis­ten to him!

On our last day in Goa, we headed to this old quartier of Pan­jim beside the Ourem creek. It’s a delight­ful area with so much colour and beauty that I wanted to spend much more time there. Next time, I hope I can stay some­where in that area and take some more time to explore it.

Inside the court­yard of Pan­jim Inn

It’s quite a change from the white­washed facades of the build­ings in Pan­jim city, which by the way, also looks extremely cool and chic now. It’s been a while since I’ve vis­ited and the city has since under­gone a makeover that now gives it the sem­blance of a Euro­pean city : broad tree lined clean roads and white­washed buildings.

Leav­ing the broad roads, we enter the nar­row alley ways of Fontain­has. Old vil­las, and crum­bling build­ings, with walls painted with every colour under the sun : red, yel­low, green, blue : daz­zling and a sight for sore eyes surely! Signs of Christ­mas fes­tiv­i­ties are still in the air.

Here you will get a glimpse of the real Pan­jim as it existed dur­ing the Por­tugese rule. The peo­ple as in most of Goa, are friendly and laid back and at the most will give you a side­wise glance and a smile while you go about your explorations!

If you’re in Goa, take some time off from the beaches and dis­cover this quaint and beau­ti­ful quar­ter of Panjim.

The com­plete Fontain­has album

Responses

1. Viewer says:
   

   December 29th, 2006 at 5:04 pm (#)

   Seems like u had a won­der­ful time in GOA ( Saw the pics in Flickr too … neat shots ) I hope u have abeau­ti­ful New Year Anita :)

2. Mehak says:
   

   December 30th, 2006 at 10:16 am (#)

   It seems that i’ve vis­ited this place.…through your pictures!!

3. Anita says:
   

   January 2nd, 2007 at 1:52 pm (#)

   viewer: i did thanks! has a nice time in goa :)

   mehak: :) thank you!

4. riotofreasons says:
   

   January 7th, 2007 at 5:37 am (#)

   Nice set of the pictures.

   Of late, a lot of folks seem to be headed to Goa. Has it become a tourist trap ? Or is it gen­uinely a charm­ing place ?

5. Patrix says:
   

   January 7th, 2007 at 8:13 pm (#)

   Love the vibrant col­ors. I espe­cially like the broad white bor­ders around win­dow and door frames with that hue of yellow/orange. Typ­i­cal Goan.

6. Tuhina says:
   

   January 9th, 2007 at 8:56 am (#)

   Lovely pics, Anita!! This is the first time I am com­ment­ing on your blog in a long time. Though I have been one of the silent read­ers all these years. Where did you stay in Goa? Do give me a plan of the route you followed?

   Ciao,
   Tuhina

7. angshu says:
   

   January 16th, 2007 at 1:54 pm (#)

   Hey, cool stuff. Even read the 21 Qs. :)

8. Anita says:
   

   January 18th, 2007 at 11:51 am (#)

   riotof­rea­sons: goa has always been a traveller’s favourite and not with­out rea­son. for me, it’s still a charm­ing place!

   patrix: thanks!

   thanks tuhina! we stayed in thom­son villa in can­dolim. we explored dif­fer­ent parts each day, includ­ing north goa (tiracol/arambol) and then old goa (where all the major chuches are) and then fontain­has and pan­jim etc.

9. Free Encyclopedia » Blog Archive » Fontainhas (quarter) says:
   

   April 1st, 2008 at 5:37 pm (#)

   […] == Exter­nal links == * [http://windyskies.blogspot.com/2006/08/late-afternoon-in-fontainhas_27.html A Late After­noon in Fontain­has] * [http://www.anitabora.com/blog/2006/12/29/wandering-around-in-fontainhas/ Wan­der­ing around in Fontainhas] […]

10. MekDeecechook says:
    

    December 15th, 2009 at 8:35 am (#)

    What’s up — Wow, what a great forum

    Just reg­is­tered and wanted to say hello.

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