Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary – Baga Beach

It is Sunday already! Already one week in Goa, and we still had a lot to discover. For some reason we got delayed in the morning to leave the hotel. Around 10:30 am we left the hotel on our scooters and after a 40 minute ride we reached the Ferry service port. Chorao Island, on which the bird sanctuary was located, is only accessible by a ferry service running between Ribander and Chorao. So we took the Ferry and crossed the Mandovi River. The Bird sanctuary entrance was right on the pier. Upon our arrival tens of men came running to us, each with something to sell but most of them were promoting the Canoe ride into the swamps. Some of them were even saying that from water we might see a larger variety of birds and wildlife in addition to avoid being heavily bitten by mosquitos.

Since we read that the earlier during the day, the chances of seeing a bigger variety of birds are much higher, we decided to take the canoe before it gets too hot and the birds would have taken the trees as shelter from the burning sun. We bargained the prices just for the fun of it until at the end we settled on one shy guy. We followed him to the other side of the island until we reached the Mapusa River. That’s where he and his family lived. When we arrived, unexpectedly the guy’s canoe was all submerged in water. He panicked and started shouting on his wife, it seemed like someone had done it on purpose. After few minutes of shouting and quarrelling we tried to interfere but the guy didn’t speak any word in English except “Canoe”. We tried to figure out a solution by talking to the guy in English but suddenly an old woman (apparently his mother) came out running and shouting on him in Indian. The three of us were stunned for a few seconds until Ronnie decided to weirdly engage in the conversation, but this time in Arabic…! What a hilarious moment! We laughed ourselves so hard that we cried. We were laughing, they were fighting….but still there was no solution. After few minutes the tension decreased between the mother, the wife and the guy. And he suggested that Ronnie goes with him to bring a new canoe from the neighbors or relatives. Few minutes later they came back rowing in the river. The canoe was mainly a carved trunk of a mango tree that floats with three plastic trays of Coca Cola to sit on.

He and his wife paddled silently against the river current until we reached a branch of a river that flows away from the main stream and into the swamps. Since we were close to mid-day the tide was low and we were floating with little water below us. The trip was calm, serene and very relaxing. No one spoke a word. Although his English was weak, but he was a good tracker and observer. From time to time he pointed at some bird resting on a tree branch or a group of birds in the bushes. We felt that we were visiting some alien or fairy tale land with all its beautiful creatures! 30 minutes went so fast while we were captivated by the wonders of nature and the diversity of creatures that inhabited that part of the sanctuary.

We reached the shore and headed back to the main sanctuary entrance. Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is mainly an estuarine mangrove habitat, which was declared as the bird sanctuary. It was named after Salim Ali, the eminent Indian ornithologist. It was fascinating to walk on the paved path in between the tree trunks while observing silently as life took shapes through thick plantations, small reptiles, animal, fish and birds. Even the trees were breathing through their underwater roots producing a series of bubbles every few seconds. It was hot and humid, and no water would had quenched our thirst. It is good that we had extra bottles of water in our back pack. The visit by foot into the sanctuary was not the best we have experienced since it was too humid and full of mosquitoes, but it was worth seeing. It turned out that the canoe owner was right!

We completed our visit, got back on our scooters and headed towards Baga Beach as our next destination. We wanted to explore the area so we didn’t take the ferry back, we stayed on Chorao Island until we crossed Calvim Bridge towards Mapusa and from there we found our way to Baga Beach which we had visited the day before. We arrived to the beach in the afternoon, we stayed there for a few hours relaxing on the sand and enjoyed a few beers while watching the sun sets over. Meanwhile, one of the many young women selling handmade women accessories offered to braid my hair for a small amount of money. So I accepted.

In the evening we rode our scooters back the center of Panaji town searching for an authentic Indian food experience. We explored several options on foot and we decided to dine in the most packed restaurant. We took a small table in between the crowd of people and had some of the best samosas ever along with other Indian plates.

Read more about our 8-day adventure to Goa-India while we discover the best places to visits and things to do

Day 1: Anjuna | Day 2: Panaji | Day 3: Anjuna Flea Market | Day 4: Old Goa and churches day tour | Day 5: Dudhsagar falls and the Spice Farm visit | Day 6: Reis Magos Fort, Dolphin sighting, Chapora Fort, Baga beach – celebrating Easter at “Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church” | Day 7: Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary – Baga Beach | Day 8: Palolem

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