Goa,India: This former Portuguese colony has been a state of India since 1961 when the Portuguese bugged out. All the older Goanese speak Portuguese but it never appears on signage. Apparently Goa natives who can prove some Portuguese ancestry are eligible for Portuguese citizenship which gets them entry into the EU.
In yesterday's entry we mentioned English on signage; in Goa English is the first language on all signs, a few also feature Hindi, most do not. I have to wonder if the difference is that Goa has no British colonial history to overcome, they've overcome their Portuguese colonial history instead. This makes Goa more accessible to English-speaking travelers as business and road signs are clear. I'd guess it means the people of Goa speak better English too.
Roads in Goa are mostly 2 lane, and have little or no shoulder. Driving, they say here, requires three "goods," good brakes, good horn, and good luck. They do use their horns a lot. Nobody drives very fast, there aren't high speed roads.
Goa boasts of its beaches, and has beach resorts. Going in the sea off India seems like a bath in E. coli "soup" to me. In other words, un appealing. Still, it is a tourist destination.
The estuaries around Goa are moorings for many self powered iron ore carrying barges, and if today was any indication they are largely unemployed and left to rust. These same moorings are home to quite a few floating casinos, all idle in the middle of the day.
