Our first port of call was Goa, India. We were much further south in India than our on-land touring, and the weather was much warmer. The port was a fair distance away from Panjim, Goa, so the trip there and back took about 45 minutes. This was a Celebrity Shore Excursion, so we had to share "our" bus with about 30 other people. We kinda liked the comfortable, exclusive van we had for our touring on land.
This excursion was called "Panjim - The Capital", and featured a couple of famous churches, a stroll through the "Latin Quarter" of old Panjim and some shopping at Praça da Igreja before returning to the ship.
This statue of Gandhi greeted us as we finished our bus drive to the first stop for churches and history.
The first of the 2 churches we would visit was a catholic church "Basilica of Bom Jesus" that holds the mortal remains of St Francis Xavier. The church is one of the oldest in Goa and in India. Francis Xavier worked as a missionary, mainly in the Portuguese empire of the time, which included Goa. After his death, his remains were found to be in almost perfect condition years after his death, and are now contained in this church where the body is put on display for all to see every 10 years.
The last chance I had for a photo of the church interior with its Baroque style main altar - cameras and smartphones were not allowed inside.
This coffin was made during the 1744 Exposition. It has three brass locks with three keys, one key was kept with the archbishop, another the Governor and the third with the administrator. This coffin was used for all Expositions until 1953 when the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier were transferred to the present crystal coffin.
A statue of what St Francis Xavier looked like (presumably) along with some x-rays of his naturally preserved remains.
Painting of St Francis Xavier at work.
Across the road from Basilica of Bom Jesus was Se Cathedral. Construction of the church began in 1562 in the reign of King Dom Sebastião and was completed in 1619 and consecrated in 1640. It had two towers, but one collapsed in 1776 and was never rebuilt.
The Se Cathedral's tower houses a large bell known as the "Golden Bell" on account of its rich tone. It is said to be the largest in Goa, and one of the best in the world.
After our church visits, we drove on to Panjim in old Goa, but first we had a stop at a Souvenir shop. The shop had a lovely array of....bathrooms, and they were well used by passengers. Some people even bought a souvenir or two.
Leaving the bus for our walk through the Latin Quarter (the old Portuguese neighbourhood), we passed by a couple of interesting statues.
Fontainhas is an old Latin Quarter in Panjim, capital city of the state of Goa.
It maintains its Portuguese influence, particularly through its architecture, which includes narrow and picturesque winding streets like those found in many European cities.
The area features old villas and buildings with projecting balconies painted in the traditional tones of pale yellow, green or blue, and roofs made of red coloured tiles.
We made our way to the Market Street, Praça da Igreja, with Immaculate Conception Church at one end. Completed in 1609, this Baroque-style Catholic church with a grand facade sits atop a small hill.
One end of the market street. Not a lot of activity this day, it seemed half the businesses were closed when we were there.
Just a gentle reminder not to litter...and if there was any doubt, you just had to turn around and you'd see the Immaculate Conception Church at the other end of the street, looking down on you.
Mumbai, India (Embarkation) < Goa, India > Colombo, Sri Lanka (Day 1)
[Asia Adventure - Spice Route Cruise 2024]
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