theladywanderer

As mentioned in my earlier blog ( link ), we set off to explore old Goa for a half day tour from Ponda. Old Goa is a historical city located in North Goa and is famous for its oldest churches and chapels. From Ponda KTC bus stand, we took local bus to Old Goa. We got down at Mahatma Gandhi Chowk, Old Goa which is the prominent bus stop. From here you can explore Old Goa by foot as all historical landmarks are close-by.   Hatkatro Khambo Once you enter Old Goa from Kadamba bypass, this Pillar cannot be missed. ‘Hatkatro Khambo’ literally meaning a pillar where hands were chopped(In Konkani, Hath=hand, Katro = cut, Khambo = pillar). This pic speaks the sad tale of Goan acquisition by the Portuguese where many Hindus were tied to this pillar and the hands of those were cut who were not ready to get converted to Christianity during the Portuguese Rule over Goa. But it was sad to see the condition of this monument today as there is no fence around this pillar to protect this monument neithe

After spending 2 relaxed soul soothing days in Lord Damodar's abode ( link ) and exploring some offbeat places around South Goa ( link ), we next set off to visit our Kuldevata temple - Shri Mahalaxmi Saunsthan which is located in Ponda.  Ponda  is also known as Fonda in Konkani.  This temple town of Goa offers the most visually appealing temples with their stunning architecture, rectangular Kalyani (pond) and a cylindrical multistoried tower lamp (Deepa Stambha).  We had booked our next 2 days stay at our Kuldevata temple - Shri Mahalaxmi Saunsthan, Bandivade, Ponda. While we spent most of our time offering our seva to Goddess Mahalaxmi in the mornings and late evenings, but rest of the day we spent here exploring the other prominent temples around this place. Luckily private bus transport is good so you can visit most of these temples by hopping onto these buses since autos charge exorbitant amount even for a short distance.   Shri Mahalaxmi Temple, Bandora This Hindu temple was

Rivona   is a tiny hamlet nestled in the Sanguem taluk, South Goa located approximately 2 km southeast of the main road of Zambaulim. Offlate this has been famous for its Buddhist caves since it is considered to be the birthplace of Indian Civilization where Buddhist legends once thrived. There are two caves here. So we started our journey from Zambaulim as mentioned in my earlier blog ( link ) at around 8:30 am towards   Rivona   by marking all these important places in Google Maps. Enroute we came across Vimleshwar temple in  Rivona . Our driver suggested we stop by, seek blessings from Lord Shiva and then start our offbeat exploration.   Vimleshwar Temple Unlike all temples of Goa, this temple also holds its own unique charm with its serene surroundings and divine blessings of Lord Shiva in his form as Vimleshwar.   Rivona  Buddhist Cave 1  This one was a bit disappointing since upon reaching the destination we didn’t find any signage about this place neither there was any person wi