Goa! Jesus!

Bom Jesus (good Jesus in Portuguese), to be specific! The first day I spent on the beach eating and drinking. The waves were awesome so I spent some time playing, and then some time trying to clear salt water from my sinuses. Ouch.

Of course the second day I went to Old Goa to take photos of old churches. Old Goa was the capital when the Portuguese were ruling here, and is now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The coolest was Bom Jesus, which has the uncorrupted (but mummified) remains of Saint Francis Xavier. You can kind of see his body in the glass and silver coffin in the middle of the huge masoleum. Upstairs there is a small art gallery with wooden carvings and paintings.





Se Cathedral was filled with gold and carving and chapels. I've included a photo of the back side. The front looks much more interesting because one of the two towers fell off, but I don't have a photo.



The Church of St. Francis of Assisi is filled with graves, and they were blocked off to preserve them.







The walls were covered in frescoes. Although this church is not currently in use as a place of worship, it was fascinating.

Finally, the ruins of the Church of St. Augustine, which included a five-storey tower. It was abandoned in 1835 because of the Goan Inquisition.

The third day more eating, drinking, and laying on the beach. Wonderful sunsets, and plenty of bikini time on this trip!