Majorda Beach

In Bogmalo, the Oberois manage a property built by Trade Wings. The building is right on the sea. As the waves lash the parapets of the open-air restaurant, the drone of the restless Arabian Sea lulls to sleep even the most insomniac. Beyond are mysterious little islands, shipwrecks in the silt and, around the hotel, plenty of pleasant eateries-each one of them claiming to be Osibisa's favorite. That pardonable selling trick began about 10 years ago when the Oberoi hosted the group.

From Bogmalo down south, there is Majorda beach and the Majorda Beach Resort. Majorda is the village where the Jesuits, fond as they were of the good things of life, discovered the best Goan toddy (sap from the coconut palm), which they used to leaven the bread. Naturally, then, Majorda is the place where the Goans were first trained in the delicate art of baking European breads. The Majordans are still Goa's best bakers. The delights of the beach, however, were discovered much earlier, in the mythic times when the gods above went through a lot of turmoil. There is a Goan version of Ramayana and therein Lord Rama was kidnapped as a child and brought up at Majorda. Later, in pursuit of Sita, he camped at Cabo de Rama-a headland further south-where the stretch of developed beaches ends.