In India, the state of Goa was the cultural center of the Portuguese for 450 years. It was the first region in India colonized by Europe, and the last to get its freedom in 1961. It was the spice trade that lured colonists to Goa and the lush countryside and fertile fields make it the top producing area for spices such as cinnamon, clove, pepper, cardamom and turmeric.
We chose, what else, The Spice Farm, for our excursion of the day. We had a 1 ½ hour bus ride to the Farm but we had another dynamite guide who entertained us the whole way. Between him and the view from the window, there were no dull moments. We arrive at the farm and are met by a hostess who puts a dot of red powder on our foreheads for good luck and presents us with a cup of some kind of cold red tea. Didn’t know what it was, but it was cold and it was another humid day. Then we were introduced to another guide who takes us through a couple acres of many different spice trees. This is what they call the demo area for the visitors. They actually have hundreds of acres of spice trees growing elsewhere. We look, smell and take pictures as we’re guided around. It’s not as interesting as we were expecting. After the tour, we were served lunch which was excellent and then stopped by the spice counter where we could buy sealed and bagged spices. Then another 1 ½ hour bus ride back to the ship.
