waterproofs at Mycs, so we legged it to the bus stop, and headed back to Panjim to catch a bus to Colva, our first South Goan beach destination. It was still pouring down when we arrived, so we went straight to a hotel which Lonely Planet had described as having "spotless rooms". It seems that things have changed, as we were shown one of the grubbiest rooms we've seen so far, and promptly left! We checked into Star Beach resort, an upmarket place with a swimming pool, and a really nice room. The rain didn't stop for the rest of the day, but we braved the storm to go and eat another top meal in a place owned by a Norwegian couple.

The next morning it was still chucking it down, and by then we were wondering if it would ever stop! We'd managed to get a brief look at the beach, for about 10 seconds during a short period when the rain had backed off to a light drizzle, and from talking to the locals, and

from the paper, we'd read that the rain was the result of a tropical Cyclone which had hit India. We couldn't complain too much though as in the next state there had been mass flooding and 75 people had been killed. It was apparently most unusual for the time of year. Another night, and we woke up to more of the same, and the weather forecast didn't suggest that it was going to get better any time soon, so we did the only thing left to do – got drunk!! This was not what we'd had in mind when we decided to visit Goa!! We had decided that it was daft to be paying more for this resort place just because it had a swimming pool which we couldn't use, so we had negotiated in the hotel we were drinking in for a cheaper room that we would move into the next day. Save ourselves a few quid we thought!

Of course sod's law dictated that we awoke the next morning to blazing sunshine, and we were in the