Goa - 17th Century Chapel of Todo O Bem in Verem

Monday, February 23, 2015

While returning from Fort Aguada, we missed our turn and so traveled by this road. The Betim Verem Road. The signboard you see in the below photo is located kist before th Verem junction.

Sign board on the Betim Verem Road

When I suddenly spotted this board, Chapel Built in XVII Centuary. I got curious and so we decided to take a de tour and check out the Chapel. But before that I asked the locals for the name of the road, to which they replied that it was the Betim Verem Road. 

Chapel of Todo O Bem

We asked a couple of locals about the whereabouts of it and they asked us to go straight on the lane and it would lead us to the Chapel.

The Chapel is named,  Chapel of Todo O Bem. Which means All that is Good. 

Chapel Door

Now we reached the Chapel, but it was closed. How do I get in. I saw these two kids playing football. I asked them, they told me that the key is with Gonsalves Uncle. 

Now Gonsalves Uncle stays outside the Chapel premises.

Another view of the Chapel

Knock Knock, the door was opened by the maid, I inquired if they had the key to the Chapel. She asked us to wait. 

Gonsalves Uncle, asked us if we were with the press, to which I informed that we are travel bloggers and blog of historic places on earth. He informed that he would show us the place but we would have to give a small donation just for the up-keeping of the place. To which we readily agreed.

Inscription

The Chapel as a small garden around it. The Chapel was single storey structure painted white with the borders in blue. It had statues of two saints above the wooden door and a silver bell atop it. Not sure who the saints were but they looked like St. Anthony.

Uncle asked us to wait at the main entrance, he then walked to the side entrance, got in and opened the main door for us.

Chapel from the inside

The sculptured arc that housed the door was very old. It had a inscription atop it too. Now this is surely 17th century stuff.

The Chapel looked like a Church from the inside. Main Altar, Pulpit, pews, mezzanine floor and Sacristy too. 

Spiral staircase

Uncle, told us that services are held here on zonal feast days. He informed us that the mezzanine floor is for the choir. A spiral staircase led to the mezzanine floor. I started climbing it and it gave out rickety sounds. I immediately receded. 

Uncle also told us that the Chapel was renovated in 1998.  Now the alms received as donation helps in the up-keeping of the chapel. 

Goa - Reis Magos Fort

Monday, February 9, 2015

After visiting Dona Paula we decided to head over to Res Magos fort. 

Res Magos Fort

Res Magos Church and Fort are located in Bardez in Goa,  they were constructed on the banks of the Mandovi River,  with the capital of Goa i.e Panjim located on the other side of Mandovi River.  Res Magos is a Portuguese word that stands for the Three Wise Men.  The Three Wise Men who came to visit Jesus.  UK based Helen Hamlyn Trust along with the Govt. of India funded the restoration of the fort in 2008.  The fort has a long history commencing from 1497 till 1993. It served as a defense fortress,  a hospital and then a jail for the freedom fighters of our country. 

Res Magos Church

Why Res Magos fort. My brother had gone to Goa for holidays and he had been to this fort and the photos he showed me were amazing, hence I decided to add this fort to my itinerary.

Emblem at the entrance of Res Magos Fort

It took us more than two hour to reach Res Magos, we were intially planning to take the ferry. But we missed the ferry by a couple of minutes and hence had to travel by the Betim-Vernem-Saligao Road. But nevertheless the journey was fun. 

One of the twin stairs leading to the top of the fort

Finally we were at the entrance of Res Magos Fort.
Parking is available near the fort premises. 

Fortification of Res Magos Fort

The Res Magos church is located very close to the Res Magos Fort. But the Church was closed for renovation purposes and hence we had to photograph it from the outside only. Though we did set foot in the church,  but it was all dusty.

Now there is a fee to visit the fort. We were charged a fee of Rs.50 each to visit the fort.

Citadel at Res Magos Fort

The fort is located on a hilltop very close to the Mandovi river. It is so close that the Nerul Res Magos Road divided the two. 

We started our long and zig-zag journey along the walkaway to visit the fort via the main entrance of the fort.

Fortification of Res Magos fort with Mandovi river in the background

The fort is primarily made of chire. But what you see now is the renovated version of the fort. 

The fort is small in size,  but offers a majestic view of the Mandovi River,  the Res Magos Church and the surroundings. 

Death Hole on fort premises

As the main entrance and the only way to enter the fort premises is from top,  it is the highest point of the fort.  From within the fort, two steep staircases lead to the lower portions of the fort.  
The fort is small in size in comparison to Cabo de Rama Fort and Fort Aguada.  But the construction of the fort is amazing. 

Royal emblem on the cannons at Res Magos fort

As this fort is renovated most of the structures atop the fort are converted into Art Galleries, There are plenty of photos by Mario Miranda here. 

One of the photo galleries is placed exactly over the main entrance of the fort and has a small hole on its floor,  this was called death hole was used to throw hot oil or shoot the enemy whenever they tried to attack the fort.  

Replica structure of Res Magos Fort

One of the structures houses info on the history of the fort.  It has a small model of what the fort used to look like when it was build. 
There are a couple of cannons placed atop the fort.  Most of them, have emblems on them along with numericals. Have seen emblems on the cannons of the Moti Daman fort in Daman. The cart on which they are placed was built during the renovation of the fort. Not sure. if they still fire.  Lol. 

Photo gallery

The basement of the fort,  houses sketches and paintings on how Goa used to look like in the 16th century. This section gives a lot of info on Goa and its development by the Portuguese. This place also showcases photos of Res Magos fort before the renovation.  
The fort though small can be covered in 30 minutes flat,  plus another 2 hours just to see the photos,  sketches and history section of the fort.

Cannons atop the fort

We then headed off to see Fort Aguada. 

Goa - Dona Paula

Saturday, January 31, 2015

On Tuesday morning when I woke up, I told Namrata, lets do Dona Paula today. to this she asked me, "What's there?" I told her that the jetty offers a beautiful view of the sea and the land in a distance.

Statue of Dona Paula perched on the rocks

I told her that we would also do Reis Magos Fort and Fort Aguada as they are located close by.

So we got ourselves a bike at Margao City Garden and headed off to Dona Paula. Dona Paula is located very close to Panjim. 

Dona Paula jetty

On our way we saw police constables posted on either side of the road at a distance of 50 meters from each other. Not sure why they were there in the middle of nowhere.

View from thebike on the way to Dona Paula

We were then stopped by the Traffic Police, he checked our licenses, "aha, Mumbai License" not sure why he checked both our licenses. As one was driving and the other pillion. Then he asked, "Are you guys from Mumbai?" to which Namrata replied, "Ye, that's why the license." He then let us go. Out of curiosity I asked him, why are there so many police men on either side of the road, to this replied, "Modi is coming today, so.."

People getting lashed by waves at Dona Paula jetty

We then headed off to see Dona Paula, like always we asked around and managed to find out way to Donna Paula. The ride offered a fantastic view of the colorful row houses in the middle of nowhere and then the sea at a distance. Though the road was rough we still rode on.

A little bit of history about Donna Paula. This place was named after Paula Amaral Antonio de Souto Maior, the daughter of the Portuguese Viceroy of Jaffnapatnam, in Sri Lanka. Their family arrived in Goa in 1644. Dona Paula did a lot of charity while she was here which benefited the villagers dearly and so after her death in December 1682 , they named the village as Dona Paula.  The village was initially called Oddavell. 

Rough Sea

Now it was a rough day at sea, we were nearing the the jetty,  people were there watching the sea and taking selfies of themselves when all or a sudden a huge wave rose from the sea and lashed on to them. People were taken by surprise and they all receded from the portions of jetty close to the sea. But some people na, never learn.

Another view of waves lashing onto the rocks

One of the attractions is a white colored statue high up on the rocks. This statue was sculptured by Baroness Yrse Von Leistner in the year 1969. Not sure the significance of this statue. But I overheard a local guide telling a bunch of tourists from down south that they were two lovers who jumped in the sea because their parents opposed their marriage. Rich Girl and Poor Boy, like our typical hindi movie love story. LOL.

We then climbed up the podium to get a better view of the sea and land in a distance. The sea was rough and we could see the waves lash against the rocks in a distance. The weather was dull and the sky was dark, windy but no sign of the rain. I love this kind of weather. loved the sea flavored wind then we decided to visit Reis Magos Fort. 

View of the jetty from the podium

On seeing the place Namrata immediately said that Singham was shot here, where Ajay Devgn chases the bad guys. Nice :)