I arrived in Goa at the airport after a flight that gave me a perfect view of the setting sun. India has been full of surprises, most of them good. I had no expectation of the place I was staying other than my Indian travel agent, Sumati, had done rght by me so far. Right away things were good as I met my ride to the hotel, a man by the name of Ramdas, outside the airport. He had some lovely stories to tell on the way to the Casa Susegad.
When I arrived I was met by Norman and a couple of his friendly dogs. Instantly I knew it was going to be a good stay, despite that my name was John (which it is not) for the first couple of introductions. He and his lovely wife Carole (who called me Andrew) run a lovely rustic retreat with everything you could want from such a place.
The picture above is of Norman and one of his “adopted” grandchildren. The thing I like most about the place is the way Carole and Norman treat the people, including the staff, like family. You may be able to see it in Norman’s eyes—he loves what he is doing, and the community appreciates how he has taken a falling-down 200 year old Indo-Portuguese plantation house, and transformed it into a place that elevates the neighborhood and is a comfortable and relaxing place to stay.
To see photos of things around the place click here.