Goa, Southern India

The state of Goa was the cultural center of Portuguese India for 450 years. Its capital is called Vasco da Gama City. This was the first region in India colonized by Europe, and the last to get its freedom in 1961. Nowhere in India, we've been told, is the colonial influence so prominent. About a third of Goans are Catholic and the colonial styles of the Old Town extend to many private homes. Among its magnificent cathedrals and monasteries, the Sé Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Asia. The Basilica of Bom Jesus, one of India's finest examples of baroque architecture, holds the remains of St.Francis Xavier, the city's patron saint. Hindu mosques and temples are also ubiquitous here….as are slums and heaps of trash.

Cave drawings prove that hunter/gatherers lived here at least 30,000 years ago. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the town was ravaged by malaria.It is one of the wettest areas in India and one of the most fertile. The climate lends itself perfectly to growing spices, especially pepper. It also provides the ideal habitat for crocodiles.

As an adjunct to the spice trade, Ayurvedic medicine is big here. Goa has 33 beaches (and 300 churches) and is known for having been a hippie Mecca in the 1960s. Goans are entitled to Portuguese passports and pride themselves on equal legal and financial protection for every man, woman, and child. Prior to Portuguese colonization, the Arab countries bought spices from Goan Muslims. The plantations were and are Hindu owned, often for hundreds of years in the same family. The local Muslims acted as middlemen due to the language barrier. When the Portuguese came they by-passed the local traders and dealt directly with the Hindus. They were desperate for pepper because salt cured meat only stays edible for 6 months but pepper preserved meat and fish for over two years. Also, pepper killed threadworm and other parasites. Feeding all those sailors during the Age of Exploration was no easy feat.

In light of this thirst for spices, and because we're maxed out on pagodas, temples, and mosques, we decided to visit an actual spice plantation.

Seema, our Spice Girl (watch out Posh)

Here's a synopsis of what we learned down on the farm:

Betelnuts were the first CBD gummies
Fenni is a 40 proof alcoholic beverage made from the fruit of the cashew tree after the nut is removed.
The biggest cash crop in Goa is the cashew!
Pepper is a terrestrial parasitic plant. It has no leaves or chlorophyll of its own. The flowers smell terrible and are pollinated by flies and beetles.
Pepper mixed with honey cures a cough.
Pepper brewed as tea "eliminates" an upset stomach.
Vanilla is also a parasite. The best vanilla comes from Madagascar where tiny indigenous hummingbirds pollinate the vanilla plants. Vanilla grows in Goa but the hummingbirds do not so the plantation uses toothpicks to pollinate the plants manually.
The best cure for migraines is a tea brewed from lemongrass, ginger, and cardamom.
Coconut trees live up to 300 years. They have no season and produce fruit four times a year
Turmeric is used as an anti-bacterial and anti-cancer agent. Indian women mix it with yogurt to use as a face mask
Cinnamon comes from the bark of the cinnamon but the leaves are used as a bay leaf substitute and the oil, called Indian Magic Oil, is extracted and applied for pain relief.
Nutmeg (fruit) and mace (leaf) are from the same tree.
Basil is called "holy" and the "Queen of Spices" because it increases the oxygen in the body and is basically good for everything (especially with tomatoes and mozzarella.)
Chewing on green cardamom relieves motion sickness

A couple of other observations, not related to spices:

We have seen swastikas liberally painted throughout India and Sri Lanka.

According to our guide, it is a Hindu symbol of peace. According to Google,
"The word swastika comes from Sanskrit, meaning 'conducive to well-being'. In Hinduism, the right-facing symbol (clockwise) is called swastika, symbolizing surya('sun'), prosperity and good luck, while the left-facing symbol (counter-clockwise) is called sauwastika, symbolising night. In Jain symbolism, it represents Suparshvanatha – the seventh of 24 Tirthankaras (spiritual teachers and saviours), while in Buddhist symbolism it represents the auspicious footprints of the Buddha."

Delightfully, there are little cows sitting everywhere along the roads like household pets sit on porches elsewhere.

Milkbones for Bovines, anyone?