Our friends from Yorkshire

“Joe, would you have us here back again?” asked Stephanie Waterton.

That line, or its variants, spoken by our guests at Joe and Marietta’s Guesthouse, are delightful to hear; it means our guests were happy with us and would like to return.

Tanya Miles seemed equally delighted to have stayed with us. English Roses Tanya and Stephanie (Steff), along with their respective spouses and their sons, stayed at our Palm 3-bedroom apartment for two weeks this February. They left for England on Sunday, February 26. The two families hail from Leeds in Yorkshire.

Craig, Tanya’s husband and Patrick (Paddy), Stephanie’s husband, were gracious and very profuse in thanking us. We cannot but think the same way about them, especially Tanya, who was thoughtful enough to bring us biscuits all the way from England, even though she had never met us earlier. It was Tanya who did the booking and communicated with us all along before their arrival here in Goa.

Tanya and Craig Miles are avid travellers; they have toured Cuba, Mexico,
Greece, Cyprus and other tourism hotspots of the world. Curiously, the Miles have never been to other parts of India, though this is Tanya’s sixth visit to Goa. Asked what brought her to Goa, the accounts manager from Leeds told me she loves the people, the freedom and the food. “We feel safe when we are out and we enjoy the beach shacks,” said Tanya.

For Craig, “the food is very, very nice; the people are very, very nice.”

“The pools,” quipped Frankie, Tanya’s six-year old son. Tanya had enquired and ensured that the children would get access to swimming pools during their stay here in Goa.

“It’s been perfect,” said Stephanie, a first-time visitor to Goa, who works in account administration in Leeds.

They also stayed at the beaches of Agonda and Palolem in South Goa and Arambol beach in the north. The group also splashed in the pool of Froggy Land”, a water park at Nuvem, South Goa.

Tanya and her family have a special affinity to Goa. Tanya’s mother has lived here for many years. And around this Valentine’s Day, Tanya’s sister Amy married a Calangute boy, Justin. It was a beach wedding in Calangute; memories of which the group will relish for long years.

You may think that the two families were in Goa only for the beaches, the food and the nightlife. No. In the middle of their holiday in the sun, the families also took the trouble to spend time with the less fortunate. They took their four small sons to visits the Mango Tree, a home for disadvantaged children in Mapusa town, about seven kilometres north of Calangute. There, the two couples and their sons gave their time and clothes to the children of the home.

All we can say is - it was lovely meeting you Tanya, Craig, your sons Frankie and Logan; and Paddy, Stephanie and your sons Jake and Ashton. Marietta and I wish you all happiness. Deu Borem Korum (God bless you).