The Blood of Jesus Protects, Saves, Heals, Restores

Wonderful though Patnem is, I can’t stay on the beach every day. Nor can I spend all day running, playing tennis, swimming, kayaking, doing cooking classes, yoga, finding secluded seafood shacks for life changing steamed crabs, discussing life and the universe around beach fires with wonderful people, or visiting the colonial mansions of new found friends.

Well, I can, but to do some of those things you need transport, and that means the two-wheeled variety. This being India, there is really only one way to do this:

But no. I might have driven a convertible Mustang and a Chevvy Camaro down the west coast of the USA, and a Nissan Skyline around Australia, but on two wheels, I’m a chicken, so I’m riding this bad boy instead:

In case you can’t see it clearly in the photo, the sticker on the front reads "The Blood of Jesus Protects, Saves, Heals, Restores.” So far, mercifully, it hasn’t had to, despite the best efforts of a number of adversaries one inherits when turning the key. These are:

1. Potholes
2. Tuk-tuks
3. Scooters
4. Cars
5. Everyone else
6. Cows
7. Dead dogs
8. Live dogs
9. Sleeping dogs
10. Monkeys
11. Everything else

Despite all that, the scooter gets you out into the countryside, and what glorious countryside it is. It opens up this little stretch of Goan coast, and you soon realise that it's not just Patnem that's special, it's everywhere around here.

Inland and the lush greenery and tropical forests open up, crystal clear waters hide delicious crabs and tiny roadside homes offer incredible food. It really does feel close to paradise.

Riding along in the late afternoon light, everything suffused with that special, golden glow of the disappearing sun, a moronic grin stretches across my bug splattered face. The rush of the wind, even at a measly 60kph and with Jesus rattling like a broken axial fan beneath me, is exhilarating enough to make me just feel deeply, deeply happy to be alive. Alive, and on the road: protected, saved, healed and restored. Just not by him....

Today on the scooter, heading out to turtle beach, a huge eagle swooped down in front of us and glided, six feet from the ground, ten yards in front of the bike, and for a few precious seconds, it were as though he were towing us along in his slipstream, before he rose up and soared over the mint green treetops and out of sight.