NOT A HOTEL
Close to 40 eight years ago, the late Lino Monteiro did what many visitors who have spent more than a week in Goa talk about doing. He chucked up his job with the Times in Bombay and came back to his ancestral village in Calangute.
A plot of land at the northern end of Baga, facing a sand dune and fields behind. An awful lot of cactus to cut, recalls his son Marius who was then a schoolboy helping out. Lucio Miranda designed a charming two storied hotel of exposed laterite, tiled roof, balcaos – vintage Goa. Today the now ivy clad Cavala stands out in refreshing contrast to the concrete around.
Those were the happy, hippy somewhat wild and often penniless years. Both Indians and foreigners were discovering Goa and the bar at Cavala became a popular meeting place for both travelers from all over as well as Goans. People would get together for a beer, a few tall tales, some laughter, some sympathy, some wooing, much singing, dancing and feasting.
Small places take on the character of their owners. Cavala’s special human touch traits come from the heart of Goan hospitality, with its warmth and easy going tolerance, while still maintaining its innate saneness and tradition.
Today Goa with its “boutique” hotels and “lounges” has become an international resort destination, inevitably bringing with it the wannabes and social climbers. In today’s columns of who was seen or photographed with whom, it’s nice to remember that the Cavala had years ago welcomed the likes of Goldie Hawn and Sally Field with its customary casual and friendly nonchalance when they had discovered the place and stayed on to join in the fun with the others. And that spirit lives on at the Cavala.
