Late light turns Pilar Monastery gold, and below it the Zuari estuary shines silver toward Mormugao harbour. Down by the water at Agassaim, the tide slides back to show a row of dark stones on pale sand, all that is left of the port wall of Gopakapattana.
Away from the hill, Goa Velha is a village of wayside crosses, small chapels and the parish church of St Andrew, where carpenters assemble life-size saints for a Lenten procession. Winters are dry and sunny, and the monsoon pours from June to September. A Local Friend knows when to come early for the low tide and when to linger on Pilar hill as the estuary turns pink.
