We didn’t wake up until 10.15 today, that sounds so lazy but we have been going to bed late and because I usually make us get up earlyish we’re all tired.

I ‘m not sure what has bitten the kids; they look more like mosquito bites now. We counted them last night and Maisie has 130 and Ali over 250 so they look terrible -poor things. I spoke to a fella last night who reassured me that as we have been very careful about taking our malaria tablets and not missed any they will be fine but still it must be horrible for them. Also because we have been using repellent every night and burning mosquito coils you get complacent and think you won’t get bitten now, how wrong could we be?

I can’t be bothered to get up and lie in, listening to Ali playing his guitar, he has written a song about travelling and it’s very good. I might record him on the webcam and put it on the website. Simon has gone to book our Christmas dinner, it turns out it is going to cost us about 150 quid but I don’t worry about that. I want us to have a lovely day and I’m sure it will be great.

I was thinking about the changes we have seen in this place since our holiday here. Certainly I don’t remember any internet cafes and it is a lot busier now. The roads have improved and I haven’t seen any cows wandering the main roads. I saw more signs advertising roast beef than Goan food and it is a shame but maybe that is the demand of British tourists. That said outside Calangute and Candolim it still seems very quiet and if we came back here in the future I would probably head further south for a more peaceful time .Dona Paula on the other hand is a lot quieter but for us still doesn’t really fit the bill as it is an expensive area and quite exclusive here.

Maisie and I spend a couple of hours doing some literacy while Ali makes a Christmas video we are going to put on the website. I guess that counts as IT for him and don’t push it and make him do anything else.

We go for a walk around 5pm as it has now cooled down a bit. We have booked dinner on Noah’s Ark, this is a converted rice barge and Aruna tells us has a reputation for fine dining. This sounds a bit posh but the boats look very pretty lit with fairy lights and as we didn’t have chance to do this before we want to go tonight.

There are other boats with no food and more of an 18 -30′s atmosphere but I don’t want to do this with the kids and we decide we have definitely made a good choice when we have a lovely evening. The boats travel up the river, past a large catholic church that has been beautifully restored and is all lit up. We are sat at the front of the boat and even though it goes quite fast and gets breezy it is still really hot.

There is an extensive menu and we have a Goan prawn curry and Thai style red snapper .The obligatory Kingfishers are ice cold and we end the evening with Irish coffees which are extremely strong and I wonder if they have been laced with the local fire water feni instead of whisky.

After updating our website with our Christmas video we catch an auto rickshaw back to our apartment, another lovely day has come to an end and I’m off to bed now.

After an early start to the day we head off for Cidade de Goa. Simon leaves me and the kids lazing by the pool and goes off to Panjim to get them some Christmas presents.
We didn’t bring anything with us and don’t want to carry extra stuff so he is going to have think carefully what to get them. I have written a few things down though and they know not to expect too much.

We never go too mad at Christmas anyway and I try and put a limit on what I spend, particularly on Ali and Maisie. We have got a big family and they are always very spoilt, although I love Christmas sometimes the cost of it does seem a bit obscene and I try and curb it a bit. We have decided to pay some money into their savings accounts for them and go and do some water sports on Christmas day.

We unfortunately then get busted by the hotel staff and they come and ask me for our room number. As I can hardly make one up I have to come clean and admit we aren’t actually staying there and we’re not members of the health club either!
Its bad timing as I haven’t got any money to offer to pay for the use of the facilities so I just act dopey, tell the fella I know nothing and he will have to sort it out with my husband later!

He clears off and leaves me in peace anyway and I carry on reading my book, it’s really good and I decide that I want to visit Japan to see the tea houses and Geisha district of Gion. I have no idea whether Geisha are still trained today but my ideas for travel usually come from reading novels and I start to investigate places I get interested in based on stories I have read.

We did think about adding Japan onto this trip but time constraints mean we will be rushing from place to place as it is and although we have seen a lot in India in some ways I feel we have hardly scratched the surface. I would have liked to have gone to Calcutta also but it was too far from other areas we have visited and I have to remind myself that this isn’t our only opportunity for travel.

After a couple of hours Simon comes back and sorts it out with the hotel staff ,we end up paying just over a fiver for the use of the pool, 3 sun beds and 4 towels and I don’t feel this is too much at all. We get some lunch, burgers and chips for everyone and eventually make it back to our apartment around 5pm.

I’m upset as I now have similar bites to the kids and although they aren’t too itchy they burn and are painful. Maisie plays Doctor Maisie and sits for ages putting calamine lotion all over my arms and back what a sweetie! I spend the next hour wrapping the kids presents up, Simon has done brilliantly and got them lots of bits and pieces I know they will like. I don’t need my Christmas CD on as I can hear Boney M blasting out from the apartment above us!

We found a leaflet from Domino’s delivery service stuck in our gate and order take out pizza for dinner. Simon gets some beers and cokes and nips across the shop to get chocolate and sweets. We bought Casino Royale on pirate DVD in Mumbai and although there is the slight problem of it being in Hindi there are subtitles and I reckon it makes a welcome change from The Wizard of Oz or re runs of Morecambe and Wise.

Today we have decided to stay in for the morning and get the place tidied up a bit. It is very windy although still boiling and I can’t face putting sun cream on my bites and going to the beach as I think it will irritate them more.
Simon does an hour or so of maths with the kids, I have told them they can have tomorrow off and they said I’m tight!

In the afternoon we catch the bus to Panjim, I have decided that Maisie and I need to look smart for tomorrow’s dinner and I want to buy myself a dress and us both some shoes.

Before we reach the clothes market we have to go through the fish and meat market. The women are sat on slightly raised platforms with piles of fish in front on them. I watch as they sprinkle water with their hands on the fish to keep them wet looking. There are lots of different types of fish, squid and prawns.
In this heat the smell is unreal; I have my hand clamped over my nose and try desperately to breathe through my mouth. The flies are everywhere crawling all over the fish and the women don’t make much attempt to swat them away, I think that this can’t get any more horrible until we reach “The Lucky Mutton Store” – and there suspended from hooks are 3 sheep’s heads chopped off at the neck and dripping blood.

Not very lucky for them.

At this point Ali starts heaving and we rush away I don’t want him throwing up everywhere. Maisie surprises me again, I would have thought she would have hated it but all she said on the matter was- “Some of those fish looked nice didn’t they Mom?”

I buy a dress and shoes for us both for under a tenner, not the most classy outfit ,as I realise when I try it on at home that it is quite see through at the back but I solve that problem by wrapping my sarong around my hips underneath like an underskirt.

We walk through the park after buying an ice lolly, by now it is red hot, the temperature has rocketed up again and it must be over 35 degrees it certainly feels hotter than at any other time since we arrived in India. We skip from one shady bit to another and decide to make our way back to Dona Paula as it is too hot to wander about.

I want to phone my best friends and we get the auto rickshaw to drop us by the telephone, I manage to speak to Shirley and Nicky for ages, which is lovely listening to what they have been up to. Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the year, I love the anticipation of what’s to come and we have missed out on that this year. Speaking to my mates does bring that home a bit and it’s a shame that I miss Lou. I manage to have a quick word with her mum though and she says she will pass on my message.

We then check emails and we have one from Dad and Pauline. Pauline describes a dinner she has cooked for my brother and Tarl and for the first time I get really strong cravings for some English food .I’m not sure what to expect from tomorrows meal but I don’t suppose it will be roast turkey and all the trimmings.

We get back to our apartment and try and decide where to go for dinner. I am a bit reluctant to go out anywhere as I don’t want to put insect repellent on my hands and arms.
My vision of looking good on Christmas day with a sexy tan has disappeared as I look like I have some horrible tropical disease!

In the end we decide on take out Chinese, Simon goes of to get it and the power goes off. Needless to say it doesn’t come back on for about 3 hours. We sit in the dark eating Chinese and drinking beer by candlelight, playing charades and listening to Christmas songs we have a laugh and I’m sure we won’t forget tonight in a hurry.

Mum and Dad came in and woke us up. For once we weren’t the ones skipping in the room on Christmas day! So after slowly waking up me and Ali found our way to the dining room. We didn’t really know what to expect.
But soon we came to a surprise that we got lots of small games like lasers, flashing ball, guns, games and lots of biscuits but no tea! and best of all -100 and to go parasailing!

So after cutting my new skirt up because it was way to small so mum thought we could cut the sides and it ended up with no elastic!

But after getting ready we decide to go to the beach and Ali met a nice boy and I join in with them. As he was very tall and looked older than Ali we came to a surprise when he said he was ten! Ali said “why can’t I grow!” and we all laughed at him!
After giggling at Ali we went to make Christmas calls and go on the internet.

We then make our way up to the water sports. As I am begging for me and mum to go first mum is saying she doesn’t want to go at all! But in the end I persuaded her to.
It was the most fun thing ever! Mum said her arms hurt at the start and the next thing we knew we were in the air! And it was soooooooo fun and I know I’ll do it again.

In the night we went to a five star hotel and when me and mum arrived in our high heals
we just gasped as we saw all the blue and Wight string and the light up plastic sea creatures and the fire eaters and I could go on but the thing that caught Alis and dads eyes was the buffet that we walked along and at the end the houses made out of chocolate, the strawberries covered in melted chocolate and the sweet tower stuck together chocolate!

The funny thing was that it was the first time I’ve worn proper high heals and after the party me and mum actually had to soak our feet in cold water as they where the first and the most uncomfortable shoes EVER!!!!!! I would rather go in converse.

Today was a weird Christmas and I felt a bit like an Indian but I know I will come here again, maybe not in India.

Merry Christmas! As usual we are awake way before the kids and lie in bed willing them to wake up. Eventually we hear a little voice warbling “We wish you a Merry Christmas” and go in to find them grinning at us! Santa has made it to Goa and after they have opened their presents we have our breakfast. Ali asks for bacon and eggs but I miss the champagne more and strawberry cornflakes just don’t cut it in quite the same way even with the added novelty that they turn the milk pink.

We get a taxi to Candolim and make our way to the beach. We choose sun beds right by the waters edge so I can keep a close eye on the kids and Ali quickly makes friends with a boy called Lewis. We have a lovely morning; the sea is quite rough with big waves but no under current and it’s very warm. After a lunch of grilled fish and chips, we pack up our stuff and walk along the road to phone home. We have a chat with everyone and I do feel a few pangs when I hear everyone laughing in the background it sounds like they are having a great time.

Still no time to feel down, I’m too busy feeling scared as we make our way to the para glider, my heart is pounding, I hate heights and yet before I know it Maisie and I are strapped into the harness and the parachute behind us is being lifted to catch the wind.
Then, like I have a string attached to my belly button, I’m yanked and we’re airborne.
Maisie loves it and although I don’t look down, I do look around and the views are wonderful. Too soon I hear the whistle from the fella in the speed boat which means we are going to come down and before I know it, it is all over. An experience that I never thought I would have the bottle to do.

For Ali’s present him and Simon are going on a jetski and I run through the waves trying to get some good pictures of them. They zoom off across the sea bouncing along the waves. Maisie and I laugh as we see them doing donuts on the thing and when they come back and tell us they fell off it I’m not surprised!

It’s now 6.30 and we get a taxi back to Dona Paula, 4 quick showers and a bit of pampering later and we’re ready to go. We arrive at Cidade de Goa and make our way to the garden where the dinner is being held. I’ll try my hardest to explain what it looked like but my first impression as we walked through an arch way was that we had stepped into a winter wonderland.

As far as the eye could see the garden was lit with strings of fairy lights and suspended from the branches of the trees was what looked like a carpet of blue and white streamers which almost created a ceiling. The tables were all beautifully laid on the grass around the dancefoor and the waiters were smartly dressed in silver waistcoats with santa hats.
Everywhere I looked amongst the trees were Santa’s, dolphins, stars and elves amongst other things.

In the centre was a cold buffet and it looked so delicious it almost seemed a shame to eat it, suckling pigs sat beside some evil looking fish with big teeth. There were hams, beef and chicken and maybe 30 different types of salads. I had tomato, mozzarella and basil. pasta with olives, and a spicy chicken and bean salad. Big green ice sculptures of Christmas trees sat in amongst the food.

Down one long side were steel serving containers with all differet types of hot food including roast turkey, tandoori prawns, beef dishes, noodles, rice, Goan specialities, fiery curries and so much more. The chefs stood behind were barbequing on request.

We had ordered some beer and a bottle of wine and as we finished our main course the entertainment started Firstly a sort of gospel choir of children sang a mixture of well known English and Indian songs and carols. Santa Claus appeared and as well as handing out a few presents danced a few moves accompanied by the live band who were excellent. At this point there was a huge firework display and it was so good I started crying. The DJ was brilliant and played a great mixture of English pop and dance music and Bhangra which was so lively lots of English people including us joined in. Ali amazed me by dancing around and although he looked a bit self conscious at times he seemed to have a great time and was well up for it.

The desert buffet reminded me of Hansel and Gretels house, backed with snowy mountains there were real gingerbread houses amongst the peaks and a choice of nearly 100 different miniature puddings. I had blackcurrant mousse, strawberry tart, chocolate log and strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Then the circus acts arrived and did their thing with acrobatics, fire throwing, twizzling sticks and other stuff. Until this point I always said I would never want to be away from home at Christmas and of course I would have loved for all our family to have been here tonight but I can honestly say this has been one of the best Christmas days I have ever had.

Because we have spent quite a bit of time at the hotel we actually know quite a few people who are staying there and we chat to various people including Aruna and her family. She invites us a party at her place one night this week and as we walk home at 1am we’re all full of it and what a great time we had.

Finally get in, in 20 years of dancing in unsuitable stupid shoes I have never had to soak my feet before but that’s what Maisie and I have to do as our feet are killing, it is the first time she has ever worn heels and she looked quite lovely and grown up. She has learnt a lesson tonight- oh the price of looking good!

It was the day after Christmas and we where having a brilliant day and me and mum we’re saying how lucky we are and what we would be doing at home (working)
I just came out of the sea and Ali was going to go and play a flicking game with his 10 year old friend and I said I was going in the sea again.

I was playing happily when a monster wave crashed on me and I landed on my arm.
I came out and as I pushed on my wrist I rushed out In case I got hit by another wave. I came out crying and mum sat me down on the bed and asked what was hurting.
After a while dad came back and got me a bandage and a cake to cheer me up.

Today we went to the hospital for an X-ray there was nothing broken and it feels better but I can’t move it very well.

Other than that it was a pretty good day. (kind of)

As expected none of us surfaced until gone 10 this morning. Having tidied up the place I set the kids going on some science which unfortunately Alister objected to so strongly he ended up having the privilege of his PSP and internet removed for the rest of the day.
Needless to say Maisie and I carried on while he and Simon had a little chat!

We have now started on the circulatory system and I have had the idea of going to “The Lucky Mutton Store” and buying a heart to dissect. Neither of the kids seem too keen but even if we aren’t able to locate any valves I’m sure we will be able to see some of the major vessels and 4 chambers. Simon isn’t too keen either but that is because he will probably end up with the job of buying it and bringing it home!

At 3pm we eventually wander down to the beach, we take a path Aruna told us about and end up scrabbling over rocks but eventually get there. A long drawn out discussion between Simon and the sun lounger fella ensues over money but we get settled at last!

Ali has decided to spend some of his Christmas money on a further jet ski ride and they go off, while Maisie plays in the sea and I read my book. After a game of frisbee we make our way back and decide where to eat tonight. I’m of the opinion we are on holiday so we should sod the expense but when Simon reminds me of how I was moaning about how fast we are spending our money I see his point and we decide to go to a local restaurant with a good reputation for Goan food.

We walk to The Goan Delicacy, down a tiny dark pathway lit by Christmas lights it seems so difficult to get to that I wonder how their business survives but when we get there it is a large place with quite a few customers. The owner brings us a book with comments in from previous customers and it certainly all looks good!
When the food arrives we’re not disappointed and Simon’s Chicken Xacuti is definitely the winner dish. Ali and I have strawberries and cream for pudding and we leave there stuffed and knackered!

We get a taxi home and although it’s not too late Maisie goes to bed and Ali plays his guitar to me. Simon goes to update the website and I have fallen asleep by the time he gets back. We are planning another day at the beach tomorrow and want to get up early. Must make the most of it, we are leaving for Mangalore on Friday night and our holiday will be over, for a little while anyway.

Our intentions of getting to Candolim early fell to bits as we didn’t wake up until 9.30.After yesterdays performance by Ali I am determined we are going to crack on with some work today and once they have had their breakfast (of chocolate toenails as they call them) we start some literacy. I have found this quite difficult to teach and today ask them to write a story about the day they got lost in India concentrating on presentation, punctuation and paragraphs. (They didn’t actually get lost mum!)

Looking through Ali’s SATS revision guide I’m not particularly thrilled to see there is quite a large section on Shakespeare. I don’t have a clue how I will go about teaching that and will maybe have to contact the school for some help.

Eventually we get a taxi to the beach and have some lunch of butter/garlic tiger prawns first which are yummy. The waves are a bit stronger today and I watch the kids like a hawk. Ali finds Lewis the boy he played with on Christmas day and they have a fantastic time with body boards and a rubber ring. Simon takes them for a walk up the beach to play the “flicker game” at one of the shacks and Maisie stays behind with me.

No sooner have they gone and we have a bit of a disaster, as I watch from the sunbed a huge wave crashes into Maisie and knocks her down, I run down to her but can see straight away she is hurt. The poor thing is holding her wrist and I have to almost carry her back up the beach as she is so shaky and upset. It takes me ages to calm her down and when I examine her wrist it is so tender I wonder if she has broken it.

As a nurse I rely on a combination of learnt skills, 18 years of experience and instinct to tell me if a patient is unwell, but have always found when any of my family have been ill or hurt that I have to ignore instinct and instead completely rely on assessment skills in order to make the right decision about what needs to be done. Eventually I decide that I don’t think it is broken and needs to be strapped up tightly and I will see how it is tomorrow. I give her some paracetamol which helps a little bit and decide if it isn’t any better in the morning we will have it x-rayed.

By this time it is quite late in the afternoon and we sit at Deva’s shack drinking gin and tonics. Maisie has a sip and then a big gulp which makes us laugh as we have never known her to like the taste of anything even vaguely alcoholic and I figure it will help her wrist pain!

We made the decision this morning to bring a change of clothes with us and stay here for dinner as there is such a large choice of restaurants but in the end we play it safe and go back to After Seven. We know the food is great and figure that if we go elsewhere and have a crap meal then we will wish we hadn’t.

Over dinner Maisie talks about “her friends” – The Simpsons. Every night for the past 3 years at least, we have had an hour of Bart, Homer, Marge, Maggie and Lisa and we tease her that the viewing figures have been noticeably affected since we left for our trip.

We get back to Dona Paula around 10.30 and after a quick shower go to bed. Maisie tells me she is “pour me into bed tired” and looks it – bless her.

We wake up quite early and mooch around our apartment for a few hours. Simon does some maths with the kids and I wash a load of clothes, although we had hoped to give up on that we haven’t dared give our stuff to the local laundry as it took so long to get it back last time.

Maisie is sill complaining that her arm is very sore and so to err on the side of caution we walk up to the hospital and ask for an x-ray. It is quite busy but seems to be quite a large hospital with all recognisable departments although I don’t see a sign for Hepatology.
After making our way from casualty to radiology we are seen by a friendly Dr who examines the x-ray carefully and pronounces there is no fracture. He re straps Maisie’s arm with the bandage we had bought and sends us on our way clutching the x-ray and a bill for around one pound fifty.

This all took around an hour and although the hospital was an old building it looked very clean and smelt strongly of disinfectant. We were treated efficiently and there was certainly none of the complete chaos that greets you when you are admitted to the acute medical unit at Derriford. As someone who has always been proud to have worked as a nurse, I think it’s sad when I find myself wondering if patients would be safer here than in an NHS hospital in England.

We catch a taxi to Bambolim which is a local beach, Aruna told us it is the safest beach for swimming as the sea is very shallow and there are no waves. Although it doesn’t turn out to be the prettiest beach, we have a lovely afternoon there and it’s good to be able to relax and read in peace without wondering if Ali and Maisie are being munched by the sea every five minutes.

There are just a couple of shacks playing my favourite sort of cheesy love songs including Leo Sayer and Elton John. The food is simple and cheap and we enjoy watching the cows on the beach who seem really naughty like spoilt pets! One in particular keeps nosing around everyone’s stuff looking for food and they run in and out of the sea kicking and bucking like rodeo horses.

We are going to Panjim for dinner and get a taxi at 7.30. Aruna left us a note inviting us to a party at her place tonight but by the time we have eaten it is quite late and we need to catch up with a few phone calls home. I have a chat with mum, it sounds like they had a lovely Christmas and we get back to our apartment around 11pm.Feeling exhausted again- how can you get so knackered doing so little?

Today is our last day in Goa; I have mixed feelings about this. When we started on our trip I kept thinking if we didn’t like the rest of India we would just stay in Goa for 8 weeks but now we are ready to move on and I can’t believe it has gone so fast.
Having travelled around the north I have viewed Goa in a different light. It remains for us a fantastic holiday destination and I would recommend it to anyone but we have of course encountered touristy elements here that we didn’t see elsewhere.

As with any holiday I feel we have over eaten and drank too much and I am looking forward to eating a bit more healthily and spending less money doing it. I am sorry to be leaving; it has been great having the apartment and more space. On the other hand we seem to have become embroiled in some type of turf war over business, with the taxi drivers which is a pain and you soon realise if you stay anywhere for long, all the same little niggly problems you encounter at home arise, such as whose turn it is to do the washing up!

We are due to catch the night bus at 8pm to Mangalore. After our previous bus experience I have blocked this fact out until now, but I do know now at least, that although the buses are noisy they are reasonably comfortable. In some ways I feel like we have had a break from travelling for a few weeks and we are going back to it now. This leaves me feeling excited and slightly apprehensive, in fact a little like when we first left.

We spent the afternoon at Bambolin beach, it took us all morning to repack our rucksacks but I have ditched some stuff and left some clothes with Aruna who is going to take them to the orphanage at Saligao. So it does seem like we are travelling a little bit lighter.
After an early meal of baby kingfish, rice and salad and a speciality Goan dish of spicy sausages we head back to our apartment for the last time.

We say our goodbyes to Aruna and promise to email and then get in a taxi to the bus station. When we arrive the bus is late and it doesn’t bode well when the crappiest looking bus turns out to be ours. I suppose it serves me right for thinking after the last bus ride that it couldn’t get any worse as this one turns out to be way worse. The sleeping compartments are smaller, filthy and the only concession to any privacy is a pair of tatty too short curtains. I have brought some sleeping tablets with me for use in an emergency only and they are looking tempting at this point.

The bus also stinks and I lie in the darkness for a few hours alternately trying to imagine if we would fare better if the bus crashed to the left or to the right and fantasying about how I will describe the horrible smell that is completely turning my stomach. This doesn’t quite cut it, but the best I could come up with is a combination of diesel, wet leather, something dead, something dying and urine.

We stop briefly at midnight and I take half a sleeping tablet, I would hardly say it results in a good nights sleep but the next time I am fully conscious is 5am. I’m absolutely desperate for a pee and after enduring every rattle and bump of the bus for an hour I finally ask Simon to empty a water bottle and decide I will try and pee into that somehow. At this point the bus slams to a halt and I virtually throw myself down from my sleeper and run to the front. There is no alternative than to crouch by the side of the bus with another woman whose modesty is a bit more protected than mine as she has a skirt on and doesn’t flash her bum like me, but by this point I am totally past caring and would have peed in the middle of Trafalgar Square if need be.