I recently had the pleasure of taking a trip on the Rediscovery Cruise motorboat along with my wife Anjali and a few of our friends. We started off from the jetty at Brittona in North Goa and sailed up the Mapusa river till around Ecoxim. We then returned to the Mandovi river, turned upriver and went till Ribandar before turning around as the sun went down over the twin Mandovi bridges, eventually returning in the gathering darkness to the boat's berth at Brittona.

It was an amazing experience, and made me think how wonderful it would be if river transport were still a viable option for getting around on Goa's waterways. When you're out on the water, you see the world in a different way. We've travelled up and down the Brittona-Ecoxim road thousands of times in our car, but it was like discovering an entirely new world out there. From the road, you see but one side of life on the riverside; the boat trip gives you a completely different perspective. It could have something to do with being shielded from the hustle and bustle by the mangroves on the river banks.

Besides that change in point-of-view, there's the tranquility of the water. It's like time-travelling to a more laidback, peaceful age. I was very conscious of the disturbance the motorboat was creating, minor though it was, and truly enjoyed the periods when we would be cruising slowly along. The boat is well-stocked with goodies, if you feel like chomping or sipping something. The captain of our trip, Bhavesh, was not a loquacious type, but did his job with a quiet efficiency, indulging us in our whims to get closer to some unusual sight on the bank.

Towards the evening, birds returning home to the Chorao bird sanctuary flew overhead in flocks, as the giant orange ball of the sun dipped down behind the Mandovi bridges. It's a magical time, full of promise of – paradoxically – both adventure and peace. This is not an experience to be missed. 

-Review by Annie Sen Gupta - Writer from Aldona