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Dona Paula
 Dona
Paula is a secluded bay only 7 km from Panaji with a magnificent
view of the Mormugao harbour. This idyllic rocky tourist attraction
lies at the spot where the Mandovi and the Zuari rivers meet
the Arabian Sea. It is easily one of the most popular spot
on the itinerary of tourists visiting Goa.
Dona Paula is nestled on the south side
of the rocky, hammer-shaped headland that divides the Zuari
and Mandovi estuaries. It is an ideal spot to relax and sunbathe.
The Dona Paula monument is located on a small islet, linked
to the mainland by a small bridge and a quay. Also on the
islet is the "Belvedere", a Greco - Roman type of
structure, from where one can view the Arabian Sea and the
River Zuari.
The Dona Paula-Mormugao Harbour Ferry takes
passengers across the bay, every day of the week between the
months of October and May. Water scootering facilities are
also available over here. Other water sports like boating,
para-sailing, water scooters, yatching, swimming, wind surfing
and fishing are available in the area.
There is a romantic legend behind the name
Dona Paula. Dona Paula is the village where the lady of that
name Dona Paula de Menezes is believed to have loved, lived
and died - a gory death in the second half of the 18th century.
One legend has it that she was the lady-in-waiting
of the Governor-General's wife, and in course of time the
Governor fell victim to her beauty and charms. They were found
out and the governor's enraged wife had her stripped and bound
and rolled over the cliff, into the sea, wearing only her
string of pearls, a gift of love from the Governor.
The fishermen of the area have a marvellous
collection of ghost stories about Dona Paula. On moonlit nights,
they say, - on pitch dark nights, say others - at the stroke
of midnight, she rises from the sea and roams the area, wearing
a string of pearls and nothing else.
Gasper Dias, a nobleman, on whose estates
a fort was built because of its strategic importance, is also
said to have been one of Dona Paula's lovers. Her ghost, local
villagers say, appears looking desperately for the nobleman.
According to another popular legend she
is believed to have been the daughter of one of the Portuguese
Viceroys and her lover is believed to have been a native fisherman,
a relationship which aroused strong racist feelings amongst
the Portuguese.
 Her
tombstone, now found on the wall of the Chapel at the Governor's
Palace at Raj Bhavan (formerly called Cabo Raj Niwas), bears
an inscription in Portuguese by her inconsolable husband,
begging of those who might read it to pray for the 'salvation'
of her soul.
Near the ferry jetty, there is a whitewashed
statue sculpted in 1969 by Baroness Von Leistner; named "Image
of India" and depicting the figures of Mother India and
Young India, one looking to the East and the other to the
West. the Wheel of Ashoka, is in the middle half buried in
stone to represent the ancient culture, that nurtured this
blend of ideas and emotions.
The official residence of the Governor of
Goa, Known as Raj Bhavan is situated on the westernmost tip
of Dona Paula. Along the road leading to this place lies the
ruins of the small military cemetery the British built at
their brief occupation of the Cabo, to deter the French from
invading Goa.
The National Oceanography Institute (NIO)
where research is conducted on almost all the major branches
of coastal and marine oceanography is also nearby on the road
to Cabo Raj Niwas. The major attraction of the institute is
its Marine Biology Museum and Taxonomy Reference Center.
See Also Other Attractions:
| Raj
Bhavan | Rock-cut Caves
| Islands of Chorao
& Divar |
| Dona Paula |
Fontainhas & São
Tomé | Partgal
Math |
| Sacred Groves
| Secretariat
| Budbudyanchi Tali |
|
