German beachwear and the inscrutable Russian

It’s always a joy to see the Germans on the beach, and one that we were more or less deprived of in the north. Luckily there were Germans, French and Brits aplenty in the south, giving me an excellent opportunity for beach fashion spotting.

Number one destination for this was possibly the Turtle Beach Lounge on Agonda beach. Now, if you want laid back, the Turtle is the place to go. Picture if you will the swaying pot palms, shaded canopies over deep outdoor settees, luxuriously upholstered sunbeds, stylish black marble bathrooms, and bottled water at 45 rupees a pop… HOW MUCH?! Scandalous, but so worth it for the experience.

Turtle Beach Lounge is run by a camp and very friendly German, possibly the least Germanic German I’ve ever come across. He’s obviously been infected by the Goan sunshine and laid back spirit because the Turtle is tranquillity itself, and anything you order takes half an hour to arrive. Most of our fellow loungees were also German, men with exquisite taste in beach wear. Classic blue, minimal white, tangerine and flowery, it was all there for the eye to see. I lay on the sunbed in my black M&S one-piece feeling terribly unadventurous.

Back in Palolem for our meal that night, we again spotted Olga, the exotic and mysterious Russian. We’d seen her on our first day in the south, then the next. In fact, most evenings she and her party would arrive at whichever eating establishment we’d chosen to grace with our custom.

How to describe Olga… tricky without a photo, but I’ll give it a go. She was about average height, built to exert a fairly strong gravitational pull, startlingly blonde (I’d hazard a guess that it might not be her natural colouring) and sporting rather severe black rimmed glasses.

It’s more than possible that both Tris and Mike had a little crush on Olga; they certainly protested over much when she was around and talked about her in great detail when she wasn't. Strangely, whenever I offered to set up an introduction, they put up a strong resistance. Can’t think why. Ah, Olga, we miss you!