Most of us associate Goa with sundowners, too many cocktails, time spent in the pool and a whole lot of partying. While that sounds just about right, I feel like you haven’t done Goa right if you haven’t spent time surfing, learning yoga and eating delicious food. If you have the luxury to take two days off post your best friends wedding to recover and recoup from the madness- head to Vaayu for some R&R.
I first heard about Vaayu two years ago when I was looking for healthy cafes that served smoothie bowls and organic, sustainable food. A few calls and several google attempts later, we grabbed our scooters and headed down to Vaayu.
What immediately drew me to this place was the energy and the vibe. People were lounging about at Prana cafe drinking coffee and superfood shots, hanging out with their friends, playing with ‘wheels’- the resident puppy. Everyone there was either an artist, a writer, DJ or a chef and they were all very affable, happy folk. The space is warm, inviting and inclusive and the surf shop has everything you need (think: swimsuits, bikinis, surf gear) including mosquito repellent and sunscreen, in case you forgot to pack yours. The music is easy listening from Ta-ku to Jack Johnson with a little bit of hip-hop thrown into the mix. They are very committed to being sustainable and eco-friendly and organise weekly clean ups at the beach and they even do their bit to help strays in the area. The crew at Vaayu is a bunch of creative, conscientious individuals that DO what they love and absolutely LOVE what they do.
The cuisine: Prana Cafe has a carefully curated menu by Varoon Nair-resident chef, musician and artist (AKA squsquidworksidworks) who whips up specials daily spending on the produce and the fish he can get his hands on. The kitchen staff are well versed with gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free recipes because they have discerning diners. The coffee comes from Blue Tokai, the superfoods from Natti’s Naturals, some vegetables from Matsya and other local retailers. The menu as you would expect is a brilliant mix of everything fresh, wholesome and delicious and they come impeccably plated. My favourites were the chia pots, gluten free waffles, superfood smoothies and the naked burgers. The staff encourages the use of reusable straws and have a strict no plastic policy at the restaurant because Vaayu attempts to do a fair bit for its surroundings and the environment. They also have home-brewed kombucha made in white tea and with ginger and I glug both because they are bloody delicious.
The smoothies are so good that they deserve a blog post devoted entirely to them. I made my way through the menu as I had one each for breakfast and lunch on the days that I was there. My two favourites were ‘Macaca’ and ‘Surf Buster’. Macaca is a decadent blend of papaya, mango, pineapple, goji berries and maca powder and it is a meal in itself. The surf buster, however, is the perfect post-workout beverage to refuel. It is a delightful marriage of almond milk, banana, flax, raw cacao, coconut cream, spirulina and maca powder. The beverage is luscious and can be had for lunch or a mid-afternoon snack too. The antioxidants from the raw cacao, maca and spirulina coupled with cardioprotective properties of flax, coconut and almond milk – make it an exceptionally wholesome smoothie to have.
I am attaching a few instagrammable photos below.
The rooms: Vaayu has air conditioned and air cooled rooms. The air-conditioned rooms are well appointed within the premises while the air cooled ones open up into the water. There are mosquito nets, plenty of repellants and outdoor showers in the outdoor ones and the easy access to the water made this choice a no-brainer. For those of you on a tighter budget, there’s also another room available with a shared bathroom.
Activities: There’s something for every kind of traveller at Vaayu. You can spend all day by the sea with surf lessons, paddle boarding, stand up paddle. You can rent a catamaran and sunbathe on the deck with your bae or a bunch of friends. There are yoga instructors on call and they also have sunset meditation a few times in the week that will help calm your nerves, centre you and balance your chi. If you wanna lay low and not do very much- that’s okay too. There are no rules at Vaayu.
Verdict: Vaayu is a beautiful space that is inclusive, warm and inviting. The people make the place and make sure your stay is memorable. Everyone is extremely friendly and it is a great place for solo travellers to meet new people as well. You can choose to be as active or as lazy as you want here but I would highly recommend that you take a surf and a kitesurfing lesson or two. They have movie night once a week when everyone gets together to chill and unwind. The food at Prana is absolutely delicious and I found it really difficult to move out to grab a meal elsewhere during my stay at Vaayu. It is easy on the pocket and it is highly recommended that you come in and stay for at least 3 nights to get a feel of the place. I can’t recommend it enough. Also, the surf lessons are absolutely insane and despite getting thrashed around and drinking about a litre of sea water- I was pretty stoked when I was able to ride a few waves.
Special thanks to Rahul and Jill for inviting me, Sanyukta for organising the trip and the itinerary and to Varoon for feeding my belly with the most incredible food and making me rosella iced tea. Special thanks to Appu for the valuable tips in the ocean and the fantastic surf and SUP lesson. To Pranav for taking all the photographs and being so incredibly patient with me. The team is what makes Vaayu special and I can’t wait to be back again.
About Vaayu Ocean Adventures
Vaayu is more of a social, philosophical, and only partially tangible experiment than it is an ideal destination for water sports enthusiasts across the country. A place to discover, explore, and redefine yourself within the context of our community. Vaayu is a template for integration that will have anyone who visits questioning the ‘kind of impact they want to have on this planet.’ In many ways, it was co-founder Rahul Malaney’s inescapable passion for water sports (surfing, kite-surfing, SUPs and more) that really initiated this project. Our adventure centre is equipped with all the latest toys for people who love playing in the ocean including kitesurfing equipment, Stand Up Paddle Boards, Kayaks, Surfboards and wakeboards. We have a small team of great instructors. We at Vaayu foster a community of people who love getting into the water. Like a piece of art, Vaayu is an expression of the identity of the artist. In this case, it’s a group of nature-minded people. The word Vaayu is Sanskrit for the deity of wind or the flowing of Prana (life force). We draw our inspiration from this meaning and intend to support the flow of life through our project. Our team of passionate, professional and fun-loving adventurers have all been really inspired by our experiences of the natural landscape of India and we just want to share that opportunity with everyone. We strongly believe that these experiences and the relationship they foster are at the core of a constructive environmental ethic as well as individual and community well-being.
Besides supporting eco-friendly and responsible lifestyle activities, we have a pretty ambitious CSR program called Prakti Tribe that is driven by co-founder Jill Ferguson. With her experience and masters in Human Rights, Development and Environmental policy, she plans on organizing a number of community beach clean ups, an educational outreach program and creating a waste management system for our area.Vaayu’s Vision Collective Art residency program is to create opportunities for visionary artists to create and showcase their work across India. We have an amazing artist like Danny Darkoski, Joey Baker, Kahili Young, Miles Toland, Preetal Dhongre and many more amazing artist part of our residency.
Important dates: Vaayu closes for the season on the 21st April and reopens on the 20th of October.
Photos taken by Juhi Sharma
Surf Photos taken by Pranav Bhatt
Quick Notes:
Vaayu Ocean Adventures
Ashwem Beach Road,
Opposite Holy Cross Chapel,
Ashwem Beach,
Ashwem, Mandrem,
Goa 403527
Phone: 098500 50403
http://vaayuoceanadventures.in/
https://www.instagram.com/vaayuvision/?hl=en
