This was the nickname given to me by several others. This started on a particular night which I will never forget. It was the first Friday night and therefore Hippies night to shine. This was a bar, which along with all the other bars, was situated just above the beach. Sand filled the whole vicinity and stairs lead to the upstairs wooden seated area with great views of the sea.

Feeling safe and secure around all of the Westerners, I felt that it was my turn to be acting my age and relaxing rather than looking after others like I had been in the recent weeks.

The night resulted in myself rolling in the sand like the happiest puppy putting its feet in the sand of the very first time. I made too many sand angels to count, dug numerous holes, rolled, squeezed and dived all over the whole beach. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a grain of sand that didn’t touch my body.

This went on for more than 6 hours which meant that the sun was able to show everyone just how sandy I had managed to get myself.

Sharing a lift with two fellow Englishmen, you should have seen the look on the drivers face when he first saw me, and then again the look of pure horror and disgust after seeing how much of a sandy mess I managed to leave in the back of his car.

It was close to 10am before I reached a bed to sleep in for a power nap. After waking up in more of a ‘normal’ state, I realised that I had taken half the beach with me. The sheets were covered along with a Luana trail on the floor from the door to the bed.

Hence, ‘The Sand Gremlin’ became my name for the rest of my stay in Goa. Brilliant!

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