If you’re wanting peace and quiet then Calangute / Baga beach is not where you want to be (you need to head north of Baga for peace and serenity). However, we thoroughly enjoyed "people watching" down the beach. I strolled the length of the beach from Baga to Calangute (it takes about 20 minutes) but fell short of the walk to Candolim (probably a further 40 minutes) and I reckon the bit between Baga and Calangute is perhaps the ideal spot to park for the day (that’s why we chose Goan Waves as our base).
There’s a pleasant breeze off the Arabian Sea and you can be guaranteed excitement in the water. It’s not ideal for swimming because the current is a bit vicious, but I had great fun being buffeted by the waves and trying to jump the big ones as they thundered inland (talk about a second childhood!). For the more adventurous, you can go paragliding or have a go on jet-skis. Towards the end of the day the locals appear in force and converge on the water’s edge, and immerse themselves in the water—fully clothed.
But if you can manage frequent, non-aggressive approaches by the beach hawkers then just sit back and enjoy the activity on the beach. From early morning, the tea-boys walk up and down attempting to tempt you to a "fresh cup of tea" out of their polystyrene beakers, quickly followed by the polystyrene boxes balanced on heads, containing manufactured ices. The up-market locally-made ices are carried by young men pushing bicycles with large padded cylinders strapped to the back—having heard cautionary tales of local water we never risked one of these but the locals were lapping them up. The peanut vendors were always out in force and varied widely in ages (from 7 to 70), and infrequently we were treated to the plaintive cries of a female fruit seller as she strolled passed with a glimpse of fruit showing from the basket carried on her head. A loan pedicurist / foot masseur peddled her services, and although a 10-minute foot massage was only 100 rupees I was never that tempted—she seemed extremely heavy handed when she successfully offered services to our "near neighbour".
The main traders of sandals, saris, skirts, shirts, and other "showy souvenirs" were frequently heard saying "just lookie, looking is free!". But that was the only "hook" they needed to ensure a sale— from our observation once they started showing their wares a sale was secured! The best line came from a young female trader who would say, "look at my rubbish, buy my cheap rubbish" I’m not sure that this catch phrase was a particular commercial success! Certainly if you’re interested in clothing the deals on the beach can be tremendous—the hawkers have no overheads and as the season progresses they are more than happy to negotiate.
We lay back and enjoyed the total experience.