Landmarks Our Lady of The Cape Church The over 500 year old Catholic church also known as Nossa Senhora do Cabo occupies a corner on the site with views of the bay and sea. It is open for morning masses on all Sundays as well as on special occasions like Christmas, Easter and the annual church feast. The Feast is celebrated on the morning of 15 August which also coincides with the Independence Day of India. Thousands of devotees, cutting across religious lines, attend the special prayers held on this occasion. A 'fest' and 'mela''' is held annually on this day on the premises. Grotto A small distance away from the main Church located on the slope, after descending through steps is the Grotto dedicated to St. Paula. The Altar in this Grotto is installed in a cut-out of the cape rock and holds the saint's sculpture in a recumbent position. Behind it lies the image of Jesus on a trefoil cross. There is a common belief that those who offer prayers here will have their wishes fulfilled. The history associated with it as written on a board hung at the place, states as follows:"St. Paula (347 - 404 A.D.), a Roman Senator's widow and her daughter Eustochium were living an austere life in Rome when St. Jerome (341 - 420 A.D.) came there from Palestine in 383 A.D. Four years later, mother and daughter followed the great doctor to Palestine and went with him to Egypt to visit the hermits in the Nitrain desert. Upon returning to the Holy Land, they settled at Bethlehem. Here, they erected a monastery under St. Jerome's direction and three convents ruled by St. Paula".The Feast of the Grotto is celebrated in the evening on 2 August. A large number of faithful living on the estate as well as the nearby areas attend this annual tradition. The Estate The Palácio do Cabo estate is surrounded on three sides by sea and has a total area of about 80 acres. One massive laterite stone wall exists to the East which serves as the estate's boundary on that side. On the sea-shore side there are masonry walls which have withstood the onslaught of time for over four centuries. The flat table land in the middle of the estate covers about 3/4th of the total land but it has steep side slopes towards the water bodies. About