December is a festive time in the historic village of Old Goa, now a World Heritage site. Sé Cathedral was elevated to the rank of a cathedral in 1533, and the final structure was completed in 1619. It is the largest church in India.

The second image below was taken from the hill at the Chapel of Mount Mary overlooking the Mandovi river. To the left of the frame is the Church of St Francis of Assisi.

Sé Cathedral, Old Goa
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

First rays of the morning sun
5D, 300L f/4 IS

In the middle of November I made several pre-dawn sorties to Old Goa hoping to frame the Church of St. Cajetan against the early morning sky, only to be foiled by dull, cloudy skies wrought by a lingering unseasonal storm system. On the verge of calling off the effort, I settled on one final attempt. And what a morning it turned out to be! The sky behind St. Cajetan lit up in a spectacle seldom seen in these parts.

St. Cajetan Church in Old Goa at sunrise
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

As soon as I had this scene locked in, I rushed up the hill to the Chapel of Mount Mary hoping to catch the monuments bathed in the first light of the rising sun. I was in for yet another pleasant surprise – a sunrise rainbow arcing across from Divar island.

Knowing the ephemeral nature of these conditions, I did not wait to set up my tripod. With the TS-E 17L lens already glued to my camera, I fired off several frames handheld. In the photograph below, both the Sé Cathedral (1533) and the Church of St. Cajetan (1665) are seen in the distance.

Sunrise rainbow from Mount Mary Chapel in Old Goa
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

Check out this link for an early morning shot of St. Cajetan Church taken in 2008 from the same hill.