5 days and 4 nights on a beach in a small town on the west coast of Karnataka. While the sun lit up the mornings, the moon made sure that the necks get a cramp looking at it. The clouds had their own good times spreading some showers every now and then but the stars made sure they were not missed either. The world was not just beautiful under my feet but also in front of me and above me and all I could think of was, how do I make this a sight I wake up to every morning?
Gokarna – Kudle beach
It all started with 9 months of non-stop work with taking days off only to rest my body every time I fell ill. Suddenly, in October, the work pressure looked diluted and at the first opportunity of a possible long weekend, I used up a few days off that I have earned and planned a trip to Gokarna.
It’s all about the journey, is it?
I always agreed with the phrase that it’s all about the journey until this overnight journey. While booking tickets for me and my friends and having had very bad experience with seat choices in sleeper buses, I made sure that everybody gets a comfortable seat in the overnight bus journey so we reach Gokarna fresh and energetic. After about an hour of the bus leaving the city, my nightmare started when I suddenly had to attend nature’s call as the driver refused to stop anywhere for the next 2 hours (I know this information is not what you were expecting but if we are talking about the beauty of nature why not touch the topic of how sometimes it can be disastrous). Anyway, this later got sorted and I still have my bladder intact.
The bus journey became a bad start only after an hour or two of us falling asleep when we made it to the part of the highway that was affected by recent rains and had more potholes than milestones. So the journey to the end of land and beginning of the sea began with a sleepless night.
The relief for eyes, soul and taste buds
After the sleepless night and a 20 minute walk in harsh sunlight, when we finally made it to the beach, the ocean as if was excited to see me had waves trying to reach out to get a hold of me and I couldn’t wait to just get settled and enjoy nature’s elements. And after taking a shower and getting rid of the bus smell and sweat, we finally made it to the beach. Yes, the BEACH!
Italian, the brunch option I picked at this amazing beach where a dozen shacks serve you various European/American/Indian meals throughout the day and have had tasted the original cuisines, I have to say they do a very good job at it. Though, the first day and a half was spent trying out different shacks, we eventually all agreed that this one café offered the best seafood/vegetarian/meat meals with the best fresh fruit juice options to drain down the awesome food.
To be or not to be?
Though I was delighted to be on the beach and loved the sight of land meeting water with high rocks faces on either side of the beach, I could not get myself to get into the water. I don’t know whether it was the fear of the sea or just the thought of miscalculation in the number of Jockeys I was carrying. For two days while all my other friends enjoyed the ocean and the sun, I was looking after their belongings sitting in a shack, obsessed with clicking pictures of crows, dogs, cows and various different living beings I encountered.
I realised that with the right kind of interest in photography, one starts seeing a possible masterpiece in everything around though capturing it can still be a task. I clicked many failed pictures to get to a level where I thought I was satisfied though it can be that I just gave up.
Leap of faith
My third day started just like the previous one and we ended up at the trying different shacks for various food options. Difference - a group of people playing beach ball (volleyball). I jumped into the game and without keeping a track of what the score was, I kept on going till everybody retired and suddenly all the sweat and sun made me forget about the dilemma and it seemed like the ocean was calling me.
Somewhere somehow, the salty sea spreading over long distances had figured out a way to talk. Those waves rising up as if trying to stand up and face you to have a proper conversation, the water touching the shore and going back just to make another attempt to reach out to you and the sound of it hitting the rocks constantly as if making sure it has keeps your attention.
I was hypnotized and stepped in. As I got into the restless ocean, as some would say, it grew wilder but did it? I was standing there with the waves approaching me getting higher and higher and splashing me with that salty water but when I looked carefully, I felt invited, I felt like a celebrity. I was facing the vast ocean with the sun into my eyes as if a spot light one can’t directly look at and as far as I could see, I saw waves after wave and the farther they were, the taller they appeared as if an auditorium filled with people getting up to applaud me. Every drop in the ocean was trying to approach me and I could see it coming all the way from the back of the crowd. It must be a nature’s way of appreciating its various creations coming together.
Facebook status: Back from the beach and all I brought back is sun burn
The two days after the day of jumping into the water were spend playing Frisbee, beach ball, beach tennis and any sport we could get our hands on. The last day was disappointing with the thought that the well awaited break from the life of the city was coming to an end and I decided to stay out playing sports and jumping into the ocean at every chance I got. What I came back with was nothing less than a body looking like a sun dried tomato. And as I sign off this blog and add pictures to it, I am opening my new bottle of moisturizer containing Aloe Vera, good for sun burnt skin. Try it for yourself if you, like me, are stubborn enough to not just use sun block instead.
