Finally my much awaited dream came true on thenight of 11th Feb 2010 when we left for Tarkarli . a place from my To-Visit List. Tarkarli, a small village near Malvan(7 Kms) along the Konkan coastline has perhaps one of the most beautiful beaches in India.We left Mumbai at around 1 AM from Mumbai, far behind the scheduled time of 10 P.M.
Day 1(12th Feb): At around 4 A.M we had to stop for some reason and all of us stepped out of the car. We were at place amidst the hills, it was a new moon night and the weather was chilling. The beauty of the sky was just mesmerizing .The entire sky was lit by a thousand stars. I felt like trekking up to one of the nearby hills and just spending the next three days over there. It was an amazing feeling. However we moved on. It was quite colder than we expected. The entire way was covered in fog for a certain distance. On the right side we could see the valley covered with fog.
After some breaks we managed to reach the resort (Sea View Resort) by 1 p.m (12th Feb). We were in time for a sumptuous meal of fish thali .. pakka malvan style.. Since it was mahashivratri , Veenu, Ashu and Anil were fasting. I , Dan and Appu made the most of the opportunity.. i.e not just relishing the amazing seafood but teasing the rest too. Somehow the food seemed tastier than it actually was. :P
In the evening, I and Dan ventured to the beach for the sunset and to click few pictures as the lazy bums caught on their beauty sleep.
After a relaxed evening and sea food dinner, we decided to go to the beach at midnight. Yeah it was a bit spooky but a good experience. We could see all the stars and the various constellations. Finally Anil could show us the Orion with his Dog and the Saptrishi. It’s interesting to observe the wonders of the universe. Day 2 ( 13th Feb) : I set the alarm for 6 A.M which wakes up everyone except me!!! J. I , Ashu and Anil go to beach to catch the sunrise. Later Dan joined us. Few fishermen were returning with their catch. The flock of sea gulls and storks were out on their first flight.
Now since the trio was no longer fasting, all of us were sea food hungry and headed to a place in malvan for lunch. After the feast which comprised of all possible species from the sea (namely crabs, oysters, prawns, surmai etc) we were fully loaded. Our next destination was Fort Sindhudurg.
We took a ferry from malvan to Sindhudurg fort. The view from the place was amazing. The entire stretch from malvan to tarkarli till the end called devbaug could be seen. There isn’t much out there. It’s more like an island fortified and has a small village inside. After exploring the fort and our usual photo shoots, we went for a drive to Devbaug. Devbaug is a small fishermen village ahead of tarkarli. The drive till devbaug is absolutely breathtaking one. As we progressed ahead, we saw the beach on the right side and on the left side was the backwaters lined by the mountain. It was like driving between two different worlds. It seemed as if we were in some foreign location in a movie.
At devbaug is the sangam i.e. where the backwater meets the sea. We walked along the shore of the backwaters till the sangam. With the sun setting in the back drop it was time for the fishermen to return with their haul. The fishermen were pulling in the nets. This caused the fish to move towards the beach. We managed to save some fishes and throw them back into the sea. Veenu and Dan also saved the life of a Black fish which was gasping for life. There were schools of fishes swimming around in a zip zap zoom manner. They would disappear before we could click the pictures. The best part of beaches in tarkarli and devbaug was the crystal clear water. Soon there were groups of people who were hunting for the fish who managed to escape the nets but could not escape the people who were running around with sticks to catch them. One guy caught a big catch of Surmai. For the fishermen , it was a big haul of the Cod fish ( Tarli in Marathi or bhutai in Tulu). So our innocent Veenu thus deduced that the name Tarkarli comes from the fish Tarli which is found in abundance in the area, not realizing that we were in Devbaug and not in Tarkarli which was pointed by the elderly fisherwoman who cleared her misconception. After some heroic exercise of catching and saving the fishes, our group of fish saviours (doesn’t really matter if we devoured some of them a while ago) . We had tea at a nearby shack and then returned to the resort.
Everyone was dead tired by the end of the day. At 12 a.m. we cut the valentines cake, well the cake has its own story… ooopps sorry the heart shaped chocolate cake!!!! J…specially made to order.. carried all the way from Mumbai to tarkarli… made to live for two days.. saved for the special day… finally succumbed to the innumerous injuries and the high temperature!!! Poor Anil had to bear the sour cake as he was the first victim. J the girls gave the gifts and cards to their respective guys.. Well that’s the end of Day 2.
Day 3 (14th Feb): Valentine’s Day!!!!! All the lazy bums were resting in the room, watching movies!!!! So I went to the beach alone… to find some moments of solitude. The pristine beach has a calming effect. The turquoise blue colour of the ocean and crystal clear water make one wonder how beautiful is the world around us. The sound of the waves takes you along with it across the horizon into a world of its own. I was lost in that moment. Unaware of the world around ... Wishing that time stops here forever.
Later we decided to go snorkeling and for the dolphin ride, which eventually we never did. Now 2 days of malvani food had taken a toll on our tummies… so we were on the hunt for some Mumbai food. i.e our usual Chinese and north Indian fare. After some information seeking from the locals we reached Saibaa…a picturesque location. Finally some great food and good service. The place was overlooking the mangroves and had an awesome view of the sea beyond. After some shopping we returned to the resort where we met an elderly couple who were staying in the cottage next to ours. Really appreciate the spirit of the elderly couple who were travelling around Maharashtra. They gave us the destination for our next trip. i.e Amba….a Jungle resort near Kolhapur….Finally it was beach time!!!!.... After the dip in the sea…. We headed to saibaa for dinner. Our lobsters were awaiting us. We binged on the chicken and variety of sea food. With the great dinner day 3 came to an end…..
So did our vacation…..Next morning we left at 6.. a.m. and reached Mumbai by 4p.m. We took the expressway through Pune which is a longer route but a better road. So long till our next trip to Amba….. :)
