Yes, I took that photograph, without looking at the viewfinder at that, since that could have meant getting neither the photograph or a unobstructed free view of the dolphin itself. And after sitting in the boat for over half an hour, doing nothing but waiting and listening to the largely one-sided conversation between the two boatmen on opposite ends of our boat, and speculating about all the possible scenarios for a letdown (from a total no-show to some guy in a dolphin suit fooling around), I really didn't want to miss it. Not just that, I did some snorkelling too, seeing (and touching, with a great temptation to take away a piece) corals, among other marine flora and fauna.
The place is called Tarkarli, down the coastline of Maharashtra. It is small, quiet, clean, paradise for sea-food lovers (I am not one of them, but she is), with a calm shallow sea whose clear water is most inviting for a swim. And the beach, I am certain I have never seen one emptier. Not even the private beach of the resort I stayed in at Goa. You could commit a murder in broad daylight with a high chance of getting away with it. But will you be holidaying with someone you want to murder? Actually, one never knows... I sort of have!
The drive from Mumbai was arduous. I sat in the car at 0600 hours and with a few, largely necessary, stops, we reached our hotel at 0200 hours the following morning. The one big detour, 4-5 hours worth, was a stopover at Murud-Janjira to see a 900 year old castle about a kilometre off the coast, made by some African trader-rulers back in the day. Anyhow, it was still 20 hours on the damn road, driving through the ghat sections too, at night, on the highway, all of it a first for me. But I guess I don't bullshit when I say I learn quick. The drive back was completed in less than 12 hours, and that includes the insane traffic in this stinky shithole of a city that I live in. Despite the detour, that is at least 3 hours, or 20%, less time. And much to the relief of my cousin who had generously lent me the car, the vehicle came back as it had left.
So take my tip and go there, or somewhere in the vicinity, if and when you can. A true delight.
Posts
7 comments:
do they serve dolphin meat? slurrrp!
didn't see it on the menu anywhere, and as i said, i ain't no sea-foodie, so no slurp for me either way. tell you what? try japan.
There are some really friendly beach dogs when I went there last.. and some hermit crabs with their homes on their back... in that warm water stream that joins the ocean... quite cool it was
There are some really friendly beach dogs when I went there last.. and some hermit crabs with their homes on their back... in that warm water stream that joins the ocean... quite cool it was
S, a.k.a Sowmya, i didn't quite fathom the dogs' friendliness or lack thereof. they seemed harmless enough though. and yes, the hermit crabs with their shells were out in the millions and i kept trying to avoid stepping on them since i am still quite unsure if they get hurt that way.
and oh, for the record, the karli river doesn't quite join the ocean. its the arabian sea. all the same, pretty damn cool.
firstly super jealous of u coz u managed to see a dolphin n secondly dat story got over so abruptly!
firstly, the idea was to make some people jealous, so long as they are in to this sort of stuff. and secondly, the idea was to make people jealous, not to write a travelog. :)
Post a Comment