From Gokarn towards Honnavar - Part 2

By the time we reached the village of Agnashini it was getting late already and we wanted to get to Kaagal beach in time to watch the sunset. So instead of walking across the beach, we decided to take a bus to some place near Kaagal beach. After a short journey of 15 minutes we were once again in the beach, a long one this time. Kaagal beach looked so serene in the evening, all empty except for a few kids playing around. Our plan was to walk across the beach, watch the setting sun and then reach Kumta for the night's stay. The beach and the sea puts on a very special attire towards twilight as if to woo the sun. The sky who doesn't want to be left out in the race stages an equally stunning performance, spewing color all over the horizon. According to the Hindu mythology, when twilight took birth, even Brahma (her father) and the Saptarshis (her brothers) were tempted by her beauty. Looking at the sea and the sky at twilight, I could not really blame those poor souls. After a long walk of about 6-7 kms we reached the other end of the beach. There was a huge rock on the beach and we decided to climb atop for a better view of the sunset. Nothing humbles you more than watching the setting sun by the sea. Soon after the sunset we walked out of the beach to the main road and took another bus to Kumta. After a good bath and sumptuous dinner we hit the sack pretty early.

Next morning after breakfast we took a rick to Vannala beach. This was the longest beach we came across and was empty like the other ones. There was a small stream joining the sea on the beach and we had to walk across it. The water flows upstream during high tides and all the water flows back to sea early in the morning; by afternoon there won't be any trace of water in the stream!! The beach was looking pretty in the early morning sun and the herons were busy catching crabs - an interesting process to watch. They will take the attacking stance and wait patiently in front of the burrows by the shore. As soon as the waves hit the burrows, the crabs will come out to feed on food crumbs brought in by the water, but fall prey to the waiting herons. A very thin line separates life and death here and there is no way of distinguishing one from the other.. someone's death means life for someone else. Interesting how nature conducts its business. We also came across a couple of dead Dolphins on the beach, victims of extensive fishing perhaps.

By early afternoon we reached the other end of the beach with a cliff blocking our way as usual. We ventured into a small fishing village nearby to get some water and rested a while under some trees by the shore. Motorable roads were being built on the slopes of the cliff, probably to build some kind of hotel or resort on the top. We realised it would probably be the last time we get to watch the majestic sea from the top of that hill without paying for it. Its sad to see beautiful locales like this getting cordoned off as private property, but thats how the world works. "Nobody gets too much heaven these days, its much harder to come by, I am waiting in line.." - The BeeGees. It was quite a steep climb but the views from the top were more than worth the strain.. miles and miles of sleepy blue ocean with boats and ships visible as tiny specks all along the horizon. The blazing sun gave the waves an extra sparkle and shimmer. We spent some time there watching the majestic site in awe and trying to figure out a way to get on the other side. One visible route along the edge of the cliff looked a little dangerous with the rocks beneath. One wrong step could put a premature end to our adventure and even to our lives. Though we are crazy at times and won't mind taking risks, this one looked a little out of our league. So we decided to hunt for an alternate route along the other side of the hill. We could make some progress in moving towards the top of it but did not find a way to get around it. No beach was also visible on the other side, except for more rocky cliffs with angry waves lashing against them.

Unable to find a way through, we decided to climb down back to the beach and find a way out of it. By this time our stomachs were already crying foul with hunger. After a long walk through the beautiful village we reached the road and found a hotel. With our stomachs full with some rice, pooris and lassi, all we wanted was a place to lie down and take a nap. The raised ground under a tree by the road was just perfect for the siesta and in no time the bed sheet was out of the bag and we were enjoying the gentle breeze. An old woman sitting across the road was singing some bhajans and fortunately that kept us awake. Even Robzz who can sleep in any chaos could not help but pay some attention to her songs!! As we had to get to Honnavar by evening, we decided to move on and took a bus. Honnavar also got a few beaches around it. Though our plan was to visit the Kasargod beach, we decided to scrap it due to unreliable ferry service. Instead we took a walk towards the Honnavar lighthouse.

Something interesting happened there; Spooky would be a better word to describe it though. The lighthouse looks kind of abandoned now. The place and surroundings were all empty and there was some sort of a hospital functioning on the premise. The whole compound looked like a mini jungle with bushes and garbage thrown around. There was a lady lying behind one of the bushes, mumbling something to herself. She looked like a person with some kind of mental trouble, dirty and scary due to her long exposure to the elements. We tried to ignore her and sat down on the cement bench there to take some pictures. We did not have any picture with all three of us in the frame and so we set the camera on timer, by the nearby wall.When we viewed the picture on the LCD screen, we were in for a surprise. There were not three but four people in the frame!! The sunlight seeping through the leaves had created the image of a girl/woman on the bench next to the three of us. The image was so well formed and convincing that we were stunned at the odds of something like that happening. To spice up the situation Robzz said he always felt that 4 of us were on this journey, not just 3. How crazy that can be.(see the right bottom corner of the snap)

Without speculating much on the fourth person, we quickly vacated the premise and went insearch of a place to take a bath before the journey back home. We got a small lodge near the bus station and quickly took a much needed shower. With about half an hour left to catch the bus, we walked around the town, visited a church nearby and feasted on some goby manchurian and noodles. It was time to grab our bags and run for the bus, happy to have done what we did and sad thinking about getting back to monotony!!
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