Gokarna: The journey will stay memorable forever

There would be no more “What is the status of the issue ?”, crowded bus, heavy traffic, polluted air for the next two days as we were waving our good bye to the the hurly–burly city life and were following our heart to the rocky sandy delight. We The BTCians endeavored to trek from Kumta to Gokarna. It was 7:40 on the clock when 24 of us got ready to get the best of the weekend. The bus travel saw most of us getting to know our neighbor more and sleeping to the bumpy roads.

The next day morning we reached Kumta around 6:30 in the morning. The small town was already on its feet. We passed by the roadside flower shops, innocent kids waving bye bye from auto,localities gearing up with their daily chores to arrive at Kamat Hotel. After refreshing and filling our tummy with yummy food,it was time for us to set a sail. Although Hiren and Raja tried their best to get us some means of transport to take us to the beach, they were not able to find enough means for the large group. So all of us decided we will walk. There begins our journey....

After around 45 min, we found ourselves in the middle of the elixir of the Sand and the Sea. It felt as though the sky was kissing the earth. It looked as though the water was radiating the sunshine. When I was caught in the spell of the sea, Hiren's voice brought me back. Time to get know people:) We had a round of introduction after which we started to proceed to the day 1 destination.

We started walking by the beach. Standing on the top a big rock which made us realize there is nothing grander than the sea. After a quick photo session, we got back on our feet. When I climbed down a rock to step into an endless beach, I could feel the sea opening its arms to us. Eyes were pleased by the blue sea to the left, green trees to the right, bright tan sand below me and white clouds above me. We started walking beside the beach, when were swept away by the art work of the crabs on the sand.

Time for lunch … We made our way to the small hotel a few 100ms into the village. While we were waiting for our lunch, we heard Raja calling everyone for an ice cream. The ice cream reminded me of the childhood, where all of us would eagerly wait for the honk from the ice cream walla. After being treated to mango,milk and orange flavors, we were offered Ragi drink,bhaji soup,masala bhaji and sweet bun :P

We resumed after a long lunch. Was it the heavy lunch or the hot sun, that reduced our speed ?? I still am not sure. The next pit stop was supposed to be the foot of the hill, on the other side of which we were supposed to tent for the night. We started walking, we were walking and walking and walking.... The beach seemed never ending. Finally we made it to the foot of the hill. After resting for a while, time to climb the hill. The hill was a little steep with bushes and thorns. When I reached the top of the hill, everything vanished. For a moment, I forgot everything and I lived. The view was beyond words. It was perfect.

After a while, we were there ….... We pitched our tents and without waiting further we jumped into the water :P:P:P Then it was time for dinner, where almost all the variates of ready to eat and cup noodles was there. After dinner, we cannot stop gazing at the clear sky,half moon ,the vast sea that reflect the moon light and a boat in the far off. As we were all tired, we called it a day and went to bed to the lullaby of the sea waves.

The next day, we woke up to Raja. After refreshing ,we had a assorted breakfast with roti and bindi being the high-light. We packed our tents, put on our shoes and started on our final leg of the trek. We walked for like 15 min after which we hopped onto a ferry. The ferry ride was mostly posing for photos :P and thinking when will the boat topple :P:P:P

Today's trek consisted mostly of the crossing small beaches. The trek was pretty easy. We stopped at every other shop, eating almost everything that we could lay our hands on. The small beaches were mostly isolated except for a few people relaxing by the beach. We were lucky to see dolphins having a gala time in the water,engaging in a small talk with a Israeli walking along with us. It was a little hotter than yesterday so it made us all get a bit tired too soon. We landed on a cliff which gave a magnificent view of the sea. Its was blue horizon all over.

After a long walk we reached Om beach for lunch. The restaurant looked cool. Foreigners relaxing with a drink, some people painting, a guy sitting with a novel in a corner,kids roaming around. After a heavy and a long lunch and an another 1.5 hours of walking,  we were there on the top of a rock which gave us the entire picture of Gokarna. I stand there for a moment, held in the grasp of time.

All the views were mind bowling. Some of us went into the sea, some for walk along the beach,some sitting on the rock enjoying the view. Crashing coastal waves, thoughts drifting away in a cold damp wind I was taken away by the salt of thousand tears. After spending some time in the beach,it was time for us to say good bye to the wonderful two days and hop on to our ride back. The journey will stay memorable forever. On the way back, one question was still UN-answered  Was it the challenge or the views or the people that made this trip incredible ???

“I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness” ….

Written By     : Aruna

Organized By : Hiren & Raja

Date of event : 29th & 30th, Nov 2014

Place             : Gokarna

Photos           : BTC Facebook