Travelog-South Konkan

I doubt my allegiance to the cause of finishing my travelog..so heres whatever has been written..Travelog-South Konkan


Dates: 14/05/05 – 18/05/05 .. in the month of May 2005
Reason of travel : leisure with family
Method of data collection: Hand written notes, Outlook Traveller, Lonely Planet India.
Log entry : Begun - 20/05/05. Finished -
Relevant paraphernalia: 1. a photo album with 36 snaps.
2. day wise collection of digital photos.
Remarks: A big T H A N K S to Suraj who took time out and earnestly showed us around..

Day wise Itinerary.

Date Route
14/05/05 Sawantwadi-Redi-Fort Terekhol-Vellagar-Shiroda-Vengurla Bandar-Nivati beach-Vengurla Bandar-Sawantwadi

15/05/05 Sawantwadi-Balaji temple off Ponda-Mangeshi temple-Dona Paula-Porvorim-Fort Aguada-Calangute Beach-Sawantwadi

16/05/05 Sawantwadi-Sindhudurg Fort-Tarkarli Beach-Malvan beach market-Sawantwadi

17/05/05 Sawantwadi-Narendra Dongar-Royal Palace-Amboli-Hiranyakeshi-Children's Park-Sawantwadi

18/05/05 Sawantwadi-Mango orchard in Vengurla-Banda-Mumbai

Day 1 : 14/05/05 Saturday.

The day started as all others were to begin with: a visit to a temple. Redi has a Swayambhu Ganesh temple. Some brief history should suffice here. Around 30 years ago a truck driver was having his well earned nap when Lord Ganesha appeared in his dreams and instructed him to start digging at the very spot of his soiree. He followed.After some financial support for his unearthing enterprise from his patron company ( whose name I don’t recall) and probably hours of diligence and perspiration he struck the Lord’s ear( think of his ecstasy ) and soon the entire imposing idol was emancipated from the chronic embrace of mother earth. Hence the nomenclature ‘Swayambhu’ which to the Sanskrit erudite would mean ‘self appearance’
Next stop was Fort Terekhol.. mind you the milestone reads Tiracol which is surely an anglicized legacy. An observant vagabond would notice salt fields, prawn farms, iron ore mines( with lotsa TATA trucks hehe .. SK 1613 to be precise:-) en route to the unimpressive fort. The only thing impressing is this picture postcard view of Keri beach

[A brief digression.. talking of beaches. ALL beaches in Konkan are terrific, extremely safe with a very gentle declivity and placid but endearing waves.]
So after a couple of valedictory snaps we set off for our next destination Vellagar albeit with a couple of unavoidable pitstops at Shiroda and some temple(again!) whose name/latitude/longitude/isotherm got conveniently erased from my RAM.
Since Vellagar was my first real feel of a Konkan beach ever since my college final year trip to Diveagar/ Shri Harihareshwar, I was besides myself with joy ..even the scorching sun was momentarily forgotten. The beach was deserted like all beaches here and offered some interesting opportunities for a thinking photographer but unfortunately injustice was meted out to these opportunities as the heat and hunger got precedence.

After a quick lunch of bangda ( mackeral ), prawns and the konkani speciality Sol Khadi
( a pinkish digestive made from coconut milk and sol ) we languorously embarked towards the very famous Sagareshwar beach of Vengurla.

“When you fall short of words you begin to spout poetry. Sounds illogical, but when you are the only soul sitting on a beach under a canopy of stars with just thundering waves and a lonely lighthouse for company, believe me, its easy. Life truly is a beach. I hit upon this truth early one morning on the sands of Vengurla’s Sagareshwar Beach, as the first light began etching out the world around and the soft sand took on a golden hue”
- Outlook Traveller

Ok.. I didn’t fully realize the aforementioned truth but can fairly accurately contemplate the import. Actually the sweltering heat made it impossible to check out the beach so instead we docked at Vengurla Bandar or jetty with the hope of catching the trawlers bringing the day’s catch from the sea. Since the boats would be arriving after 5:00 PM we decided to check out wether the boats are begun arriving at Nivati Beach. some 15 odd kms from Vengurla. The photo shows the fishing boats anchored to the shore at Nivati. We learnt that here the fishermen venture out in the sea in the night so they return in the morning
After treating my tastebuds to the irresistible sensuousness of jamuns and karvande ( round black berries.. more about them later) we turned back for Vengurla Bandar.

We retraced our way back to Vengurla Bandar just as the boats were coming in. Fisherwomen sat on the pavement with their Pisceans on sale. One interesting experience was watching a couple of anglers. One caught a big drab hued fish locally called gorba and made the whole thing look like child’s play. This event tickled my hitherto latent fishing instincts .. someday me too will catch a fish.( a sprat to catch the mackarel ho ho!)
It was on our way back to Sawantwadi that a good day reached its apotheosis. Suraj had already noticed the more than normal enthusiasm me and my bhabi diplayed towards wild escapades and rural adventures. He humoured the same by stopping the red Toyota Qualis and offered us an oppurtinity to pluck karvandes( blue berries ) from roadside shrubs. It was an offering which was pounced upon like ravished wolves on a fat lamb and soon we very getting our fingers pricked. Though all berries turned out to be much sweeter then the ones we had bought from the local market .. I should mention that even the sourest of berry tastes divine if plucked yourself.