Scuba diving and Snorkeling have fascinated me and although a regular daily swimmer at the "Mahatma Gandhi Swimming pool" in Mumbai since 1999 had never ever Scuba dived or snorkeled in my life.Thanks to "FACEBOOK" have been in touch with many local tour groups and been on treks with a few of them .In January 2013 a tour group had advertised a "Konkan (Scuba & Snorkel)Tour" and i had joined them paying a deposit of Rs 3400 in advance, but the tour was cancelled due to unforeseen reasons and the money refunded.In March i went on a hectic adventurous "Solo-Backpacker Tour" of Amritsar,Kashmir,Manali, Shimla and Chandigarh, my normal routines in a calender year.Every year since quitting the "Indian Merchant Navy" i go on a solo tour to either a foreign country or local destinations within India, later blogging my tour experiences for future tourists and adventurers.All my treks and tours have been blogged and the same can be viewed .After arriving home from my solo-tour read an advertisement by "Trek Mates India Group" on "Facebook" of a tour to Konkan, akin to the tour i missed in January.I contacted Mr Manoj..Kalwar the host of this tour and requested him to accommodate me in the tour group.The same was confirmed after paying an advance deposit of Rs 4000 , the entire total tour cost being Rs 6,600 for Non-Veg tourists. The tour was scheduled to begin with departure from Dadar at 2200 hrs on Thursday(9-5-2013) and end on Monday(13-5-2013) with arrival in Mumbai at 0700 hrs
Arrival at "Darya Sarang Resort" on Chivla Beach in Malvan.
DEPARTURE MUMBAI(Thursday 9-5-2013) AND ARRIVAL MALVAN(Friday 10-5-2013) :- Left my residence early as usual, the earliest traveller arriving at 2100 hrs at "Pritam Hotel(Dadar East)", the rendezvous being 2200 hrs.Whiled away my time inquiring about local tour buses to various locales near Mumbai at the tourist shops near "Pritam Hotel". Later rang up Mr Manoj. Kalwar and inquired about the actual location since i was a total stranger to them, a first timer tourist/trekker with "Trek Mates, India".I began my trekking and wild-life tours with "B.N.H.S(Bombay Natural History Society)" of which i am a "Life Member", having learnt the basics of nature, forest and bird studies from them during the fort treks and bird spotting tours.Later free-lanced with other trek groups on the "Internet" as "B.N.H.S" had specific bi-monthly dates for conducting National and International treks and nature tours and some didn't match my time-schedule or at times my monetary budget planning . Now here i was, a free-lance trekker/tourist travelling with "Trek Mates India" for the first time,awaiting new acquaintances and travel mates.At approx 2130 hrs spotted a lone lady at Pritam hotel with a backpack and presumed that she was a co-trekker and hence introduced myself to Mrs Ashwarya. Kachole, a junior college professor.After a few minutes Mr Manoj.Kalwar came along with his wife Mamta and young baby daughter Manvi..Later another co-trekker Mr Kamal.Tilokani joined us and we were finally set to board the bus.The "Force minibus(MH04FK844)" owned by "Bharat Travel" arrived from Andheri with a few trekker/tourists and at approx 2230 hrs we finally departed from Dadar for Malvan, a long 514 Kms journey along the NH 17 Mumbai-Goa highway .We were a total of 14 trekker/tourists along with a young baby, a small group in a cramped air-conditioned mini-bus.The bus was air-conditioned but the seating accommodation seemed to be designed either for short statured people or young children, absolute no-legroom accommodation for the average height Indian let alone a basketball player !
Lunch at "Darya Sarang Resort"
As the bus headed towards Malvan we all gradually got acquainted with each other realizing that although of different ages, sexes and professions we all had one thing in common, a passion for experiencing the outdoors nature life and its accompanying adventures.Thanks to the air-condition which compensated for the lack of leg-room space the journey was moderately comfortable.At approx 0745 hrs we stopped at "Alankar Deluxe" for breakfast , myself gorging on a Missal/pav, the local Maharashtrian delicacy.We all got more familiar with each other at the breakfast table and it seemed more of a family outing than a professional tourist group tour since we were just 15 people.After breakfast we proceeded towards Malvan and observed numerous Mango Orchards as we passed through Ratnagiri and entered prime "Mango orchard country" of Maharashtra.Learnt a new game called "Mafia" from Mr Manoj.Kalwar who explained us the same during our journey and seems its a very popular game with the 21st century generation.I was the oldest tourist in the group and thanks to bachelorhood had the mentality of a care-free youth, barring the grey beard !.Malvan is approx 200 Kms from Ratnagari and we finally arrived at the "Darya Sarang beach resort" on Chivla beach at approx 1230 hrs, a lengthy journey of approx 14 hrs finally coming to an end.It was a beautiful beach resort having small "Hut Cottages" on its sprawling estate ,one side of its boundary hugging the Chilva beach .We were allotted our cottages , the ladies and couples in different cottages and three of us bachelors ,Mr Aditya.Warghade,Mr Nagarmanikandan.Rajaram and myself into a "2-bed cottage" consisting of a single room/attached bathe, an ultimate beach-side resort house, small & cosy. After a quick bathe i surveyed the locality and was amazed at the pristine beauty of this isolated beach resort. It resembled a private beach with a row of canoe fishing boats stacked neatly in a single file across the length of the coast.Only setback was that the resort banned liquor consumption on its premises and hence couldn't experience the luxury of sipping bear alongside the Chivla beach. Now i understood the reasons for Goa which was only approx a 2 hours journey from Malvan was a tourists haven for Caucausians and Negro's while Malvan having identical or better and less crowded beaches was devoid off European or Negro tourists.Liquor could be the reason for Western tourists preferring Goa to the Konkan belt of Maharashtra. Lunch was at 1330 hrs in the open-air dining hall and for the first time in my life got a taste of the famous "Malvani Fish cuisine".My lunch thali consisted of "Surmai fish(Fry), Surmai curry, chappattis and rice and Kokam dhai". After a sumptuous lunch and a private dessert consisting of a kulfi ice-cream was surprised at my appetite and a bit scared of the same !Our agenda after lunch was a tour to Tsunami island for water sports and then a visit to the famous Tarkarli beach, approx 7 Kms from Malvan..After a brief rest at approx 1445 hrs we departed for Tarkarli to visit the famous "Tsunami Island". Tsunami Island is situated on the delta of the Tarkarli river. At approx 1545 hrs we reached "Karli Khadi" where we boarded a boat to visit "Tsunami Island"."Tsunami Island" derived its name as it was formed overnight during
the Tsunami that devastated a few coastal areas in
various country's including South India. .A small piece of sand suddenly
sprang up in the middle of the sea and over the years got gradually
filled with silted sand.
"TSUNAMI ISLAND" that is visible during "LOW TIDE" for approx 12 hrs.
This small island which was named "Tsunami Island" is visible in low tide but gets submerged in knee deep water during high tide.A maverick
must have realized that this freak island could be used as a tourist
water sport resort and hence over the years it has become a famous water
sports resort.it was a short 10 minutes boat ride from "Karli Khadi" to "Tsunami Island" which was visible as it was low tide.Tour leader Mr Manoj.Kalwar advised us on the selection of the rides and it was worth the money.Each individual of our group took three rides which consisted of 1)Bumper Ride 2) Jet ski ride and 3) Banana Boat ride.
"Water Ski Jet" and the "Banana boat ride" at Tsunami Island.
Having spent a life-time at sea experiencing cyclonic weather and heavy rolling/pitching of ships i should say that the rides were thrilling and worth the money for any adrenalin junkie.Finally by 1700 hrs our entire group managed to finish individual rides and we boarded our boat back to "Karli Khadi". On reaching "Karli Khadi' we boarded our bus and headed towards "Tarkarli Beach".
"WATER SPORTS" on Tsunami Island.
At approx 1730 hrs we reached Tarkarli beach and quickly undressed into swimming costumes and waded into the clean sea.The waves lashing the coast were larger than normal, an indication of the approaching monsoon season."Parasailing" was a tourist attraction on this clean and long stretch of beach sand and most of the tour group took turns on a "Parasail Ride"."Parasailing" on Tarkarli beach consisted of a jeep car dragging a parachute with a tourist high up in the air by means of a long length of rope against excellent sea-wind conditions.
The Long stretch of the beautiful Tarkarli Beach in Malvan
"Parasailing" on Tarkarli beach
We finally departed from Tarkarli beach at approx 1900 hrs and made our journey back to Chivla beach. En-route we passed through Malvan market and was surprised at the narrow road of this tourist town, traffic congestion being a problem in peak evening traffic.We finally reached "Darya Sarang guesthouse" at approx 2015 hrs and was surprised to see a huge cinema screen erected on the main lawn broadcasting the "I.P.L Cricket Match".Dinner consisted of "Malvani fried prawns/Curry thali", an excellent meal to a memorable and hectic day of travel and sightseeing.After dinner watched the I.P.L match for a few minutes and later departed to my cottage room for a long awaited nights sleep.Three of us were sharing the large spacious double bed and the weather was cool due to the sea breeze.The next day agenda was an early morning wake-up call at 0630 hrs for Dolphin watching at Malvan. and later the most awaited part of the tour, "Snorkeling and scuba Diving".
Watching the "I.P.L Cricket Match" in the night at "Darya Sarang Resort".
SATURDAY(11-5-2013) :- Woke up at approx 0530 hrs in the morning and after quietly doing my normal toilet routines without disturbing my sleeping companions headed to the beach.I have been a early riser irrespective of late nights, a habit since my shipping employment and later early morning jogging at the Mahalaxmi race-course in Mumbai.The beach was desolate and a pack of beach dogs found me abnormal and barked their vocals on me, one dog testing my courage by approaching me with bared fangs.The dog realized that i was the "alpha dog" and quietly calmed down, normal animal pack behaviour towards humans.Animals can sense fright in a human and will attack only if the human is frightened unless its a trained guard dog.A few small canoe boats were heading towards the shore and i filmed a video besides inquiring about canoe fishing with the fishermen.Hurried back to the resort and after a quick tea we boarded the bus heading towards Malvan Jetty.At approx 0720 hrs we reached Malvan Jetty where i got my first view of the famed Sindhudurg Fort built by the Maratha King Chatrapatti Shivaji in 1664. Mr Manoj.Kalwar and his co-ordinator Miss Rachna.Shah organized our tour and bookings were made with "Om Shivomeshwar" situated on the Malvan beach front, a tourist agency conducting scuba/snorkel and dolphin tours for tourists.In our tour group Miss Rachna.Shah and my room-mate Mr Aditya.Warghade were passionate photographers carrying expensive camera equipment.After the necessary logistics were completed we boarded the launch along with a few other tourists for a "Dolphin Safari".Launch boat rides were a part of my employment in the "Merchant Navy" and it was nice sailing on a launch after ages on land. It was a long ride and our breakfast of "Pohwa" was provided in packets on the launch,a picnic cum wild-life tour.The launch ride took us opposite Chivla beach and then back towards the Sindhudurg Fort without spotting a single dolphin.Everyone was disappointed and Mr Rish.Joshi accompanied with his wife Sunaine.Chandran was cracking hilarious jokes , the wittiest tourist in our group.During my two year employment(1999/2000) as "Chief engineer" on the tug-boats in "J.N.P.T" port in Mumbai i had regularly observed a lone dolphin entering the harbour waters.This solitary mammal was a regular visitor in the harbour waters for a few months let alone days and i hope it didn't get entangled in the fishermen's nets as Mumbai harbour has a narrow entrance from the deep sea .
Can you spot the tip of the Dolphins fins ? Yes, at last we spotted a pair of Dolphins
I was discussing the "Luck Factor" in wild-life spotting with co-tourist Mr Avijit.Chaturvedi , a veteran executive in 5-Star hotels and a World traveller who had brought along his school going daughter Asmita and we all were sad as the one hour ride was coming to an end, the Malvan boat jetty within sight..Suddenly the boatmen spotted the elusive dolphins and it was a beautiful sight observing a pair of dolphins doing the typical "dolphin Swim" in the sea.The boatman switched off the engines and the dolphins came as close as 50 meters to the boat, worth the time, money and effort that we tourists had made to observe them.
Malvan Beach and Fishing Jetty
After sighting the Dolphins our launch headed towards the "Snorkeling and Scuba" diving sight situated in the sea outside the rampart walls of Sindhudurg Fort. Dr Sarang Kulkarni's underwater discoveries near the Sindhudurg fort led it to become the only scuba diving center in the Indian sub-continent, providing employment to the locals as well as generating tourism income.I presume that the " Darya Sarang" sea resort must have been named as a tribute to Dr Sarang.Kulkarni whose discovery led to a boost in Malvan tourism..As we approached the "Scuba & Snorkeling" area observed launches and hectic snorkeling and diving activity.
"SNORKELING AND DIVING" off the Sindhudurg Fort in Malvan.
There were three launches used as platforms from which Scuba and snorkeling activities were conducted and our launch double-banked against one of the diving launches.We boarded the diving launch and was surprised at being on very familiar and routine territory. During my "Merchant Navy" employment had once worked on a "Diving Off-Shore Ship" that had diving equipment and divers and a "Decompression Chamber" for deep sea-diving.It was very sophisticated compared to this "Scuba./Snorkel Diving" launch.An Air-compressor was running continuously providing air to the scuba divers through surface rubber tubes and although a professional speculator , the thought of breathing underwater for the first time in my life definitely made me nervous.We were each given individual instructions before scuba diving or snorkeling and were divided into batches. One batch did "Scuba Diving" while another did "Snorkeling" and later interchanging the same until everyone experienced both these adventure water sports.I first volunteered for the "Scuba Dive" and after fastening my scuba equipment entered the water by means of the ladder-way where the instructor taught me the "BREATHING METHOD".My beard was a hindrance for water-tightness and i was afraid that i would be unable to "Scuba Dive".Now i realize the reasons for divers being "Clean Shaven" unless an actor acting in movies ! In Scuba diving or Snorkeling a person has to breathe through the mouth and not through the nose, the nose and face are made watertight through the facial mask.A beard would hinder the facial mask air-tightness.Later another instructor gradually explained me the "BREATHING METHOD" and i managed to get accustomed to the same.Bizarrely, a person need not know swimming in order to snorkel or scuba dive at Malvan, hence a common tourist experience.
In "DIVING GEAR" about to enter the "DEEP SEA"!
Wearing the "Dive Gear" and nervously practicing the "Breathing Technique" i was dragged with the lifebuoy by the dive instructor who took me to the dive location.At the ".Dive Location" the lifebuoy was removed and the diver instructed me to dive with him towards the sea-bed. Sinking head first towards the sea bed was amazed at the fish swimming alongside and in front of the facial mask, akin to floating in a aquarium and being a fish rather than a human !It was amazing watching the small zebra fish and guarami's amongst the coral reefs.The water was a bit murky and hence visibility reduced to just one or two feet.The fish must have thought that i was their food and merrily began nipping me, akin to pinches.The diver did some underwater photography of me and i later made my way back to the launch, satisfied that one of my life's ambitions had been achieved, the experience of diving under-water.Next was the snorkeling experience which is child's play compared to diving.After snorkeling i swam in the deep sea next to the dive instructors and did the "Dead Body Float", easiest in salt water than a normal fresh water swimming pool. In a "Dead Body Float" the swimmer lies on the surface of the water backwards,akin to the backstroke swimmer, absolutely still without any swimming movements, floating like a dead body.This is the safest and best way to conserve energy after a long swim and the best survival method if overboard or on a sunken vessel. After the entire group had finished the scuba/snorkeling experience at approx 1100 hrs we made our way out of the diving launch into another tourist launch that had just arrived with a fresh batch of snorkel/dive tourists.The launch departed from the dive/snorkel launch making its way to Malvan Jetty. En-route the launch stopped at Sindhudurg Fort pier for a few tourists to alight and later proceeded to Malvan Pier.We finally reached Malvan Jetty at approx 1100 hrs absolutely contended at being successful in watching Dolphins as well as scuba diving and snorkeling.Sadly,on returning ashore i realized that i had misplaced my " Speedo Swimming Goggles" on the dive launch which i had brought along with me for sea-swimming.Whoever finds the same would definitely enjoy sea-swimming at the dive-sight, akin to snorkeling.
Its a indesribable feeling to see and feel the fish while "SCUBA DIVING" in Malvan.
Life-buoys were used for buoyancy, besides, the diving instructor accompanied the tourist to the diving location, jut a few meters from the launch.After familiarizing myself with the
On reaching Malvan Jetty most of the tour group members made a bee-line to the local "Gola Seller" amidst the numerous tourist stalls erected at the pier walk-way.. I avoided this temptation as i have a tendency to get severe cough & cold along with throat irritation on excessive consumption of extremely cold eatables.Malvan is famous for its "Malvan Khajja","Malvan Laddoo's","Jackfruit chips" and thanks to "Trek Mates India" tour group, the "Malvani Gola". After a brief eatables shopping tour at Malvan Jetty we boarded our bus and headed towards the ultimate attraction, Malvan culinary. Tour Leader Mr Manioj.Kalwar had conducted numerous tours to this city and was familiar with the popular Malvan food hotels and restaurants and hence he took us to hotel "Athithi Bamboo". Akin to most Indian towns and villages observed that most hotels in Malvan including our resort had their names written in the local script, in this case Marathi.language.This restaurant was definitely a candidate in the list for "Tripadviser" restaurants to visit in Malvan. The menu for both , Vegetarian and non-vegetarian food was extensive with a variety of dishes .There was sea-food and meat products for non-vegetarians and a assortment of vegetable preparations for vegetarians.I ordered a "Pomfret Fry Thali" dish and photographed the same before consumption, memories of the sumptuous lunch at "Athithi Bamboo" hotel. Dessert consisted of the sweet dish "Gulab Jamun", definitely not as tasty as the massive "Pomfret Fry Thali". Lunch got over by 1315 hrs and we drove back to our resort, the afternoon being absolutely hot.According to my opinion "Darya Sarang resort" has one of the best sea-beach locations in Malvan with excellent cool sea-breeze blowing throughout the day and night across the hotel estate. After a brief rest in our resort room at approx 1530 hrs we got ready for the next itinerary, a tour of "Sindhudurg Fort".We had our tea at the restaurant and boarded our bus to Malvan jetty. At Malvan Jetty we visited "Om Shivmoreshwar" tourist shop and viewed our "scuba diving" videos and photos on a computer, the same to be given to us on a disc. Later boarded the launch for the short trip to Sindhudurg fort.
Entrance door of "Sindhudurg Fort"
Sindhudurg Fort was built on the Kurte islet over a period of three years from 1664 to 1667 by Chattrapatti Shivaji , the Maratha King.This fort is identical to the Janjira Fort in location, a sea-fort, ruled by the Siddhis and unconquerable by Chattrapati Shivaji. Hence he built the Sindhudurg Fort.On arrival at Sindhudurg Fort jetty it was a short walk towards the main entrance door of this majestic Fort.At the entrance we saw a group of young men dressed in saffron and carrying a flame torch ,akin to the Olympic torch.This torch would be carried along the road by different runners upto Kolhapur in homage to Chattrapati Shivaji.On entering the fort we were introduced to our guide who would explain us various locations and sites in this huge 48 acre fort complex..The Fort has a 2 mile(3 Km) long rampart wall that is 30 feet high and 12 feet thick.There are a few private residences inside the fort complex in which the ancestors of Chattrapati Shivaji's servants reside, a hereditary tradition.As we walked through the fort passage observed a few food stalls for tourists.There is a opening in the walls at one section of the fort which leads to a small beach.This was the private beach of the royalty .There are 3 sweet-water wells in this fort, unbelievable since salt water surrounds the entire fort complex.Two of the sweet water wells are in close proximity and we got a view of these two wells.One of the wells was named "Sakhar Bhaow(Sugar Well)" in Marathi language. We were shown the only temple of Shivaji Maharaj in the world which was built on Sindhudurg.This temple was built by Shivaji's son Rajaram. and Festivities such as Shivaji Jayanti (birthday of Shivaji), Ram Navami, Janmashtami, Mahashivrathri, Ganesh Chaturthi, are celebrated at this temple.Inside this temple the small idol of Shivaji is shown in a face-mask of a sailor.After visiting the temple we were shown the undersea hidden passage which that starts in a temple that looks like a
water reservoir and then goes under the island for 3 km, under the sea for
12 km, and from there 12 km to a nearby village. This tunnel was used as
an escape route for the women if the enemy entered the fort.The British partially closed this passage after the fort was abandoned.We were next shown a small mound next to the rampart wall which was actually a prototype wall initially built to test the strength of the original fort walls.After completion of the Rampart walls the Maratha's tried to destroy this mound but were unsuccessful as were the British in later years.This fact proves that the material construction of the rampart walls are unbreakable and hence they have lasted over three hundred years.We took a group photograph near this wall, memories for posterity.Today parts of this wall are crumbling and the same being given a face-lift through repairs.There was a small stall selling aerated drinks and local fruits. Most of us opted for coconut water from coconuts grown on this fort which was excellent with fleshy kernel.After consuming a coconut ate some local berries coated with a mixture of salt and sugar,a total new berry recipe and excellent.
Rampart Wall of the Sindhudurg Fort
The entire tour group adventure tourists of "Trek Mates India" on Sindhudurg fort.
We later climbed up the rampart wall stairs and got a majestic view of the entire fort complex and the sea.Sadly, the cleanliness of the Fort was badly neglected with plastic packets and plastic bottles littering entire areas in some places.A young lady tourist Divya.Kothari who had studied law in Bristol in England was with us and we discussed the maintenance comparison of the "Tower Of London" and the "Sindhudurg Fort" in Malvan.College lecturer Mrs Aishwaraya.Kachole gave the guide a lecture in Marathi on maintaining the fort precincts clean and free of rubbish and we all agreed that it was a tragedy that although Chattrapati Shivaji was a revered historical person, the maintenance of one of his most recognized forts was a disaster.Flag hoisting is done every year at two locations in the Fort and i wonder as to the reasons that the accumulated junk has gone unnoticed by the rulers in power or the reasons for the littering of plastic waste in the fort premises.We were next shown the place where a hand-print and footprint of Shivaji are embedded on two different sections of a wall.From here we made our way back to the entrance of the Fort and onto our launch.
On arrival at Malvan Jetty we boarded our bus and headed towards "Rock Garden"situated near the Arase Mahal beach .The Rock garden was a small garden with one end of hard bare rocks facing the sea .It reminded me of the Worli sea-face and Bandra sea-face rocks in Mumbai.Visitors sat on the clean rocks with the sea waves lashing the rock face below.After a brief stay in the "Rock Garden" we made our way to the exit our next itinerary being shopping in downtown Malvan market.
Malvan city has a very narrow main road in its market town centre where its difficult for two S.U.V's to pass each other in opposite directions let alone huge trucks or buses.On arriving in the market centre we alighted from the bus and headed in different directions for shopping.Group Leader Mr Manoj.Kalwar instructed us to meet at a certain location at approx 2015 hrs from where we could board our mini-bus.The Town street has a typical old World village charm with small shops on either side of the street.Strolled across the length of the street visiting different shops and inquiring the prices of Malvani specialities including the famous Apphus(Alphonso mangoes).For the first time in my life came across "Bonsai apphus(Alphonso) mangoes" in a shop, the tiniest alphonso mangoes.Purchased a normal and a Bonsai alphonso mango from this shop as a sample for tasting.Purchased some Malvani fish pickles, sweets and Kokam syrup and made my way back to the group meeting point.Our meeting point was altered to another place and finally at approx 2045 hrs we departed for the resort .On reaching the resort we quickly unpacked our shopping luggage and got back again into the bus for visiting a restaurant for dinner.After a long drive from the resort at approx 2200 hrs we finally arrived at "D.S.Residency( Datta Samant Residency)" restaurant which was 5 Kms away from Malvan city.Wonder if this restaurant had any connection with the late Textile Mills Union leader Dr Datta.Samant, the man whose unionism changed the topography of Mumbai city.Dinner was a small affair as the heavy "Pomfret Fry Thali" lunch , an expensive dish, had to be balanced with the dinner price,besides, my stomache was filled with titbits of snacks .Mr Avijit.Chaturvedi and myself shared a prawn curry /Tandoori Chicken plate which seemed excessive.After dinner at approx 2330 hrs we departed back to the resort, a very hectic and adventurous day of touring coming to an end.As usual went to bed although sleep eluded me for a while.
A tour to Malvan is incomplete without tasting "Malvani Fish Cuisine" like the "Pomfret Fry thali" at Hotel "ATHITHI BAMBOO".
"Canoe Fishermen" arriving on Chivla beach with their fish catch.
SUNDAY(12-5-2013) :- Woke up at approx 0600 hrs, a bit late compared to my average early morning wake up hours. After completion of my toilet formalities made my way to the beach for a morning swim.The beach was desolate barring a few canoe boats that were heading towards the beach with their fish catch.As usual the pack of dogs greeted me with loud barking as i headed towards the sea.Waded in knee deep water for a few minutes and also video-filmed a canoe returning from the sea onto the beach.Spotted Miss Rachna.Shah taking an early morning walk along the beach with her camera.
A Cat amongst the Canoe boats on Chivla beach awaiting morsels of fish.
Walked across the beach towards a coconut plantation on the left side of "Darya Sarang Resort"and came across a mechanized canoe that had just arrived from sea with a large fish catch.The fishermen were busy separating the fish from their nets and a cat and dog were alongside anxiously waiting for a few pieces of small fish.Just a 14 hour journey from Mumbai city and here i was on a pure pristine sea beach in the midst of fishermen with a fresh catch of fish.Photographed myself with the biggest fish in the canoe for a "been here,seen that, done that" memory bank.On my way back to the resort met Professor Mrs Aishwaraya.Kachole who was sitting on a bench on the beach conversing with some women tourists from another tour group..Our departure time from the resort was set at 1100 hrs and i spent the rest of the few hours photographing a few cats of the resort
Average fish catch of the 2-Men paddle canoe boats.
Met two fishermen Mr Amar.Tikkam and Mr Naineshwa.Vengurlekar who were fixing their nets after a fish catch on their canoe parked just outside the resort on the beach.Learnt the basic economics of "canoe fishing" in Malvan as also the fishing season and method of operation.Between 7th June to the first week of August the fishing Industry for small canoe boats is non-operational due to the monsoon climatic conditions. Breakfast was on the main lawn facing the beach and consisted of bread/omlete.After breakfast we paid Mr Manoj.Kalwar the balance cost of the tour expenditure , mine amounting to Rs 2600, the total tour cost amounting to Rs 6600..After breakfast made my way to the resort room and requested Mr Nagamanikandan.Rajaram to upload the underwater Dive photos and a few photos removed by professional photographer Mr Aditya.warghade. onto my camera disc. He did the needful but later on arrival at home in Mumbai realized that my disc did not record the same.At approx 1200 hrs we left "Darya Sarang Resort" and headed towards Kunkeshwar Temple . I dreaded the approx 14 hours journey back home to Mumbai in the cramped seating accommodation of the air-conditioned mini-bus.It was a one hour drive through beautiful mango orchards, the speciality fruit of the Konkan region of Maharashtra.At approx 1300 hrs we reached Kunkeshwar temple situated along the sea-shore.While the rest of the group went to the temple i strolled along the sea-beach wharf , the sea partly choppy, an indication of the arrival of the monsoons.Inquired the price of Alphonso(Apphus) mangoes which seemed cheap compared to Mumbai @ Rs1000/5 dozens.Problem was carting this huge case as well as the risk of some of the mangoes being damaged during the journey..At approx 1400hrs we departed from Kunkeshwar temple and made our way to the lunch restaurant just a five minutes drive from the temple.Lunch was in a small dhaba type restaurant named "Hotel Shivdarshan" and the "Chicken Thali' was excellent, typical "Malvani massala chicken".Observed a small pile of raw Alphonso(Apphus) mangoes kept in a corner of the hotel and on inquiry was told that it was to be delivered to Pune.
Mango Orchards.
After lunch we began our onward journey to Mumbai, the A/c in the mini-bus compensating for the lack of leg-space, the cool interior of the bus a relief from the blazing afternoon Sun. At approx 1800 hrs we reached "Alankar Restaurant" and refreshed ourselves with snacks and tea.After tea we began our journey and watched the movie "Commando" on the bus video.Bizarrely, the bus video showed the film wordings in a mirror image, the same appearing in inverted form to us viewers! Honestly, this "Force" mini-bus was a "First" in my life in two aspects, first being the shortest leg-room in a bus and the second being the freak video screen attachment Thanks to the film the leg space misery seemed distant and comfortable compared to the film hero's travails as a commando ! Dinner was late night at approx 2330 hrs at the "Annapurna hotel" since we couldn't find a suitable hotel that would accommodate everyone's food taste.Room-mate Mr Nagamanikandan and myself shared a "Mutton Hundi' and a "Chicken Fry" dish, a sumptuous dinner. Journey post dinner was a sleepless night with a terrible one hour traffic jam along the narrow highway before approaching the town of Pen.Thankfully the delay didn't cause much dent on our arrival schedule into Mumbai and at approx 0630 hrs we were in Dadar. Professor Aishwarya.Kachole and myself boarded a taxi and i dropped her at her residence near Kirti College, the locality bringing back nostalgic college memories of the college years of 1977/78, when bunking classes and watching movies was considered fashionable.On reaching home was surprised at the heat since we had been travelling continuously in a air-conditioned bus.Settled myself to normal house routine, a memorable short holiday coming to an end with beautiful memories in the form of photographs left for posterity.
P.S :- A year later in August 2014 i did my "Open water scuba course" at Tulamben in Bali in Indonesia.It was amazing remaining underwater at depths of 18 meters and viewing fish, coral and steep underwater cliffs.Also saw the World famous "USAT Liberty" ship wreck.Read about it in my blog :- http://indonesiasolotravel.blogspot.in/
