Dapoli....live by the Beach...Dance with the waves....

You know you are facing summer when the best season of the year parts goodbye …..And the heat is ON. You review your office performance and think you did well. Your boss thinks otherwise. Fed up with the appraisals...the action plans and bla blab la……you tend to find ways to break free……

In April 2013, I faced a similar situation ……so what did I do?

Just called up my buddies, arranged a plan to live by the beach and dance with the waves.

I did just that….We choose Dapoli …

DAY 0 - The Journey  ......

We started in the midnight from Mumbai.

The amazing Silence of the gratifying Friday night added a frill to our travel.  Ours was a group of 12 who had met each other after a considerable time and exchanged our recent developments re-remembered a few inside jokes and re-lived a few old moments.

At first we were a bit jittery about the night travel, but the almost empty roads allowed us through a smooth ride in the considerably large vehicle, that took us pass the NH 17 and we reached the vadakhal naka sooner than we expected.  Some of us in the journey felt asleep, while others like me were curious and with the help of cutting chai on the way managed to stay awake. Some others watched a movie that was played inside the vehicle. After another couple of hrs we passed Mangoan, through an array of small villages where we started seeing daylight. At this point we also passed a beautiful road surrounded by trees which was through fog and mist. This was a pleasant surprise at this time of the year.

Every nearby village had a water body; some were with the boats some others with the people washing their clothes. The red colored State transport buses passing our vehicle by a roar gave me the feeling of being at my native place time and again. Really these vehicles are the hallmark of our state, reaching to the most untraveled and difficult parts.

Sooner than we thought we got a glimpse of the beach when our vehicle moved closer to our hotel. The hotel had a nice garden and a huge space for recreation right next to the beach. 

DAY 1 - Water Sports & Fish Market ......

In the mean while, as we got ourselves freshened up, we ordered for breakfast. Though the journey was a bit tiresome, the lovely unmanned beach of the morning was tempting enough for us to take a little stroll with the sound of the waves. There was a boat nearby and we clicked a few snaps on it.

Much to our delight the breakfast tables were arranged right next to the beach which looked remarkable through the trees on the edge of the coast. The heavy breakfast of egg burji and the pohe with a nice hot tea did the rest in keeping us more than awake.

And what was lined up was even more exciting. We visited the port nearby to buy the fish which was out from water hours ago.

The port was full of just-caught fish, spread and stacked all around. Pomfret, Surmai, prawns, huge size prawns, king size prawns, all fresh out of water, tempting stuff. Capitalizing on the huge size of our group and requirement, we managed several round of negotiations to buy fresh Surmai, pomfret and prawns fish for a 1000 Rs, a fairly good deal as we were all from Mumbai and most of us fish eaters. We then took the fish to our hotel for the preparation of Pomfret and Surmai Fry, adding to the chicken and egg dishes. As the lunch would be made, we set out for the water sports activities at the Murud Beach.

The Jet-Skiing and banana ride were the activities we started with in the sea. And then there was our own customized version of the banana ride that we repeated. The Jet-skiing machine pulling our banana float, took us  fairly deep in the sea and then we dropped ourselves back on the way or were pushed out of the float, whichever we found more exciting. This whole exercise was coupled with a series of ice-golas, lime juices and coconut water at the small stall. Further we moved to the hotel for lunch.

A vintage konkan cuisine comprising a chicken, added by luscious Surmai Fish, the Pomfret fry, the prawns and a spicy egg curry.  It was mouth watering stuff and all hungry foodies like us bounced on it. After a full-filling lunch, it was time to relax in our own ways, some at the hotel and some below the coconut tree.

An hours’ rest was good enough for us to come back and this time not just to wander to play football. The beach was clean, flat as a deck, and kilometers secluded. Not a single soul was around, which gave it the kind of private beach feeling that we wanted.

It was 4.30 pm, but the beach was still virgin and we started tapping the ball with our feet passing it at each other. The enthusiasm was unmatched and we had the fun of or lives, sprinting, tackling, screaming as we played the most beautiful game on the planet with the company of likeminded friends.  This exercise, both mental and more so physical went along unbelievably for a good 40 minutes, much to our surprise considering our daily lifestyles of comfort.

After having drained so much, it was a perfect setup for us to enter the waters and chill ourselves a bit. By this time there were a few other groups in the beach getting them wet and having the fun of their life. The water was not much cold and we started splashing it on each other’s bodies. Finally we all took that dip from head to toe in the water and started the series of games and fun one does in sea.

Some of us had preferred to stay at the beach and relax and watch the sunset. They could capture the beautiful shift of colors that took place at the merry sunset.  The next moment, just as if God was painting this picture, a couple of bullock carts arrived from across the beach. We could luckily capture that amazing scenery in our own cameras, which in the past was only seen in art galleries. Thank you technology …. 

The night was beautifully set and it was time to sit there and relax listening to the sound of the waves. We took our table out of the hotel to the beach and had a setup there, for some really special moments. The time spent at the beach was a total stress buster and had setup stage for the evening event. Our bodies’ rejuvenated just ideal for rounds of drinks that followed at the hotel garden space. After a delicious dinner we again went back to the same spot on the beach and literally lied down facing the sky. 

The moon was setting itself nicely with a significant amount of light, noticed as it was the only source.  This was the best part of the whole trip.

DAY 2 - Cricket the Beach and Temple Visit..

The resurgence of our bodies and minds had got us up in the morning the next day, and it was a good time to play beach cricket on the hard deck. As our game was on some of us, actually all of us also enjoyed the ATV ride along the beach. 

Soon a bullock-cart passing by with a free ride was on offer and only few of us would miss that.

After the cricket and the rides we soon checkout of the hotel, we were on our way to the Anjarle temple of Lord Ganesha. The temple is situated on a small hill and it could be noticeably seen from the approach road which passed over a connecting bridge. The beautiful array of coconut trees near the Anjarle Beach created an awesome view indeed.  

The temple is a beautiful structure with a Lord Shiva temple just besides it. A few meters from here are the Lord Ganesha Footprints mini-temple, where according to the locals those footprints are of Lord Ganesha himself.

As this mini-temple is on an adjoining small portion of the hill it offers a majestic panorama   of the Anjarle beach and the coconut plantations. At the temple there are various local food items sold and we bought many of those along with the konkam and Lime juice.

We were nearing lunch time and had a long journey back so we moved from the temple looking for a food outlet on the way. Nearby Anjarle on that Sunday many local restaurants and lunch homes were full to their capacity and would take time for our orders. So we proceeded on our way back and found a good place in Mangoan for a nice and quick lunch.

We also tried a flavor of various Pans in a Paan Shop near the restaurant, amongst the last experiences of this fun-filled trip, which we knew by now was coming to its end. A further journey of about 3 and a half hours and we were back to Mumbai, with memories to look back upon the dance with the waves, the playing with the tides and the living by the beach…