Kudle beach and Om beach

January 25, 2009

We were a group of 19 colleagues; Ajay, Archana, Arshiya, Chetana, Farzana, Haseena, Kavita, Manjula, Marina, Preeti, Priya, Raj, Rayeesa, Siddesh, Shilpa, Usha, Vidya, Vilma, Yasmeen.

We grouped at my Uncle's place near Hubli Toll Naka since it was the most convenient spot. About a year ago, Uncle's home was our rendezvous for Sathodi waterfall trip. A bus had been hires for the trip. Our journey started at 6 30 am. The journey was slow... the orange colored bus driven by Kallayya barely touched 60kmph. Just after Yellapur, we stopped at a restaurant; our driver and cleaner wanted to have tea! After a while, we stopped in a wooded spot for breakfast.

The sandwiches made by Vidya, and the idlis cooked in jackfruit leaves by Shilpa were excellent. After a 45 minute break we continued towards our destination- Kudle beach.

We passed by Ankola, took left towards Mangalore and after some distance took the right turn towards Gokarna. The road was flanked by backwaters and there were several salt pans. After crossing the backwaters, the road entered hilly terrain. It was noon when we set our feet on the sand! Kudle Beach here we come!

We found a shaded rocky spot and some got into the water while some preferred to watch the water. I went exploring and almost got stuck on a steep rock face. I could climb easily but descending was tricky. I took a while to brace up and took downward steps very carefully. One slip I would've crash landed on rocks below. Rock surfaces offer better grip when cool, and slippery when they are hot. And the other thing is its better to be bare feet but I kept my shoes on since I already had camera in one hand. I managed to shoot a few pictures in that risky situation.

I managed to take a different route and rejoined the group. By then most of them wanted a break from sunlight. We settled down on a flat shady patch in a coconut groove inside one of the beach resorts. Time for lunch, the ladies spread the items on a mat; salad, chapathi, brinjal palya, peas palya, dry chatinis, sweets, two types of rice, one by Haseena & another by Arshiya. I enjoyed the rice dishes more than anything. After the lunch break we headed back back to the sands.

While most of the ladies played in the sea, a few of us tried to keep a irksome bull away from grabbing the remaining food. Shilpa was very annoyed at the bull, the creature followed us everywhere, even on to the wet slippery rocks. I'm not sure how the little episode ended but it did end.

Around 4-00 PM we decided to do a short trek to Om Beach, the beach looks like digit 3 when seen from a height. Most of us were panting at the end the uphill trek from Kundle beach to Om beach vehicle parking area. While we climbed down the steps to Om beach, someone spotted an empty bird nest in one of the trees next to the steps.

Om beach as seen from the steps descending into the beach area.

The beach was crowded, it looked like a market area. The ladies had had enough of playing in water. Now they wanted to go into the sea by boat. There were five or six boats, their operators were trying to hook customers. The group was split into two and climbed into our boats. The outboard powered boats were quite fast, the boatmen entertained us with a mock race.

Everybody just enjoyed it... dipping hands in the water. We passed by several other less crowded beaches... two names I can recall- Paradise Beach and Half Moon Beach. The ride was over sooner than we had expected. As the day came towards the end, we all settled down on rocks to watch the sunset.

We watched the sun until it was just above the horizon. The last few minutes of sea sunsets are usually hazy. Day was over, time to head home. We did see sun dip into the sea as we climbed up the steps. Bye bye Suryadeva.

Our journey back started off... Vilma surprised us with cakes & potato chips. Then there more snacks and finally soda water. The return journey was a drag. The bus driver & cleaner stopped near Yellapur for food, almost an hour gone. Then we were relieved as we approached Khalghatgi where the driver sprang a surprise. Apparently the bus was low on fuel, we stopped at a bunk. Another 15 minutes of waiting! We dropped off Marina at her home in Hubli and then went to Dharwad. Ajay and I dropped off Shilpa & Farzana, and then Chetana at Amminabavi. Back at Dharwad, Ajay went home on his bike. I reached my place by 1-30 AM. Happy Republic Day!
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