Thursday, January 7, 2010

A beach trek










Mon, 11/30/2009 - 15:37 — savita
A group of children and adults from Shibumi, a small school in Bangalore, set out on a beach trek with me along the Honnavar-Gokarna coast.
Day 1
HANGING BRIDGE_KARKI VILLAGE
Started from Honnavar, crossed a bridge and fields to reach the estuary.
"That hanging bridge was so shaky and rickety. There was a hole in the bridge and a river under the hole" - Devskanda
7.15 am: Estuary










We started our trek from the Estury where the Sharavthi river meets Arabian Sea. AT 7-15 am our treak officially began. "What is S- Choori"-Rohit
"Where the river meets the sea"-Sahana


BASAVARAJA DURGA FORT
Honnavar beach streach was long and it took almost 2 hours to reach the first hill.

THE FIRST HILL TO CROSS
Trekked along Honnavar beach and crossed The first hill.
"I saw a sea snake!" -Adhir
10.30 am: Ramanagindi Beach
RAMANGINDI BEACH BETWEEN TWO HILLS
This was the first beautiful and clean beach we met.There are some 8-to 10 families live here. We took a break in Anand's house .We filled our water bottles. Ate bread and honey. Nobody wants to leave this beach. We started playing football. Next hill looked huge and we didn't want to walk inthe afternoon sun.Actullly we didnt want to leave this beautiful beach and Anand"s cool mud house.Finally we desided to move as we have jst started the journey and lot to cover.

Crossed a sloped hill got slightly lost and so took a long time to reach the long beach Dhareshwar beach.We warmly remember Annd who noticed us from the first hill that we lost and came running from ther to 2nd hill ti guide us.
1:40 p.m Dhareshwar beach

LONG STRETCHOF DHARESHWAR BEACH
"Nature was beautiful. I never expected it to be like that. We saw jellyfish, flying fish and dolphins! it was nice that the sun set so early." -Yannick
"I was walking behind everyone else and then me, Shreesha and Sanjay found many starfish, jellyfish and hermit crabs. Then a fisherman saw me looking for shells and then he gave me a small hermit crab that he had found in his net. My feet started aching." -Sagar
We went off the road as soon as we got there to have lunch in a small restaurant. Then back to the beach.
"Here we saw seagulls by the hundred. As we walked they would fly away and land further up the beach. When they flew, they would fill the sky. What Mancha and I found comical was that they wouldd get scared of two humans plodding through the sand, when they were thousands." - Janani
"We saw lots and lots of starfish on the shore. LOTS!" - Tanu

:00 pm: Backwaters

We crossed the waters in a boat that felt scarily unstable. We had reached Honnalli village.
"After the first day of trekking, we spent the night at a government school. The children were so exhausted and had an early night. The stars were many and shining bright. The night was almost perfect -- sleeping outside, except for the occassional and recurring moans, groans, monologues from the sleeping children" -Ayesha
We warmly remember... "an old woman we met on the way to the school in Honnalli. Everyone was curious and shocked about us having walked all the way from Honnavar, but this lady looked at us with such a warm smile. She was compassionate enough to let us on our way, noticing we were tired, and not carried away in her curiosity"
We warmly remember... "the school teacher or headmaster who showed us in and made us feel more comfortable"
We warmly remember... "the man who let Shalini and me have a bath in his house. (bath in kitchen)"
We warmly remember.... "Lokesh anna, who stayed with us for the whole of day one, he guided and protected us, but he was no distant figure, he was a friend."
Day 2
6:45 am: Left Honnalli
We warmly remember.... "the cook who woke up at 2 am to cook food for us"
Trekked along the beach and crossed a simple hill and hit the beautiful beach. We thought we cold have stayed last nigt in this beach instedof that school.
7:15 am: Maghodlu Beach.


Trekked quickly across the short beach, crossed a hill, and got to Kadle/Kagal beach.
7:35 am: Kadle/Kagal beach (8 km)
We bathed in the sea for the first time on our trip, and were hosed down with fresh water. We made a khichdi lunch and left at almost 3 pm.We warmly remember the Muslim family who gave us fresh water, utinsils and a place to cook.
There was a big hill to climb.local people scared us by telling us it wil take 3 hours to climb the hill.

Mancha our parent volanteer smartltly took the other way to reach our next destination .Insted of climbing the hill he trekked down the hill at the right side and reached the Kagal road . We didn't want to take the road .So we climbed the small hill near the road and reached Aganashini river.We took 20 mintus to reach the river .
4:00 pm: Aghanashini river.

Gayathri and Angie joined us at the river. They, being ill and injured, had been resting in Honnavar. We crossed the wide river in a boat and had a long tea break at the village.
5:30 pm: Bilekan Beach


6:30 pm: Paradise beach, having just missed the sunset!
EARLY MORNING IN PARADISE BEACH
The teachers had wonderful baths in a banana grove in the moonlight. Some of us slept out on the beach and others in the partially sheltered restaurant.
"Saw a shooting star for the first time in my whole life! Even wished! :-) ;-)!" -Gayathri
"The night at Paradise beach was the starriest one I had seen in a long time! The sea looked so inviting under the half moon, I felt like jumping in every time I looked at it! The vastness of the ocean brought about quietness all around." -Angie
We warmly remember.... "the young man in shorts who from Tadadi to Paradise escorted us"
We warmly remember.... "Chidanand Anna, who, with a smile on his face, chatted everyone up and made the trek so much easier for us. He was most interested in Shibumi since he had done his B.Ed. and only got into police service because he had to make a decent living.

We warmly remember The costal security police team ,who gave us protection and guidence throughout the journey .
We warmly remember... "the locals on the way to Paradise beach who had nice smiles, a friendly aura and told us to walk fast so we would reach before dark"
Day 3
8:15 am: Left Paradise Beach
9:00 am: Half Moon Beach
We warmly remember.... "The foreigner who showed Parvathy the way when she got lost"

TREKING TOWORDS OM BEACH
10:00 am - 3:00 pm: Om Beach

VIEW OF OM BEACH FROMTHE HILL
"There were many cafe/restaurant owners who let our whole bunch of dirty, noisy children in, even though we were bringing them no business. I remember the man at the first cafe on Om beach. He didn;t seem particularly friendly or interested in us -- I wonder what made him allow us to use his space the way we did!" -Shalini
3:45 pm - 5:30 pm: Kudle Beach

Puppies and puppies. Volleyball. Fun. Interesting sights. Sunset.
"Kudle beach had something interesting happening every few metres. A family-friendly beach with graceful people deeply involved with thier varying arts and skills -- yoga of all kinds, sand art, dancing, interesting sports! The stretch of beach ended with an exquisite sunset" -Shalini
We warmly remember.... "The puppies, so friendly and cuddly!"
We warmly remember... "The lady who after the sun set was gracefully dancing with the balls in the socks"
Gokarna city beach
" 'Hey Loo' is what the people said to themselves when they saw the vast expanse of the beaches. And 'Helu' is what we said when we saw what they had done. It was there everywhere, human, dog, cow, bird, all varieties available in wholesale stock." -Sharad
"We walked at night for sometime. The waves that crash on the shore glow!" - Tanu
Spent night in Gokara beach.We warmly remember Laxmish's friend who gave shelter in his new beah resturant.

\Day 4
8:00 am: Gokarna
We warmly remember... "The friendly lady who made the yummy mint water in Gokarna"
We saw Brahmini kites all along the beach.
"We saw people coming in with their nets. It was difficult for me to look at that because they were not thinking about hurting them." -Aditi
10:30 am: Crossed Gangavali river.



12:00 pm: Reached the hills. We were lost for about an hour on the hills!
"On the day when we got stuck on the hill, we stopped at a beach with rocks. I sat in a cave where the sea water came in. That was awesome!" -Prahlad
"When we were stuck on the hill, I wondered why we had come and why Laxmeesh uncle had brought us there." -Sanjay
"I couldn't have done anything without Savita aunty. She helped us everywhere we went, especially when we got lost. The next time we go we should take someone with experience." -Sahana
"We need a GPS for our treks. We got lost. The trek was fun." -Adhir
"This trek was really tiring but good. The last day when we got lost, the rocks were very hot and it was difficult to climb up because of that." -Rohan
"Trek had some meaning. We had an adventurous escape when we got lost. I got to know the value of water after that." -Vishnu
"We saw dead jellyfish. We got lost too many times. It was very hot. We saw dolphins" "Locals call jellifish- Chandrana hElu"What an imagination!!
We warmly remember.... "Lakshmesh uncle. he was so worried that he had taken us the wrong way and he didn't say a word about the way people who were really tired showed some ill-feeling towards him."
"I remember the last day when our guide Laxmish has forgotten the route and a few children started saying things to him. Even I was saying things to him but then later I realised that what I was doing was not needed because I thought to myself that everyone makes mistakes and its wrong to say that. He was feeling very sad for the mistake that he had made. I would like to apologise for what I did."
Finally we reached Honey Beach! We spent the afternoon and evening there, some of us played, some watched the sunset.
"I really loved Honey beach because it was so quiet and I really enjoyed the sunset while singing about it. Lakshmish uncle was really friendly. Savita aunty was very active. I really loved the trek with the hills. It was adventurous and challenging. This was my first trek and I'd like to do more." -Parvathy
We then caught a bus from Ankola back to Honnavar, to Savita aunty's parents' house.
We warmly remember.... "The cashier at the hotel at Honey beach. He seemed such a decent, good-willed person. Considerate. The next day was Bakrid and he still had shopping to do. Yet, when he dropped me to the bus stop on his motorbike, he asked me whether I would be comfortable being alone at the bus stop. He also said he didn't think it would be alright and agreed to wait till the car came. Later, when I realised the bus stop was safe and told him he could go, he was honest enough to say his boss had just ordered him to stay and would scold him if he were to go. He also bought me a drink and refused to take money back for it. He stays vividly in my memory also because of the long talk we had on the way."
“The beaches were really clean and nice. I loved and thoroughly enjoyed all my time on them. Savita aunty’s house is very beautiful and has attracted me more to the eco-friendly concept/way of living. Everything we are learning here is interesting.” -Gayathri





Winter Beach Trek from Honnavar to Gokarna in Oct and Dec.

This is a warm invitation to students and friends familiar with the work happening at Honnavar to join me on a winter beach trek and to spend a few days at Honnavar in the month of October and December. I would like to have a mixed group of students and friends, do feel free to invite your friends. Let us limit this to age 15 up.




Dates are slightly flexible and can depend partly on the participants' convenience. The tentative dates are 8th Oct to 12th Oct (beach trek only ) and 24th Dec to 31st Dec. If moving the dates a little bit this way or that enables you to join us, please let me know.



I am thinking of a beach trek of four days followerd by four days at Honnavar, involved with activities here, interacting with tribals and making day trips. The beach trek will start at Honnavar and end beyond Gokarna @ Honey beach.


You are welcome to participate only in the beach trek, only for the days at Honnavar, or for the whole trip. in the month of December.


Please let me know if you are interested by 4th Oct and 15th December. You can either contact me directly on Facebook or email me at folkloreindia@gmail.com. Do also use the RSVP feature on facebook. And invite your friends. For the details you can call me on my mobile number-9448223190.

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