The Adventure Seekers
It was a calling twice delayed but not any more denied. I finally got to visit the much talked about Vegetarian, Non-Alchoholic Beach Resort, Sai Vishram with five amazing people. We were welcomed into the resort by two adorable Labradors, Fudge and Bozo. Fudge the younger and more enthusiastic host followed our jeep to our tents allowing us to pet him before making way for us to unpack. Bozo the wiser and mature host was in attendance as the grand father of the house: Happy at the arrival of the guests, approving of them but with the knowledge of the easy perishability of the relationship. "This too shall pass" seemed to be etched on the scars on his face, an indication of adventures of a bygone era.
Canine hosts apart, a cherubic young man with elliptic spectacles and a ready smile, already amused by our enthusiasm, gave us our keys and informed us that the sea was uncharacteristically rough and that we can forget going there on the first day. Not sure if we were to concentrate on his smiling countenance or the grave words, we walked into our tents with a slightly unfocused enthusiasm.
The tent was a proper cottage but only instead of concrete walls, we had a tent. Over the tent was a roof of wood to give the impression of building a tent below the trees but more probably to provide a shade from the sun and the rain. The colour scheme through out was a heady mixture of shades of wood and red earth. Two small huts behind the tent housed the shower and the flush respectively. In a poetically rustic effect, each of our shower rooms with mirrors in wooden frames housed on it a small tree frog and a wooden coloured Lizard. However such was the setting that one felt he is the intruder in their domain and not the other way round.
After getting quickly refreshed, we headed to a tastefully done dining area which was doubly delightful since it was then that we had a rendezvous with all the unbelievably soft-spoken, refined and overtly helpful staff of the resort while our taste buds finally understanding the reason for their existence, reached a state of epiphany. Sri Adarsh Shetty, the manager of the resort, joined us for the session and gave us the itinerary of the day. We were scheduled for some back water boating in the morning and a trekking expedition in the afternoon.
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| Garuda: Awaiting the Call! |
Garuda, the Brahmin Kite, along with the members of his FFE (Friends and Family) team was at the backwaters to welcome us. Armored with Life Jackets (the resort rules prohibited us to even touch the sea water with our small toes in the absence of a life jacket), we waded around in the water and posed for the shutters while the first group went for its ride. This was when I discovered how easy it is to do the dead man's float with a life jacket. (Yeah! I appreciate the irony). Being a hydrophile, who cannot swim, I floated on my back for most of the time in water. Heading back to the resort we had some delicious lunch before preparing for our event of the day: The Trek.
Before we actually get to the trek, a note on our group dynamics. There were three of us from Prasanthi Nilayam, all men and another three from Bangalore, one man and two women. One of us was a cousin of one of them. With that our knowledge of each other takes a deep nose dive sans parachute. One of us, henceforth referred to as Hero had an ankle sprain and he did not have a pair of shoes. When asked, the guide said that the trekking was jujubi and that a woman had carried her new born child for the trek. Having got our egos pricked, there was no stopping us now.
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| The Path Less Trodden |
We reached there around 3:30 PM and our guide said that we need to hurry up since we need to return before nightfall. The first 20 odd minutes was in fact a walk on the park, well atleast an inclined park with a few un-kept trees who being away from the cities were not schooled that they should grow their roots below the ground. Reaching a dead end we asked the guide if that was it, patting ourselves on the back for a quick trek. Smiling like the enchanting dark hued flutist, he disappeared in front of our eyes.
Just as we were about to celebrate this Divine experience, we realised that he has gone into a small opening on our right, downhill. An hour and a half of proper forest climb followed often bending down with utmost humility to the forest thanks to low hanging thorny creepers, we reached the waterfall. Just as we were about to rejoice while plucking out leeches from our legs, our nimble footed Krishna had climbed up to the next level of the fall beckoning us to jump across some smooth slippery rocks followed by a vertical climb of some 20 feet. He said that we have now completed the half point of the trek. Our exhausted bodies conveniently ignored the two words which implied that we have to go on and got ready to turn back.
All this while the men led the expedition offering a hand to the weaker gender to cross the tougher terrains with the Hero forming the tail. However just as we were about to give up, it was the woman, henceforth referred to as the Leader, who pushed us to go the extra kilometer (we don't measure in miles here).
All this while the men led the expedition offering a hand to the weaker gender to cross the tougher terrains with the Hero forming the tail. However just as we were about to give up, it was the woman, henceforth referred to as the Leader, who pushed us to go the extra kilometer (we don't measure in miles here).
The trek got precariously more dangerous here on with narrow passages and huge cliffs sliding down to oblivion. The trees which till now where our bastion of support turned even more thorny than the creepers. Our hero in his quovadis sandals was getting more and more uncomfortable till the guide miraculously turned a cricket physio and brought out a magic spray which made him as nimble as Navjot Singh Sidhu in his last season [when he was codenamed Jonty Singh]. When we finally made it, the destination was totally worth it. A lake made by a water fall with ice cool water was awaiting us. We spent about half an hour there and got thoroughly refreshed before making the way back. It was verily the Fountain of Youth!
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| The Fountain of Youth! |
Now with the exhilaration of making it to the top and having had that extra cool dip, we were kind of walking on air, with all the old obstacles seeming like old friends and we navigated the last phase of the upward journey and reached the first waterfall with the ease of mountain goats. That is when just to make things interesting, someone turned off the lights. The sunset was fairly sudden here and also most of our journey back included walking through the forest which filters out even the little light still coming out of the sinking sun. The mischievous one that he is, our Kanhiah stated almost in passing that it would be good if we made it fast since some wild beasts come out at night to hunt for prey. Our Jaikars to our Beloved Lord got more frequent and thunderous. As Bhagawan often jokingly quips, "Sankata Harane Venkata Ramana".
Armed with a single mini flash light (packed by the Leader) and a few mobile phone displays (Did I miss my good old Nokia 1100 torch or what), we made our way downward. The spouse of the Leader who was heading the pack got hit by low hanging thorn and started bleeding in the scalp. Instead of panicking as we thought the so called weaker sex would do, they turned out to be the most resourceful. Taking out a piece of cotton which she had somehow found the sense to pack, the Leader tied her injured husband's head with a piece of cloth to stem the blood flow and to help it clot. Our Hero was now no longer the only injured player, the Warrior joined him in the list. Finally by 7 PM we reached our jeep patiently waiting for us and made the triumphant return to the resort.
I removed a fully grown leech from just above my sock and after having my bath and dinner noticed another small leech sucking blood from the same spot. I would swear that the leech had laid an egg in my body which then grew into another leech feeding on me but dont have any scientific evidence to back it. Some Bio Student can help me out here. All our injuries where checked and found to be minor. We were fully fit the next morning.
The euphoria of this trip had been fairly monumental. The depression across the coast of Mangalore could not beat our mood and took flight further north. This meant that the next day we would finally have our tryst with the Great Arabian Sea.
PS: Small tip for new trekkers. Wear a good pair of shoes, track pants NOT shorts and carry a backpack for your water, refreshments, torch etc. We carried plastic bags which gave us one less hand to hold for support.
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