Goa – The Land of Beaches –Arambol Beach

I hung up and looked at the receiver. I wondered what would we have done if Graham Bell had not invented the telephone. I had just received an invitation from my friend Rane who was asking me to accompany his family and some friends to Karwar. Karwar is a little sleepy village near Goa.

“Ho hum, Rossy boy, so it is not a sacred place you want to visit. You are going to see a coastal town?”

So I got ready to go to Karwar from Mussoorie. I was too tired to travel by train this time so I just took a flight to Mumbai from Delhi. I had Rohan’s car to drop me from Mussoorie to Delhi. Mumbai – The Land of Dreams for many and the commercial hub of the country. Hustling and bustling with activity and very soon I reached Rane’s house in a suburb in Mumbai. I forget the name always. Mira Road. Oh yes! Not a very Mumbai place but enough to set me in the mood for a holiday. Konkanis that they are, Rane’s wife prepared the choicest of fish delicacies and I had a relaxed dinner and an early one at that as we had to take the train to Karwar. Early morning Shatabdi Express along with Rane and family and another family. Mini and her kids, Keya and Kiran were the other family. After a lot of jostling and nudging around in the train we finally were seated in the seater train. The scene of the sun dipping in and out of the trees was a wonderful sight as it gave the sunrise a level of excitement. Priya, Rane’s daughter was capturing everything on camera.

We got down at Madgaon and took a car to Karwar. After a couple of days in Karwar, we decided to go to Goa. I wanted to explore most of the beaches there so we planned accordingly and drove down to Goa from Karwar. We reached a hotel which was Rane’s official resort. He had had it booked earlier. This guesthouse cum resort was just near the beach and we had the best of views from our windows. We went first to the Arambol Beach.

Arambol beach is a place which only a fool would be indifferent to. A quiet sleepy little hamlet where people are so laid back that even the sun would think twice before rising here lest it disturb their peace. As we walked around, we saw a bamboo beach hut. There was this local there who we spoke to. He said we could hire it and we could use it temporarily. Keya, Kiran and Priya just jumped into it and were enjoying to the T. Rane’s wife Preetha, and Mini dressed in sarongs with a hat on their heads just lazed around as we decided on the next plan of action. As we sat on the benches I saw two crabs crawling up near our feet. Crabs! Oh God! How creepy they are, but as they came now towards me they were looking so lazy that I never for once felt that they could harm me. Along with the tourists, the crabs also seemed to loll around. A sarong seller came up and the women folk got two more. Gosh! Women and shopping are just synonyms.

We sat inside the bamboo hut sipping into coconut water freshly cut by a local selling coconut in the heat. We decided to go on a trek in the jungles nearby. All of us were excited and armed with a lot of water and enough snacks we trudged ahead. The jungle was wonderful full of greenery with birds chirping around and some squirrels nudging past. A beach is not a place where one would go on a trek but Arambol beach is like that. One can go hiking up and come back to enjoy the mud baths in the beach. Arambol was predominantly for the hippie folk. But we weren’t affected by that as what we wanted was just enjoyment and that we were having in plenty.

As we walked down after the trek, we heard a lot of noise, down on the beach. There we saw a group of youngsters all music band in tow and just whiling away their time singing and dancing. We came back and had some lovely food at a joint nearby. We came back to the bamboo hut and rested and had a siesta.

In the evening we just walked on the beach, sand flowing into our feet and out, and walked towards the sea and frolicked in the foamy sea water. All of us sat down and each of us took turns in taking the photo. Rane wasn’t too keen to get in so finally he became our videographer and photographer. There was this guy who was selling something from a huge drum. We saw that it was puffed rice or bhel puri. All of us had it and till today remember how spicy it was and how it brought tears in our eyes. ! Then we had an ice cream and came back to the resort, changed into better clothes, all the sand crowding the bathroom drain. Dinner over candles and with the sound of waves rolling on the beachside with the choicest of sea foods. The kids got some devil horns with light and we had fun behaving that we were devils from the sea. A round of dumb charades and we were set to have a tired but relaxing night.

Next morning we got up and went to see the sunrise at the beach. One thing about Arambol beach is that it is devoid of too much vendors and has just a few guesthouses and small hotels to rest in. The usual s

mall shops selling the local handicraft and jewellery and the place is serene and calm and exudes a certain amount of innocence that is felt at every quarter. The beach was clean and not spoilt by overcrowding of tourists. There is a particular spot in Arambol beach which is totally secluded and tranquil. This is the perfect spot to come if you need total relaxation. There are rocks and cliffs here which add to the beauty and one can come here to get the best sunrise and sunset. In fact there is a point called the Sunset Point which sets the wheels of nature rolling in motion.

Breakfast at a local inn and then Rane and I hired a bike and drove down to another Beach – The Paradise Beach. This was very deserted and had the look of a perfect village with its paddy fields. I missed the kids and felt we should have brought them along. The casuarinas trees were swaying in the breeze and Rane and I just halted there and enjoyed the entire beauty by sipping tea and resting under a coconut tree. We decided to go back and get the rest of the family in a car. Soon enough all of us were here and had a look at the Fort Tiracol here. High on a hill it gave the best view of the region.

We came back for lunch had it at the Paradise beach and watched few fishermen dragging a huge net. The kids and I went to see what was there in their nets. We were so taken aback that they had actually caught so many of them. There were prawns, squids, crabs and snakes. Snakes! Gosh! Rane and his wife were unperturbed as they as from Goa and are quite used to it. Mini too was shocked to see the collection on the net.

“Ouch! Uncle! ~ “wailed Keya. I glanced around to see that there was a big spider on her way. A huge one. My My! I told myself. This place is sure interesting. Moving Keya with one hand I took the entire video of the spider making its way in the sun on the sand. Even today, that remains the favorite video amongst my friends. I heard Kiran and Priya giggle and wondered what was so funny. The sight I saw made me giggle too. There were these two foreigners who were in their bikini with a towel wrapped around them. But the sea snake that entangled around their feet made them forget where they were and they had dropped the towel in terror and were standing there in their bikini. Rane came running with a stick and threw the snake towards the sea. I glanced at him with a questioning look and a mischievous smile.

Rane said,” What I came to help these ladies.” I just cleared my throat much to Rane’s irritation and moved on hearing the kids also giggle and say amongst themselves that Rane Uncle had come running to have a better look at the foreigners. !!

We had a quiet lunch overlooking the sea and saw the beach so clean that one could feel that it was spotlessly clean and was like a painting. The beach shack where we were having lunch was in a cool place and we really enjoyed the breeze that blew here.

As we walked up to our hotel we saw some tourists coming from Pernem, the town nearby. They had come in a bus. There were others who were coming from Mapusa. The climate was pleasant and we decided to come back in the evening after a siesta.

In the evening, we went on a boat trip. Apparently Arambol beach is the place where one could chance to spot a dolphin. As our boat edged past, sure enough we saw a dolphin come flying up in the air and dive back into the sea. Kiran, Mini’s son was so excited that he started screaming in excitement. He had seen dolphins only in movies. Preetha was comparitively very sedate but Mini pranced around seeing the dolphin. We took a lot of photos and videos of the dolphin sailing in and out. The boat trip was worth it.

Rane and I went for paragliding. Mini didn’t allow her children to get on to it and Preetha and Priya were too scared. The soaring of the chute high up in the sky and the feeling of being on top and lolling at the crystal clear waters of the sea, gave me a thrill which is unimaginable. I took a second ride and then came back to ground, head reeling and feeling giddy. Yet the enjoyment was incomparable.

This beach had a kind of charisma, an attraction that is infectious. With a big coastline and a dream paradise look, the cliffs and the golden sand here is the main attraction. We then went to a freshwater lake where there were hot springs. This is the specialty of Arambol beach – the hot springs. We had fun in water and then collected lot of shells lying on the sands of the beach. Junk jewellery shopping again and lot of Goanese clothes.

We retired after a dinner with music playing in the background. Music of the Goanese culture drifting through the air, we lay down in our bed after dinner with dreams of a boat ride in the clouds with the dolphin sitting next to us!

Rossaying: Live it well, live it in the beaches of Goa.