Hmmm where to begin as far as i can remember we came to gokarna a good few weeks ago time now is obsolete nobody wears a watch and mine fell off in the see i only knew it was my birthday the other day as a noticed the date on the computer lol…
life has become one long chilled our relaxing day on the beach ok so here goes….
We came from hampi on the night bus crazy we arrived in gokarna at stupid o’clock in the morning and jumped on a rickshaw to om beach which is a beautiful place to start our karnataka beaches experience
arriving on om beach
we watched the sun come up and waited with a bunch of other weary travellers for a boat to take us to paradise
sunrise om beach
we managed to rope in some people to share the boat it was about 4 or 5 kms by sea so we rolled up our trousers and jumped on board it was so exciting,
the boat to paradise
we had only heard from others about paradise and didnt quite know what to expect it was like something out of survivor as we arrived people started to appear from inside huts and beside the rocks it felt like the cheif would appear any minute with a spear i dont think i have ever been any where so isolated in my whole life it was an amazing feeling arriving and jumping in to the ocean to get to the beach….
arriving at paradise beach
we found a restaurant just setting up for breakfast so we had a kings feast which was fantastic then i scoped out the huts on the island the huts themselves dont have electric and a lot of them dont have beds they just have sand floors but we found a great one overlooking the ocean above the restaurant with a mattress on mud floor which i have to say provided us with the best 3 nights sleep we have ever had.
we made friends with the guys staying in the huts either side of us 2 of the guys danny and richard had built a mud cooker under an old tree root and set up there own little personal cafe with some old signs they found they taught mia to make chapattis and we sat around in the evening by the light of the fire listening to the ocean and the guitars it was fantastic
the bambino cafe
and get this in paradise THERE ARE NO MOSQUITOS !!!!! i could’nt believe it must be why they call it paradise
during our stay in paradise we went on some crazy treks on our second morning there we walked from paradise beach to gokarna through half moon beach, om beach, kudle beach on to gokarna it took about 3 and 1\2 hours with swimming stops along the way it was such an adventure as you cant just walk across the beaches you have to climb over cliffs and go through gulleys and over mountains it was crazy i dont know how far but by road its 10kms so i recon we went at least 7kms mia didnt complain once.
stumbling on a secret beach
tiny beach secret cove
walking out of paradise
walking from om beach
on the way back we caught a boat to om and walked the rest of the way back as the sea was pretty rough and the boats are real small and mia cant swim so it seemed more sensible than risking the boat with the crazy indians
one thing we got from our day out was that kudle beach would be much better for mia as parasise is a really steep drop into the sea so if mia paddles she gets wacked by the waves and if we swim its too deep where as kudle beach has rock pools and wicked waves there were us and 7 kids body boarding today .
so after 3 magical days on paradise we moved to a really nice guest house the shiva prishard we have a hut on the roof they have 2 litters of puppies and 8 kids staying its hectic but mia is in her element
mia lovin the puppies
mia and the gang
So that only leaves my birthday we had planned to be in kerela in a house boat but as any one who has ever been to india will know sometimes india has other ideas for you so sadly we had to stay as events took a turn for the worse mark was poorly then my nan died and then there was the incident with the dead puppies needless to say plans og booking the train went out the window and when i finally got round to it we had to wait an extra week but hety who cares really we had a wicked party on the beach brought to us by glen, mark and ali who contributed by sourcing excellent sea food then cooking it in the sand by burying it and letting the fire rage ontop for 2 hours then producing top quality food
ali and glen preparing the catch
checking its cooked
mmmm cooked crab
we had the best feast and fed loads of people i have to say the crabs were sensational and the calamari just melted in your mouth
It was topped by the discovery that when we were swimming in the sea we were surrounded by phosphorescence (check spelling lol)
millions of tiny little white lights shimmering in the bubbles every time we moved the water it was breath taking we went in the sea about 6 times through the course of the evening coming out wrapped in blankets by the fire falling asleep waking swimming i have to say when i finally went to bed at sun rise i had sand in places you should never have sand it was falling out of my ears eyes etc for days after lol
it was a great night and even mia had a sleep over with the lady running the guest house so she would’nt feel left out fantastic night had by all thanks to every one for there birthday wishes thats all for know you will have to wait for markees monthly monologue
