Lazy Mornings at Vinnie’s Island
If you are not diving, then sleeping in is the
best thing you can do here. The stillness of the place induces the most
refreshing sleep and hours seem to go by in what are actually minutes. Though
our watches say its only 0800, it’s bright and sunny outside and we nudge our
explorer side.
We decide to take a stroll on the beach before
gorging on breakfast. What a view! Endless sea in the shades of blue and green,
distant islands with a promise of adventure, a beach with sand so soft talcum
powder would be put to shame and lip smacking food. We walked in silence, only
stopping to capture some frames or to admire some rock formations that seemed
to caress the shore line, the rocks seemed to peep out of the water almost
inviting us to come and sit on them while the waves created hues of blue around
them. Herons & cranes flitted in and out of the shallow water and we were
in beach heaven.
The Rock Lined Beach |
Your Best friend on the beach.. this one was particularly interesting with its popped out eyes |
Patriotism at its fervent best.... at nearly the southern most tip of the country... we were 1300 km from Mainland! |
Soon our stomachs informed us that it was time
for breakfast and we turned back to the café at the resort. The café nestled
among the trees has upbeat music that is peppy but relaxing at the same time.
Sitting in the café reading an Agatha Christie murder mystery with some soulful
blues in the background just letting the ambience seep into you, seem to be the
ideal and only thing to do. The ability of the place to just embrace you in her
tranquility and stillness makes you want to explore the joie de vivre more.
There is no hurry to do things and the locals
seem to enjoy the sense of flowing with time rather than running against it.
All beings, human and otherwise, seem to be captured in a bubble of contentment
and complete bliss. The entrapments of the “outer” world seem to pass this bubble
by.
RadhaNagar Beach
Around noon, we headed to Radhanagar…located
between Shyamnagar and Krishnanagr, the crescent shaped Radhanagar beach lined
with tall trees and waves greets you with a booming welcome. The sun shines down
mercilessly on the beach and not a leaf stirred despite the sea breeze. Unlike
the gentle welcome of the rippling waves we had seen so far, the waves here
lash the shore filled with pride on being one of Asia’s top five beaches. And
justifiably so….
The contrast across the water was startling.
Near the horizon the water seemed to be almost mirroring the clouds in the sky
in the bluest of hues. As the water came near the shore, the hues turned
green before being fitted with white crowns and hitting the shore. The
treacherous shoreline was hidden by the beauty of the waves and the sounds of
the birds calling from the tall trees lining the shore.
The shimmering waters of Radhanagar beach |
From afar, it was like a picture postcard –
the perfect setting. For a beach song setting in Bollywood. For an
advertisement selling the locale of the islands.
As I settled to write and Medha set off
exploring, you could hear tourists share their experiences of the islands. The
unanimous decision – its bloody hot but the people are very warm, inviting and
were not out to make a quick buck off the tourists. It sent a very warm feeling
across me to hear such genuine praise and that too from fellow Indians.
Medha came back all excited that she had found
the perfect spot for the both of us – for me to write and for her to shoot. We
set off across the beach in the sweltering heat but the sea breeze soon gave us
a few visits and we began to enjoy the walk and soon came upon a patch where a
river from the inland was joining the sea. What fun to see them merge and to
walk across the body of water that created small swirls under your feet as they
collaborated to continue their journey together. And then there it was – our
perfect beach hideaway. A bamboo guard watch tower that was empty. Beach towels
spread, we both settled down to enjoy the high rise view.
I
saw diamonds on the waves today
Shimmering
in the sunlight
Set
in silver, sometimes in gold
Sometimes
shining in blue stone.
All
fighting to catch one’s eye
To
fill you up with a sense of why
Why
didn’t I see them shine before?
Why
didn’t I explore nature some more?
Here
one moment, gone the next
Playing
tag with the sun
Hard
to choose
Hard
to leave
Hard
to pick and take them home.
All
you can do is feast your eyes
Etch
a memory in your mind.
We were joined by some guards and they started
chatting. They pointed out a vast expanse of land that was bought by a premier
hotel brand - today it’s covered choc a bloc with vegetation, open to public
& an integral part of the crescent. The masacare of the tree chopping
scheduled to start soon as will the construction. We look silently at each
other, our minds sending up a silent prayer in grateful thanks that we could
see Radhanagar in all her glory before the devastation began. Will the resort
retain the beauty as is remains to be seen but we can only hope that one of
Asia’s best beaches remains in contention for top honours for many more years
to come.
The Shimmering Diamonds |
Crop Circles in the Sand
As we walk from the shack towards our beach
watch tower, we notice a change in the colour and texture of the sand. Crabs of
little stature running along the sand draw your attention to the sand.
Across the expanse, are elaborate designs made
in the sand. The first thought that came to my over imaginative mind that loves
sci-fi movies was that of a crop circle.
Random designs being formed in fields whose
origin remains a mystery to this date. Though of varying sizes, the patterns
seem to all be alike. It’s difficult to find a pattern in the randomness but
closer inspection brings out a method to the madness. The intricate design of
the formations on the sand make you wonder where they came from too.
Every design had concentric circles that
formed a little sun with rays. Why were these circles formed with little sand
pellets? Why were all these designs forming a mind boggling carpet on the
beach? Where they endlessly being made to give us a message – one that is
fascinating and waiting to be deciphered.
Crop Circles in the Sand |
Sunset @
RadhaNagar
The crowds have gathered, waiting for the show
to begin. The sky is the stage and nature is out to screen its version of a
true blue Bollywood movie. You have the villains – the clouds, forming a
coalition between the white and black to ensure that they play spoilsport. You
have the heroine – the waves waiting to show off her diamonds in the best of
hues and finally the hero – the Sun, fighting valiantly with the villains to
restore the shimmering diamonds to his lady love.
As each cloud melts in the Sun’s fury, others
gather around to try and blind him and disallow the meeting of the two lovers
destined to meet only twice a day- Sunrise & Sunset. As the Sun dips
towards the horizon, Port Blair is seen revelling in the distance – a mute
spectator to this love saga down the ages since time immemorial.
The waves almost seem to anticipate the Sun
and become louder and more grandiose in their attempt to reach the shore. The
sea spray showers on all that come in its way or shows the audacity of standing
too close.
Hide and Seek |
Minutes go by, cameras are furiously clicking
trying to capture every instance of the duel playing out in front of us. The
villains look like they have the upper hand today and everyone has a sense of
disappointment as we wait for the sun to set completely, in silence and in
hiding.
We can only stand humbled by this grandiose
opera playing out and hope that today true love triumphs and we get to see
a perfect meeting of the sun and the sea.
Black Tip
Once we got back to the resort and were
sufficiently impressed by the dives done by our friends for the day, we settled
down for dinner and then it was time for the ritual - existential conversations
at our favourite night hangout – Black Tip. This was a boat tethered to the
mangroves on the beach and bobbing slowly in the shallow waters. A short walk
from the resort, a jump to haul yourself into the boat, finding a seat amongst
the wooden rafters and we were ready to begin our tete-a-tete.
This daily ritual involved finding two things
- a spot on the boat and a topic to discuss. Themes ranged by finding
non-existent constellations, to the current political scenario to the defense of
the country etc. the moot rule for every conversation being that it had to be
passionately argued but should be absolutely irrelevant and immaterial.
As the moon rose in the sky, so did the
intensity of the conversations. Soon we realized the presence of other groups
on the beach from our vantage point - Romantic candle night dinners, groups
singing around bon fires and others just hanging around the shrubbery near
their resorts.
The boat became our safe haven. A place to
congregate at the day and discuss what went well and what could have been
better. She was there when we woke at unearthly hours to view the sunrise, when
we went off diving, when we came back from our dives, when we walked up and
down the beach and when we came to reminiscence about another idyllic day that
just went by.
The Black Tip was spectator to our dreams, hopes, fears and doubts. A silent partner to our outpourings |
Our Been There Done That Tips:
- Either hire a bike to travel across the island or tie up with an auto guy who will drop you and then come pick you up once you are done at the beach
- Return trips from the beach are tough if you don’t have transportation
- Carry water, beach towels, hats and food to nibble on
- There are very few shacks that make lunch but otherwise you are pretty much on your own
- Barefoot Scuba Resort serves light lunch but you need to make reservations for dinner
- Our Food Recommendations
- Full Moon Cafe at Vinnie's Island
- Barefoot Scuba at Radhanagar Beach. The food is average but the ambiance and walk upto the resort is outstanding.
Fantastic read, Amazing detail and absolutely immersive writing style actually helped me live it through. Though I have never been to the Andaman's before, my first visit there (whenever) will be for the second time after this read.
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Thank you! Keep coming back to it... we hope to share more of these Amazing islands with you!
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