Stuff I Know: Land's End

Just off the tip of India is a temple marking the spot where some swami meditated before setting off to change the world, and also a statue of a famous poet.

Kanyakumari, or Cape Comorin, was a nice change from the latest places I had been. There is not a lot to see or do there, but just taking the time to watch the sun set over the Arabian Sea for a couple of days was relaxing. If I had been more energetic, I could have watched the sun rise over the Bay of Bengal and set over in the Arabian Sea all in the same day. But at that time, getting up at six in the morning was a bit beyond me.

As you can see, many people come to watch the sun rise and set here.

I did, though, stand in three bodies of water all at one time. How many of you can say you have done that? Kanyakumari is the southern tip of India where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian ocean, and the Arabian Sea all meet. Oh sure, purists will say it is all one big body of water. But I wasn't the one who named things. I just take advantage of what is already available.

Heading north, there is another small village and some beach just past a headland separating it from Kanyakumari.

There is not much actual beach at the tip of the subcontinent. There is a little bit of a beach further north along the western coast, but as long as you are in site of the Cape, the beach is not really worth the time for a swim.

I could throw in a lot of technical terms with this photo, but that would presume I remember them all. If you are a sedimentary geologist you'll like it without any explanation.

As a geologist, though, (Yes, technically I was trained as a geologist, but I haven't done anything related to geology in many a year.) I found the garnet sand beach interesting. The gneiss, overlain by a laterite, that is exposed along the beach is rich in garnet. Nothing gem quality, but when the rock weathers, the garnet grains "float" to the top and coat the beach in places. it is a red sand beach of a different kind.