More Beaches

After Hampi it was back to the beaches for a while. Forgive me, but there are not many pictures here. I just don't really take many pictures when I am lazing on the beach. Consequently I am going to lump a couple of places together here.

The very northern end of Gokarna from the headland.

The first location was Gokarna. The beach there was typically Indian, but it stretches far enough that you can get away from the bus crowd with a short walk. But the real gem of the area is just a bit south up and over a headland. About 20 - 30 minutes walk from Gokarna is Kudle beach.

The headland from on top.

It is much cleaner and much less populated with people, especially day-trippers. The water seems cleaner than normal and the beach definitely is. It has a shallow slope so you can get relatively far out and still be within a manageable depth for anyone not quite sure of their swimming abilities. The waves are benign and only serve to a bit of sound to the otherwise peaceful setting. There are several restaurants on the beach and some of them provide primitive huts or shacks if you would rather really get away from it all and not stay in the town of Gokarna.

Kudle beach from above.

There is actually one more beach up and over the next headland south of Kudle beach, but there is also an access road to that beach, so it is only a little better than Gokarna and certainly not near as nice as Kudle. If you would rather not walk, there is a semi-regular boat service from one beach to the next. I think Kudle was probably the best beach in India that I went to on this trip.

The beach at Coval.

From Gokarna I took a the train to Margao and then a bus to another beach area. I think this town suffers from a bit of an identity crisis, though. On the buses and signs I would see the name of the town spelled as both "Colva" and "Coval." I would say one version to a person and they would say the other version back to me.

Not much surf here either.

However you spell it, though, this beach area is much more developed, especially for package tourists. There were obviously groups of Europeans from different regions staying at different places along the beach. Some restaurants even seemed to cater to certain groups. And a couple of Indians spoke some European languages at me assuming I was from there.

Nope, not much to eat here. He is only about the size of an American quarter.

The beach was nice, nothing really spectacular, but the long stretches of mostly white sand to either side of you as you faced the ocean did somewhat fulfill that deserted island fantasy that many people harbor- if only all the people could have disappeared for a while.

Not much of a catch in the nets, either.

There was one particular thing I liked about the beach. Along a certain part of the beach, just above high tide, The sand was very fine and soft. In fact, when you walked on it in shoes/sandals, it would actually squeak and crunch the way snow does sometimes. I thought it was neat.

I spent much of my time on these beaches trying to develop a bit of a tan so that when I got home I still wouldn't be the pasty white guy that winters in Korea seem to foster. Of course I got a bit burned, but in time, that burn served as a good base coat (as the late John Candy would say). (Note- Much of that tan has already started to fade due to being covered up all the time in Turkey. :-( )

I hope you have enjoyed the few pictures here. Yes, that is all of them. Maybe if you push your imagination hard enough, you can produce your own beach fantasy from them. maybe not.