Island Camping...Spoiled for Choice..

Ahoy Fellow travelers!

Where the hell was ya……….?

This will be your Boss’s, Colleagues and Client’s reaction you set out to gratify your Wander lust.

This will be it when you are done with the same old appraisal story ….

When you will throw your phone ….and come with us ‘ Out Of Coverage Area…’

If I tell you that this way is out of this world where you see no land, no people , no buildings , no horns, no sounds….?

 How about spending time on an Island..?

  

You won't mind if I Tell you to set-up your tent for the shelter in the cold night, do you?

 Or just Sail the Seas, look up to an island, listen to the sea music drive you?

 And if you are more ambitious would you pick the net for a good catch in the deep seas?

 Then you will put your steak on your Barbecue hot grill and move it around, wouldn't you?

 And you taste it with just the feel of sheer happiness.... 

 All you need to do is just Jump on to the boat with Us

 Yes that’s exactly what we did in the cold December night of 2014 ….

Everyone charged up and excited to meet at the gateway for our ferry to take us through a refreshing ride of 50 odd minutes in the sea.A Backpack with clothes, first aid kit, some food, a sleeping bag, a blanket and our lovely tents was all with us.  

Many questions as they should be arose for all were curious to know about camping, that too on a fort and that too in the midst of a sea…..

Some of them were like will we kill each other, will we starve, get washed away by ocean, eaten by wild animals, what if a pirates ships takes over, what if we drown on the way….?

But for those who love the wilderness those just add on to the thrill …

 The various ships some cargos, some navy ones and many others bearing foreign flags were catching the attention of all the travelers apart from the seagulls who chased our ferry to catch the snacks thrown in the air by fellow travelers.

As we landed to the port we found ourselves into to the beach village …..having nice breakfast of sandwiches, omlets, pohey with hot tea……in the lovely garden with a series of coconut and other trees….and gulped on to move to the beach...

Suddenly the roads which seemed ordinary open up into the beautiful blue sky and in front of your eyes is the stretch of the endless sea ...it so opens up your mind and one thing you want  to do is rush towards the sand, start with a walk , then play with the sand and jump into it, craziness unveiled ...

 

The time at the beach traveled in a flash, thanks to the banana rides, the jet skies, the bumper rides and the gliding sports, with fresh coconut water and cream to savor. 

Some of us got into the splash and drained themselves lying in the sand beneath the sun….while others watched the waves lying in a chair just relaxing below the small hut on the shore….

We further moved on to the same garden where our delicious lunch was setup to bounce on after getting almost all the sand off from our bodies by a quick shower. The fresh air and silence of the garden was an add on.

We then set to the journey to the Island fort. At the port stood a series of fishing boats, each with a unique name mostly of the Goddesses, beautifully painted and vividly decorated.Our path was through an array of fish of various kinds kept to dry on the floor and some tied on the wooden frames…..

Soon we all Jumped into our boat stationed at the port, yet fluctuating as we moved inside it.

 And then as the motor started, begun our private boat ride…. heading into the deep sea towards the fort…

Slowly our excitement started creeping up and we yelled in delight in the wavering boat, when it moved up and down…up and down…..and it went on…with some water splashing on our happy faces ….

In the company of friends with the evening sea we did capture some nice moments in our cameras, but experiencing all that at that very moment is what we still treasure…

We merrily jumped out of the boat high on the adrenaline rush of the ride and started exploring the fort areas. It’s a beautifully spread fort and the walk on the huge rocks along the periphery offered amazing views of the sea. We couldn’t resist wandering along as our minds wanted to but we had to set up camp before dark...

The initial stroll did help us though in considering various options setting up our tents but we eventually bottled down to a totally aloof spot with the sea on one side and the hill on the other.

The tents took a surprisingly big size when unwrapped from the rather compact bags and we fixed the nails of the foundation stretched apart in all the four directions. It was a great team exercise and we got better with every tent as we learned a few tricks. The backpacks went inside the tent which would remain zipped and protected. We were now free to have another go at the fort and explore more canons, light house and heliports. 

With no soul around we were now on the island by our own. As the light started to get a little dim we switched to our next task of collecting wood for our bonfire.  A few places on the fort which were less rocky we found some dry wood pieces. We were lucky in that respect as we didn’t want to cut or damage any trees for the same.In the process the lighthouse catched our attention and we visited the same for an amazing 360 degree panorama of the sea.Filled with the joy of the moments we cracked jokes, sang songs and posed for many photos along our way back to our campsite.

By then it was all dark and it was time to set up our bonfire. The planks were supported by the periphery of stones and some dry grass to ignite. The activity started with one and gained interest of all of us with advice and efforts and finally the fire took the shape intended.

It not only added a bit of light in the dark but also some heat for our chilling bodies. Finally we sat around the fire on our knees totally relaxed and watched the flames dance with the wind from the sea. The tides by now had started making more noise as the moon was out.

This was just about the perfect time for our dinner which had arrived. We passed on the dinner plates and looked upon with our lights as we passed a food item. We gulped on the bhakris , the lucrative prawns curry and fish. What a dinner on a private island under the sky with friends with no hurry to rush back to homes. Is there anything more you can ask for?  Yes there was …”GULAAAB JAMMMMUNNNNN……” shouted all the girls when they opened a so far unattended box. We soon cleared the plates...
And just when we began to wonder, there was something more amazing in store for us.

 With our buts on the ground we looked up and found an amazing glitter of stars in the night sky. Wow is it the same sky ….well it is ….why don’t I see it every night…?

The cement jungle that I live in…..running all day behind things that I crave for…but never need…this here right here is something endless ,this is eternal , it has no starting point , it has no end… it makes me feel all the problems are so small …..this is life this is peace…

lied down facing the sky we started making shapes by joining a star to star …. The one there the brighter, the bigger, the other one there,

We booked the island , did we also book tickets for a show ….and it wasn’t a man made planetarium ..it was the Real one……

A few moments later they started falling apart ….ever so frequently than we could imagine ….

Average life they say …well they don’t say the scientists say is about 13 billion years for stars of the mass of the sun…I don’t know how much that is but here they were falling like nine pins….

None of us had collectively ever seen as many stars falling as  on that night ….

And pretty sure that many of us who made their wishes initially got a chance to refine or even revise those further…..

When was the last time I saw the beautiful sky? None of us remembered either…whoa it was there, right there, everywhere, I just have to find the access to through it…

With such a wonderful experience, each one of us started recalling similar ones from their pasts, some ghost stories experienced, some heard, some unheard…

Our eyes had by now got used to the light and we could move along the hill pretty swiftly.

Some of us were down in sleep in their tents while a few others like me still awake to see the black rock pieces being weathered by the rumbling water waves which appeared lathery as if washing the rocks….

As I opened my eyes, I could see bright sunshine through the tent window. The water level had reduced and the rocks were clearly seen.More than 24 hrs we were to see men or women apart from us ….and we definitely weren’t lost. The hazy sunshine was perfect for taking some more snaps...

With the ocean in the backdrop and our tents made one of the most picturesque sight I could have possibly imagined. 

Around this time our breakfast had arrive. Perfect time for some poha and hot tea.
We soon finished the same as our boat back to trip was ready. The journey ride back to the port was less bouncy as the tides were silent in the morning sun.  We were also a bit tired and hence laid into the boats taking the sunbath. Soon our vehicle at the island port would take us to the boat ride for Mumbai.

Moving from a no man’s island to the gateway of India, the transition was going to be difficult. There were people everywhere….and that somewhat made us sick…

But then all along the return journey we talked and talked about how filled our hearts were with the experience of lifetime that we had…..which we may not forget till the end of our lives.!!!!