December..the month that makes us realise that each year flew by faster than the earlier one..
Our month was also flying by..with family visiting ..Had a week in-between.. & heard about cousins visiting their Goa home from Bangalore..that's it.. The free week also planned for :)
December slowly became a fabulous family month !
Our first long roadtrip... we started off late in the morning towards Ganpatipule..
Took the old NH..very good roads.. Single lane being time consuming barrier..but the landscapes & villages in between more than made up for it.
Endless stretches of nothing.. coupled with good music..perfect day!
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| Nothingness |
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| Reflections |
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| Headlights meet Sunset :) |
As we crossed multiple bridges the colour of the water kept changing until a pristine blue of Ganpatipule.We reached Ganpatipule MTDC a little after sunset.. had a simple dinner finished off with yumm solkadi (coconut & kokum drink) & dozed off
Day 2:
Woke up at 6:30..for anyone who knows me..that's a big thing..
Infact I sent pics of the sunrise & my friend actually wrote back "seems P3 hasn't slept" :)
Even my dad thought I had sent the previous evening's sunset pic :)
Well that's what a beautiful place like this does to even owls like me.. Went for a stroll on the velvety sand ..clean beach..rejuvenating!
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| Sunrise - Panorama |
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| View from the room |
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| Serene |
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| The Lil green birdie outside the window |
We stayed at the sea facing room at MTDC.. The view was beautiful..sea & one barren tree which seemed to be a favourite with tiny green birds..pretty sight indeed ! As the sun came out, the water became a beautiful blue shade. MTDC Ganpatipule is a good sprawling property. Typical mtdc loud upholstery, but they are in the best locations. The sea facing rooms were really spacious.
Had a lovely breakfast of mouth watering poha & went to the temple (right next to MTDC). The 400 year old Ganpati idol is said to have sprung up from the soil.
We started around 11 towards Tarkarli..with a pit stop to see Ratnadurg fort. The view along the way is the best.The road is fabulous, sparkling water alongside. We stopped quite a bit to soak in the views..after all what's the point of a roadtrip if you don't :)
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| Scenic Route |
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| Flock of birds enjoying the sea - zoomed pic below |
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| Birdies by the sea |
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| Wow..what lies ahead! |
Ratnadurg fort is home to Bhagwati temple. Surrounded by Arabian sea on three sides, the outer wall of the fort still remains & provided impressive views.
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| View from Ratnadurg Fort |
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| Now thats a window with a view! |
We continued our drive through small villages & hours of no man's land in between.. By now we were super hungry so we took a detour to Devgad & saw a sign for some restaurant. Called them,they were closed for lunch (3p.m) but the kind soul directed us to another eatery close by- Nikhil's Hotel. Had a yummy veg thali. Most of the places in this region offer veg thali & rest of the menu has a wide array of sea food specialities.
After the nice lunch we proceeded to Tarkarli..reached by 4:30pm.
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| Curves are beautiful :) |
In Tarkarli we stayed at Marine Oasis resort since MTDC was sold out.. It's a small decent property..good clean rooms but the food, theless said the better. So we picked up food from the market. The beach is just about 100 mtrs from the resort.
We walked towards the beach just as the sun was setting..the white sand the softest sand I've ever felt..simply blissful..Saw a lovely sunset..what is it about a sunset, it takes away all your tiredness, takes you in completely with its beauty & makes you in awe of nature.
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| First glimpse - Tarkarli Beach |
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| Peace |
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| Sea treasures- Starfish |
Day 3
Scuba plans today..The company representatives came to our resort at 9.30 to take us to the jetty.We took a boat towards Sindhudurg fort, off which is the diving site .Scuba cost 1500+10% tax incl video & pics
It was my first time of scuba.I have done snorkelling earlier. Hubby had done scuba earlier so gave it a pass this time.For deeper seas one should do scuba at the nearby Devbaugh beach.
Here we were hooked on with the gear & oxygen, instructed on how to breathe & signs to use underwater ( a la ZNMD :) )
Took a couple of breaths underwater holding the boat ladder & training done.
Yes of course it's very new to only breathe in & out through your mouth..gradually you get used to it.. I felt shorter breaths worked better..
The instructor cum diver was there throughout beside me.. Once underwater,the world there took over..beautiful colourful fish around.
The diver took pics & video too.. He even managed to convey poses..can't u believe that !
It was beyond beautiful & I can't wait to do scuba at a better site like Andaman in future!
By the time everyone finished it was around one..we got back to the shore had another veg thali & went off to the resort for a nap.
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| Sindhudurg Fort |
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| Fishy business |
Around 5.30 we left for rock garden next to Chiwala beach.Rock garden is a must visit in Tarkarli. A pretty garden.well manicured & landscaped.. but its actual beauty is the view..the green opens up to the Arabian sea on 3 sides.. You can sit on the rocks & watch the sunset.So surreal one can spend hours there. Also as my cousin put it..it is THE place for fb dp! Ha-ha..truly is
Watched another beautiful sunset...the ruggedness of the rocks with the waves crashing into them..simply breathtaking!
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| View from rock garden |
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| Beauty |
Yummy chats made by local women awaited us outside the garden Perfect evening!
The next day we started towards Goa (about 3 hours away). Four days just flew by in Goa, catching up with family, hanging around their beautiful home, walks along the beach, soaking in the X'mas spirit & plum cakes, checking out pretty boutiques & lots of eating around :)
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| Sunset- Miramar Beach |
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| Sunset -Vainguinim beach |
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| Sunset -Vainguinim beach |
Visited quite a few cute stores & restaurants this time around thanks to dear sister,
Mustard - A cosy restaurant done up beautifully serving french & bengali cuisine. It also houses their shop selling beautiful home decor.
Curated Fashion & home decor : Paperboat Collective, O.M.O, White Brick Wall & Barefoot.
Houses of Goa: A museum that showcases the architecture of Goan houses.
Confeitaria 31 de Janeiro (Panaji)- one of the oldest bakeries (Plum cakes)
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| Houses of Goa Museum |
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| Paperboat store exterior, Club decor-Mario Miranda, Beach shacks |
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| Cozy corner_Mustard |
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| Its X'mas time! |
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| Cavala_Starry Starry Nights |
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| Yummy local food |
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| Love tiled table tops |
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| Merry X'mas |
& before we knew it the trip was coming to an end. Met our gorgeous nieces the next day & started post noon towards Pune via the Kolhapur route. Reached Pune late evening..the sunset by the sugarcane fields along the way looked lovely. Spent the night at Pune & got back home the next day.
Another beautiful trip came to an end :)
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| Overloading anyone? |
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| Sugarcane Fields |
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