Tides of Bekal

Swaying coconut trees, rhythmic tides of the sea, and sparkling golden sand on a pristine and clean beach! Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? And if I tell you there are just a handful of people playing around in the beach. How ideal does that sound! Well, that was just how we experienced the Arabian Sea at Bekal Beach.

Bekal is one of the several beach destinations in God’s Own Country – Kerala. It’s home to the fascinating Bekal Fort, which is perched on its rocky shores, situated on one corner of the beach.

IMG_4538
Pic 1: The golden sands and the swaying coconut trees.

We were at Pallikara, a sleepy little lovely village in North Kerala, where all you see is green – just so characteristic of Kerala. Everything in Kerala is green! It’s like patches of concrete hidden in green unlike most other places in India where you find patches of green hidden in concrete!

It was a hot April day when we arrived at this place. As we had lunch at a roadside eatery, we found people staring at us, probably surprised by tourists at this unlikely time of the year or to see women who were on their own and look different from the ones they are used to seeing.

The shop owner had a volley of questions for us and though we displayed our disinterest, he continued. Sensing that he was probably harmless and not wanting to appear like arrogant tourists, we chit-chatted with him . The small talk turned out to be useful as he showed us a shortcut to the beach on the other side of an unmanned railway crossing that runs just behind his shop. The beach was right across and here we were all set to take an auto!

While the sweltering heat nearly baked us at the fort, the beach was much cooler. In fact, we had walked towards the beach preparing our minds to face the hot afternoon sun thinking that we would sit in the shades provided alongside the shore and just watch the gorgeous Arabian Sea. We were already roasting in the April heat of Malabar Coast since we arrived in the morning and that made us cautious.

However, the Sea was in a playful mood and seemed to have a different idea. It was cooler than we thought and we could even walk bare foot on the sand. We played in the water and walked around in the beach for a while and then went off to explore Bekal Fort.

IMG_4507
Pic 2: A glimpse of Bekal Fort right there at the corner.
IMG_5747
Pic 3: A closer view of the fort.

We came back to the Sea again in the evening. This time there were more people but still it wasn’t that crowded. We walked along the length of the beach, sat on the golden warm sand, felt the cool salty breeze brush against our face, played with the waves, followed the fast and furious crabs, and just relaxed.

IMG_4631
Pic 4: Dozens of these screw seashells washed ashore only to be taken away by the next tide.
IMG_4626
Pic 5: The only crab that I could click as it was lying still, probably about to die, it was still moving though.

Evening was slowly approaching and we decided to walk towards the rocky shore where the fort is located. The fort provides for an imposing view from the beach. However, there is no way to reach the fort from the beach, though you can climb through the rocks and approach just a section of the fort wall. The fort can be accessed only through the road.

We spent the evening sitting on the rocks with the fort behind us and the tides crashing against the rocks in front of us. It was splendid to say the least. And it was my birthday. Couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift (other than the Himalayas, of course…)!

IMG_4633
Pic 6: And the gorgeous sunset!

Something interesting happened in the evening. We were waiting to see the Sun slip into the sea, expecting a usual sunset that happens in most beaches. The Sun, however decided to set behind the fort providing an awesome view of the entire landscape – the magnificent fort, the setting sun, and the mighty Arabian Sea.

We watched in rapture even as the tides continued discharging their duty of systematically doing rounds of the shore, not getting distracted even once, so what if the Sun was looking gorgeously beautiful. There’s so much to learn from nature, always!

Tide

Author: neelstoria

Traveling, Gardening, Trekking, Hiking, Storytelling, Writing, Nature, Outdoors, Yoga, DIY

25 thoughts on “Tides of Bekal”

  1. Pingback: Bekal Fort – A Glimpse into the Past – Reflections!

    1. Thank you for taking time to read this, Arv. Off-season is indeed good in several ways, most importantly less crowd 😀 ……Did you read the post on the fort? I think you will enjoy that more 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I saw that post but I was extremely busy for last few days and I couldn’t read it. I will flip over it whenever I find the time, Neel. You mentioned that you took this break as it was closeby…Do you live in South India?

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

          1. Once home to the retired people has seen so much change. From pub city to city of million dreams. I guess like many others you must be happy to live in Bangalore.

            Like

            Reply

            1. Bangalore but like most cities it has its good and bad. Like great weather and great professional life but very robotic city, overcrowded, and nightmarish traffic. I have kind of gotten comfortable here and hence call it my second home 🙂

              Like

              Reply

              1. We have to. What other choice does one have if he wants to work? I think Bangalore has undergone a tremendous change over a 20 years period. It’s like Mysore became Mumbai! I do visit Bangalore very often and find traffic chocking.

                Liked by 1 person

                Reply

                1. Exactly, if my beautiful hometown of Meghalaya had jobs, I would have never had to come here. Good to know you come to Bangalore sometimes. Which part of Bangalore do you usually visit?

                  Liked by 1 person

                  Reply

                  1. I know. It’s such a contrast! Haven’t been to Meghalaya yet, but I have seen pictures and I have heard so much about its beauty.
                    Which part of Bangalore? Locals especially the ones in IT hub call it – Old Bangalore! Not far from Vidhan Soudha and Cubbon! I haven’t been to the new areas like Whitefield or developments beyond Kormangala. What about you, Neel?

                    Liked by 1 person

                    Reply

                    1. I see! I also stay closer to old Bangalore in South Bangalore in an area called Bannerghatta Road. Places like Whitefield feels like outside Bangalore to me, but that’s just me 😀

                      Like

  4. What beautiful photos. Kerala is on my list of places to visit. I need be assigned to a project in India sometime so trips like this don’t mean needing to take 2-3 weeks off work. Someday!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Kerala is a must visit place in India. There’s a reason to its being known as God’s Own Country! Its refreshingly green. More so since you enjoy India so much. And I envy you so much that your work enables you to travel like this 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment