Wake me up when September ends!!
That was the chorus on my mind, waiting for
the many holidays October had to offer!
The thrill of a few days away from Bangalore,
away from routine made even the anticipation of waiting sweet!!
The destination was decided many weeks ago over several empty glasses. The date was default.But none knew till the last minute if
we would actually leave, knowing my penchant for cancelling all plans last
minute!
The journey was smooth with the lady giving
clear crisp directions – if not for her, I guess our designated driver would have fallen asleep at
the wheel!! ( and there I was thinking I
had the undivided attention of all 3 male co-passengers!!)
Several short stops to savor the local
coffee/ tea and hospitality of the localites saw us driving on the “better roads” which had definitely seen better
days!!
The destination was far, the drive was
long! The weather was pleasant!!
The river flowed calm, the tents looked
inviting!
We chose the furthest tent keeping in mind
the privacy of our fellow guests!
And then the heavens decided to shower their
blessings on all of us gathered there!
It had not rained at the campsite for several
days before that! They were expecting sunny skies! But I can predict rain! And
I did for that evening!!
That day , it rained like the river would
overflow!! It rained like all the water from the skies were being emptied out
in buckets!
It did not stop for hours!!
Finally, once the rain gods had decided they
had their share of fun, the skies cleared.
Our enthusiastic fellow campsite sharers
decided to take to the waters!
Two of our own, decided to try their hand at
fishing.
They took baits, rods and sat on the rocks.
Not sure about the fishing, but they did
present a lovely sight against the setting sun!!
Our designated driver caught up on his sleep
from the past few days and slept through the rain and storm!!
We had already heard fascinating stories
about crocodiles, fox,bison and tigers gracing the campsite with their
presence.
With night came the expectation mixed with
fear!!
A big campfire was built close to our tent,
getting the flimsily hanging electric wires blackened in the process and short circuited as well which we
realized the next morning!!
We sat in the warmth of the campfire, having
our dinner and drinks listening to the river flowing by!!
And some unfamiliar noises from the bushes
and the trees! Maybe a snake slithering by, or a crocodile seeking warmth, or a
bison waiting for the fire to abate or a fox looking for some food!
A few drinks down and u do feel courageous to
face anything and that is what one of ours wanted to do: explore the river bed
at night! And having heard that wild animals were regulars and crocodiles do
exist, I was not too comfortable with that thought!!
Learnt some lessons that night!!!!!
·
Never
let someone drink too much!
·
Don’t
strain your neck too hard looking for shooting stars at night. Need clear
starry skies for this!
·
AA
batteries do not last for more than few hours when a torch is used frequently!!
The next morning was supposed to be a trek
through the jungle! Not having been fed yet, we did not want to be leech feed
and decided to skip that too!! As usual our over enthusiastic fellow campers,
took off amidst lot of noise and chatter.
We still did not venture into the waters, did
not step foot into the forest, did not go on a coracle ride!
We sat and watched the river flow!!
There was a lemon tree next to our tent and
that was so apt!!!
And all that I could see was just another
lemon tree!!!
We left soon after breakfast, knowing exactly
where to stop!
Stopped for coffee at the one Cafe Coffee Day
which had a Tea Day sign lying low!! Never seen one before !
Rains were our constant companion during our
journey back!
No adventure is complete without a
misadventure! A flat which took just minutes to fix!
Reached Bangalore and it was dry!
Literally and figuratively, being 2nd
October, the pubs were closed. Not what tired travelers look forward to!!
Remnants of the trip were lying in the
car for 1 month as constant reminder of our monsoon drive!
“One's destination
is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things." - Henry
Miller ...
For details on the campsite visit:
www.Bhadrarivercamp.com
No comments:
Post a Comment