Day2

As planned, I woke up early, at 5:30 and was ready by 6:15. Neha had arranged an auto rickshaw with the help of Zostel people. The driver was already waiting for us. The excitement to watch the sunrise was very evident. We headed to Belakan beach, which is about 8.5 km away. The early mornings are so pleasant here. The sound of wind hustling. a glimmer of light from the far-off street lights, the headlight of the auto rickshaw paving way for us- it was all very upbeat. We reached Belakan beach at 6:35. We walked past the beach to a man-made jetty-like structure, made out of stone and concrete. We decided to watch the sunrise from there. It was a very scenic view- water below, hill in the front, and the Arabian sea stretching as far as you can see. The sun came up the hill with an amazing array of colors and the rays portrayed a brilliant display as they illuminated the clouds around. We sat there for more than half hour, enjoying the beautiful view in front of us. We clicked a few pictures and left to Paradise beach. It was almost 7:30.

Sunrise from Belakan Beach

The trail to Paradise beach is clear, but there are a few deviations that one could miss. She knew the trail well enough, as she had already been here on her first day. We reached Paradise beach in 30 minutes. People were camping in the tents- some still asleep and a very few awake to watch the sunrise. We found a rock, very close to the waters and sat there listening to the waves hitting the rocks next to us. It was magical. We exchanged our thoughts on the nature's spectacles and how they are being littered/polluted by humans. We talked about the places we had been to and a lot more. We left to Half-moon beach after sometime. I led the way from then on, as I had already been on the beach trek the previous day. Early morning, felt like it was the best time to go on the beach trek. There was no sign of fatigue or dehydration in either of us. We reached Half-moon beach in about 20 minutes, after enjoying the amazing cliff-side views of the sea. It was more calmer here, with only two people practicing yoga on the beach. We sat in the shade, taking in all the silence and the beauty. The teacher from Jodhpur, the solo traveler that I was hiking with, turned out to be a squadron leader in the Indian Air Force! She hid it from everyone else because she didn't want to be treated differently. She was on a vacation from work and didn't want the work to follow her everywhere. We talked a lot about the Air Force, what her work was and about a lot of events in history. It was quite a memorable conversation. She even shed light on the life at Air force- the secrecy, the parties, the isolation from family, the perks of being there and the stuff that she has to deal with. It was very informative to me. We left to Om beach, talking about it all the way. We found a place to sit and sat there for a long time. She told me about a few offbeat places that I can visit in Rajasthan, Kerala and Meghalaya. It was already 10 and the humidity was on the rise. We took a quick break from hiking to have coconut water to quench our thirst. We then left to Kudle beach and reached in no time. We had breakfast at 'Old la Pizzeria' on the shore. We exchanged trek stories,while munching on our breakfast. We then left to Zostel, planning to reach before noon.

Paradise Beach

We reached Zostel and planned to have a home-made meal somewhere in town at 1. There's a place opposite 'Downtown Bar and Restaurant', that serves delicious coastal food. We had fish thali there, that echoed the native style of cooking. We followed it with a Gudbud ice cream at 'Shri Shakthi' for dessert. We went straight to Zostel after that. I was very tired and dozed off in no time. By the time I woke up, it was already 16:50. I immediately left to beach hop between Kudle and Om beaches. I planned to make it to Ram Thirtha for sunset, but I couldn't make it on time. I watched the sunset from Kudle beach again and returned to Zostel, disappointed. I sat in the hammock in front of our dorms, watching the evening sky and the view of Gokarna beach, that the Zostel overlooked. I planned to have a meal at 'Dattaprasad Tiffins' and called her up to ask if she wants to join me. She was already at Middle beach, taking a stroll and asked me if I wanted to join. I had always wanted to do that. So, I ditched my plan and decided to join her. I walked for a long time along the sea shore and reached Middle Beach. We found a well lit place called 'Sunset Cafe' to have our dinner. The host was a good person and tended to us in a nice way. We talked about everything- relationships, depression and the childhood trauma that people go through because of bullying and much more. I felt lucky to have had a better childhood and to have parents that were always supportive of me. We sat at a place, listening to the waves and enjoying the cool breeze. We walked our way back to Zostel later, along the streets of Gokarna. She told me she'll be leaving Gokarna the next morning to catch her flight from Goa. A long day, thus ended, with so many things learnt and with so much more to learn.