Coast to Coast: Day 3
The perfect day that came to an end at 3:30am...
This is how my calendar looked for the next 45 minutes.
6:13am-I waited for the minute hand to move to '3' and the sun to rise at the same time.
6:15am-Still waiting
6:30am-The wait continues
6:45am- I could finally spot the sun rise; wondering if I blinked my eyes too often! Cameras clicked, so did mobiles and people. We got one for ourselves (a memoir) and in minutes, the crowd was gone.
We decided to visit the Vivekananda Rock and close on Kanyakumari. A leisure but quick breakfast at a breakfast spot close by; we were waiting in the queue to get the ferry tickets. It was a mess to figure out the multiple non ending lines (took me to my math class definition of 'line segment vs. line) but we just got lucky to cruze in. We paid INR 150 per person and waited for the ferry to take us to the rock. 'Pothigai' our ferry stood hard on the water giving the waves a tough fight. For a person who can be sea sick, the 10 minute ride can just get worse.
It was windy at 9:00am in the morning. The rock was just a rock, the view was mesmerizing. I was reminded of Columbus's words, "Water, water everywhere..." It was blue, shades of blue, green, shades of green...It was just water but you could gauge the might of the waves without a doubt. We read about Swami Vivekananda, hands down he was an inspiring person and continues to be one till date. We went past the meditation hall, the only place where you can be away from the waves cracking onto the rocks. The temple on the rock and the link to Ramanyan just set the tone for Rameshwaram next. We spent an hour on the rock and 'Guhan' ferried us back without any after effects of sea sickness.
Our midnight sleep was short lived. The ring from reception woke us up at 5:45am and served as an alarm to help us spring out of our beds. Yes, the sunrise that we had yearned for, was scheduled for 6:15am by the heavens. The last night's strategy to check out the beach and parking really did not help. We were stopped by the police at the very beginning and we had no option but to get down and run. People threw anxious glances (as if it would make a difference)as the four of us ran, making way for ourselves to catch the first ray of sunrise. The run just din't seem to come to an end! (How I cursed my fitness levels and took pride in my will). The moment we reached, at what was supposed to be the sunrise point, it was swarmed with a gazillion heads! I was shell shocked to even take a stab at counting the number of people standing in front of me. A dejected me, stood there in hope to witness the beautiful sunrise right from the (x-1)th moment to the (x+1). After all, Kanyakumari was a dream come true for 2013!
This is how my calendar looked for the next 45 minutes.
6:13am-I waited for the minute hand to move to '3' and the sun to rise at the same time.
6:15am-Still waiting
6:30am-The wait continues
6:45am- I could finally spot the sun rise; wondering if I blinked my eyes too often! Cameras clicked, so did mobiles and people. We got one for ourselves (a memoir) and in minutes, the crowd was gone.
We decided to visit the Vivekananda Rock and close on Kanyakumari. A leisure but quick breakfast at a breakfast spot close by; we were waiting in the queue to get the ferry tickets. It was a mess to figure out the multiple non ending lines (took me to my math class definition of 'line segment vs. line) but we just got lucky to cruze in. We paid INR 150 per person and waited for the ferry to take us to the rock. 'Pothigai' our ferry stood hard on the water giving the waves a tough fight. For a person who can be sea sick, the 10 minute ride can just get worse.
It was windy at 9:00am in the morning. The rock was just a rock, the view was mesmerizing. I was reminded of Columbus's words, "Water, water everywhere..." It was blue, shades of blue, green, shades of green...It was just water but you could gauge the might of the waves without a doubt. We read about Swami Vivekananda, hands down he was an inspiring person and continues to be one till date. We went past the meditation hall, the only place where you can be away from the waves cracking onto the rocks. The temple on the rock and the link to Ramanyan just set the tone for Rameshwaram next. We spent an hour on the rock and 'Guhan' ferried us back without any after effects of sea sickness.
A minimal bribe to a local priest got us closer to the nose ring story of the Devi in Kanyakumari. It was about 11:30am and we headed back to the hotel in our Figo Fry. Tired to the core, I just went and slid open the balcony door. Turning speechless, I called Aastha in furor. The view from balcony was the one that had left us panting for breath in the morning. The Arabian Sea/Bay of Bengal just lay in front of us. We could have simply watched the sun rise over a cup of coffee at peace from our balcony. (Tip: Always check into a hotel before the dark!) After a refreshing shower we were all set for our next destination- Rameshwaram. Lunch at Gujrati Bhavan and some theplas for snacks was sure to make yet another evening memorable.
To be continued...
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