Karwar

This was to be our nicest, fanciest, glitziest destination...! (Based on no information really, except that it was the most expensive of all the places we'd booked!)

We arrived at Devbagh Resort, Karwar, in a drizzle of rain and by the time we'd walked through the forest from the ferry to our Log Hut 5, we were wet and chilled enough to want something hot to drink.

Our hut was spartan but very clean and since we had a long time to wait for lunch and because the beds with their crisp white sheets looked so inviting, we took a nap.

Later we both admitted to feeling a bit depressed. Everything was so dark! The island of Devbagh consisted of a forest of casuarina trees and even when the sun did shine, there wasn't much room for light to get to the forest floor.

We turned on as many lights as we could find but even then the room seemed dreary and dim. The joke became, "Turn on the lights!" with the answer being: "I already have!"

This was going to be an interesting four days, stuck on a rainy island with nothing to do. We looked at each other, took deep breaths, smiled and said, "We can do this! We might have to dig down deep, but we can do it!"

The beach was nearby but apparently swimming was limited to the evening and only on one small portion of it, due to the strong currents from the river that flowed into it. And yes, Devbagh Resort offered a Nature Walk at 7 in the morning, but in the rain that didn't sound like a lot of fun. (Brave Kevin did go one morning -- after 6:30 am Bed Tea -- and came home with his jeans wet up to his knees because they tramped through ocean surf and rivers to have a look at mangroves and eagles.)

We heard a lot of peacocks calling but never spotted any. One morning the Resort took us on a boat ride quite far out into the ocean, around a couple islands, and we did get to see some dolphins jumping. Crows and dogs were the most prominent animals on the resort and at times the dogs seemed to us like professional 'beach bums': playing in the surf, chasing crabs and napping on the sand like they did. They were friendly and harmless, apparently belonging the fishermen who shared the island with the Resort.

So we played cards, we did writing exercises from the book I'd brought along, we napped, we read and we drank coffee; we played cards, we drank tea, we read our books and we napped some more. We did manage to get into the ocean twice but it was rougher than Goa. And we did witness one beautiful sunset. Otherwise the weather was inclement and the cows that wandered through the forest past our Log Huts looked as desolate as we felt. Thank goodness we had sunshine the first afternoon and managed to get some pictures.

The only really awful moment was when a huge beetle joined us in our bed the first night (Kevin whispered, "Are you tickling me?" I replied, "No, are you tickling ME?") and then decided to crawl up my pillow before I managed to turn on the light. Kevin's sure aim with his sandal up into the rafters -- where the beetle had returned for refuge from the slightly panick-ed humans -- ended the poor creature's life but it was hard not to worry about what other critters might be lurking in the dark beams of our log hut. After we righted the lamp that took a hit from the tumbling sandal, and turned off the light, I couldn't help but wonder to myself, What about a snake?

The Resort built a bonfire every night on the beach and served soup, snacks and drinks, before the buffet supper at 9pm. We decided we just couldn't eat that late at night -- and especially not more spicy food -- so after the soup and pakodas we returned to the hut and climbed into bed to read.

One afternoon, eager to communicate with family, we asked about the possibility of taking the ferry off the island into Karwar and finding an internet cafe. The Resort manager invited us to just use the computer at their office on the mainland, so we had a pleasant little outing under gray (but thankfully dry) skies into Karwar. The bungalow where the office was located reminded me of my childhood home in Gadag for some reason and it was fun knowing that we were back in the state of my birth. While the language sounded completely strange to me, some of the trees and flowers seemed familiar. On the way back to the ferry I noticed an interesting plant with a purple flower growing along the rock wall. A voice came behind us, "Touch Me Not. Very good for the treatment of Piles!" And on our return trip to Goa I did see several signs for clinics offering treatment for "Piles, Fissures and Fistulas."

Obviously it wasn't hard for us to decide to cut our time short by a day and return to Goa. Ah, Goa! So bright and colorful and inviting! We couldn't wait to get back to the rooms that were lit with warm yellow lamplight and where people knew English and where there was a TV to watch.

The morning we left it was raining hard enough to need umbrellas to walk to the ferry and about two hours later we arrived back at Goa Beach House to find they'd had lots of rain as well. "We can't predict the weather anymore," people said.

But we really couldn't complain too much. I mean, the staff of Devbagh were all friendly and helpful. It wasn't their fault we'd booked so many days and that there were storms in the area. The facility provided plenty of good South Indian food to eat, plus morning tea and afternoon coffee. And we'd met some interesting people including a young newly married couple from Bangalore who worked at night transposing doctor's notes for the same company that owns the hospital Kevin works at -- an example of Outsourcing up close and personal.

So, IF you ever book a stay at Devbagh Resort, Karnataka, limit it to 48 hours and you'll have just enough time to enjoy what the place has to offer. The beach was quite scenic with the forest behind, islands close by and mountain ranges in the distance.