Into the Wild

Karwar is a pretty, quaint little town located in the state of Karnataka. It is the first town you enter as soon as you cross the Goa - Karnataka border. Once in Karnataka territory, you are surrounded by rolling hills and lush green fields. The quiet waters of Kali River flowing into the Arabian Sea is a great sight. A few islands dotted along the coast can be seen in the distance.

It was funny to see ads for some of the well known brands in Kannada - the local language, making me think about how diverse India is. I also saw many Kannada movie posters in the market square featuring voluptuous actresses and hairy men. Definitely not the quintessential Bollywood actors that I am so used to! People here were soft spoken and simple. The women were dressed in saris and menfolk in lungis/ dhotis. 

You could see a lot of fruit around, especially bananas. They were in all sizes and colours, something you don't get up north. I was tempted to have one but my attention was quickly diverted to ice cream. I ordered a rich, creamy locally made coconut ice cream which made my taste buds erupt in joy. 
It was a beautiful day. The drive from Goa to here had been breath taking, with monsoon rain splattering down our windows. Good music and company had been the icing on the cake.

We went to Karwar beach which was completely deserted, as it had been raining on and off. It was good to feel the wet sand under my feet. Dark clouds hovered above, warning us of imminent rain. The furious sea sent huge waves lashing on the shore. Huge gusts of wind blew, sending my hair in a frenzy.  I stood there with a huge smile on my face, taking it all in, with my arms spread wide. It began to pour. We ran to the car. After the weather cleared a bit, we decided to go for a drive to the nearby Anshi National Park. 

Karwar Beach

Located in the Western Ghats, Anshi National Park is known for its rich flora and fauna. The Park is a mix of rain forests and deciduous forests.  It is the only park in Asia which the black panther is known to inhabit naturally.  As we entered the periphery of the park, our phone signals disappeared. We were surrounded by lush green forests on either side, with a winding, empty road in front of us. We put down our windows to take in the fresh mountain air as well as the sounds of the forest. There was an overwhelming cacophony of crickets, broken occasionally by chirping birds amongst other animal sounds which we could not identify. Our eyes were peeled to the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of some wildlife. 

We passed a beautiful waterfall flowing into a stream below. As we gained altitude, a thick layer of fog enveloped us. We could barely see the road ahead. Soon, we stopped at one of the Nature Points to get a better view of the sprawling rainforest. After taking a few pictures, we decided to go for a walk in the thick woods, following a trail. 

No Entry sign leading to the trail

Although we were in a group, I was scared. My over active imagination was re-running all the horror movies that had been shot in the woods, in my head. To make matters worse, one of my friends decided to narrate a scary story about events that took place on a full moon night. It was supposed to be a full moon night. 

As it was starting to get late, we decided to head back to the car. Five minutes after we sat in the car, I felt a sharp pain in my leg, as if something had bitten me. It was a leech feeding off me in gluttonous languor. I was mortified. I screamed and asked my friend to get it off me. Soon enough, everyone found leeches on their legs and shoes. We all let out a collective scream and helped one another remove them all. There was a leech even on the steering wheel. Blood oozed down our legs and we had to make do with a little bit of tissue paper to clean it up. 

I was completely horrified and could not wait to get back and take a shower. For the rest of the drive, I kept checking my clothes and shoes for more leeches. Any itchy sensation would make me jump up in my skin. On our way out, we saw a massive 3 feet tall owl sitting on the branch of a tree. The owl and I locked eyes for a few seconds till it flew away. 

Back in town, I dug into delicious fish curry having completely forgotten about what had happened before. That is, until I went back to the room and found one. On my finger.

“I now walk into the wild.” 
― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild