Cozy with the Eagles Palolem, India

Palolem, India

Today we decided on a change of scene. YeShe was very keen to go on the river trip to see the birds and it emerged that Gloria had never done this either. So, we decided to base ourselves at Cozy Nook, at the very north end of Palolem Beach and do the boat trip! Pamela and Eddie were waiting to see what Debbie and David felt like doing so we left it that they might join us later. In fact, they stayed at Salida so no doubt we will return to Palolem very soon. Gloria ordered up a couple of tuks and we set off about 845. Bob is very keen on the poached eggs on rosti available at Cozy Nook so we were going early. The tuks cannot get onto the beach at that end so they dropped us in a little lane about 200m back from the beach. You have to walk through a little farming hamlet and then the Dreamcatcher cottage resort and then out onto the beach. Cozy Nook is very whimsical and decorated with lots of re-used bits and pieces. It has the ambience of a south seas beach bar that’s maybe been through a few hurricanes. The huts are a bit basic for me. I wouldn’t stay there but the food is good and the loos are excellent and perfectly clean. Anyway, we set up some sun loungers and had breakfast. I had forgotten it was Sunday and all the locals come to the beach as well this day, so it was more crowded than usual. Bob, Yeshe and Gloria had the rosti and I had a mushroom omelette with spinach on the side. All delish.We rang our boatman and he came up to meet us. He’s a really nice chap and he remembered us from last year so handshakes and big smiles all around. The tide was high so we just walked around the corner to the river and climbed aboard the covered punt. It’s amazing that this peaceful backwater is there literally around the corner from the mayhem of Palolem Beach.
The boat moves silently through the mangroves and there are a variety of birds to be seen amongst the lush greenery: green beecatchers; kingfishers; cormorants; heron, cormorants, kites and sea eagles. It’s an absolutely lovely trip. The highlight is when the boatman feeds the birds of prey bits of chicken and they come swooping down in tremendous numbers and snatch the morsels of chicken up from the water. How they manage to avoid each other is a mystery. We loved this trip last year and it was just as good this time. On our way downstream we met Heather, Chris, Terry and Chris on their way upstream! I hope they had a great trip too.
YeShe went off to Dreamcatcher’s spa for a massage. We think its the best we have found around here. Clean, lovely rooms with flowers and proper tables. Anyway,, YeShe really enjoyed it and had a Swedish massage.
Spent the rest of the day swimming and reading. The water was really lovely. Not particularly hungry for lunch so just had a beetroot and carrot juice. Lovely colour and very yummy too. Tonight we had dinner at Café Fiesta on Patnem Beach with Pam, Eddie, Debbie and David. The restaurant specialises in Mexican food although it offers a full menu of other cuisines as well. Really nice dinner washed down with appropriate cocktails. Lots of fireworks on the beach tonight. Must have been a lot of birthdays. Start of a week when a lot of familiar faces arrive in Patnem. We are going to be an unholy mob by the end of it. 🙂