As I stepped out of the vehicle in the La Campagne Tropicana compound, it became clear that the next twenty odd hours of my life were going to be as peaceful as it could get. For it was at that moment, a gentle gust of salty coastal wind caressed my skin and the music of splashing water rushed to my ears. It was as if nature had been beckoning me for the past couple of hours that I was in the car, and all of a sudden, it unleashed itself on me as I stepped into its domain.

Born in the beach town of Vizag, on India’s eastern coast, I have barely spent time on the beach throughout my childhood and teens. However, water bodies have had a special place in my heart for as long as I can remember and beaches above the rest. “It is a special subconscious connection to where you were born, Pandu…”, my mom says whenever I bring this up with her. Whatever else it is or may be, a mystery it sure is. My favorites? Well Rushikonda beach in Vizag is a treat of a place to be at as the sun rises over the Indian Ocean. The blue-green waters of the Konkan coast are no less, especially as the sun sets into the Arabian Sea.

Was this the first time I’d been on a beach on the Atlantic Coast? No. So, naturally, one would ask, “What was different this time?” Well, that can get me going. I was surrounded by people; friends, family and strangers. Yet, I felt the presence of only two beings alone with each other: nature and me. Be it the crabs, in a rush of their own, diving in and out of the moist, grainy beach sand. Be it the waves, in a symphony of their own, tirelessly crashing against the sand again and again like its energy had no bound. Be it the palm trees, in a dance of their own, dreamily dancing in the humid, salty air. Be it the leaves, in a conversation among their own, rustling as the wind blew past them.

And me? Well, I was a witness to this spectacle. A spectacle that, how much ever astonishing it was to witness, repeats itself every day of the year, every hour of the day, every minute of the hour and every second of the minute. And I happened to be in just the right place at just the right time to witness this dance of nature unfold in front of my eyes.

Slowly, before I realised, I was staring at the sky. Without me knowing it, the stars trapped my attention, as if to say “we are here too, buddy!”, as they twinkled in the clear night sky. But as my attention switched to the stars, it didn’t cut back from the ocean, the trees, the leaves and the crabs. In the odd minute that the waves didn’t crash, the rasp of the crustaceans’ claws made its way to my ears.

It is now, as I type up this blog, that I realise how I was so attentive to what was happening around me. I can’t remember thinking about the work I had left while I was there. No, I can’t remember being anxious about missing out on things people I know were upto. No, I can’t remember craving to watch the next episode of the soap opera that I was following closely. No, I can’t remember having to reply to a message for which a reply was due. So, what happened? Did all of this stop? Did the world around me stop?

No! Less than a 3 hour drive from where I was, was the bustling city of Lagos, with electricity, internet and other stuff cities nowadays have. And yet, none of it mattered to me. I became one with nature and embraced what it had to offer me, with no regrets whatsoever. I can’t think of how this happened (trust me, I thought of it all the way back home). As of this moment, it is a mystery to me and it’ll be so until I get myself to write a blog about it.

As our little group headed back the the modest hut that we got for the night, I was burried in thoughts. Then I slipped into my night robes and drifted into sleep. Before I knew it, the sun was shining through the window already and doing its best to wake me up. But it was the goats who stole all the credits. They bleated and I rose, more surprised than shocked at the fact that there were goats in the vicinity. So I rushed out of bed, freshened up (of course!😂), and stepped out of the shack. There were 4 kids (baby goats) running behind a shunning mama goat, who was bleating as if to say “Enough!”. Wasn’t this a sight to wake up to?

Well, since I was up already, I headed to the waterfront for yet another glimpse of the ocean. I just couldn’t get enough of it. This was absolutely beautiful. I got a couple of stunning shots of myself (thanks Daddy!)

Around this time, the managers invited us for breakfast and then we realised what the bustling we’d been catching for the last quarter of an hour or so was about. Breakfast was set on the beach itself (on tables, of course). On one side was the beach and on the other was the backwater lagoon. Our breakfast table was close to the lagoon.

As people started trickling to breakfast, I noticed a couple of people jump into boats that seemed to have place only for one person. Moreover, rather than oars, they had a single stick that appeared to be like both oars of a boat attached end-to-end. Ah, so these are Kayaks, I thought to myself, seeing it in action for the first time. Straight after breakfast, I jumped into a Kayak and spent a half an hour in peace in the backwater, alone and away from land. Here’s a picture (not sure how clear it is):

Once I was out of the Kayak, I spotted a beautiful stallion-horse, named Smartboy, staring at the beach longingly. His equestrian friend offered me to ride Smartboy and boy I did. However, while I was on his back, I realised that the ropes I was using to control the animal were running through his nose. It must have hurt a lot. The creature was essentially tamed to do whatever his master commanded. This shocked me and I was disgusted at myself for not having noticed this earlier. I got off him and realised how cruel mankind can be to harmless animals. Never going to ride a horse ever again! Again, I am not sure how harmful is riding a horse, to the horse itself, but these article gave me quite an understanding.^{1 2}

Finally, some more shots from that morning…

I can still taste the salty water in my mouth from the next wave that drenched me.

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