Overnight Trip to Surla

Opportunities to have a good time with friends do not come often, especially when in time, we get scattered due to our professional commitments and other reasons.

And when college friends come together after many years, nothing like it – there is a lot to share – how times have changed, and also recall those old college memories that we cherish to this day.

John, one of the ‘Tede Mede Boys’ --- the erstwhile college gang, and  who works in Mumbai was down in Goa and as his enterprising nature saw a few of his friends up with his idea for an overnight outing to the plateau of Surla, in Karnataka, just beyond Goa. The dates were fixed for the weekend of 9^th & 10^th April, earlier this year. As is the case, many a times, I have plans on the weekend, and this was no different. From watching the IPL 4 which was underway to the first-ever Goa Fashion Week that was coinciding on that weekend, I had to make a difficult choice.

But I comforted myself saying I could always know what happened in the IPL action missed later, and glitz & glam event opportunities keep happening. So the decision was taken, a day prior to the outing that I was to accompany my pals to the distant woods of Surla. After all, friends cannot be prioritized over my aforementioned plans.

So it was John, Jaffrey, Terrance, & I who left around noon of April 9 from Gogol-Margao by Alto picking up one of our friends, Shaba along the way at Tisk (9 kms from Ponda).

Along our long drive beyond the Goa borders, to the serene Surla village, we grooved and sang to some catchy beats.

Shaba - our driver with John, up front 

Terrance (in the foreground )

Jaffrey 

We also made stops at Ponda City for drinks, Anjunem Dam to behold the sight and for some clicks and up the Chorla Ghat to enjoy the mystique beauty that it encompassed. I would like to mention here about the prank played by my friends by trooping in the vehicle and continuing to drive farther ahead while I engaged in some photography of the local women-folk walking by the road. I had to sprint after them on realizing the same, to a point at which the vehicle halted to allow a huffing-puffing me to get in. Our drive from the point onwards was to get laborious with the awful roads and it was quite a strain on our unsettled backbones and a bugger to our rocking back-sides.

At Anjunem Dam 

Spidery Shaba scaling the cliff

Jesus Christ !! What was he up to ? 

At Chorla Ghats 

Womenfolk walking by the road at Chorla Ghats

Stupid guys, giving me the slip

Upon reaching Surla village, we parked our vehicle near the temple, and took out our belongings and other stuff that we carried with us to trek our way to the camp-site. One of the villagers, a friend of Shaba’s came along with us, helping carry things.

The other guys in animated discussion on reaching Surla village 

All set to head to our camp-site 

L-R: Jaff, Terrance, John, myself & Shaba

Surla Temple

By twilight, we reached the site where we were to camp. We had to trek quite some distance, as the road leading to it was inaccessible to vehicles as it was under repair. It did give me a good work-out in preparation of the National Himalayan Trekking Expedition that I was to undergo few weeks thereon (in May), as my friends had to remark.

Our camp-site was located on a rocky plateau faraway from habitation, but with signs that there used to be habitation here at a point of time with the ruins of a house in close proximity. In the fading daylight and wasting no time further, we took to the task of gathering firewood for our camp-fire. It reminded me of the ‘Age of the Pre-historic Man’ that found it a necessity to shield them from cold, keep wild animals at bay and to cook their meals.

Upon reaching the Camp-site

Gathering firewood for the Camp-fire

John’s culinary skills were on display –marinating the tender chicken so aesthetically that mouth-watering as the smell was, was a sight to behold. Also the shark (mori in the local tongue), was prepared by him which looked so yummy. It was a perfect BBQ, with the grill that we had brought and that I had carried. Terrance, his assistant, helped him in preparing the salad.

Master Chef John at work

Mori being prepared

Marinated Chicken on the BBQ

Mori being needled for the BBQ

Terrance - all focused on the Salad front 

As was with me, I kept myself click-happy until it was time to have our dinner, and the chips and drinks that went with it.

BBQ

And its getting better :)

BBQ - READY !!!

The connoisseur for exquisite cuisine sampling the chicken
8/10

Its food & drinks time !!

We also planned to blast away the nite with amplified music, but that was not to be. Several attempts to get the music going bore futility, as the battery stayed kaput. But that was not to deter our spirits, already on a high. I had my mobile play a host of tracks which was appreciated by the other revelers all of whom danced around the camp-fire, drink in hand.  

Nagoba Dance before Dinner

Yours Truly by the Camp-fire

Full-on

There was a brief scare of the rains, and our anticipation saw us build a tent-sorta structure across branches with a cloth overhead and under which we kept our belongings. But thankfully, it was just a steady drizzle which made its fleeting presence.

Setting up our tent-like structure

Sleeping beneath the open, starry skies to the break of a new dawn was quite an enthralling, new experience to me. I was perhaps the first to go to sleep. 

Terrance (foreground) and Shaba call it a night, while John is having a plantain :)

Jaff with the plantain-eater :)

Not yet asleep, wokay :)

Terrance - fast asleep

All asleep

We awoke to the fresh, clean air of the new morning with the mellifluous tweets of the winged creatures. I was the first to rise and shine. Having freshened ourselves, we cleared up as a troop of langurs in the distance curiously looked on

A new dawn

Amazing crown of the Rising Sun

The Rising Sun cupped by moi from the Surla Plateau, Sattari

Bullet Baba in deep meditation :)

Lazy Boy - Shaba, finally wakes up :)

My four buddies with whom I had a wonderful wicked time :)

Ruins of a House, not too far away from where we slept
the nite thru under the starry skies ;)

We were soon trekking the way back we had come.  Settling ourselves back in the car, we headed to one of Shaba’s friends for a visit who served us tea and biscuits. Over there, I got an opportunity to take in some news and action of the IPL action of the previous night on the telly. 

Trekking our way back 

Getting set to leave the place

On our way back to Goa, still in the Ghats, one of us saw a rustling and a fleeting movement of the elusive Giant Red Squirrel (Shekro) up the trees.  And we took the opportunity for a good eyeful, halted and got out from the vehicle. While one or two of my friends claimed to having got a good glimpse of the furry beauty, I was not too sure.

At the Chorla Ghats on our way back to Goa

As we reached Goa, and at Keri, we stopped at some place for our breakfast and then moved to a canal nearby where we had our bath. Sighting a unique tree in the vicinity, as is my wont, I clambered up the tree for a pic or two.

Up to my antics at Keri

The Kingfisher boys :P

Later that morning, we continued our way back down South Goa.

On our way drive back to Margao

with Shaba behind the wheel

By afternoon, we were back, in Margao carrying back lovely memories of our overnight outing with plans to organize another in the future, sooner rather than later.