(courtesy Nagesh)
Tommy Singh, an old friend of mine was going to Mangalore, a sea side beautiful town on the south west coast in the state of Karnataka to meet his youngest daughter Roma Singh who had just completed her MD in Pathology at Manipal Medical College. I had to accompany him, as usual. Being retired but a travel freak, from the past few years we had been travelling by train due to financial constraints. And travelling by Kokan Railways from Mumbai to Magalore itself is a journey to remember.
The city of Mangalore has always fascinated me with its location on The Arabian Sea, temples and mouth watering cuisine. Roma Singh met us at our hotel “Ginger Hotel Mangalore” near Kottara Chowki Junction. I was surprised to see a back pack with her. She looked at me with her lovely smile and said, “Why uncle Kiran? Surprised with my back pack?’ Before I could question her further, she interrupted me, “Shhhhh..” putting her finger on her lips. “No questions uncle Kiran! We are going too freak out to
St. Mary’s Island at Malpe, Uddupi”. “But where is...never heard of this place..,”I fumbled and looked at my friend Tommy who was smiling with his head down. I knew then, it was a pleasant conspiracy hatched by father and daughter!
We left next morning after a sumptuous breakfast of
Upma and
Wada Idly Mix washed down with local coffee. Wow! Reached the township of Uddupi just 58 Kms from Managalore. A name famous world over for “Uddupi” typical cuisine and restaurants.
Then headed for Malpe. Malpe was one of the natural ports located at about six kilometers to the west of Udupi, in the state of Karnataka, India. The place is a famous port town and fishing harbour on the Karnataka coast. At the mouth of the
Udyavara river, marks the beginning of this small scenic place Malpe. Before we boarded a boat to St Mary’s Island, we visited To the south of Malpe to an ideal picnic spot called Virgin Beach. It was a captivating beach!
It took us 30 minutes of unforgettable boat ride to St Marys Island. And the sight was awesome! No beaches to swim but a nature’s wonder!
Okay, so let me summarise rather than offering a lengthy description:
St. Mary's Islands also known as Coconut Island, are a set of four small islands in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Malpe in Udupi, Karnataka, India. They are known for their distinctive geological formation of columnar basaltic lava, unique in India. The main island is one of those rare instances where one beach is all sand and the other full of shells.
Roma had fun collecting all that she could stuff into her pockets and rucksack. . As you can see in the photos, God certainly let loose on this one; it is gorgeous and I can say this with the certainty of someone who has seen a fair number of beaches and islands across the world. The island is full of
crystallized basalt rock, a unique rock formation found in very few places in the world, the most notable being the
Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland and second
St. Marys Island. The sea between the island and the long curve of the beach at Malpe is placid and gentle. I sat in silence and so my friend, Tommy Singh wondering how such a pristine place with so unique Rock Formation in the world could remain hidden form the praying eyes of tour operators!
We returned back to Malpe harbor.