The Traveller: basalt

We went to Udupi just for one reason... to visit St Mary's Island.
We had heard of this tiny island so much that it was on our secret self authored "10 Lakh Places to see before you Die" list for a long time.

We started driving from Murudeshwar towards Udupi at 3:30 PM. A long stretch of the road was bad, so reaching Udupi took a lot more time than expected. When we reached Udupi it was dark. We checked in a hotel "Hotel Rukmini Residency" on Mosque Road near City busstand. The rooms were clean and the rates very much resonable.Non AC double bedrooms at Rs700 per night and checkout time is 24 hours.

The next day we reached Malpe bus-stand at 9:00 AM. From our hotel, it was around 5 kms drive. The ferry dock is about 500 mtrs from the bus-stand.
That is where we had to go to book tickets for the ferry ride to St Mary's.
The counter opens at 9:30 AM and a minimum of 30 people are required for the ferry to start. The ferry charges Rs 100 per head that includes to and fro
journey from St Mary's Island.

Ship docked at the Malpe dock.

We were the first to book our tickets but had to wait for a modest half an hour for a team of 30 to gather. Finally our boat set to sail on the emerald water. The ferry occasionally swayed sideways and the cool sea breeze played around. The ferry went past some very small islands formed of only rocks.
Sometimes a flock of cranes would fly past.

This is the boat that takes you to the island

Finally we came close to the island which is about 7 kms away from the main land. We were transferred to smaller boats that finally took us to the island.

St. Mary's Island, as seen from the boat

The small boat that transfers you to the island

The island is absolutely stunning. It is a small elongated strip of land.
The golden sand, the emerald water, the hexagonal basalt rocks, the coconut trees, the red crabs, the clear skies with white clouds and an endless view makes the island magical.

Coconut trees and shades at St. Mary's Island

Sea line at the St. Mary's Island

Hexagonal basalt rocks at St. Mary's Island

Sea Line and rock at St. Mary's Island

Crab at St. Mary's Island

There was only one make shift shop on the island selling chips, water and fried fish. There was also water scooter for water sport enthusiasts.

We roamed on the island for almost an hour. The Sun had become very strong by then and we were sweating, so we got up on the boat that was taking people back. As the boat started, the cool sea breeze started playing around us and we were instantly cooled off and got refreshed.

The boat speed towards Malpe. In the next half an hour, we reached the disembarking point. As we were getting down, a couple that was waiting in the queue for thier trip asked us how the island was. We gave them a "Thumbs High" for we were very sure they too will have a wonderful island sojourn.