Weekend 1 - Day 2:
The highlight of the first weekend was a visit to one of the southernmost tips of England in Wareham, Dorset - a place called Lulworth! And was it exquisite! After a long time I had gone to a place where literally the sky met the sea in a blur, in the distant horizon! The water was so calm that it seemed like a freshly tucked bed-sheet. And the ships, like little fishing boats left gorgeous ripples in their wake, that bounced the sunlight... and the innumerable photographers relentlessly trying various camera settings to get just the right shot. But its always the naked eye and the mind, when in complete harmony, that clicks the best picture!
Lulworth had 2 distinct paths that the visitors seemed to be following. Towards the right of the parking lot was the pebble beach and towards the left was this endless but gentle climb to the top of the cliffs. We took the easier option first. The walk towards the pebble beach seemed exactly out of a picture book. With a store selling 'farm-fresh' ice cream, to a burly man painting sea shells (although he would have looked better on a Harley), to a curio store selling Lulworth curios (which included sun hats for some odd reason), to a fish store boldly advertising 'the freshest catch of the day'- it was simple, yet perfect. The sun shone down brightly and groups of people - some families, some friends, kids, all dressed in brightly coloured clothes, with ice creams and beach balls and sunglasses, completed the mediterranean look. The mats were spread, the swim suits were worn, the masts on the boats were unfurled and the sight felt like taking a deep, long, satisfied breath. It was peaceful. We walked down the curve of the beach despite the pebbles causing some of us to wobble and the others to stop and shake out the odd pebble stuck in the footwear. Some of the kids ran into the water which was almost freezing... and jumped right out, screaming playfully. And of course, the advent of the digital age meant that each photograph was taken atleast three times!
Once the beach was combed, and innumerable ice creams had, and toned, tattooed bodies soaked in, we decided to walk towards the cliffs. Of course we stopped in between for a picnic lunch - to be had in the most inclined gradient of the parking lot since that was the shadiest part after the long hot sun. Also, we were a very hungry lot and none of us wanted to carry the the picnic baskets and the cool-boxes even a step more than was absolutely necessary! So the picnic in the parking lot!!
After a scrumptious pot-luck lunch of aloo-parathas, sandwiches, chanas, rotis, stuffed peppers and stuffed mushrooms washed down with coke and beer, we started our walk up the cliff . By the time I had probably taken 10 steps, the rest of the gang had climbed to the summit or thats what it seemed to me! It was singularly the most strenuous thing I have done in a while and that too on a holiday! And by the time I managed to clamour almost on all fours to the top of the cliff, the rest of them had gone down the other side. And thats where I sat to take a breather - and came across one of the most beautiful sites of nature. That of the sun caressing the water causing tiny specks of pearls which seemed as if they were dancing to some silent music and were performing only for me. I stopped, to mentally soak it all in, and of course, my legs were in complete synch with my mind as even they wouldn't budge an inch (although their reasons were entirely different)!
I then slowly made the downhill walk to where the others were, knowing fully well that I will have to climb the whole thing right back but I was acting upon a phone call from my husband, telling me that there is a surprise waiting at the end of that path, after which the climb back may not seem all that tedious. So I walked. And that phone call was indeed no empty promise - Durdle Door was really a tiny bit of paradise! A stone archway formed from the edge of the beach into the sea, with the breathtaking expanse of the water spreading endlessly beyond it. Anchored right in the middle of the archway were 3 canoes, which just about completed the already picture perfect image. It was something to behold.
There was a flight of dodgy steps to get down to the beach to actually get to the arch but that would be really overdoing it on my behalf! So I just sat at the edge of the cliff from where I could see this bit of God's painting and just soaked in the overwhelming feeling of nature's way of constantly surprising us!
Then, while the rest of the group played around on the beach (or actually just took a whole lot of photographs), I started my trek back to the top of the cliffs where I had initially stopped. On reaching there, I lay down on the grassy patch with the sun in my eyes, lost in what was MY bit of heaven, while I waited for the rest to return. I missed my book at that moment. It would have been just wonderful to read a few pages in these surroundings. I was just mulling over these thoughts amidst a million other random ones, when I heard my name being called out by one of the kids, who had obviously outrun the trudging group! She ran and pressed herself to me in order to show me how drenched her dress was with the sea water. I had barely listened to a quick narration of 'how cold the water was', when I saw the bobbing hats and smiling but tired faces of the rest of the group. A short while later we started our downward journey to the car park, taking in the orange glow of the setting sun and the endless stretch of water on all 3 sides and the cliff forming the fourth. It was mesmerising.
With the sun's glow ebbing, it was starting to get a bit chilly but that didn't deter us from having a lovely tea break, although that was also in the car park! I was happy after a while to get back into warmth of the car and started the long drive home. Of course, the stunning pecan & coffee cake was just the right companion for the journey.
It was indeed a beautiful way to start the long weekends.
The rest of the 'travelogue' will be added shortly.
