April Calendar Sheet No. 4
The Indian subcontinent is bordered to the west and east by the Arabian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal and has a 7000 km long coastline. Most of the coastal regions have beautiful and unspoilt white sandy beaches.
But despite the many beaches, beach tourism in India is still very small and there is hardly any necessary tourist infrastructure. Only the beaches of Goa, as well as some stretches of the coast in Kerala and Tamil Nadu invite for a few relaxing beach days – here i is also possible to bathe without full clothing.
Otherwise, the beaches in India are more likely to be used by the local fishermen, who go out to the sea with their little bucks and whose wives collect crabs during the low tide.
What actually sounds quite idyllic, unfortunately, is not in reality. Fishermen use the beach as a public toilet and the sea as a dump – many beach sections outside the commercial tourist beaches are therefore heavily polluted. There is still a lot of work to be done by the government!
The Marari beach in the southern Kerala at the fishing village of Mararikulum represents a rare combination of some beautiful beach resorts and small fishing huts.
Here you can relax on the daily cleaned beach on sun loungers in front of your resort and also take a dip in the sea in bikini or swimming trunks.
Nevertheless, one is close enough to the village happenings and those who are interested quickly get in touch with the locals, can observe the fishermen sorting their nets or make their purchases at the market.
If you want to immerse yourself a little more in the fishing life of the villagers, you can also simply live in one of the many smaller “homestays”.
In the guesthouses you get your own small room with bathroom directly in the house of the family and thus you not only come into an intensive exchange with the residents, but can enjoy deliciously cooked food.
The fisher families are very warm-hearted and open-minded and you should also take the opportunity to go out to the sea for some fishing. (Click here for an article about our Fisherman experience at Marari Starnd)
Their boats aren’t much more than plastic-covered styrofoam plates, but they all do swim. It is agreat fun to throw out the 200-metre-long net into the sea, and then actually bring home a rich catch consisting of crabs, shrimps and fish!
