‘You have never been to the sea?!’ Yes, 27th July 2022, was when I headed out for Goa, and the sea, for the very first time. As usual, I had to leave my home in Bongaigaon, Assam, a day or two before my scheduled departure. Because travelling 185 km to Guwahati Airport on the day of departure, has always felt risky to me. At 8:45 AM, I boarded the flight from Guwahati, and by 2:40 AM, I was in Goa! After booking the pre-paid taxi and walking out of Dabolim airport, was when I said to myself, ‘Okay, the journey begins.’
Something about Goa that I observed and loved was the greenery as seen on my route from the airport. Before my arrival to Goa, I was assigned a task on mangroves to work on, and on the way to the city, I saw mangroves for the first time ever - it was amazing!
I was staying with one of my colleagues; after reaching, she welcomed me with a hot bowl of Koka noodles in her warm house. Strange, though this was the first time I met two of my colleagues, the warmth felt familiar. Later that day, I started house-hunting in Panjim with another colleague.
On the following day, we had a team meeting with the Mongabay-India team. While the discussions were on, we were offered some snacks; that’s when I tried bhakarwadi for the first time. It was delicious!
After a team dinner, we headed towards the Vagator beach around 11 pm. I had this kind of giggly excitement for I had never been to the sea. As it was pretty late, most shops were closed. We crossed through lanes with shops that sell crystals; ‘How fascinating!’ I wondered.
About 30 metres from the ocean, we could hear the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. The sea was still not visible, but there was a cold breeze. A few more steps and I glanced at the sea; it gave me chills. With loads of mixed feelings rushing in, I walked head down, and only when I reached the shoreline did I gaze at the small white waves rushing in, only to return to the dark infinity. Rest of the team waited for my reaction to seeing the sea for the first time. And I never imagined my first encounter with the sea to be scary.
I never imagined getting to do the things I was doing at the moment. Another day we drove to a local quarry to train with Varaha (our cute ROV). Watching the turquoise blue waters that day, I regretted not knowing how to swim.
A few days later, we made our way to Caranzalem beach, not the usual way but through a narrow trail that felt like it was a scene from a movie. This time the sea was magnificent with the orange and pink hues of the setting sun. However, I had this dizzy feeling of being pulled away into the ocean by the waves. For a person who would lose balance in the pool, now witnessing such a large body of water was quite a big step towards conquering the fear of water itself.
Trail leading to Caranzalem beach.
On the weekend we drove to a point on top of the hill, where one could see the whole extent of the Caranzalem and Miramar beaches. It was early on a cloudy morning, and few fishermen were out with their boats. Some dogs accompanied others on foot, with crows, black kites, and stunning Brahminy kites flying high, just about where we were sitting. I witnessed the Brahminy Kite for the first time; in bright white and rustic orange, shining from the sun rays from the parting of the clouds that fell on it; it was majestic. It was soon after that that two tiny birds with tints of yellow and blue came crashing, fighting with each other, halted, noticed there was a human next to them and so quickly flew away. The next thing I did was I took out my phone to Google it and found out they were Olive-backed sunbirds. I was absorbed in the rush of excitement when something moved in a palm tree nearby; it was a Greater coucal! Next, my colleague pointed toward two grey, big-headed flying birds. For a while, we watched the movement of what were most probably the same birds in a nearby tree. However, the canopy was too dense to see through. With a few glances and some Google searches later, we guessed that they were Grey hornbills. It was a beautiful morning, well-spent bird-watching and learning about them.
The whole extent of Caranzalem and Miramar beaches.
Talking about birds, we recently went to Dona Paula beach, where we saw a big bird far away, near where the fishermen were fishing. I was sure that it was not a kite. It flew away from the beach, and I was sure what I saw was an angelic figure that had white on its body. But I didn’t know which type of falcon it was. It looked so magical. I was curious and hopeful that it would fly back, but disappointed, it didn’t, and it stayed on my mind for days.
Recently, we went to a forested area where the river Mandovi met the Arabian sea. As we were staring up at the canopy covers of the oak trees, a big falcon came flying gracefully to the top of the canopy, displaying its white, greys, and blacks. It was the same angelic figure that I saw the other day. It was a white-bellied sea eagle, and yet again, it was playing the game of hide and seek. To get a clearer view, we walked closer to the river's embankments, but it had decided to forever play its game of hide and seek. Standing near the embankment, we saw Brahminy kites making their rounds- near the water and the fishing boats. The crows kept cawing, trying to chase the Brahminy kites away, missing their shots. And the kites kept doing their business calmly, not minding the caws. And just when we were watching this play, there came the White-bellied sea eagle! Gracefully taking a round and vanishing into the canopy. While I was partially satisfied to see it again, its game of hide and seek only made me more eager to search for it. Apart from that, we also saw a wiggling Common Sandpiper. The white streaks on its wing bars when it takes flight are a sight to behold. And lastly, just when we turned back from the end of our trail, something flew in front of us and sat on a wire. So tiny! It was a pair of White-rumped Munias. They were very cute! We observed them for some time, and while they did not seem to be leaving anytime soon, we decided to leave.
The White-bellied sea eagle in the middle.
Goa, for me till now, has been amazing. From meeting my colleagues for the first time to meeting the sea for the first time. From meeting a lot of new birds to having a crush on the White-bellied sea eagle. Moving to Goa has been wonderful!