Velas, Not Just About Olive Ridley Turtles

Velas, Not Just About Olive Ridley TurtlesCall Us : +91-7838984471, 9718341991

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Velas, Not Just About Olive Ridley Turtles

After opening eyes slowly –

T (turtle) - “Where am I?”

H (human) - “Hello little fellow, Welcome to this world”

T - “Oh! Thank you, who are you? And why are so many peoplesurrounding and shouting atme?”

H - “I am a Human baby. They are cheering for the beginning ofyour life and wishing you good luck”

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T (turtle) - “But even you are a baby, then why aren’t they cheering you?”

H (human) - “I am common everywhere, 4 humans take birth every second.You are an endangered species. People have travelled miles, leaving theirbusy schedule just to see you, because you are rare.”

I imagine this conversation between one of our baby participants in thegroup and the cute little Olive Ridley Turtle as it makes its way towards thesea on the Velas beach. Velas is located on the southern stretch of coastalMaharashtra. Here the system of Homestay works best. Even we werestaying in a Homestay. I must say, the people here are incredibly hospitable.



A night before, we were a group of 25who boarded an overnight bus, havingsome boisterous conversations. Wewent through bumpy rides on therickety roads. While speeding on thebumpers and potholes, it jolted mebadly. I ended up doing a head banglike a rock star! We reached the beachjust in time as the turtles were not yetreleased. We formed a semi circlebehind barricade, armed with ourDSLRs, ready to shoot them ;)



I was excited to see the famous Olive Ridley Turtles. As they putthe baby turtles down one by one, my heart instantly melted bytheir innocent sight. Amidst the murmuring crowd, I just keptadoring to these little creatures. They were small, like reallyvery small. Those 4 turtles could have easily fit inside my palm.

I couldn’t get enough of watching them. One of them lost itsway and was walking in the opposite direction. To myadvantage, I got to see him even closer. The baby constantlyflattering through sand left its unique trails behind.


Turtle Festival Tour Velas

After the turtles went in the sea, the beach suddenly got empty within few minutes!Clueless of what we should do next, we started playing dog and the bone. It wasn’t easyto trick when the opponent was equally smart. I swiftly grab the bone are rolled towardssideways to avoid touching before getting back to the safety line. Nailed it!

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The velas village itself is a getaway from the hectic scheduled life. Youjust feel the peace as soon as you enter this place. The smell carryinglight mud is pleasant. Wooden clogged Huts, colorful bungalow’s,Cocks hovering around, casuarinas and coconut trees covered withsmoke, and then occasional curious looks of the villagers.

Our bus was parked 2 kms away from the home stay, it made us walkthe whole stretch, and trust me that was the best thing one can do.Walking down the quiet roads where only cycles and motorcycles runis pleasant.


Velas Turtle Festival 2017

In the Afternoon, we went towards the historic Bankot fort. Bankot fort itself is not muchappealing due to its dilapidated condition. But its strategic position overlooking the seais marvelous.

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The pale blue colors of the sea and the sky, blurs its horizon. Thewaves are not on the shore, but in the middle of the sea. Thehuge jungle on the left side still holds its greenery in summers.The numerous trail’s through the jungle leads villagers out with abasket full of raw mangoes.

The pleasant breeze gives the strength of sitting under theblazing sun. Actually, it makes it even more pleasant. Why can’twe have such beautiful experience in cities? Maybe that’s whypeople tend to escape in search of serendipity.



We once again went to the beach in the evening for turtlesighting. There wasn’t any hatching, so we couldn’t see anyturtle. We decided to climb a small mountain at the westernend of the beach.

There wasn’t any laid path, so we had to make our own. One ofthe participants was extremely frightened as she had nevertrekked in her life. But I forced her to come up, and I was glad tohear that she enjoyed it.



As we reached on the top, the obvious cool breeze greeted us whilebrushing off our face. As the sun was setting, I braced myself for thebest part of the day.

The fireball was slowly dissolving itself in the saline water. It lit thebeach like a torch in the middle. It felt as if the Goku of Dragon balls Zwas saying ‘kameha meha’ before attacking in the sea and the sky.

The sky soon got dark. As we were getting back through the small,dense forest of casuarinas trees, the moonlight pierced through itgiving us the spot light. Back at home, the night ambiance was turnedinto politics as we played Mafia.



Silence, cunning moves, Arguments, blames, defense, we enjoyedeverything in those 2 hours. The funniest part was that innocentpeople were blamed just because they looked like a mafia from face!:P

The following night was illuminating and lustrous. The stars filled thelonely sky as if a part of the moon busted and scattered everywhere.The coconut trees lined up below the moon was just tripping.

What could be better than getting a chance to sleep on the terrace andgazing such beauty? Talks overlooked the night until I finally gave up at3:00am!


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Velas, Not Just About Olive Ridley Turtles