Oceano Pearl, Ratnagiri 4/5

(Click on pictures to enlarge)
Forty Shades of Green
My trip report series on Ratnagiri would be incomplete if I don't write a bit about the place where we stayed. As I've mentioned earlier, we stayed at a homestay called Oceano Pearl in Ganeshgule village. Located well away from all aspects of "modernisation", this makes for a great place to unwind. It gave us the impression of being more of a guest house than a homestay.

Picture this: Lush green surroundings, waking up in the morning to chirping birds, all meals served at the dining area set amidst trees with the sea right behind, trees of mango-cashew-jackfruit-banana-coconut-you name it, feeling like you own the place at the beach adjoining the stay, insects calling out as the darkness falls slowly, and finally going to bed listening to the roar of the sea and night-insects crying. In a gist, this is what Oceano Pearl offers. 

Made of red stone, the setting of the stay is nice. The rooms are quite spacious, clean and well set with basic furniture. The only thing one may not agree with are little black insects that find their way inside after dark. These are really tiny and hundreds of them manage to enter in-spite of closing all windows and netted bathroom shutters.

A narrow path amidst coconut palms leads to a rusty old gate, which opens into the beach.
A kingfisher outside our balcony seemed to be a regular, as he came there every afternoon.
There was an adjoining field, where friendly ladies worked, and were quite inquisitive as to where we were from, why we'd come there all the way, etc.
I enjoyed the stay even more, as it was following a stressful period of exams (three hour-long theory papers and then grand viva, where one is bombarded with questions from four directions!). Reading Deathly Hallows for the umpteenth time sitting amidst the coconut groves felt so good. The staff at the homestay are very nice and accommodating. When we stayed there, a lady named Pratibha cooked for the guests, and she'd ask in advance what we wanted for lunch or dinner, and if we wanted anything special for the day. Also, her kanda-poha was very tasty. 

TIPS
*I've mentioned this in my earlier post too- no network.

*There aren't any general shops or bakeries around. Basic stuff is available at the home-stay, but if you're someone who needs to keep munching something throughout the day, take enough food with you. Also, let your expectations about the food not be too high (like ours' were; we cut down our stay by a day to come back to Goa owing to this!)

*Don't forget medicines and other essentials.

*To each his own, I liked the place, my Dad found it too away from town. Therefore if you're thinking of driving all the way there, please consider what your general holiday expectations and likings are.

*And lastly, this was a self-funded trip; I haven't been paid for writing good things about the place ;)

Read the earlier three posts from this series too: Click here for PART 1 on getting to Ratnagiri and the town, click here for PART 2 on Ganpatipule, click here for PART 3 on Ganeshgule beach, click here for PART 5 on driving back to Goa.

Comments

  1. Having great time Priyanka. Nice pictures and detailed info.

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  2. I've been to Ratnagiri for a water harvesting project and found it to be beautiful... :-)
    Thanks for sharing dear :-)

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it is, but the potential is not tapped fully yet. Thanks Archie!

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  3. Ratnagiri is such a beautiful place. Very nicely captured!
    Cheers, Arun - mytravelpedia.net

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