my quirky eye: Bright Boats & Lighthouse Love

My sister and I chanced upon the Anchuthengu / Anchengo beach when we went in search of a historical "fort" in Quilon district of Kerala. She had to write an article about the ASI (Archeological Survey of India) monument and on our way back we chanced upon this very beautiful, unspoilt, colourful beach and lighthouse.

Let me begin by telling you a little about the fort that rubbed me up the wrong way!! To read about the history and importance of the fort, please read my sisters article on the same here. The once beautiful fort complex is now just a mass of concrete. All in the name of conservation. Or so the ASI believe. The beautiful local red laterite stone has been replaced by concrete everywhere. Its a shame and one sure way to rile me is to show me all that concrete taking over a heritage site. My fellow heritage lovers and professionals will understand how irritated I felt that day. I'm going to leave the pictures of the fort for another post (some of them are in the article), along with more cribbing. Obviously.

The one good thing that came of that trip was the beautiful beach and lighthouse. If it wasn't for my star of a sister who dragged an irritated me to discover the surroundings, I would have missed out on all those colours! We walked through a group of houses in front of the fort, through a tiny alley to get to this stretch of the beach. The fishing boats were ashore and a few fisher folk out and about but that's just it. Tranquil and unspoilt. Well, apart from all the garbage, plastic and otherwise, that choke our beautiful beaches.

The bright blue sky and sea, colourful boats and brightly painted houses are a common sight in Kerala. Everybody here seems to think beige is boring and I couldn't be any happier!