My search for a rustic stay at Rameshwaram, eventually led me to Kathadi South, a lovely sea-side site run by Quest, that already had garnered some brilliant reviews on Trip Advisor. Booking was hassle free and totally a cake walk, what with the prompt assistance offered by the Quest online help personnel, always at hand.
I land up at Kathadi South on a hot sunny, day in the third week of May around lunch time, and is warmly welcomed by Pooja, a vibrant, amiable youngster, who runs the place. She turns out to be the prefect host, who in the next few minutes sums me up as to what the place is all about. Hungry enough to eat a horse (pun unintended, since there are indeed a few wild horses grazing around the property!), I settle down for a late lunch, and dig into some hot rice served with delectable fish curry and a few other delicacies.
Kathadi South is more of a camping site than a conventional resort, and as such offers a few beach huts and tented accommodation. Having opted for a hut, I found myself in a quaint shack built of dried coconut leaves, that offers a comfy double bed (additional beds available at an extra price) and a ceiling fan that rumbles a bit, once switched on. It goes without saying that it does get scorchingly warm inside, but with too little time spent inside the hut, it probably doesn’t matter that much.
This was indeed the height of summer, and it was a bit too hot to be roaming around in the sun, and yet the sea which is so close by, looked (and sounded) so inviting that I was on the beach in less than five minutes. The pathway that leads to the sea, looks like a snapshot straight off a foreign beach, and the sea strikes me as a sparkling expanse of blue glitter. I am accompanied by the two adorable pet dogs at Kathadi South – a Labrador and a Jack Russel Terrier – who seemed all excited that the gate was finally open and that the prospects of a sea dip looked all bright.
Not being much a swimmer, I am always a bit wary of the sea, but the surf and the sands look so inviting that it is impossible not to let yourself be drenched in it. The beach looked deserted with not a soul in sight, and stretched across both ways with coconut trees lining its coast. The wind seemed strong and the plunge into the sea water turned out to be deeply fulfilling.
Kathadi South has an almost idyllic feel to it, with the sand and the magnificent beach, and a sense of raw wildness that permeates all around. A morning visit to the beach throws in a different picture though, and it comes across as a busy place with fishermen getting all set to tow their boats on to the sea, for the day’s catch.
I leave Kathadi South on the third day morning, promising myself that I would be back for a kayaking expedition at Kathadi, some time soon. After all, when the sun, the sand and the surf calls, how long could you possibly turn it down?!
PS: Rameshwaram, the temple town, it should be remembered is a few kilometers further from Kathadi South, and it takes a ten to fifteen minutes drive by car from Kathadi. Dhanushkodi is further off, and the distance could be partially covered by your own vehicle, following which you will have to hire a private jeep!