January 30th - Making the most of it

We present ourselves at breakfast on the dot of seven. The buffet is not yet laid out but we are offered toast to go with our black tea, and a choice of eggs. R thinks that omelets will be quickest and they are ordered. All done and dusted by 7.20 and we leg it to the aforementioned Information Kiosk. All shuttered up and no sign of a boat. Back to the hotel who tell us that the only way to get to the bird sanctuary is by speedboat at 7,500 rupees and that it is not worth going without a Forest Department permit. This place really is the pits. We adjourn to our cottage in a huff. We seem to have goofed by booking  here in the hope of getting in some decent bird watching. Even worse there doesn't seem to be much else to do. It is resolved not to spend a third day and night here.

It will be necessary to come up with Plan B. As a first step we decide to take a walk along the coast to the north. The morning is rather hazy and the temperature quite pleasant for a stroll. 

The road is under construction along with some basic sea defences. Pink tourists are very clearly a novelty in these parts. There is a bit less litter but clear evidence along the road side that Mr Modi has not yet been here to build a latrine. The village temple is a very colourful place devoted to Lord Jaganath. Locals suggest that we enter but we are not really up for it and point at our shoes. On a palm branch by the temple there is a Brahminy kite and on a telegraph pole we see a bright yellow Black Hooded Oriole.

The road continues beyond the village to a set of substantial guarded gates. There are modern buildings and well tended gardens inside but no indication as to what the place is. The guard notices us rubber necking and slams the gate shut. We don't care. There is a side track that looks like it does a loop through the fields and we take that. The only interesting bird is an unidentified thrush like thing but there are some large and colourful insects to entertain us. The sun has burnt off the haze by now and it is getting distictly warm. We walk back through the village towards the hotel.

As we arrive back at the harbour complex we notice a stand on the north jetty for the local Boatmen's Union. There is not much English spoken and we don't even know which language the locals are speaking but one chap tells us that we can get a boat to Nalbana Island this afternoon for 800 rupees each. At least we think that's what he told us.  We say that we will return this afternoon but right now we are desperate for a cup of tea and find one in the hotel restaurant where breakfast seems to have overrun. 

For us the temperature has now hit hot and A/c beckons. There is blog to be updated and some admin to attend to in order to initiate Plan B. R opts for a snooze. D phones Mangalajodi to see if they have a vacancy for tomorrow but we are out of luck. Instead we opt for an extra day in Bhubaneswar but at a hotel that is not the Grand Central. D breaks the news of our early departure to reception who do not seem surprised or put out. They promise to sort out a cab for us. When R wakes up we head for the north jetty. This morning's English speaker is nowhere to be seen. After a bit of mutually incomprehensible chat it becomes clear that we need to return to the main jetty where there is another Boatmen's Union counter. D makes a note to send R to Odia classes if we decide to come back here.

We retrace our steps under the blazing sun and find the counter, a sort of flimsy gazebo construction. The two seated men do not admit to any English but D ploughs on regardless. 'Boat to Nalbana? Two people, possible?' Yes. 'How much?' Fifteen thousand comes the reply. 'No thanks.' We walk away feeling even more hacked off. 'Wait sir' One of the Boat Union chaps is pursuing us. 'Fifteen hundred sir' This sounds more like it. Back at the counter we check the details. Two people, Nalbana Island, three hours. It's a deal. They even have change for a 2,000 note. Our pursuer walks us back to the north jetty, tapping us for a tip on the way.  Given that he made the effort to chase us D slips him a small note.

 At the north counter our details are taken and we are delivered into the care of the skipper of boat number 16. He runs off to get a pair of life jackets, camouflage pattern,  very new and shiny but a trifle on the small side. There is a short walk to the boat which is quite sizeable and mainly dry inside. It has raised points at both ends and looks very similar to the fishing boats that we have seen. The only difference is that ours carries a framework to support the plastic tarpaulin that acts as a sunshade. We make ourselves comfy on a thwart and watch the ship's boy cast off and punt us out into clear water. The skipper fires up the outboard motor and sets a course to the east. On the water the temperature is very pleasant . Every now and then there is something in the water ahead,  usually drifting vegetation. There are Irawaddy dolphins in Lake Chilika but we are not banking on a sighting. There are various wooden structures that look to be supporting permanent nets as well as egrets and terns.

The waterway is quite busy with fishermen and what appear to be passenger ferries. Most of the tourist boats turn south to Kalijai Island with its temple. We press on towards the haze shrouded east. The lake is a huge expanse of water, almost still calm. After about an hour we see a very flat coastline in the distance with a couple of concrete towers. As we get closer we see a line of pinkish white at the waters edge. This is the Flamingo colony of Nalbana Island. There are marker posts in the water indicating that engines must be switched off and the chaps punt us towards the island. We don't get super close but using binoculars and the camera zoom we get good views and some decent pictures. There are also lots of Ruddy Shellducks and a Marsh Harrier in the distance. It is very pleasant drifting in the silence and watching the birds. 

A fishing boat pulls up next to a patch of reeds. It is only waist deep as two of the crew quickly spread nets around the edge of the reeds. The boat then moves to the opposite side of the patch where other crew members start banging poles in the water. Presumably this drives the fish towards the nets. The relative peace is disturbed by the arrival of a boat containing a bunch of teenage boys. They appear to have had an engine failure and not much idea how to fix it. They jump in and out of the boat shouting at each other. We try to ignore them and carry on watching the birds. Suddenly their engine fires with a loud bang and the flamingos are spooked, all taking to the air in a blaze of red and pink. A good outcome for us but probably not one strictly in the interests of the birds.

They settle back down a lot further away and we agree with our skipper that it is time to head home. The boat is now heading towards the sinking sun and we need to don sunglasses for the glare. Suddenly our boatman cuts the engine and points ahead excitedly.  There is a group of about 20 flamingos feeding in the shallow water ahead of us. Because of the position of the sun they appear as totally black silhouettes. They walk across our bow, totally unconcerned and, as the angle to the sun changes their colour appears. We celebrate by passing round the Orange Bites. A bit further on we come across several acres of floating Ruddy Shellducks that take fright and fly away. On the return journey a bit of a swell has arisen and the boat develops a corkscrew motion. The ship's boy is being taught how to steer. Hopefully he will get better at it. Arrival back at base is just in time to stave off numb bums. As we disembark the skipper is anxious to know that we are happy. Very much so and we demonstrate this with some folding stuff.

A beer seems to be in order after this triumph and we make our way to the OTDC AC Beer Parlour. This is a gloomy dive full of smokers that has wallpaper identical to that seen in the Public Bar of the Crossbow in Camelon in the early 1990s. We share a Kingfisher and move on. The hotel and environs is much quieter this evening. There do not appear to be any other cottages occupied.  After sprucing ourselves up a little we head for the Lake view restaurant in the smart enclosure. We are approved for admittance and greeted at the door of an empty restaurant.  As we take our seats the Ac and the TV are switched on. This is tuned to some kind of Bollywood Greatest Hits channel. Tonight we order Pomfret fry as well as veg dishes. These are small flat fish served in a spicy sauce. During the meal there are a couple of power cuts, par for the course in Odisha. There is a member of staff whose only duty appears to be retuning the television when power is restored. Even with the fish our meal is only about £3.50 each.

 Just as we are going to bed a very junior member of staff from the hotel restaurant comes to the door to ask if we will want dinner. They must be getting lonely.