Blue Matsya

Blue shuttered windows and a lighthouse! I fell in love with the Blue Matsya when I saw photos in a blog around 2 years ago. Looked so serene, loved the creativity in the décor of the beach house, and the personal little touches that Swati, the owner has brought into it. It’s a self contained rustic two bedroom beach house right on the beach miles from civilization. It’s between Udupi and Mangalore and around 40-45 minutes drive from both places.

Footprints on the sand. View of Blue Matsya at Kaup from the beach

Lighthouse view from the upper terrace next to the bedroom

Swati has installed wooden slabs on the stairs that gives it a rich and warm look and instead of a railing attached ropes to anchors and there's a tiny library in the nook below the stairs. Books that visitors leave behind at the Blue Matsya

Those looking for room service, luxury of a hotel, or television this is not the place for you. What appealed to me is the solitude and the rustic touches of the beach house that made it so homely. Our neighbors were mainly fisherfolks. We made our own tea, did our dishes, lugged the deck chairs in and out depending on the rains, and locked up every night. So much like home but I do know that's not what everyone looks for.

Blue shuttered doors leading to the veranda with a sea view where we plonked ourselves on loungers and spent hours gazing at the sea

Fishermen homes. Our next door neighbors who visited us and regaled us with tales of the sea. Wonderful, warm, and friendly people

To get there we took a direct flight from Hyderabad to Mangalore. If you have time, you can drive down too but after umpteen trips on the road, didn't seem too appealing at that point of time so we took the easier route. There are also trains to reach Mangalore or Udupi.

As soon as we arrived, Sarsuakka the next door neighbor who helps Swati manage the beach house as she lives in Mumbai, served us a lovely south Indian breakfast. Since it is a self contained guest house with a fully equipped kitchen, you can cook your own meals too but we opted to eat the local cuisine and ordered out. A few times, Ramanna, the next door neighbor who is also a fishermen bought us prawns and fish and his wife served us some delicious home cooked meals using the traditional Konkani recipes.  We just couldn’t get enough of the fabulous coastal cuisine. Our sustenance was fish, fish and more fish. If you live by the sea, well, what can you expect! J

Catch of the day by Ramanna, the fisherman and caretaker of Blue Matsya. Fried fish cooked by his wife Sarsuakka

We took one day to do some sightseeing but then figured we didn’t want to go traipsing around at all coz the beach house is so fabulous wanted to make the most of it. After all how many places have such rooms with a view. Even the loo had a fabulous view.

A loo with a view

It was a luxury having the whole beach house to ourselves and no television, no laptops. Felt good to be disconnected from the world for a few days and the constant sound of the sea was music to the ears. We fell asleep to the sound of the sea, woke up to the sound of the sea.

Watching the sunset through lazy coconut palms at Blue Matsya

The next four days were spent mainly lounging in the deck chairs gazing at the sea, the fishermen, the sunsets, the trawlers, long walks on the beach, visiting the lighthouse, and generally lazing around. J

Kaup beach from the rocks near the lighthouse

Sunset view of the lighthouse

The views from the lighthouse are absolutely fabulous. Gets crowded during holidays when everyone flocks to the beach and the lighthouse but week days especially mornings and during the day, you pretty much have the beach to yourself.

Superb view of the coastline from the lighthouse. Waves crashing on the shore and the rocks. Blue Matsya in the distance

Close up of the Blue Mastya from the lighthouse

The one day we took out for sightseeing included a trip to Udupi, Manipal and Maravanthe. First, we visited the Krishna Temple at Udupi which is famous as it’s the only temple where the lord has its back to devotees. The story goes that a poor man who was Lord Krishna’s devotee was not allowed into the temple. The man refused to give up and found a small opening at the back of the temple from where he would pray to Lord Krishna. Moved by his devotion, Lord Krishna turned to face him and turned his back for ever.

The pond within the Krishna Temple complex

We also visited Manipal, a hilly and pretty University town and then headed to Maravanthe which is 65 kms away. The roads to Maravanthe were really really terrible but the beach is picturesque and makes up for the drive. You have the fabulous coastline of the Arabian sea on one side and the river on the other side. The road slices through the river and the ocean and sometimes during the monsoon we heard that the road gets flooded when the sea meets the river. But I did feel that since we are already staying in a fabulous beach house, the tiring trip to Maravanthe through dusty broken roads was something we could have skipped.

Joy and I relaxing after the temple visit

The Blue Matsya is so fabulous, homely, warm and welcoming I haven’t had my fill. There's loads of places to visit and things to do which we couldn't as it was monsoons and the sea was stormy. Would love a boat ride to see the dolphins, visit St. Mary's Island off Malpe beach and so on. I do need to go back again and again even if it's just to rejuvenate away from the stressful city life.