Satjelia Island, West Bengal, India
December 17, 2014
KOLKATA to SUNDARBANS Eco Village on island of Satjelia – 100km
One night in a cottage and one night on the boat
- Van bus for three hours to Godkhali
- Public ferry to the island of Gosaba
- Auto rickshaw, then boat, to Eco Village on the island of Satjelia
Van, Ferry, Auto Rickshaw, Boat to the Eco Village
We were stopped for gas when the driver received a call that another couple was to join the group. A few minutes later, a two motorcycles came zooming around the corner with latecomers, Stacy and Janet from the UK, hanging on for dear life on the backs. They had just arrived from Varanasi by train and were thrilled to be able to join the group for one night.
http://www.tourdesundarbans.com/sundarban-tour-2-nights-3-days.php
The 4-hour journey took us through extremely scenic and completely flat rural landscape between grids of rice paddies, ponds and fisheries. Straw roofed mud houses were the norm, making for picturesque setting. The larger towns all sported busy markets and traffic snarls. We made a chai stop midway and at noon we arrived at the ferry point where we crossed a broad waterway in an open boat.
On the other side, we were told it was the last chance to purchase beer.
We walked through a narrow street with small shops on both sides to several small trucks with flatbeds that drove us for 30 minutes on raised roads between more rice fields and picture perfect mud houses. And lastly, another small boat took us to the small island where we finally arrived at the Backpackers Eco Village. We were shown our room in straw roofed row of 3 rooms. Astrid and Franklin and Stacy and Janet in the rooms next to ours. Cold bucket showers for the ones who had the urge.
We met our group in the open dining area for a cup of "jungle tea", a delicious blend of ginger, tea and sugar. Then a tasty non spicy lunch was served.
Village Walk
Nuno, our young escort, took us on a walk through the quaint village where the women's colorful laundry, drying in the wind, provided the only color in between the muted mud houses with straw roofs and amber rice fields. For two months, in July and August, the monsoons hit and these idyllic villages have rivers of water coursing through them. Water often recedes quickly but leaves behind a muddy mess.
Canoe in the Mangrove
After our walk, we went on a short bird watching boat trip through the nearby mangroves. We spotted several varieties of kingfisher, my favorites in the area. A few of the group slogged through the mud to get a closer look at crabs.
We were back in the Eco Village early because the sun goes down at 4:30. Dinner was pretty tasty. I just can't get used to it being served cold. Cauliflower is grown nearby and we were served plenty of it, the Indian way of course, overcooked.
Tribal Music
After dinner, several musicians from the village performed for us. I had the feeling that the same tune was repeated over and over. So after an hour or so, we moved back to the dining area and listened from a distance. The women from Sweden were reserved and kept pretty much to themselves. We enjoyed spending time with them even though they didn't say much.
December 18, 2014 - SUNDARBANS RESERVE EXCURSION
Eco Village
One Night on Backpacker's Boat
Sundarbans is plural, referring to Sandarban National Park and Biosphere Reserve in India and the adjacent the Sundarban Reserve Forest in Bangladesh. They are on the Ganges delta. The endangered species that live within the Sundarbans are royal Bengal tiger, saltwater crocodile, river terrapin, olive ridley turtle, Ganges River dolphin, hawksbill turtle and mangrove horseshoe crab.
The alarm awoke us out of a deep sleep at 5:45 am. Today was the boat outing through the reserve. Our group of 10 gathered for jungle tea before we headed out to the boat. We sat on benches facing the forest on the front deck. Dave and I managed to score the front seats. We all sat bundled up in our light jackets. It was cold. We were handed only 2 blankets for the group. Dave and grabbed one and figured we'd stop the wind for the rest of the group.
At 7 am, Nuno gathered all the passports and jumped on shore at the Park office and stood in line waiting for it to open while the boat went to the opposite shore to get provisions at the market. Most of the other boats were loaded to the max with Indian tourists.
Finally at around 8 am, we were on our way. A knowledgeable guide, who was part of the package and mandatory in the Sundarbans, had returned with Nuno. We learned all kinds of interesting facts from him that we didn't know.
- 35% of the Sundarbans is in India and the remainder 65% is in Bangladesh.
- The Indian part consists of 48 islands and 3 zones.
- The 1330 square km Core Zone is kept free from human activity
- The 362 square km Wildlife Sanctuary Zone is where tourism is okay, but no fishing or crabbing allowed. Honey can be collected 15-20 days out of the year (btw, an extremely dangerous job, 12 to 15 people get killed yearly by tigers.)
- A 892 square km of Buffer Zone which allows fishing, crabbing, prawns to be caught 9 months out of the year and honey collection 15-20 days.
- The honey collectors will put a mask on the back of their heads because the tiger usually attacks from the back. But the Tigers are on to them.
Breakfast and lunch were served on the boat. I nibbled on a few non-spicy dishes. Mostly everyone else enjoyed the food. Astrid and Franklin sat behind us. They were loads of fun. Astrid had her nose glued to her super duper but heavy binoculars she had lugged with her. She was nice...she shared.
We stopped at several man-made fresh-water watering holes with elevated fenced-in viewing tracks. When we were nearing the second, and last of those, the guide pointed out fresh tiger tracks that showed the tiger had entered the river at the opposite shore, swam, and emerged on our side to go to the watering hole. Turns out he had been there one hour before we got there. Sighting one, or any wildlife, is really a question of luck. There was a whiteboard which documented the tiger sightings time & date. Typically, several days or weeks by between any sightings. So I guess we were lucky. Tiger paw prints in the sand we saw for ourselves was undeniable proof that a massive beast was around when were there.
- Panthera tigris tigris (The Bengal) is the most numerous of 10 tiger subspecies.
- Bengal Tigers are big. Male Bengal tigers have an average total length of 270 to 310 cm (10 feet) including the tail. The weight of males ranges from 180 to 258 kg (397 to 569 lbs).
- Only the tiger, lion, leopard and jaguar have the anatomical structure that enables them to roar.
Bird Rescue
We saw loads of spotted deer, several crocodiles, wild boar families and birds. My favorite bird is the kingfisher. One even fell out of the sky after being stunned by a larger bird right in front of us. The guide fished it out of the water. We got to see its beautiful coloring up close. And we were all excited when it made a full recovery, was released, and flew away.
Too Long on the Boat
We got back to the village at about 4pm. Most of us agreed that it had been too many hours motoring. Although the mangroves were interesting and beautiful, the scenery remained very much the same all throughout the day. And it was pretty cold. Perhaps if we had seen more wildlife, our feelings would have been different. Consensus rating the Sunderbans experience was 6 out of 10. A big cat sighting would have made it a 10 plus!
The Brits and the Indian couple had only signed up for one night. Our captain dropped them off at a dock from where they were to be escorted back to Kolkata
Night Two at Backpackers Eco Village
Dinner was a lot more spicy on the last night. Again, most people enjoyed it. It's really just me. One of the Swedish ladies developed extreme stomach problems during her stay. She was not willing to blame the food. All she said was that she was not feeling sick before the tour.
We sat for a while with Astrid and Franklin. They told us about a wonderful Thai island where they often meet the same group of friends. It has not been discovered as a major tourist destination, they said. That's why Franklin is keeping the name a secret, the bugger.
After a few beers, Astrid blurted out that it is Ko Phayam. Franklin just looked at her with raised eyebrows and laughed. Now the cat is really out of the bag.
At around 9 pm, Nuno escorted us to the boat where we were to sleep. A small motorboat ferried us to the boat anchored 5 meters from the muddy shore. We were disappointed to see that the beds in the birth were left unclean and unmade. We grabbed the best of the lot, a double bed on the end. Nuno lit a lantern for us and told us that the captain would be mooring in the boat next to ours, so not to be alarmed.
We played cards and went to sleep early.
December 19, 2014
SUNDARBANS to KOLKATA
Golden Apple Boutique Hotel - 1800 Rs - AC double without breakfast
We slept like rocks and awoke at 8 am with a startle. We had told Nuno to pick us up at 8 am. Sure enough, he was patiently waiting on shore for a sign of life from us.
Deathtrap
After breakfast, we reversed the trip back to Kolkata: boat - rickshaw - boat, with only difference, because we were only with 6, we piled in to an awaiting jeep instead of a big van. Very soon, it became apparent that its suspension was completely shot. The steering wheel had a lot of play. The car skated all over the road when it hit rough road surfaces and the driver would steer wildly to reign it back in line. Only at slower speeds, was the driver actually in control. My instincts told me to get out and refuse to ride any further in this deathtrap. But we all agreed to endure and pray. Several times, I had to remind the driver to slow it down. He just smiled and kept his foot on the pedal.
We made it in one piece to Kolkata where we rushed and picked up our packs which were stored at Backpackers. I told Rajit I'd be back at later date to talk to him. We checked back into The Golden Apple Boutique Hotel and grabbed a much overdue shower.
We met Astrid and Franklin at Fairlane Hotel for drinks. They were flying to Puri in the morning and will stay for 8 days. They'll keep us posted on accommodations and worthwhile sights since that is our next destination too. The four of us had dinner at our "usual" place, Raj Spanish Restaurant, for a cheesy garlic pizza.
2025-05-23