From Cochin???? Need a break??? Don’t have time???Love peace???? Love beach??? Love seafood???? If the answer is yes for all the questions then read on !!!!
Incessant rains that lashed Kerala for last few days had put me in a very low mode. So when the weather forecasts predicted a sunny day, I just wanted to go for a ride to cheer myself. I had few hours to spare in the afternoon and therefore decided to go somewhere nearby where I had never been earlier.
My good friend Athira Murali (yep! The bike enthusiast) suggested me Puthenthod beach. I had never even heard of it and decided to go for it. Three of us friends – Me, Ananthu and Sreekanth started off at around 1.30 Pm from Cochin. Even though weather forecasts predicted a sunny day, it was raining heavily by the time we started.
Ananthu wanted to try the coastal route. But I was sceptic since I felt the coastal roads would be in a bad condition after all the rains. We took NH 47 till Eramalloor and from there took a right turn as suggested by google maps. Narrow roads finally took us to Puthenthodu beach. But for the Google map alert, we would have missed the beach which is well hidden behind walls and rocks. We took less than an hour for travel.
There was no parking space as such near the beach. We didn’t have much of a choice but to leave the car by the side of the road. At the entrance there is a warning sign which read ‘Don’t go to the sea. 11 people drowned her. You shouldn’t be the next’. It sounded scary but we decided to go ahead.
Beach was a secluded one, well hidden by rocks . There was a sea wall at distance. Some of the waves reached the top of sea wall. The beach is frequented by mysterious undercurrents and hence considered unsafe for swimming.
 It felt more like a private beach. There were no tourists and we had the entire stretch of beach for ourselves. The sea was rough and the waves lashed angrily on the shores. We didn’t venture into the sea. We were happy to watch the vast expanse of white and black sand which was neat and clean. Cool wind that blew from the sea side was very refreshing.
Someone had erected a branch of tree with coloured beer bottles hanging from the side branches. It was pretty to watch it in the backdrop of sea. Nearby there were trees on which swings made with coconut tree branches were hung.  We spend nearly half hour there enjoying the waves and calm. We were hungry by then. There was no option for food or water anywhere near the beach – no tea stalls , no restaurants, no shops nothing.
We decided to explore nearby local eateries. In Kerala, one of the best place to get fresh and tasty food is local toddy shop. So we searched for toddy shops nearby and zeroed in at two shops in Pallithodu, located nearly 10 kms from the beach.
The road was narrow, but was scenic through out . There were either paddy fields or canals or fish breeding centres along the road. Even though the road was narrow, it was well maintained and there were no pot holes making the ride a pleasant one. There were lovely small bridges across the canals.
The toddy shops at Pallithode were located close by each other. We were confused which to select and then thought of giving both a try. One of the shops was named Kannath Huttz. We felt the name a bit too fancy and so proceeded to try other shop first. The unnamed shop was on the right side of the road. We had to leave the car on the road side.
It had started drizzling. We crossed a small wooden bridge and walked through narrow footpath in the midst of fields. Path was filled with rain water and it was fun trying to jump over the pools and land safely on dry ground.  The adventure walk continued for nearly half km and ended at the shop.
It was a tiny shack. There were grills all around on the walls through which we could enjoy the scenery outside. Â We ordered tapioca, clams and fish curry. Taste was just average and disappointing. The only thing we were happy about was the bill which amounted to just few bucks.Â
Our next destination was ‘Kannath hut’. It was closer to the main road. The owner was  welcoming and friendly. The tables were arranged inside a lovely house boat surrounded by paddy fields. The place was very neat and the ambience was really good compared to the earlier shop.
 From our seats we could watch the lovely green fields while enjoying the food. We ordered tapioca, prawns , fish curry , fish fry etc. Food was served hot and steaming. Taste was beyond our expectation. Tapioca just melted in our mouth.
Fresh and hot food and drinks were heavenly to have on the rainy day in the midst of green fields. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. Â After profusely thanking the owner for the lovely foo , we left the place.
By then it was 5 Pm and we decided to drive back. This time we decided to go via Thoppumpady. Road was narrow, but lovely. We reached back by 6pm. The trip, though planned out of blue, was simply awesome.
If you are from Cochin, need to chill for few hours in peace , Puthenthodu beach is a very good option!
