Geminids

So, as usual, it begins with one call, if someone asks me what are those 3 beautiful words I would tell them "We are leaving", those three words have been the best part of my life.

We gathered at around 4 PM and I had just 2 hours to prep for the unthinkable, I knew we had been unsuccessful in spotting extraterrestrial objects in the past. This didn't let us down, we kept trying no matter what.

Around 10 PM we reached the estate, we raced our way through the dense forest and blind turns. After having a great feast, I can vouch I ate the highest kebabs that day XD, these chickens were different from our city ones, the meat was tastier. We stopped eating cause I was afraid that we would drive the chickens into extinction

It was night by the time we started getting acclimatized to the dark sky filled with stars around us. I had the Star Walk 2 app that allowed us to pinpoint the exact location of the meteor, it was not long before one of us spotted it. It was a big win for all of us, knowing that we had spent travelling 250 Km for nothing.

We set up our cameras to capture the meteors, then we thought it out that it was better to live the moment rather than capturing it. After a while, the fog cleared and the dark sky was seen once again. Around 2 AM we all watched the sky with the utmost caution, we didn't want to miss out anything. The meteors started falling at a better rate, some of us started to wish while others watched and counted them. These were the most beautiful thing we had ever seen till now, every time it passed us we had goosebumps. According to the astronomers, this is said to be the "King of Meteor showers". It surely left us satisfied and happy in the end 😉.

As the cold started to give us frostbite, we decided to go to our homestay where it was warmer. The tiredness could be seen in our faces, our bodies were exhausted and we lied down.

Knowing we wouldn't wake up early, we took our own time to freshen up. While having our breakfast, we decided to hike a nearby hill, wearing our shoes and getting in our hiking attire, we are all set. After some steep climb, my breathing turned into a diesel engine that was about to die, whereas others just carried on. Reaching the top, we saw another mountain that was accessible by road and decided to go there- we just had to.

We all boarded the jeep from behind, standing like migrant workers. The uphill roads kept banging us to the railings, that is what you pay to have an adventure. After some painstaking off-road sessions, we were at Mandalpatti, and again the vast nature was at our disposal.

The tourists over there scared us, the lack of social distancing and ignorance to wear mask kept us isolated from them. It was time to head back to our homestay, after reaching the place, we heard there was a stream nearby. We had our stash from the previous night, we decided to drink beer and finish our beer. There is always one tee-totter, the one who drives when we are drunk, I feel we never thank them enough.

Sometimes, it's better if we don't plan something out, it's always better to get lost in the wild. Unexpected leads to something beautiful.