It was as if time stood still. I gently floated, face down, peering into the crystal clear sea water and felt almost like a voyeur as I watched an entirely different world unfold before my eyes. The serenity was broken by an urgent whisper in my ear. “See, see. That’s Nemo fish!” A hand discreetly pointed. And sure enough, darting this way and that was a bright orange clownfish with its distinct white stripes. Playful, in turn chasing and being chased by a smaller version of itself, at arm’s length and yet elusive, it had me entranced and transfixed. For a moment I felt I had miraculously stepped into the iconic Hollywood film Finding Nemo, even though I was just a few feet from the shore of Jolly Buoy Island inside the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park located in the Andaman group of islands.
As I watched the antics of Nemo’s namesake, my snorkelling guide dived under to catch him but the imp was far too quick and disappeared behind a brightly coloured stony coral. My guide gently directed me along and I was so spellbound that I even forgot to be afraid. This was my first time at snorkelling, and I was actually a bit surprised that it was not such a great deal, especially since I had anxiously fretted about it on the journey to the tiny island.
Located in Wandoor about 30 km from Port Blair, the national park is spread over 280 sq km and is among the most beautiful though ecologically fragile systems around India’s coastline. The national park, comprising five islands and innumerable stunning creeks and bays, dark and mysterious mangroves, is stuff that water sport junkies dream of. However, traffic is strictly controlled and there are no places to stay or eat anywhere inside the national park and the only way in and out is through Wandoor jetty. From here, it had taken me an hour’s boat ride to arrive at Jolly Buoy, where a surreal sight had greeted me: pristine white sands framed by tall palms and gently washed by unbelievably turquoise waters of the ocean. Ringed by fringing reefs, the island was ideal for snorkelling, an activity that I had approached with mixed feelings: excitement and foreboding, because I didn’t know swimming.
But a life vest, a snug float tube, goggles and a breathing apparatus which took a few tries to get right, worked together to provide such a stunning view of the underwater that I had no time to feel anxious. Of course, it also helped that I was never more than 20-30 feet from the beach and that an instructor guided me around, pointing out things.
We moved along to a deeper portion where bright sunlight streamed in, dramatically lighting up the world underneath like a film set. I found deep yellow and light orange corals with caves and indentations through which swam a plethora of differently shaped fish in brilliant hues among which I was able to recognise parrot fish and tiger fish; some were alone, others swam together. The bolder ones came up to give us a closer look but zipped away when I brought hand close to them. Among the fascinating creatures from Nemo’s world, I spotted a sluggish octopus which lay still, one eye occasionally opening to take in everything around it. I saw star fish in bright red and purple, stationary on the sea floor as were three jet black sea cucumbers. I was mesmerised by two giant clams which were fluorescent purple in colour, which clamped shut on our approach and gelled effortlessly into the coral background.
After more than an hour of watching this gigantic live aquarium, I treaded water and sat on the edge of the beach with the clear sea water gently washing over me. The day had started out sunny, but a thick cloud cover hung very low and a cooling breeze blew inland from the sea. All around me, there was excited chatter and squeals as people snorkelled, splashed and swam in the water, but strangely, it was neither disturbing nor intrusive. I could have stayed that away for hours, but the sharp hoots from the moored boats indicated it was time to head back. If the journey in the morning was one of barely suppressed anticipation and excitement, the one back was one of being privileged. It was not something I was about to forget in a hurry.
Where: Andaman and Nicobar Islands are located about 1,400 km from mainland India.
How to reach: Indian Airlines, Jet and Kingfisher operate flights from Chennai and Kolkata. It is also possible to sail from Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam, but it takes almost four days to arrive at Port Blair and is a less popular option.
When to go: December to mid-May, though it can be fun during the monsoons (August to November) as well.
Good to know: Together, there are over 600 islands in the Andaman and Nicobar group, but only nine in Andaman are open to tourists, foreign and domestic. Foreign tourists are not allowed on any island in the Nicobar group while domestic tourists require a special permit which is rarely given.