Unplanned Trek

 Weak end Trip (Weekend Trip ;))

We 11 friends felt 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' and hence planned a small diversion from the daily routine.

We started early in the morning and by 6AM at the Anakapalle Temple.

The temple is being reconstructed. Except the Main Deity statue all the structure had been demolished.

A temporary temple 'Balalayam' had been arranged for the devotees to have the Goddess Darshan.

We continued our journey in the morning breeze, glided on the Highway and Reached Annavaram our next stop. Here had a good darshan of 'Veera Venkata Satyanarayana Swami' and eagerly waited to taste the wonderful prasad.

This prasad wrapped in  natural leaves 'Vistharaku' which enhances the aroma of the prasad.

Next we started our Journey to the 10th Sakthi Peetam, Peetikapuram now known as Pitapuram.

This temple complex is just beside the bypass road. Pada Gaya, this place is famous for pinda Pradhan to their ancestors. The others being Gaya in Bihar and Nabhi Gaya at Jajpur of Orissa State.

There is a Gayasura statue in sleeping position in this temple pond. 

Swayambhu sripada srivallabha guru Dattatreya swami temple also present in the same temple complex.

The Puruhutika devi Temple (Puruhutika Peetham) inside the Kukkudeshwara Temple is a Shakti Peetha where Sati (goddess)'s Left hand fell. The black stone Nandhi is Majestically seated and watching the Puja's of lord shiva. Having the darshan of the Shiv linga here is a feast for the eyes and soul.

Finally its time to have a Darshan of the 10th Shakthi Peetam  'Puruhutika devi', here the sati devi's left hand had. The Devi Darshan felt very nice. 

We had the Anna prasad and left for Kakinada.

In kakinada we visited the famous Kotaiah Sweets shop which is selling sweets since 1891, for tasting the Gottam kaja aka kotaiah kaja.  

This Kaja is special in taste with juicy texture inside and harder texture from the outside. This variant of Kaja was initially introduced by kotaiah sweets of Kakinada by Chittipeddi Kotaiah who is the founder of Kotaiah sweets. 

Our next stop is Coringa Sanctuary. We enjoyed the wood board path in coringa. Had a nice boat ride to the place where Godavari river meets the Sea. 

The cool breeze, the sound of fishermen boats returning from fishing and along with it the sweet sounds of birds made the boat ride wonderful experience.

Here one can spend a full day. Entrance is 50 rupees per head. The Normal boat ride charges 100 per head and the thrilling speed boat will charge a 200 rupees per head.

As the sun is getting ready to take rest, we started for Yanam a union territory just 30 kms from Kakinada.

The St. Anns Catholic church is a standing symbol for the French architecture. All the furniture in this building  are brought from france.

Being union territory the taxes are less and hence petrol is 97 rupees per litre. So donot forget to fill your fuel tanks here. Also most of the surrounding villages people flock here for the cheap prices of booze.

We had settled for the day with sumptuous food including the famous Pottika(idly flour boiled in the Jack fruit leaves) and called it a day.

We got up early in the morning and headed for ferry road for the sunrise.

This ferry road had a huge sculptures of Shivlinga, Bharath Matha and Jesus statue sponsored by the reliance Gas. They have a large offshore oil fields and have contributed in these ways.

The walk along the ferry road in the morning is cool exploring the morning rituals of fishermen bring their fresh catch.

The Yanam Bridge on the river Godavari majestically standing tall and the free flowing Godavari river on the other side. The view one had to experience on his own.

We had freshen up and started to cross the Yanam bridge to visit the Veeraswara swami temple in Muramalla which is just 10 kms from yanam.

This temple is famous for its daily Kalayanams. Devotees make Kalayanam for the God for the fulfilment of their wishes like Marriage, kids and Job.

It had online booking website and one had to book atleast 1 month in advance.

Next after having breakfast, we started for 12th Sakthi Peetam where the goddess worshipped is Manikyamba Devi. This is the place where Daksha Yagana is performed. The left Cheek of Sati said to be fallen in Draksharama.

Its an 18 kms drive from yanam. Though the road is bumpy at some places, the scenic greenery of paddy fields and coconut gardens made up for an eyeful feast typical to Godavari Districts.

Lord Bhimeshwara Swamy Temple is a two floored 10th Century ancient temple. The Shiv Linga is 2 floor height. This temple is one of Pancharama Kshetras and is considered as one of the Trilinga Kshetras.

We had climbed the steps and had the Shiv linga darshan which is wrapped in silver cover. Then had the darshan in the below floor which is inside and felt like a boogruha.

Next we went to the Manikyamba Devi which had a srichakaram below the idol. We had a wonderful darshan. This is one of the Shakthi Peetams.

All the planned places completed, We are looking ahead for lunch in kakinada.

We heard good reviews of sea food and pulavs. We headed for Kshatriya Foods Restaurant located near to the JNTU in kakinada.

We tasted the stuffed crab, Doopudu pulav made with Chitti Mutyalu rice. The taste is yummy and ordered the crab curry too. This is a must visit spot for the foodies.

To dowse the fires of the masala, gulped the good old Artos cool drink having its legacy of Ramachandrapuram.

Finally with all the collected memories we reached vizag and kicked to bed at Night.

Thanks for reading till here.

Bye. Will come with another blog of trek in Kambalakonda of Vizag.