Diu's fishing village of Vanakbara: A great place if you can bear the smell

Few tourists visit Vanakbara, a fascinating fishing village in Diu. A trip is highly recommended, but be prepared for an olfactory assault

When a two-minute television ad campaign by Diu’s tourism department titled “Ilha de Calma” (Portuguese for Isle of Calm) aired back in 2015, it created considerable interest among travellers. The clever ad presented Diu seductively and reinforced its message with a mesmerising symphony-like background score. The “Ilha de Calma” music became famous and so did Diu.

A seagull

Having already ticked off mountains, deserts and wetlands on my annual travel calendar, this year I settled on Gujarat. And then I remembered Diu, and decided to head there first. The hamlet located off the Gujarat coastline is around 360 km from the city of Ahmedabad. It took me around six hours to get there. Both sides of the highway were under construction so the distance and the time taken didn’t match up. Just outside Diu, massive water bodies play host to migratory and residential birds. A 15-minute stop had a few black-winged stilts, sandpipers, plovers, black-headed ibis, whimbrels and western reef egrets on my bird-watching log book.

Diu’s Portuguese heritage is visible as soon as you enter. And the first thing I had to do was find a restaurant that served authentic Portuguese food. O’Coqueiro was the only one that sounded like it might do so. Every other restaurant wanted to serve me Chinese food. 

Maintenance of fishing vessels

The place proves to be quiet and laid-back. Popular places to visit in the 40 sq km island are Diu Fort, the Naida Caves, St Paul’s Church (built in 1610) and a sea shell museum. The last is a must visit for nature lovers. It is run by a retired captain, Devjibhai Vira Fulbaria, who has a vast collection of sea shells and a few preserved sea creatures, which he collected while in service. He is no malacologist but enthusiastically shares details about every specimen in his collection.

Ice being loaded

On day three, I head to the little village of Vanakbara on the western tip of Diu. The fishing village is the biggest and busiest of all the fishing hubs in Diu. It’s early morning. And every colour on a palette seems to be present on the brightly painted vessels and the multi-coloured fluttering flags. Dried large-head hairtail fish shimmer from the ropes on the deck. The day’s catch is being unloaded swiftly from just-returned fishing vessels. Sea food spoils faster than land food so we have to be as quick as possible, say the fishermen. Village women are busy selling the day’s catch at the local market. Meanwhile, gulls and egrets are on the lookout for freebies and get their share quite easily.

A fresh catch of silver croakers

Some parts of the dock are occupied by vessels that need attention. Heavy cranes lift them out of the water and park them on the dock. Some men apply tar and repaint boats while others scrub algae-ridden keels. Signwriters are giving artistic touches to the symbols on the bow of the boats. Engineers check all the mechanical and electrical aspects. “A lot of labour goes into it, you see. Traditional wooden boats, mostly made of sal, cost Rs 50-60 lakh and also demand heavy maintenance as compared to the modern fibreglass vessels,” says Rajkumar Solanki, a supervisor.

Sleep cabin for the crew

Boats leave only during high tide when the underkeel clearance is good. Fifteen to 20 barrels (200 litres each) of diesel, 80-100 slabs of ice, food, cooking fuel, drinking water are all loaded up. I’m surprised to learn that a large vessel has only six or seven crew members and a captain. Everything is more or less mechanised, so not much manpower is required, I am told. But boats don’t leave before a havan is performed on it. Why? “In 2000, some boats had gone up to Okha. The weather got rough and unmanageable. Everyone on board perished. Nobody will forget the mass funeral that was held here,” says Chandra, who runs a provision shop.

Getting There 
 

By air: Flights from Mumbai to Diu connect travellers from across the country. 
 

A helicopter service from Daman takes only about an hour.
 

By road: It’s popular to travel by overnight AC sleeper buses. Or one can hire a taxi.
 

Duration of travel: From Rajkot it takes five to six hours; from Somnath two-and-a-half hours; and from Ahmedabad six hours.
 

Stay
 

Radhika Beach resort, overlooking Nagoa Beach; Hotel Palma, near Khodiyar Beach, a famous sunset point; Gilberts, near major tourist spots and ideal for backpackers; Hoka Resort, Nagoa Beach, for 

good food.
 

To Do
 

Apart from visiting the tourist spots, paragliding and other adventure sports are available at Goghla Beach.

 

When the yield from shallow waters is lean, fishermen are forced to venture into the deep sea. Those trips can take 20 days because vessels may go as far south as Ratnagiri or even Goa. They don’t return till their boats are full. One boat carries 15-20 tonnes of fish per trip. The bulk of the catch is exported, mainly to China. A few fishermen dare to travel in the opposite direction, to where the sweet freshwater of the Indus meets the salty Arabian Sea. The sea is rich with fish there. The only problem: the possibility of being caught by Pakistani authorities, since there is no marked border. Trespassing happens from both sides. Fishermen are captured and imprisoned, and their boats seized, before eventually being returned to their respective countries. Such incidents have reduced significantly now that boats are equipped with GPS and wireless systems.

A crane lifts a vessel for repairs

The devoted fish-eater that I am, the most fascinating aspect of this fishing village is, of course, the fresh fish. They are all over the dock — Bombay duck, threadfin bream, prawn, tuna, herring, seer, mackerel... Ghol, or black-spotted croaker fish, is in great demand because of its taste, nutritive value and longer shelf life. It is believed that the heart of this fish has medicinal value and is called sea gold. A male ghol that weighs 25-30 kg can fetch an incredible 

Rs 1.5 lakh in auction!

Diu’s iconic lighthouse

Like those sea gulls, I am spoilt for choice. I buy a mid-sized tuna and request a local to cook it. Food experiences with locals have become something of a ritual for me. Given a choice of an exquisite signature dish at a fancy city restaurant and the one I had in the fishing village, I will always plump for the latter. Without question.

Egg-bearing lobsters among threadfin breams

From mid-May till August, the monsoon months, no fishing takes place. Everyone here lives on the money they earned during the season. As I leave, the sea breeze flirting through the masts and flags brings one of my favourite Mark Knopfler numbers, “The Trawlerman’s Song”. We’re taking on water / Diesel and stores / Laying up awhile / Before I’m back on board / They’re patching her up / To go fishing again / They’re welding her rudder / Scrubbing her keel / Scars on her belly / Need time to heal / In the dock / With the trawlermen...

A final tip: search for “Ilha de Calma” on YouTube and wait for the magic to envelop you too.