The wonders of a famous 'rocky land' in Nghe An

(Baonghean) - Jutting forward to welcome each wave, Nghi Thiet rock beach (Nghi Loc) acts as a screen to protect fishing villages from the waves and wind. Over millions of years of geological changes, the hand of nature has endowed this rock beach by the sea with a wild but equally attractive beauty. This is the place that beckons people to immerse themselves in the natural scenery to experience a sense of peace...

The wild and majestic beauty of the natural rock beach along Nghi Thiet beach (Nghi Loc). Photo: Cong Kien

On the weekend, a close friend took his family from Hanoi to Nghe An to relax and enjoy the beauty of Nghe An's sea. After moments of playing with the blue sea, white sand on Cua Lo beach and enjoying seafood - "gifts" of the sea, he expressed his desire to experience and explore a wild place, find a private space to watch the sea and sky.

I took him up to the Lo creek and Nghi Quang barra, through the Trung Kien shipbuilding village to Nghi Thiet rock beach. As I had predicted, as soon as we arrived, my friend opened his eyes wide in surprise: “I never thought that next to the coastal city of Cua Lo there would be such a wild and majestic place. Nature has cleverly arranged the rock beach with its ancient colors next to the smooth sand, creating harmony in a seascape.”

We walked on the rocky beach to feel the wildness, the vastness and majesty of Nghi Thiet beach. Each large and small rock stacked on top of each other like layers of history, each rock has a different shape, satisfying the imagination of people.

There are rocks that look like turtles crawling on the beach; there are rocks that look like roosters stretching out to the sea, crowing to call the dawn; there are also rocks that look like boats bobbing on the waves... The rocks are arranged in blocks and boulders, naturally created in different colors, on a gray background dotted with white, blue, red, purple, and yellow like a synthesis of colors in the vast universe.

Women come to Nghi Thiet rock beach to pry open oysters. Photo: Cong Kien

We lay down on a flat, clean stone slab, facing the sea, enjoying the cool breeze, the waves crashing against the cliffs creating a solemn melody. Outside, fishing boats were fishing under the clear blue sky, dotted with golden sunlight...

The scenery and sounds seem to bring people into the sea, the sky and the earth. The worries and troubles of daily life seem to have been washed away, dissolved with each wave hitting the shore. Coming here, people seem to find themselves with innocence and purity, simple and rustic like stone, the dust particles that ripple in the soul have been washed away by the waves, leaving only love and the desire for harmony.

Image of pristine rocky beach in Nghi Thiet. Photo: Cong Kien

At the end of the rocky beach, there is a cave that juts out towards the sea. The cave is quite large and the floor is quite spacious. On the cave walls, colorful stalactites shine under the light like a convergence of magical colors, adding to the charm of this majestic rocky beach. The cliffs and stalactites have drops of water clinging to them, occasionally dripping to the floor, making a dripping sound.

Those drops of water are raindrops, dewdrops and even ocean waves that bounce off the rocks, seeping through the cracks of the rocks to reach the cave walls over time. Therefore, those drops of water are truly pure, you can feel the coolness and salty taste of the ocean.

It is said that this cave is a shelter for Nghi Thiet fishermen when the weather suddenly turns stormy, the sea is noisy with big waves and strong winds. Perhaps that is why the residents here always keep the cave clean, the stalactites still retain their original beauty.

Making a living at Nghi Thiet rock beach (Nghi Loc). Photo: Cong Kien

A boat docked at the sandbank, three old fishermen leisurely came to rest after a day of fishing. Being friends with the waves, wind, sandbanks and scorching sun all year round, everyone had dark skin and wavy hair. Old fisherman Nguyen Van Huynh openly talked about the wild trips, the white-capped waves and even the storms and hurricanes at sea.

Then he enthusiastically talked about his hometown's rocky beach, that it had been there for thousands, tens of thousands of years, that his hometown Nghi Thiet was formerly the sea, after many times the sea retreated and advanced, advanced and retreated, so that families from everywhere came here to reclaim the land, to establish villages. Dozens of generations passed, the village became more crowded, the sea still generously bestowed gifts to the residents here so that they never fell into famine, so that everyone considered the sea as their own flesh and blood. Then he talked about the rocky beach, Nghi Thiet fishermen almost knew every large and small rock, because from the age of 4 - 5 they had taken their first steps to this place. The rocky beach is also associated with the feats of the Nghi Thiet army and people during the years of fighting the Americans.

On the night of September 27, 1965, the enemy sent a group of soldiers using rubber boats to raid Hai Thinh village. Thanks to their high alertness, the villagers discovered them early. Nghi Thiet militia organized an attack, and a group of soldiers waited in hiding on this rocky beach, causing the enemy to panic.

More than 2 years later, on December 26, 1967, also at this rock, the Nghi Thiet commune militia unit used a 75mm cannon to shoot down a destroyer of the 7th Fleet, relieving the fishermen's fishing boats. This can be considered one of the Nghi Thiet militia's battlefields during the years of confrontation with the US Navy. This rock also witnessed hundreds of unnumbered ships of Trung Kien village being launched on the adjacent beach, from here the ships went to the North and South to carry out their missions, contributing significantly to the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country.

The wild beauty of the rocky beach comes alive when there are about 10 people, covered from head to toe, sitting hunched over the protruding rocks at the edge of the waves to chisel clams. When the tide rises, this marine creature is washed ashore by the waves and clings tightly to the rocks. This is a gift that the sea gives to the people of Nghi Thiet, because people only need to bring an iron chisel and tools to the rocky beach to have oyster products to bring home. The iron chisel is used to separate the oysters from the rock edge and separate the oysters from the shells, but the oyster chiselers have to expose themselves to the scorching sun. This "gift" is brought back to improve or sell, each person earns a few hundred thousand dong/day.

Nghi Thiet Commune is turning around in today's socio-economic development with projects to build seaports, factories and roads leading in all directions. Adding to the irresistible appeal of this land is a "fairyland" like...

Cong Kien