Mandrem Beach to Mahad

Our favourite neighbours arrived home at 3am again this morning. I was excited when I woke at 2:45am and hadn't heard them. I thought perhaps they had come home quietly. Wrong. Luckily they didn't muck around too much so we got a fairly decent sleep. Still, when the alarm went off at 6am there was no way we were getting up. It was quiet for once and we took full advantage for another hour.

We left Mandrem Beach thinking we would take the NH4 road all the way up through Pune and on to Mumbai, despite hearing mixed reviews on whether this was the best route. As it was pretty much a straight line, and we were checking the phone maps regularly, we did not expect any navigational difficulties. As usual, we were wrong. We somehow ended up somewhere in between the two main roads heading North. So, figuring we were already going in a different direction, we would change our route plan. We took the NH17 and were pleased that we did.

We were passed by two guys on fast motorbikes with all the gear on who gave us the thumbs up of mutual respect as they sped past at a speed much greater than Big Red's top speed. This became a trend as numerous groups of bikers in the full get up rode past as we journeyed North. Must be the place for long haul trips. The appearance of riders, not unlike ourselves, wasn't the only thing to change. Donkeys now scattered the road side as well as the usual cows, dogs, goats and water buffalo.

We stopped in for breakfast in at Kolhapur for a breakfast omelette (because that's the only thing the guy running the place seemed able to say) and continued on our journey. Lunch was a feast of fruit that we picked up from a local market and ate in the shade of a roadside tin roofed bus stop. A lady herded her cows down the road and spoke to us, for some time, in a language we did not understand. One curious cow, the one with the largest horns, took a liking to Chris and came over for a pat.

Polluted river

Lauren and Big Red resting under a tree

We followed what looked to be a very picturesque river for a while and ventured down off the road for a pit stop and a closer look. Like so many beautiful places in India, a close up shows it has been ruined by rubbish. And when you see people go to great effort to actually bag up their rubbish and carry it on a motorbike so they can throw in into the river, you know something is very wrong.

We wound our way up and down many a mountain wondering all the while how, with this many mountains, India still lacks rain. Crazy drivers overtook on blind corners, we saw a truck jack knifed and crashed off to the side of the road and eight out of ten buses showed some kind of damage from having been in a crash. We took it easy.

We travelled 352km in 9 hours and our bodies knew about it as we rode into Mahad. Our backs and bums ached and Chris was exhausted. While the roads had been good for the most part, the other drivers, the heat, the wind and the dust had taken its toll. It seemed that as soon as we crossed the border from Goa to Maharashtra the landscape became significantly drier and the temperature spiked. For the first time we were hot even as we rode at 70km/h. The red dust seemed to coat everything within reach. Even the roadside trees had red leaves thanks to a coating of dust. Well, what leaves were left anyway. Plenty of the trees had begun to shed their leaves unable to cope with the heat. Remnants of fire scarred the land and we melted as we rode.

Dinnnnnnner

Riding in to Mahad we saw a couple of resorts/hotels but we continued in to town to see what was going on and to possibly find the hotel Chris had seen online early. There was not a lot going on in this little town but we did manage to find the hotel. 900 INR with breakfast and a pool. Well...sort of. Dressed in our swimmers and Chris shirtless, we went downstairs after directions to the pool. They sent us out the front into the street and laughed as we wandered out looking lost. Deciding we should probably get Chris a shirt before gov any further we headed back upstairs. By this stage we were over it and decided a shower was an easier option. Good thing too as the reception guy came up to our room (obviously hearing of our search for the elusive pool) and explained it was a kilometre down the road. Not exactly what we imagined when they advertised having a pool. Oh India. I wonder if breakfast is down the road too? Only time will tell.

We went out in search of dinner to fill our empty bellies and were rewarded with our walk. Tadka paneer mutter masala (quite a mouthful) may just be our new favourite. Ad the butter dahl fry was pretty darn amazing also. Add to that a gorgeous veg biriyani and some tandoori roti and we were happy campers. Much happier than the overpriced malai kofta had made us last night. As we walked home, ten or so people lined up outside an ATM, waiting for it to open. Gosh we really do take some things for granted back home. Like running water too. The majority of people we pass are still gathering water from a communal well and carrying it in large buckets on their heads.

BBB (Big Beautiful Beard) now with added hair clip