18th October Valsad, India to Sangameshwar, India
I set out knowing that spicy food is no longer my friend! I head southward, with trepidation toward Bombay (Mumbai). Bombay is a peninsula made up of a number of marshy islands.... or it was. Now it is India's commercial hub and probably the most frenetic city on earth. My route didn't take me through the heart of the city but it felt as if it had. I encountered very high volumes of traffic on roads that were woefully inadequate. The connect road between the north of the peninsula and the south is a single carriageway and constructed in parts from block paving, quite astonishing. My satnav rescued me several times from wrong turns. I finally left the city behind and almost end up on the Pune Expressway. I doubled back to join the southbound NH 17. I stopped just short of entering the highway, in Panvel, looking for a place to grab a drink. I assummed that "Nightriders" was a bar..... maybe I was, with hindsight naive. Soft drinks weren't available.
A few kilometres after Panvel the NH17 becomes a rather lovely road. The October, post monsoon landscape was verdant and luxuriant. The road wound its way between the the Konkan Ghats (a coastal mountain range running southward from Mumbai) This road, although not in the very best condition (Ho ho ho) is exciting and spectacular.
As I rode onward I knew I was less than a days ride from journey's end and started to allow myself the indulgence of anticipating my arrival in Goa. For most of my adventure I have focused on the day in hand. In particular dealing with the simplest of things.... Keeping the bike fueled, ensuring I have a route planned out for the following day, finding a place to stay for the night, rounding up a meal. And in the moment staying safe! remembering that this is an adventure not a race.
I slowly rode my way southward aiming to reach Ratnigiri but settling upon Sangameshwar. I stayed alongside the highway in a simple guesthouse. Not the finest accommodation I had sampled over 30 odd days but sufficient. I grabbed some beer and a 1/4 bottle of whisky from a local bar.
Tomorrow Goa. Golden beaches, cosmopolitan fusion culture, Portuguese colonial architecture... maybe I have read too many guide books......
Sangameshwar mileometer 25341
I set out knowing that spicy food is no longer my friend! I head southward, with trepidation toward Bombay (Mumbai). Bombay is a peninsula made up of a number of marshy islands.... or it was. Now it is India's commercial hub and probably the most frenetic city on earth. My route didn't take me through the heart of the city but it felt as if it had. I encountered very high volumes of traffic on roads that were woefully inadequate. The connect road between the north of the peninsula and the south is a single carriageway and constructed in parts from block paving, quite astonishing. My satnav rescued me several times from wrong turns. I finally left the city behind and almost end up on the Pune Expressway. I doubled back to join the southbound NH 17. I stopped just short of entering the highway, in Panvel, looking for a place to grab a drink. I assummed that "Nightriders" was a bar..... maybe I was, with hindsight naive. Soft drinks weren't available.
A few kilometres after Panvel the NH17 becomes a rather lovely road. The October, post monsoon landscape was verdant and luxuriant. The road wound its way between the the Konkan Ghats (a coastal mountain range running southward from Mumbai) This road, although not in the very best condition (Ho ho ho) is exciting and spectacular.
As I rode onward I knew I was less than a days ride from journey's end and started to allow myself the indulgence of anticipating my arrival in Goa. For most of my adventure I have focused on the day in hand. In particular dealing with the simplest of things.... Keeping the bike fueled, ensuring I have a route planned out for the following day, finding a place to stay for the night, rounding up a meal. And in the moment staying safe! remembering that this is an adventure not a race.
I slowly rode my way southward aiming to reach Ratnigiri but settling upon Sangameshwar. I stayed alongside the highway in a simple guesthouse. Not the finest accommodation I had sampled over 30 odd days but sufficient. I grabbed some beer and a 1/4 bottle of whisky from a local bar.
Tomorrow Goa. Golden beaches, cosmopolitan fusion culture, Portuguese colonial architecture... maybe I have read too many guide books......
Sangameshwar mileometer 25341
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