Tuesday, February 22
Janjira to Harnai – 100 K
With an elevation gain of 2700 feet before lunch it made for a hilly morning on our bikes. Jan and I didn’t arrive at the lunch stop until after 2pm but by then I was more hot than hungry. While climbing one of the final hills before lunch, I looked down at my Garmin and it read 103 degrees!
Let me backtrack a little and explain how we came to arrive at our lunch spot (only traveling 60 K) by 2 pm. Our day started with a short 20 K ride to a ferry boat… well, actually the tour called it a ferry boat but in reality it was a fishing boat that we converted to a bike ferry for the morning. J Here we are loading the first 15 bikes on the boat. It can only hold that many of us at one time.
Right away they put Joe to work running the bilge pump – we had a laugh as he pumped the water out of the boat – knowing that our fate was in his hands. J I had dibs on the life preserver ring closest to me. J
My rootbeer ride is a trooper and rode the trip on the top of the boat – here they are unloading it – again we had to unload it onto another boat then to the dock. Funny!
Although we left at sea level and arrived at sea level there were MANY hills in between. We rode another 20 kilometers or so and then had ANOTHER ferry ride across another bay. This was a short ferry ride, but as it turned out they had to load a huge bus on the ferry and that undertaking took some time. Here, the crew is putting special ramps under the bus tires so it can be loaded. The bus riders were college students on their way to a nearby fort and we had a nice time visiting with them. At first I was a little overwhelmed with the attention they were paying me. They ALL (boys) wanted to take their pictures with me – I think they took about 30 cell phone/camera pictures or more. They were friendly and our ferry ride went quickly. One of the instructors who spoke English sent us off with wishes of “courage and goodwill” because that is what we had given them as we told them about our adventure.
The ride after this ferry was more of the same hills and rough roads – slow goin’. When we finally reached the lunch van we had decided that we would ride in the van the rest of the way to the hotel. While I sat in the shade of the van sipping my water bottle and pouring it on my head to cool myself, I turned to see one of the local cows snooping around and trying to score a taste of biker lunch from the lunch gear. I think it’s pretty cool how every day is a farm day on the roads here. J Here’s Fossy looking for a snack!
As we awaited the arrival of the last of the riders to come to the lunch station, we took advantage of the shade and concrete benches in a nearby bus stop – a nice spot for a little rest. Mika is in the green – she joined us in Mumbai and has such a wonderfully cheery personality – she is from San Francisco. Jan and Edwina (Joe’s wife) are laying down in the corner. J
The van drove us towards the hotel and it’s fun to see the scenery and not be concerned about the road conditions – often seeing things that I would otherwise miss because I have to concentrate on avoiding the many obstacles in the road. The magnolia trees are in bloom! They are large leafless trees with beautiful red blooms! The pictures I took from the van do not do them justice so you will just have to trust me on it! Soon they will have their leaves, but right now they are a wonderfully vibrant contrast to the browns and greens of the rest of the vegetation here.
We slowed for traffic in a small village and I snapped a few pictures out my window – here’s the view looking ahead down the road – this is very typical of the small towns and villages here (this one is cleaner than most however). People either live in these buildings lining the street OR they sell their goods and services in these areas OR both.
After arriving at the hotel and washing my clothes I decided the BEST thing to do was to take a nice LONG walk on the beach. It was evening and the water was the perfect temperature for strolling up the beach as the gentle surf washed across my feet. I didn’t take my camera or anything else… just me, the beach, the waves and the sunset – it was PERFECT! In the distance, a fleet of floating wooden fishing boats in a bay gave the appearance of what life was like hundreds of years ago in this very spot. The two oxcarts walking along the high tide line confirmed that I had stepped back in time and I relished the moment – I had walked far enough from anything that resembled the 21st century that I really could step back in time. When I finally turned “back to the future” to return to the hotel, I watched the red sun set into the sea – it was beautiful! I thought about home too… and how that same red sun was just about to welcome a new day to my family and friends – they would soon be starting the day I was just finishing. J
I missed the group meeting while I was on my walk but I didn’t really care – I could easily get the updates from someone else but my sunset walk on the beach will remain with me the rest of my life!
