January 19, 2011
Beach near Dapoli
via Veldur ferry to Ladghara
At gone eight I'm down in Guhagar's little centre that's based around a temple and a junction and get some breakfast there - a kind of dal with a bun with some sweet tea.
It's a popular cafe and I share a table with a man, but we don't speak. There's a language barrier.
There's time to kill before the cyber cafe opens, so take some photos outside, including one of a flower seller who's making small garlands, working out of a small lock-up. It's probably his father I snap too. He looks ill. Maybe it's just age but I don't think so.
A minute later they call me back over and hand me a small garland after the son has done binding it together as a show of thanks and I'm a little overwhelmed. I know - it sounds silly. It goes on my bar-bag, tucked in the side-pocket.
It's a while since I had a blended fruit drink and buy some grapes and three oranges and soon eat the sweet little oranges while standing outside the temple entrance. I don't bother to go in.
The man in the cyber cafe says there'll be no broadband connection until after 2:00pm, so I start riding north. Sod it.
It doesn't take long to reach the ferry where I wait for a short while.
The boat sails over at about 11 or so and it's a struggle to lift the loaded bike on board, but I manage okay without falling in. My Brodie rests against a flimsy railing made of wood and I use my bungee to stop it falling down.
The ride lasts about 20 minutes and doesn't cost much. There are 15 other passengers sat around. They must wonder where I'm going.
It's up and down again after the boat trip, and yes, it's hot again. The sky is blue as usual and I feel a bit tired from not having had a great sleep.
There are the long flat pieces of road, just like days before, but then I see a tree which must have some religious meaning, with its white blossoms looking out of context here in this arid place and I take a self-timed photo of me riding past it. There's hardly any traffic and it's wonderfully quiet here.
Some person shouts. They often do. Men anyway. I look in my mirror and a man is waving his arms in the air. They don't do that very often. I turn back.
It's a foreigner who turns out to be also cycling around - but Frank is going south. We go to the small cafe that he was sat in when he spotted me riding by. I order a cold drink. I need it.
Frank is from Holland and has a Hero gear-less bike that he bought in Bombay from a shop called Happy Cycle Shop - going from what's printed on the rear-wheel mudflap.
His is a romantic idea, but it seems that after just five days the romance is getting strained what with the hills and having no gears. I can imagine.
We exchange info' about places to sleep. He has three months too, and I recommend going to Bangladesh, but say getting a visa may be a hassle here in India.
It's hot and my energy is low and a nap would be nice.
Before my wheels get me to Dalpoli the familiar puc-puc-puc-puc-puc sound of a small engine powering a sugarcane squeezer gets my attention and I stop and have three glasses. I need them.
Dapoli seems to be a junction town with a few streets. It's nothing special, but I find a cyber cafe which doesn't have a connection so I go to a nearby shop and have a cold drink and a chocolate ice cream and sit and watch traffic go by for a while.
At nearly 4:00 I make my way to the beach not far away - around 8 km Frank had said. The first pair of Swedes said the same and told me to make a note of it on my map.
The cyber cafe has a connection when I go back and by the time I've done emailing it's dusk and I ride up out of Dapoli and find the left turn to the coast and after a small climb the road drops for a while - perhaps 4 km - and I speed along but take it steady as it's almost dark now and the little lane has nasty potholes.
The sky on the horizon is glowing dull orange to the west. It soon fades. It looks nice but I don't stop to photograph it.
There are electric lights in Dapoli and there's a nice-looking place where the manager says it's 1,200 a night - which makes me cough - so I say I'll explore a bit more, but after a short ride of 100 metres my wheels turn me around in a short U and freewheel me back.
I take a room and find there's only me staying here in this resort called Sagar Sawali. It could be the price.
The night sky is lit by a full moon.
My stuff is unpacked in the room, which the owners probably label 'cottage' or something, but it's not really a cottage in my mind or a villa or beach hut either. It's a detached room, the end one in a row of about 10 that all look out to sea. Each has a small patio and my bike is lent against the wall of mine. It's not locked as there's no need.
The Asus laptop - which is actually Debbie's - is still not working, meaning photos can't be transferred to my external hard drive, so it's a matter of deleting any that are superfluous as my memory cards soon fill up - each RAW file being around 35MB.
The beach is close and the sound of surf drifts up to the roofed patio dining area, where I have a cold Kingsfisher which isn't quite cold enough for my taste.
There's a trail leading down to the shore and I walk there with my camera gear and take some 'night shots' while perched on a rock that waves roll onto.
There are young men - maybe 20 or more - having what they call a 'party' nearby and they come to chat as they leave to go to their hotel that they point to in the distance. If this was England I'd feel anxious and quite intimidated as they would probably be drunk at this time of night. These guys are courteous.
It seems the beach is narrow, but very long - perhaps 5 km - and even though it's night I can tell the sand is a little soft underfoot and there are small pebbles and shingle the size of fingernails.
This is not really fantastic news as my idea is to ride along it in the morning: the two cycling Swedes said it should be possible to get to Harnai from Ladghara.
The manager has no idea and tells me the road to Harnai is back via Dapoli, but I hate going backwards and even more so when there's a long hill involved, so decide to explore the sandy shoreline shortcut and just see what happens.
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 3,440 km (2,136 miles)
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