To Burhanpur: Bananas everywhere

February 28, 2016

"Welcome to India" the man on the motorcycle said when we were stopped at a junction checking GPS. Then as we cycled away, "Go slow" he says. Not sure if he was referencing our motto from Jimmy Buffet, "Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see", that we shared with the reporter yesterday. Maybe he was referring to signs posted entering town, "village ahead go slow".

No matter, we made slow progress today not because of distance or road surface or hills, instead the reason matched the reason we like cycling... Interactions with people.

"Money is paid" the man says when we try to pay. We had stopped for a break at another stall when the man speaking fair english says "Chai, bring bikes here". So we move our bikes, have chai and the potato vada has returned, Patrick asks if he can translate the newspaper article. A crowd gathers and no luck with the translation.

Later at a junction we stop for a sugar cane drink...and eat Banana chips, we'd picked up earlier from a mother with two young children. This turns out to be best combination for cycling...potassium and salt from the banana chips and sugar for energy from the drink.

"I feel like we should be over the pass by now. I'm ready to get there" Rachel says. It's been a long flat hill most of the day along with a slight cross wind and a few sections with bad surface. We continue to see fields with green crops and this must be the major area where bricks made. To weave through town, Rachel is behind a motorcycle passing a tuk tuk followed by a man pulling a cow on rope and behind him a man pulling a goat. We cycle to a hotel in city center, but it was very basic. The GPS isn't working and the streets are a maze, but we find another hotel, Hotel Ambar and Holiday Resort for 1500 rupees. A nice place with outdoor kitchen and grassy courtyard.

A very good day on the road.

Women carrying bricks on their heads. They carry only as many as they can stack on themselves, the length of their arms is the limiting factor. You would think some man would figure out a way to make them work a little harder....

We re-discover the vada. These potato patties are thicker, more rounded, but once you squish them they are eaten in a little bread bun.

Kids in a dry riverbed underneath the bridge. They are scavenging through the garbage that is strewn across the valley. As we watch, a passing car chucks a bag over the railing, the kids run to retrieve it.

Dry river valley of the Tapi River near Bushawal. Bank to bank covered with garbage.

These women must have help stacking the bananas. Where they are unloaded the guys only grab one trunk at a time.

Our cottage at the Ambar Holiday Resort Hotel. Notice the green grass, we have not seen this nice a lawn for a while. It does breed lots of mosquitoes.

Busy market day in Burhanpur. Heavy Muslim influence.

Today's ride: 90 km (56 miles)
Total: 13,567 km (8,425 miles)

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