Day 5 - Dec 7 , Tuesday

With Ganpatipule, we reached our half way mark of the trip and started to breathe a sense of joy and achievement though not obvious by our fatigued gait.

Dibakar`s baggage puller

Goa now , started appearing to be a possible dream.

“No matter, how big the climb or in how many days? ”. All the questions turned irrelevant.

However, the group dynamics had changed. Guys riding ahead for the first four days started appearing at back whereas Dibakar and me started leading. A Strange purview considering the fact that I was riding the heaviest Bicycle with least lower gears and Dibakar with lower aerobic capacity appeared to be carrying all his wardrobe on the bicycle.

The dugout to Ratnagiri

“ Hmm, Yeh teeno Bombay se aaye hai aur main direct Manali se aa raha hu .” as Dibakar used to joke for carrying so much baggage.     

The Route
The route sets of with a huge descent which is a newly tunneled shortcut through red soiled mountain where the Sea follows you all along and traveling on a Bicycle grants you a much larger time than a fuelled transport to gape and be amazed by the Unboundedness of the Sea.
The 22 km ride to Ratnagiri is a pure bump free ride along the coastline with villages which airs the smell of predominant dry fisheries and a view of people`s dependacy on the marine habitat for a living.
Ratnagiri is the biggest city on the Konkan belt where we loaded our wallets with some money and refreshing sugarcane juice and continued on the road ahead to Purnagad. 

In the Ratnagiri Creek

Ratnagiri city

 Kashel, On the way to Purnagad

The 15 km ride till Pawas comes out to be one of the most boring and dehydrating rides under a blazing sun with long stretches of hayed barren lands and industrial complexes. After a big climb and a hairpin descent looms Pawas where we took a break from the heat with Maaza and some 20 small-plastic-packed locally made lassi-pepsis.

Local Kirana che Dukaan

The road then leads to Purnagad passing a long bridge over the creek with a lone house after the bridge that pets three dogs of variedly different character. The white - the most playful and restless , the blackie being very quite and friendly and the third who demanded more time for character-defining.

Bridge to Jaitapur

Unavailability of any food on the route made us lunch a wholesome Veg thali and an ice-cream around 4.0 pm in Wadapeth. After  a heavy trudge of 6 kms, we took a  right on the inner roads where all of us rode like having rockets under our seats and cruised at average speed of 30kmph and covering about 9 kms in just about 20 minutes which passed through small villages with primary schools and post offices. A newly build bridge on the creek takes you to Jaitapur which is supposedly the place of India`s biggest Nuke plant ever and a place of most beautiful evening of the  trip.

Local Sonar`s House

 Improvisation
 The decision to end our day in Jaitapur demanded lots
 of  worldly affair. As Jaitapur sports neither Hotel nor a Homestay, the
 idea for the stay  necessitated visit to people who commands authority in
 the Panchayat to the Head of committee of the Kul-temple of the village.
 Atlast, permission granted for a bivouac in a temple and a Strict-No to
 beer and non-veg, due respect to The Gods.

The Evening of the Trip

The Setting Sun bears magical powers, spreading scarlets which makes every surrounding thing more beautiful and alive and leaves you with an inexpressible feeling and words which defy human languages. A Moment – Memorable, Serene and Never to be re-created again ever. 

The Creek lit up in the evening fire and a Chacha fishing on a 6 x 2 ft dinghy stands up to Azaan and begins his Namaaz to remember his Creator, to thank for the life granted and ask for guidance along the Straight Path. 

  

Chacha and his Dinghi

Jaitapur creek

The Thank you

The Scene Personified 

Every Life is more beautiful than what we think it to be, which serves a greater purpose in the Cosmic plan of Nature and deserves a Thanks than a Sorry.

 

Rewards
Sleeping in a temple broke our routine and was a welcome change from the regular-night intoxication and also gave us an unexpectedly the most beautiful sunrise of the trip.