On the train (still)

Post-it note and rail pass

post Tsunami in southern India

On two wheels again

Back to the beach

Ayervedic rip-off

Day at the beach

Day 14 push on to Trevendrum

Day 13 Backwaters of Kerela

Day 12 catch a boat?

Day 11 Happy Birthday!

Day 10 Tea plantations

Day 9 Fish to tea in a day

Day 8 Leaving paradise on a train

We headed back to the middle management hotel and breakfasted with the sad and lonely.

Day 7 this is paradise?

I cannot remember enjoying a coffee more!
Relaxed and feeling good. What a difference a lie-in can make.

Day 6 no food no rooms lots of tension

120 kms to Panaji on the N17. How hard could that be?

Day 5 Border town with brandy

Day 4 No ferry no water

We'd already had breakfast (dhosas in the ferry terminal) and caught the ferry by the time the sun started rising.

Day 3 Ox carts and dug outs.

We headed back into town to pick up the road south and was amused to see a traffic jam! About half a dozen ox carts were tailed back from the junction waiting to go into town. We looked and enjoyed the scene but neither of us thought to take a picture... We thought that all of Indian would be like Maharashtra.
We had our first proper "indian Breakfast" today in a great little cafe in Srivardham.
The day started well but I got very tired in the heat and drank about 45 litres of water before hitting the wall. I should have stopped for lunch but we kept putting it off because we were so excited - but in the end I just had to stop.
We passed through some beautiful scenary and at one point went about 20kms without seeing a person. We did see some rather large monkeys. It was very hot and very hilly. To cross one river, we hired a dugout canoe with patchwork sail.
The two guys didn't say a word and the four of us silently sailed across the estuary before they dropped us off on a beach. There was a town in sight so we hoped that there would be a road. There was but it was closed for repairs.
Afeter a couple of rounds of negotiation it was agreed that a 20km detour would be hard for a couple of weak looking cyclists - so we were taken through a couple of back gardens through some alleys and avoided the road works.

Today was a brilliant ride. We had jungle and beaches. Giggling school children. Women at the well. In between towns, the roads are almost empty. There are no road signs. There are no shops. There are very few people. The few people we meet are very friendly and if we need directions, we wave down a bus or a truck and the driver will happily chat for a while before directing us.