Thursday 15th November:

Thursday 15th November:

Start:           21,563

Finish:        21,609

Distance:     46km

Route:         Vascoe de Gama to Goa (Calangute Beach)

Hotel:              FAN Sarala Crown

Today: Left a basically industrial area, which appeared to heavily tied to the maritime industry & Indian Navy – not much to appeal & certainly not the GOA seen on the adverts in Aus or the UK !

Pre-booked Sarala Crown before leaving VdG which seemed a reasonable move, so we had a target to aim for.

Only expected to be an hours run, unpack the bikes and go down to the beach, as the hotel was 500m from the water.

Always good to have a plan……Tony & me became separated. Where was the bugger, did I go wrong, or was it him. Either way, it was an unusual feeling. Cos having just left a large and busy intersection, do you go back (but there is nowhere to stop) and you also run the risk of passing in opposite directions without seeing the other.

So I stopped just past a police checkpoint approx. a km from the intersection to wait. Coincidentally, it was here that I was treated to the full weight of the Indian Police enforcement process.

Officers appeared to ‘discretionally’ select some unsuspecting driver for questioning.

Unfortunately, it appears the system has not informed drivers they need to stop ‘when required to, by a police officer in uniform, in the execution of his duties’ !! I suppose the 10 officers managed to ‘actually’ get 1 in 10 of the drivers they indicated to stop. It was bizarre, there was no reaction, no frustration, no recording of number plates (for this with number plates), no back-up down the road to capture the ‘escapees’. It was an interesting cameo to road discipline in GOA

Tony and I managed to get phone contact and we had no idea where each other was, so agreed use the hotel as the meeting point. I was fortunate to spy a sign in the main street amongst a ‘collage’ of various signs promoting keys, tyres, restaurants and every other ‘down an alley’ business you can think of.

To my relief…I had beaten Mr Bean. So I checked they had a room (which they did) and went back out into the road to catch Tony……30 minutes later, it was getting a little warm…another conversation and directions…another 30 minutes, it was now getting very hot…..another 30 minutes and it was now ******* hot. Then…..he appeared, like a knight on a ‘brown RE charger’, stripped to a tee shirt and looking how I felt. We checked in at 13.30, a tad after the projected time when departing from VdG, some 4 hours earlier …. All good in the end

This was a new hotel, well equipped, but only just completed

An executive decision taken & we confirmed for a couple of nights, in order to have a break, have a look around, get a SIM for my phone & hopefully get my riding specs repaired.

Tony wanted some laundry done, so booked a bag of stuff into reception for it to be returned mid-afternoon tomorrow.

Showered & went out …. the main retail shops were closed for their siesta (2 – 4) so went for a couple of beers + walk, down to the beach. Now…Australia does have a bit of a reputation for beaches and so does GOA. So this would be an interesting comparison

A brief walk of 500m where the visitors & families alike were enjoying the facilities the beach had to offer. Families were standing around in groups, there were straw topped recliners and groups of bars at either side of a large open area. What an idyllic setting….

Then there was the bottles, plastic, litter and general rubbish buried in the sand. The grey-brown sea breaking onto the muddy coloured sand and ….. the cattle. The cattle and families (both cattle & people……. was there a difference) just ignored each other & shared the shade..not quite the picture I was expecting.

We seated ourselves in a grass-roofed bar, took a beer and watched the activities with another beer & a bowl on masala peanuts …. Tasty, but taking a chance with the extra bits & pieces mixed in to add to the flavour.

Having seen enough of Indians and lots of very large Russians,(many with a low centre of gravity) a stroll back to the hotel to get the specs for repair, was called for.

First shop …. No can do

Second shop …. No can do….’what about gluing or drilling the broken pin’ I said…… no can do. Then a question to the guy on the phone in the corner ….he begrudgingly took a look…it will take time …. can leave them ….. had a third look, took out some plyers & voila …. ‘can replace the frame for 15,000 INR ($30)

So eventually, a done deal !!

To be collected at 18.30 tomorrow.

Onto the telecom shop (more like a pop-up wardrobe) where yup, can do but need passport, passport photo & visa…. But I only wanted a SIM Card & pay in cash (700INR - $14). Surely no need all the ID. So back to the hotel, where fortunately I had spare photo’s & all eventually completed. (India does have regulations after all)

Feeling exhausted after doing nothing all afternoon, decided on an early supper, where Tony, (not a creature of habit) ordered his fish curry & I had a local delicacy, which they warned was spicy, but was only average for a ‘well developed Aussie pallet’ !!

However, all good and very tasty & time to savour the days