Saturday 1st December:

Saturday 1^st December:

Start:               24,054

Finish:   24,405

Distance:         351

Route:    Hubli – Dharward – Belgaum – Bailhongal – Kolhapu – Karad - Satara

Hotel:               Pride (non-executive) Hotel !

Today:

The day started well, with TB’s alarm & down for an early breakfast at 07.00am we packed and off at 08.15am. It was a tad disappointing though, as we had to leave without any requests for photo’s…..we are obviously becoming ‘yesterdays news’ !

It was another glorious sunny morning accompanied by the ‘not so heavy’ pollution. The area looked heavily industrialised, but maybe the agricultural focus takes precedence.

Our exit from the town was the best to date. It set a new high to be away from the city and have 45km (in the right direction) under our belt in the first hour.

However, we have to own-up and divulge that after the first 10k’s of the usual ‘thrust & parry’ of traffic, animals, pot holes and ball-breakers, the road opened up into a 3 lane carriageway, with a significant central island that would have tested ‘Evil Knieval’ and which gave us a new experience…..as at least 85% of the traffic was driving in the same direction as us…….it was bliss !

And so it continued, on and on and on….the sun was behind the right shoulder and you could count the number of pot-holes on one hand.

However, this did introduce a new ‘adversary’ on the roads, in addition to the impatient driver….this was the ‘exceedingly impatient driver’ who could have been described as mildly aggressive if you were driving slower than them.

After a couple of hours and feeling pretty happy with ourselves, as we had 100km under our belt, so we paused and found a traditional corner coffee house in Belgaum. The Owner was a delight as two black coffees without sugar was described in 5 different ways, before he understood, we wanted 2 black coffees, with no milk and no sugar ! But fair-do’s, he made them specially, as I do not think anyone else drinks it this way in India.

By 12.25 we felt even more smug as we pulled into Kolhapur. We were expecting this to be our overnight stop, had the National Highway lived up to it’s usual standard. This was just cause for a celebration and we treated ourselves to a ‘traditional’ McDonalds (but without beef) We reckoned there was a combined 7 or 8 years since we had had a McDonalds in our respective home countries.

Onward & upward, suitably chastened by having succumbed to the evil influences of western cuisine ! Our next target was Karad, which only took an hour and so onto Satara, where after the usual recce around town, we found our current exclusive accommodation, but this is a small price to pay for knocking off an extra 100+ km to reach Mumbai.

After catching up with some notes, we needed to celebrate our progress and found one of the most dismal establishments that served a cool beer. But you know, it provided limited ambience and niceties, but the staff were still sensitive to the ‘gwailo’s’ and brought out a lighted mossie repellent to put under the table. Just a small gesture in a very ordinary and downbeat establishment and another example of the nature of the Indian people

We then walked into another ordinary restaurant, where they provided a simple but really tasty meal and great service. A very satisfying low key evening.

We need an early start on Sunday, as combined with today, this could have us saving a day. But the roads tomorrow, will see a return to the usual challenges, if we are to maintain a suitable average to reach Ailbag by the evening. We are looking at around 240km to Ailbag and climbing over the Purandhah Hills and from our earlier experiences of these roads at an average of 25km/hr = a journey of 9.5 hrs.

It will require a very early start and ‘a wriggle-on’ to get there in time for dinner.