[mayurpalav]

The words reverberated in my ears as the boat shook violently with the waves, the boatmen advised us to hold on to the bikes just in case.

The journey was coming to an end, Did I envision this ?
Did I want it to end ?
Was this the way it was supposed to be ?

Then again the words came over the din - "Pagal ho gaya hai kya !!!",
I smiled at myself and thought - I am ready to be called an idiot for an adventure like this.....

The boat docked at Dhaman, the last of the ports I would pass on the way back home. The sun was setting in all it's glory, as I waited for the crowd to disperse. Clicked a few pictures and headed for the final stage back home to Mumbai.

Welcome to 3 days of pure bliss........

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Was expecting this travelogue.
I hope , one day , i will travel on the entire route you had taken.
Mx6 , are you reading this? ( you will come to know the meaning after reading this travelogue. )

[New.Novice]

With one paragraph worth of text and all of 3 pics, I have already rated this thread a 5 star. And you know I did not get it wrong.. isnt it?

Just dont make me waiting for too long

[mayurpalav]

I had reached Revas at 1720 hours to take the ferry that would take me back to Mumbai, only to be informed that the ferry service for Mumbai had not been restarted after the rain ended. There had been disagreement over the fares and since no compromise was reached the services have been suspended. However, ferries for Mumbai are available from Mandwa, a few kilometers away from Revas. Unfortunately, bikes are not allowed on the ferry from Mandwa. On enquring a co-passenger told me that the ferry from Revas would take me to Dhaman, a small fishing port near Uran and JNPT. From there on I was to head for Palm beach road and then on to Mumbai. No cars are allowed on this ferry. The cost to cross over with the bike is Rs. 58/-, Rs. 50/- for the bike and Rs. 8/- for me.

I had gotten off the ferry at Agardanda, a port near Murud at around 1500 hrs. From there on I had rode nonstop to get to Revas, passing through Murud , Kashid, Revdanda and Alibaug, a distance of around 80 kilometers except for a 15 minute bio break . The roads in the above mentioned villages weren't anything to write about however the connecting roads were excellent. I should specially mention about the stretch from Revdanda to Alibaug, which has been paver-blocked. I don't know about the cars but on that particular stretch, but all I could feel was vibrations and more shocks compared to all the distance I had covered so far, which was about 1000.

The same to say about the JNPT stretch where ONLY trucks and trailers ply even they have been paverblocked, and to ride on them is just one word - painful. The roads are mighty uneven as well, for trucks it may not be a problem however for vehicles with small wheels it is definitely a nightmare.

[mayurpalav]

The ferry ride from Dighi to Agardanda had taken us 20 minutes. I had to wait for the ferry for an hour since there are timings for the ferries, and one was leaving the port just as I reached and was crowded to the brim. The bikes on this particular ferry were put on the roof of the boat. The ferries from Dighi go to 2 locations on the opposite side of the shore one is Agardanda and the other one is someplace that I cannot recall. No cars are allowed on this ferry either. The cost to cross over with the bike is Rs. 31/-. As I waited for the ticket counter to open I observed the rapid pace of development which is happening in this sleepy hamlet. The Dighi port is expanding to accomodate bigger ships and ease the traffic from the overloaded JNPT. There were a couple of kids trying to catch fish and were fairly sucessful. There were a few more people on the bikes and I had to make sure I got onto the ferry else the delay would mean riding in the dark. I try and reach the planned destinations before nightfall, however I love riding in the dark which means I invariably end up pushing up beyond the plan. In the end all of the bikes were accomodated and travel time was about 15-20 minutes.
The ride from Harihareshwar to Dighi is fairly scenic, the roads are not great but not bad either. This is the particular part of the Maharashtra coast that was notorious for smuggling activities in the years gone by, this also the place where the RDX used in the Mumbai bomb blasts was landed. There are some ghat sections which are pretty neat and did some good cornering there. The best thing about this route were the sights, they were absolutely breathtaking. My point and shoot Canon does not even come close to what natural beauty you will encounter on this route. Many thanks to HV Kumar Sir and Ashish Pallod Sir for tour guides and lots of encouragement, would not have tried this without their guidance.

[MX6]

A very different travelogue. I wanted to take the ferry across many spots, unfortunately, most don't allow cars. Anyway, interesting title as well. Waiting for more to unfold.

@Ashishpallod. I can't make head or tail till now. Guess I will wait till the end. Wait till I will start my next travelogue (where else - to Sringeri) in a couple of days. Then the same words will pop out of your mouth in bold, block letters

[mayurpalav]

People, Apologies if the travelogue is a bit confusing. The intent is so. If you read it carefull you will understand that I am narrating it in reverse. It has a lot of dots that will need to be put together, maybe then you will know what road I am attempting.

Just a different approach, Hope it suceeds....

[mayurpalav]

Had crossed over to a port near Harihareshwar from Velshi port near Bankot village by 1215 hrs. Out of 4 crossings that I used the ferry for, this is the most scenic of all. There is water on all 3 sides and the early afternoon light made the views simply breathtaking. A barge is used to ferry people, bikes, cars and even buses. The cost to cross over with the bike is Rs. 25/-. I had started this particular stage from Dabhol by 0900 hrs, after which I was directed towards Dapoli and from there to Manadangad. I would have saved time and fuel If I had taken Dapoli-Murud-Kelshi-Velas-Bankot route, but since I was directed otherwise, I rode till Mandangad and then towards Bankot. A police constable directed me from Mandangad towards Bankot. I encountered the best roads in this particular stage, and with the early morning sun and almost no traffic, covered the distance in no time. I have noticed during this particular ride that the roads in small towns and villages are generally bad. This maybe because of the number of vehicles plying on the road or just a detterent for vehicles passing by. However the roads connecting the villages are in pristine condition, I was speeding on these roads but always in control. I always slowed down when I was passing through villages and waved at school going children. The weather had been simply awesome, the sun was hiding behind the clouds and the wind was blowing gently. The temperature was a decent 22' C. The road from Mandangad to Bankot wasn't all that great, but the road from Dapoli to Mandangad is what riders and drivers dream of. Perfect tarmac, good markings and great views all around. With all my gear, I looked like I had lost my way from a rally, the look on peoples faces who I passed were one of bewilderment. One more thing that I did was that I rode with my headlight on and believe it or not, almost 80% people who saw me signalled to me to turn the headlight off. Guess the purpose of the exercise was served, I wanted to make myself more visible with my headlight on. Dabhol to Dapoli was completed on freshly laid tarmac and a few patches where work is being done. The early morning mist and ghat roads made the ride very enjoyable.

[mayurpalav]

The day had began at 0630 hrs, was woken up by the alarm and the sweet sound of waves crashing on to the Guhagar beach. I had stayed over at Guhagar after reaching at 1930 hrs the earlier evening. The place that I stayed at was right at the beach, named Sri Puja Resort. The rooms are just about fine and since I just needed a bed to sleep in I bargained for Rs. 550/- for the night and settled down. There are quite a few resorts, I just picked up the first one that I landed on. I was dead tired by the time I got to the rooms, so to refresh myself I decided to treat myself to the local cuisine. I met a couple of people at the bar and they told me about being employed with the Plant, the Plant here is the Dabhol power plant. Although I remember it as Enron Power Plant, actually the Dabhol plant was built through the combined effort of Enron, GE, and Bechtel. It has generated quite a few jobs for the locals, I even met one guy who had moved from Mumbai to work at the plant. Every single person I spoke was surprised to know that I was riding all by myself. I retired to bed by 2300 hrs and after a couple of cups of tea bid Guhagar goodbye at sharp 0800 hrs. The next stage was till Dhopve port from where I would get a ferry across to Dabhol, I passed the Plant on the way and reached the port in half an hour. The barge is used even here, so people, bikes, cars and buses can be ferried across. The cost to cross over with the bike is Rs. 25/-. On the ferry I met a guy who advised me to pay a visit to the Chandika Mata mandir on the way, which I did. The Chandika Devi idol is in a dark cave and the preist let me to it, inside the chamber it was cool and very dark. The only light was provided by the oil lamps, It was surreal to say the least. Carried on from there on till Dapoli on good roads all throughout.

[anilisanil]

a QT fan? reverse chronological narration!! Very interesting- may be as much as the travel itself, all glued, keep it coming

[mayurpalav]

Ratnagiri was reached at 1700 hrs, at which time I stopped to grab a quick snack and a hot cup of tea. I called up HV Sir from Ratnagiri from there and confirmed if I was headed the right way. He advised me to push till Guhagar and halt for the night there. Refreshed by the hot snack of wada pav and chai, headed towards Ganaptipule. This particular stretch of road has been written about quite a few times and it indeed is very beautiful to ride and also for the breathtaking vistas it offers. I was cruising till Ganaptipule and reached there in an hours time. HV Sir had advised me to take the Jakadevi route and that is the one I took. It goes inland and then northward towards Guhagar back on the coast. On hindsight, the road from Ganapatipule goes straight to Jaigad however I was sceptical about crossing over the creek at that end and had no idea if there was a bridge across or if a ferry service is available (I think there must be), Will find out next time. Till that time any BHPian who has done this route can confirm the quickest route from Jaigad to Guhagar. By the time I reached the turnoff at Jakadevi it was dusk and was getting dark fast. I stopped at one bridge on the way to click pictures of the sea and creek and all the greenery around. Since not many vehicles pass this way, it was very quite. The light was just right, there was a slight breeze, there were langurs palying in the forest above and the silence was deafening. I took off all my gear and just chilled by the beautiful view. As I was moving off, a group of 3 bikes stopped on the bridge to click pictures. I requested them to click my pictures on the bike as well, to which they obliged.

And so I finally had a picture of mine with the bike.

The 3 bikes were carrying 6 gentlemen all the way from Kalyan near Mumbai and they were on a 10 day pilgrimage. They were quite surprised to know that I was riding alone and offered that we ride together to Guhagar, to which I politely declined and moved on and reached by 1930 hrs.

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by mayurpalav

People, Apologies if the travelogue is a bit confusing. The intent is so. If you read it carefull you will understand that I am narrating it in reverse. It has a lot of dots that will need to be put together, maybe then you will know what road I am attempting.

Just a different approach, Hope it suceeds....

I think you are doing this so called West Coast Road from Mumbai to Goa, on a bike !!, Not using NH17, but the one which is parallel to it closer to the sea shore. Am I right ?

I remember seeing some of those places (in the pictures) during our Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai car trip in 2004 dec.

[mayurpalav]

@StarVegabond - It is indeed the West Coast Road, although that is not the name for it yet. A few state highways and the main SH4.

@anilisanil - Yes, Big time QT fan. As I said trying a different approach. Thank you so much for your appreciation.

@MX6 - You are correct, most ferries do not have the capacity to carry cars. You are one of the seniors I look up to for pilgrimage trips with my parents. I mostly discuss most of the temples you've visited, with my parents. Plan to take them to Kashi next year.

@New.Novice - Thank you for your kind words, however the pictures are not even 1% of what I've seen with my eyes.

@AP - You have encouraged me to take this trip and pen down my experiences, thank you for your support.

[mayurpalav]

The sun was hiding behind the clouds, as I started from Mithbav, 25 kms from Devgad. The weather was great for riding. The MSH 4 beckoned, for all these years that I thought I would do it, here I was attempting it for the first time in my life. Made my way towards Deogad through Mango orchards and Cashew trees, the road was nice and shaded. At Jamsande, I turned off for Vijaydurg. The time was 1300 hrs, Lunch was curry rice at my relatives place near Mithbhav so I knew that I wouldn't be feeling hungry soon. Development work is still going on some road sections, but nothing out of the ordinary. The road is traffic free and takes you from some off the most deserted parts of Konkan coast, The views obviously are to kill for. I stopped numerous times to just soak in the beauty of it all.

Nature has it's way of making you know how small you are a part of the vast universe, All around me there was a vast emptiness filled by fields of gold, azure sky and the gliterring horizon.

The route taken was Mithbav-Jamsande-Vijaydurg-Jaitapur-Wadapeth-Purngad-Ratnagiri. The traffic on this particular stretch is almost non-existent and construction on most of the flyovers is complete. However approach roads to some new flyovers is still under construction. I did not have to take a single ferry in this particular stretch, so this particular stage is only road. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

[mayurpalav]

These particular pictures are of the same route, pictue abhi baki hai mere doston.....