Day 1 : Samudrapath : Coastal drive

We had been wrapping up our flat in Benaulim the previous day so were packed and ready to leave at 7.20 am. The car was gleaming as I had taken it to the car wash a day earlier Now it was free of all the sand that had collected in the crevices over the last four months. Since we were driving back, we were carrying back a lot of stuff we wouldn’t have if we were flying. The car slowly filled with the many big and small bags. Two of the bigger suitcases and a duffel bag were enough to fill the boot. Three suitcases that had the stuff we would use on the trip were put on the rear seat. We had packed biscuits, namkeen, energy bars, the makings of coffee and some fruits so that we were not stranded for food anywhere. We were now ready to leave and I was excited with a tinge of anxiety as I pressed the started button and we slowly moved forward.

A short visual presentation

Our first point of interest was Malvan, a coastal town in southern Maharashtra. We had been told that the Malvani cuisine was delicious, and we were ready to sample some. We drove along NH 66 - our regular route to Panjim, then across the river Zuari and past Porvorim where an elevated road was being constructed. Progress was slow upto Mapusa and then the highway swung away from the coast and along the bank of Terekhol river and started to climb up the ghats. At one point we crossed the river, swung by Sawantwadi and kept moving north. At this point we decided that we should leave the highway and take the coastal road. A quick look at the map showed us that Vengurla seemed a likely place and we punched it on Google map and gently moved off NH 66 into a quiet district road.

From this point on, which was around 8.45 to when we finally drove into our first halt at MTDC Ganapatipule at 4.30 we drove mostly along district roads and at some places Maharashtra State Highway 4. We climbed up the Ghats, drove for some time across a flat dry plateau, and then climbed down the ghats and crossed a swollen river, and up another ghat and then a plateau. The plateaux were dry and rocky with black volcanic rocks dotting the landscape. At several points there would be roads splitting off for beaches that were 5 to 10 km on our left. The coastline also seemed dotted with forts. We saw the directions. At one point we stopped for coffee and breakfast that we were carrying with us. We reached Malvan around 11 am, a little too early for the Malvani biriyani that we had heard about. Malvan beach was a little disappointing after the broad sandy beaches of Goa. We took a quick peep at the beach and made tracks for Ratnagiri.

As we drove closer to Ratnagiri mangoes started to appear, first few big trees and then a profusion of orchards lined both sides of road, all over the plateaux only to slowly disappear as we made our way down towards another river.  We reached Ratnagiri around 2.30 and Jashodhara found Masala a restaurant on the beach with a good rating. The restaurant was right by the sea, but the beach was not very impressive. The restaurant was simple, clean and nicely decorated. A blackboard had a long list of thalis with a variety of fish. The list was in Marathi so we didn't understand all the fishes. We recognised surmai or kingfish, and Jashodhara asked whether they could make a plain rawa fry, like she would have in Goa. She emphasised that no masala should be smeared, only apply a lemon juice and garlic paste marinade. Since one plate of fish would include 2 big steaks, I opted for a vegetarian Malvani thali. The steaks were big, and they didn't have any masala, but had been deep fried a little too much for our liking. The thali included 4 items. The fist item which was a little surprising was a small bowl anchovy with a rich oily red gravy. There was also a smaller bowl with a thick spicy coconut gravy and a still smaller bowl with fried tiny dry prawns. And all this in a supposedly vegetarian thali. To cool the palate there was a bowl of solkadi. With all this were 2 bhakris or chapatis (flat bread) made of rice flour. If you didn't mind fiery hot, the food was good, unfortunately I realised malvani cuisine was not for me. The surmai fry was okay but the solkadi was the saving grace.

The final 25km stretch to Ganapatipule was very scenic. We first drove through mangroves and then we drove up the ghats. Suddenly and sea was glistening right below us. It was past 4.30 when we reached our resort at Ganapatipule. MTDC Ganapatipule is set on a rock face overlooking the mountains so the sea view from our room was fantastic. Later we went down and took a long walk on the wide beach. The sea breeze was bracing and we were glad we had decided on this place for our first night halt. The drive had been a tad longer than we had wanted but the coastal road was a good experience.

Total driving time 7.58 hours.

Distance 326 km

Fuel ave 13.5

P.C. - Jashodhara