Day 22: To every action, there’s always an equal and opposite reaction

What we sowed in the morning reaped benefits for us by afternoon. We didn’t get stuck in Bengaluru traffic for starters, and then it was smooth sailing until Dharwad for over 300km. The final stretch of over a 100km was magical though. We have traversed through the Amboli and Chorla route a lot of times and have always raved about the twisties. But the folks driving to Goa from Bangalore are luckier than the ones going from Maharashtra, for sure. From Dharwad to Ramnagar, the complete stretch is made of Tarmac and there are hardly any potholes. Lush green forests surround you. No need to stop and get off from the car here as there’s all sorts of wildlife lurking around! Amidst all this is a detour to Dudhsagar falls, which thankfully was shut at this time often year.

The Renaults were brilliant here, no second thoughts about that. Duster, our tracking car has always been lauded for its outstanding dynamics but all that has clearly filtered down to the Kwid as well. The hatch was a hoot here, it was staying on its feet at all times thanks to the Ceat Milaze rubber. Even with so many kilometres on the odo, over ten grand to be clear; the Kwids haven’t shown any signs of distress and the only thing that has come off is a mud flap. Renault and reliability goes hand in hand.

Torrential rains are hammering down in Maharashtra and Goa, say our folks back home. And that was demonstrated well as we entered Panjim. It’s been raining quite heavily here and we’re hoping that we get to shoot tomorrow morning. Let us see how it all pans out.