An Outdoor Trip I won't forget

Last weekend I went for an outdoor trip to Mollem. The place is in the South East Goa, Near Dudhsagar falls. We basically planned it as a Barbeque trip and Overnight stay and then visiting some nearby tourist spots before coming back to campus the next day.

This place is some 75-80 kms from GIM, so we took a car and some bikes. I was a pillion behind Sopan. Now let me tell you something bout this guy. He literally is the kind of person who "Lives on the Edge”. He races along the roads at a blistering 90 Kms/Hr. Well that’s O.K. but then he also has this "ROADRASH" style of overtaking. Hence it wasn't much of a surprise that I straightaway grabbed a helmet before I sat behind him. And yes...said my prayers.

The roads in Goa during the Monsoon ain't very Driver friendly and the journey was full of Jumps and Bumps. This guy just drives across the Rumblers on the road. Somehow the Rumblers in Goa are large enough to be a row of Speed breakers, so imagine my agony when I literally jumped out of my seat a couple of times. Then this guy has to smoke while riding, so he just leaves his hands from the Handle to alight it. I just sit still on my seat. Period.

When we reached the place, we were lucky to find accommodation in a Forest Resort. After we settled in we started on the Prime event of the evening. Barbeque Time. Add to it the Booze. The Barbeque was a great experience in itself. The chicken was fabulous and credit must be given to our In-house Barbeque specialists Sindhura and Vikram. The booze hit most of us and started a round of Fun, bakar and Time pass. I slept at around 2 after having my capacity of drinks. Luckily I didn’t Puke, some others did.

End of Day One.

It’s Morning and we realise that out of the 13 who came in, 4 have gone back
without even informing us. After cursing them for sometime, we decided we will visit a couple of temples in the area before heading back.

We reached the first temple at a place called Tambisurla.Its a beautiful place, very serene and natural. Took some snaps, saw the temple and headed for the 2nd place.

Now this second temple was located on the other side of a stream, away from the main road. Its important to remember that we were a bit away from Civilisation, without mobile connectivity et al.The crossing the stream idea was Sopan's since he had been there before. However we had to leave our car and Bikes behind and wade waist deep into the stream to reach the Temple. The problem was that Sopan didn't anticipate the Tide and Strong currents in this stream during Monsoon. On our first
Attempt we failed, the current literally dragging some of us. Sopan and Pabitra went upstream, to check if its easier to wade through the River there.

They didn't return for some time now, and another guy Aushin now started making up this Concept that we are all part of a teenage Slasher movie.4 guys who tried leaving n the morning already gone, and then 2 others also missing now. Before he could add any more spice to the Story however, they came back, however with a worse problem.

Sopan had apparently tried to wade thru the stream and had lost the car keys in the current, when he lost his balance. Now without the car keys, we were totally cut off. This place was in the middle of nowhere and we were stranded.

Nandan went off on one of the two bikes to look for a mechanic, but didn't return for 2 hrs now. All are valuables were in the Car. We were totally at nature's mercy. Somehow Sopan managed to open one of the doors with a Ruler. Waiting in the car was much better than waiting in the rain. Now Nandan wasn't back for 3 hours so Sopan decided to get a mechanic himself. Now with both bikes gone, we were totally isolated.

Its 3 PM when Sopan finally returns with a mechanic. The guy shorts some wires and starts the car, but the steering is locked! So we can't drive it. We are scared about Nandan, hoping he isn't lost in the forest. Out of the blue comes Nandan, our Knight in Shining amour. He had gone some 20 kms away to Ponda where he found a mechanic who unlocked the steering and got the Car started. Finally after an agony of 5 hours not knowing what Fate we would endure, we finally left for Campus.

This Adventure (More of a Misadventure) taught me a few things. One is that nature still can control you and make it dance to your tunes. Other is that Adventure is dangerous too.