Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis

We are up in the Western Ghats, near an old colonial hill station called Ooty, staying in the appropriately named Jungle Hut, for a day’s rest. The rooms are spread beneath towering bamboos and tall trees with bright purple blossom, all laid out beneth a rocky-green mountainous backdrop that rises 2000 feet behind.

Deer wander in and out of the forest, monkeys scamper across open ground and at night the dogs bark into the night at the perimeter – they can smell the prowling big cats in the bush, leopards and tigers that reportedly emmerge occasionally to take a sheep, goat or even one of the dogs.

So, in short, this is paradise! The riders are recuperating well, still just one hospitalised for heatstroke, another with a broken ankle, a man with a few cracked ribs… This is the only holiday I have been on where there is a prize awarded every morning (the ‘skid mark trophy’) for the best accident from the previous day’s ride! And what’s more, every day there are several serious contenders! Still, if you could see the rules of the road out here (makes driving in Madrid look like child’s play!), and taking into account the state of the highways, this is no big surprise… They say that you shouldn’t ride faster than your angel can fly, and I think that perhaps not enough of our group are taking that to heart!

More soon, thanks for your comments on the last post,Ben

Amazing, a hotel with an internet connection! I am alive and well, though many of the 100 bikers that started the trip are not! There have been a few accidents and many are down with stomach problems and fever… But India… wow, what a country – we ride all day through vilages that are almost medeival in terms of living conditions, yet everyone greets us with radient smiles and enthusiastic waves. The landscape smells of jasmine, sandalwood and rose, and the locals are the most honest, helpful and kind I have found anywhwere in the world.

We have done 1000 k’s so far, through tea plantations, jungle, tiger country, lost beachs and arid plains and I have been left breathless by everything I have seen. So all is well, I’ve taken many photos (the Indians are SO happy to have their picture taken!) and recorded some audio. It’s impossible to sum up the experience in a single blog post, so look out for pics and a podcast when I get back… Saludos a todos! Ben

I leave for the UK this afternoon and fly out of Heathrow tomorrow evening. In the past I have been lucky enough to visit much of South East Asia but India has always been the ‘big’ one on the horizon. And the strange thing about this trip – 2,500 km in 15 days on Royal Enfield motorbikes across ‘India profunda‘ – is that I have almost no idea where I am going!

The usual months spent pouring over the Lonely Planet prior to a trip like this have been replaced by faith in the fact that we are following a fully organised itinerary, along a meticulously planned route. We’ll be given a map every morning, and told where we’ll be sleeping every night (from beach tents to tiger reserves and five star hotels – apparently!) So I’m ready to be surprised at every turn, and think it may be a really interesting way to travel!

So watch this space. I’ve been told there are cybercafés all over India so I’ll check in here at the blog if I can – meanwhile Marina has promised to post occasionally in my absence. I’ll be back in 2 weeks, hopefully with lots of exotic recording material from India. Thanks again to all of you that supported the sponsored side of this trip, I’m afraid Notes in Spanish 31 has been left in the air for my return – we would love some audio comments or questions in Spanish for the next episode if any one is up for it! E-mail us here.

Hasta Pronto!

Ben

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