DAY 2 (10 MAY 2025) PART 1
SATARA- PANDHARPUR- TULJAPUR (261km)
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| Satara-Tuljapur |
We were ready bright and early at 06:00am on day 2 of our trip. The hotel was a disappointment early that morning. We had been told at check in that room service of tea would be available but when we called and enquired they told us that the chef hadn't come and deep cleaning of the kitchen was in progress. Quite annoyed at not getting our morning caffeine fix we left with the intention of stopping en-route to enjoy some desi tea.
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| Desi Chai |
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| idli breakfast |
Having travelled extensively in the south I am used to seeing small stalls and shops open, serving piping hot tea and coffee along with fresh sambar and steaming hot idlis. Maharashtra on the other hand is laid back and has a slow start to the day. So, although it was almost 07:00 am there was no sign of any food or drink on the road. We did find a restaurant that was open at about 07:30. We stopped there for some idlis and tea. The food was fresh and tea was to R's liking which was evident from the fact that we had a total of 4 tea's :). Back on the road Baby H was entertained with these spinners that were suctioned onto the back passenger window. All I had to do was spin them and he would look at them in awe.
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| enjoying the view |
While on the road we noticed boards for Pandharpur. Pandharpur is famous for the temple of Vitthal and Rakhumai. The Pandharpur Wari which an annual Hindu pilgrimage involves carrying the paduka of sant Dnyaneshwar or Tukaram or the saint in a palkhi from their respective temples to Pandharpur. Over a million devotees take part in this pligrimage.
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| Huda at Pandharpur |
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| Zhago at Pandharpur |
We decided to make a pit stop and visit this famous temple. We reached at about 11:00am and decided to only do the Mukh Darshan as the line to go inside the Sanctum Santorum was quite long and we had some distance left to cover that day. There are some things to keep in mind when visiting the temple. Small bags are allowed but no electronic devices are allowed inside. There is both a body and bag scanner at the entrance. There are lockers outside the temple entrance to store your stuff. They charge around Rs.20/-.
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| R, Baby H and myself at Pandharpur |
After a quick darshan we came out and had refreshing sugarcane juice. The atmosphere around these temples is quite charged, with devotees rushing towards the Lord, traders selling their wares and pooja essentials in abundance. Once we were done we quickly got back on the road and headed towards Tuljapur. On the way we stopped at a brand new restaurant that had been open only a day. The ambience was good and the food was tasty and seemed hygienically prepared. We ate roti with a paneer dish and had buttermilk as an accompaniment. We finished our meal with an ice cream but it was so hot that the ice cream melted by the time we even began eating it.
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Paneer
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The rest of Day2 will be the next post.Until next time ... Adios Amigo.
