I woke up at 5:00. No need for an alarm. By the time I got ready by 6:00, the tea was served. We had to figure out our route for the day. The book we are following did not give clear instructions. And we could not find anyone who could guide us either. Finally looking at the GPS and a list that was sent to Sunilji we plotted our route. I started walking at 7:30am and Sunilji was driving. We had to go on the main roads for sometime before we could get to smaller roads. I kept walking and Sunilji kept driving. He would go ahead of me short distance and wait for me to catch up. At one point we turned onto a three lane highway. It’s a first for me. Walking on the side of such a busy road. After about a few minutes I was comfortable walking on the edge of the road. We did not find any place to eat breakfast or even have tea. Around 9:00am I was feeling hungry. There was a pack of biscuits in the car which I picked up at the next catch up point. We still had about 6-8 kms to go on the highway. I offered some biscuits to Sunilji and he said no you have it. I was so hungry I did not protest and started eating and walking. After I finished the pack I was feeling a bit guilty about not giving any to Sunilji. Within about ten minutes I saw a car coming towards me on the highway he was driving opposite the traffic with his blinkers on at very slow speed. I wondered what was he doing. He stopped right in front of me. I moved a bit aside and was walking. Two gentlemen got of the car and said “Narmade Har”. A greeting I had not heard on the road all morning. One of them said we are doing Seva for the Parikramavasis. The other one opened the trunk and gave me one pack of biscuits and one bag of Murmura(dry savory snack) and a hat that said Narmade Har in Gujrati.
I was so thrilled. Just a little ahead I saw Sunilji stopped. I got there and gave him the biscuits pack. I kept the Murmura and continued walking. I saw couple of other Parikramavasis a short distance ahead sitting on the side of the highway eating the same things and wearing the hats. We spoke for few minutes and I moved on. I walked for sometime and met with some other Parikramavasis we had met three days earlier. This was a group of six people walking together. One of them is young man of age 25 who does Katha/Paath(story telling of Ramayana Sundarkhand and other religious stories). He was walking with his mother and her three friends. There was one elderly gentleman who was 90+. We walked together for a while. We came to an ashram by 11:10 am. I had walked about 15 kms. This ashram gives only food supplies and we have to cook our own food. The group of six went in to sit for a while. I decided to go to the next ashram in Bharuch. Well that was a ride of a life time. We spent next three hours driving through all kinds of roads trying to find an Ashram. We asked many people but most of them did not know where we could find a place. One gentleman even turned his bike around and asked us to follow him. We were hopeful that finally we will get somewhere. We got to the place he showed and were totally disappointed. The temple was in shambles and locked. We got back in the car and tried to get out of Bharuch. This took some more time. By this time it was 1:00 and I was starving. Having walked 15 kms and eaten small pack of biscuits and Murmura. I asked Sunilji to find a fruit cart. We stopped and picked up Bananas and Oranges. Next cart had tender coconut. We both had one each. This gave some relief. We drove out of Bharuch. We found an Ashram where we thought we could find some lunch. As we entered it looked like a very nice place. The grounds were well maintained. But when saw couple of ladies, we met with cold stares. They did not want to help us at all. We did not feel comfortable. We got the stamp in our book and got out of there. I was feeling down and wondered if we will find anything today. We kept asking for other ashrams. We stopped at a roadside restaurant and had a quick lunch and continued our search for a place for the night. Finally we stopped at an Ashram where we had some hope. The name of the place is Bharadwaj Ashram Seva Trust ( Jyotiben Ashram) in Mangaleshwar, Gujrat. We had to wait till the manager came at 4:00. It was about 3:30. We went out of the Ashram and had tea at the first stall. I was tired and had a slight headache. I ordered two cups of tea. We had tea and sat there till 4:00 o’clock rolled around. We went in and met with the manager. He was an elderly man with his assistant. First thing they said was have some tea. I had my third cup. I was tired and needed some caffeine anyway. After we had they seem to relax. They finally gave us a large room upstairs with attached bathroom. I was so grateful for this place. I got all my things and settled down. First thing I did was take a bath and washed my clothes. Then I felt a little better. The place was really nice. It’s located on the bank of Narmada River. I met two retired sisters who had come from Baroda. They were both unmarried and wanted this to be their last life. They spend their time in prayers and meditation. Sunilji and I walked outside the ashram in the evening after dark and were shocked to see a funeral pyre burning right there on the side of the road. We found out that the whole area was funeral ground around the ashram. People from outside are unaware of this fact and the locals are so used to the site they are not perturbed. We walk back in silence. We attended the Bhajan and Arati session in the ashram followed by dinner. Day seemed very long. Went to bed shortly after eating. Today I walked 18.75 kms.