DAY EIGHT - SAGAR TO KHAJARAHO

We thought it was time we had some good luck. Ever since we’d stuck our Ganesh sticker on the front windscreen, she had seemed to be a curse more than a blessing. But today was the day we sorely needed her to do her bit for the morale and for our continued good progress.

Beautiful roads and a landscape that changed by the minute from rugged outcrops and geological formations to jungle, to lush green fields, meant that the time just flew by. Our li'l lady was running like a dream and as a final ingredient to a smooth and delightful day, around mid-afternoon as we were rolling along past water buffalo and the occasional herd of goats, one of our cameramen – Steve Moro – got on the walkie talkie and asked if we’d seen the fort up on the hill we’d just past. A quick u-turn by our convoy and a couple of minutes later we were following a young boy on his bike and he guided us through a narrow maze of streets reminiscent of a remote Greek village, our group being scanned by inquisitive eyes and chased by laughing children. We had found Garganj and had to go the final climb up to the fort on foot. It was astounding that the whole village turned out to watch us while the men and children accompanied us and showed us round their awe-inspiring, almost hidden gem of history. With much of the stonework still in place albeit overgrown, we could climb to the battlements and look out over 360 degrees of verdant Indian countryside.

I was given the shed skin from a spitting cobra that one of the teachers from the village had just found and he explained that nine people in the area in the last six days had died from bites. Suddenly the warnings to the girls about where to pee by the roadside came into perspective. But we’re learning: pee near cows – they won’t stand near snakes and snakes are essentially timid so they won’t stay around cows.

As the fort was a bolt from the blue we didn’t know what we were looking at and in fact we’ve found it difficult to find out much online about the structure, but the teacher from the village reckons it was built in about 500AD and was the love nest for the mistress of the local landowner as well as being a strategic fortress. Back down in the village and we all had a photo taken with the children while the girls posed beside the village elder – a sort of Indian Hugh Hefner!

We left Garganj and couldn’t believe our luck when we pulled into Khajaraho in daylight with enough time to go up to the rooftop terrace of our hotel and with beer in hand watch the sun set behind the famed ancient temples. This is how we imagined every day of our journey should be. It hasn’t been and we’re now pretty sure that it won’t continue to be. But as ever, we'll enjoy it while we can and we’re up for the challenge.