Within 10 kilometers teams began having problems with rainwater seeping into the fuel tanks and breakdowns became less fun. As mechanics and support vehicles rushed to assist, other teams also stopped to provide assistance –despite the reasonable desire to plod ahead and finish in the much anticipated Goa. Teamwork, gorgeous beaches and tropical scenery provided a great motivating lift to all the teams who kept their spirits, wits and enthusiasm high.

When teams made it to the boarder crossing between Karnataka and Goa, they were in for a surprise. Officials ushered team members into a small office structure and demanded 100 rupees to be allowed into the state. Without issuing receipts or notating the transaction, teams were waved in after handing over the money. At dinner that evening some teams were confused, was it a toll or a bribe? After a few laughs from the more experienced organizers and travelers, the bribery heavy culture had made a concrete introduction to all 18 teams.

Soon, the entry into Goa once again changed the landscape with the Portuguese and former military influences felt in the architecture, roads, people and animals lining the route. Despite the rain excitement was high as teams made it to the BASE hotel for flag down. Dinner was a rowdy group affair at the Hotel George, across from the main Church square. After consuming as much of the local delicacies as possible, teams and organizers ambled back to the hotel in joyous anticipation of the day off the next morning would bring.

The first stop and challenge location was the legendary Shri Krishna temple in Udupi . A large winding structure situation in an old town complex, this was one of the most memorable temple visits, with diamond encrusted golden gods, air conditioning through certain hallways, loudspeakers broadcasting pious chanting and an unforgettable hall looking out over a vast square water complex where 23,000 people are fed on a daily basis. For those lucky enough to wander the whole grounds, a temple elephant was taking 10 rupee coins in exchange for soft smacks on the head by the elephants truck, a blessing all will remember.

After the temple visit roads were a mixed tropical experience with dry patches alternating with washed out roads and mixed showers. Teams that broke down sporadically hid under palm trees; or took refuge in roadside hotels, deciding to try the menu as well. Lunch with locals is always an experiment with local dishes and moreover the distinct experience of trying to order from Indian waiters.

One of the greatest moments of the CEAT Mumbai Xpress 2008 will undoubtedly be the moment when Madrid 2016 stopped at the point where other teams, such as the British team The Engine spontaneously burst into shouts of joy: the appearance of the Arabian Sea. After stopping, the Spanish team noticed a local holding what looks like a small plastic tortilla holder. Inside –a King Cobra. Hypnotized by his handler, other teams began to stop to offer assistance, assuming that they had broken down. Upon seeing a real live snake charmer and the incredible spectacle of a King Cobra the magic of the experience left everyone speechless.

Finally turning into the road leading to the RNS Residency,Murudeshwar, the flag down location for the evening, teams got a glimpse of the incredible silver and golden statues and temples, dominated by an enormous seated Shiva atop a museum. Once an island accessible only during low tide; the island with its hotels, statues and shops is a little less than 10 years old, prompting varied responses from awe to comparisons to Disneyland.

Epic views from the hotel, with local fishing boats making their way out despite the storms took second seat when teams started getting hungry and agreed to roam through the strip of restaurants to find one serving meat and alcohol –a service difficult to find in the stigma of a vegetarian and abstinent Hindu village. Eventually, wading through the dark amid intermittent drenching rain, almost everyone reached a hidden restaurant that required nothing less than a dark alley and being turned away from three moral vegetarian restaurants.