In December 2007, my wife Hansa and I were on a journey back home from New Delhi, first by flight to Baroda, then by road to Navsari. Upon arrival at Baroda airport, our friend Malav picked us up, and as we traveled along National Highway 8 towards Navsari, we came across an intriguing sight—a green Land Rover with a British number plate parked at A1 Services car park. Intrigued, we decided to take a short break and approach the owners.
We introduced ourselves to the occupants, Jo, 69, and David Latham, 72, from Wales, United Kingdom. They shared with us their incredible road adventures, having traversed the continents of Africa and the Americas, covering over 70,000 miles in total. This journey had brought them from England to India, and as fellow Brits, they were delighted to meet us. Being passionate about road travel myself, I found our chance encounter fascinating, and we engaged in conversation for a few minutes. However, when we returned from a quick visit to the restaurant, they had already departed.
We caught up with them a few kilometers down the road towards Mumbai on December 28th. Since it was close to New Year’s Eve, we extended an invitation to our home, which they graciously accepted. They followed us to Eru in Navsari, where we provided them with a comfortable room upstairs. After freshening up, they expressed their joy at the prospect of relaxing and enjoying a full-size bathtub after a long time. We shared Indian wine and dinner, and they retired early, as they hadn’t slept in a proper bed for a while, having utilized the roof tent of their Land Rover 110 throughout their journey.
Over the next couple of days, we showed them around our villages, introduced them to our friends, and took them to our recently built school in Karadi, which I managed. Jo and David were impressed and generously donated Rs.2000 towards the school. Since they were headed to New Zealand, we facilitated introductions to some friends from there, exchanging contacts. We also hosted a New Year’s Eve celebration at our house, where we all enjoyed drinks and delicious food, although Jo, due to allergies, needed sandwiches.
As the clock struck midnight, we welcomed the arrival of 2008 together. On January 1st, Jo and David decided to continue their travels, with their first stop being Daman, then onward to Goa. Before leaving, David shared a last drink of whiskey with me, expressing gratitude for our hospitality. He had intended to save the bottle for their journey’s end in New Zealand but felt compelled to share it with me after their delightful stay. Following heartfelt goodbyes, they departed, promising to keep in touch.
On January 2nd, I received an email from them, expressing gratitude for the wonderful time spent together and detailing their safe journey to Daman, thanks to our directions. Tragically, on January 17th, we received devastating news of David’s sudden and untimely death due to a swimming accident in the Arabian Sea near Goa. Jo, in her email, expressed her deep sorrow and gratitude for the support received.
This heartbreaking news came as a shock, and we extended our sympathies to Jo. During our school’s Republic Day celebration on January 26th, we observed a minute of silence to honor David’s memory.
