The first thunderstorms of the year that signal the oncoming monsoon season

It was a day characterised by an excellent current that allowed me to row over 40km. But starting from 3pm, the silence was broken by the arrival of heavy rains and thunderstorms. These are the first thunderstorms of the year that signal the oncoming monsoon season. In the next two to three months the waters of the Ganges and the Hoogly will rise tens of metres above current levels.

It was only thanks to the assistance of a boatman that I managed to reach the first inhabited place where I could stop for the night yesterday.

Without these river people who welcome me with curiosity wherever I go – and above all, without my team who constantly put me in the best environment to navigate safely, I would never have even begun this expedition.

Kunal (Totem) and Bhargabi (Boory) are the two precious fixers and my friend Mauro Talamonti is our photographer – two Italians and two Indians, all in the same boat. Thank you.

photo credits: Mauro Talamonti