They had been sitting in the boat for ten minutes, pleasantly surveying the passing scenery when, all of a sudden, they heard a loud noise and the boat came to a halt. The river was very low due to lack of rain, and the boat had run aground. With great difficulty the boatman extricated the boat and began rowing again. But in a few minutes the boat again stuck to the muddy bottom. Some of the mandali jumped out and began to push and with their effort the boat was freed. But after going only a short distance, it got bogged down once more and this time could not be freed. The boat was stranded in the middle of the river; however, another boat came along and they prepared to transfer their belongings. With Baba leading, they got out of the boat and waded through the waist-deep water to the other boat, carefully avoiding sinking in the soft bottom. Afterward, despite ending up being muddied, they found the situation humorous and much of their tension was released.
But their troubles did not end as the second boat also ran aground. The men got out and slowly pushed it across to the other shore. At one point, when Jalbhai felt himself sinking, he felt Baba's hand on his shoulder and saw his feet miraculously rising out of the mud. Once they reached the shore, Baba told them to dry and change into fresh clothes, which they did behind bushes. They continued their foot journey, reaching Ankleshwar at 8:30 P.M. They slept on the railway station platform, and Baba allowed them to drink as much water as they needed, which relieved them. The next train for Surat was scheduled to leave at 4:00 A.M. and Baba told them to rest until then, taking turns of an hour each for nightwatch.
Leaving Ankleshwar, they reached Surat at six o'clock on the morning of 4 July. From the train station they went by tongas to the two-story Parsi dharamshala, which was empty. After eating, all bathed and washed their clothes, which had been soiled in the muddy Narmada River. That day they ate three meals, which consisted of only rice and dal. From Surat, Baba wired Rustom to meet them in Navsari on the 6th.
Rising at 3:15 on the morning of 5 July, they left Surat at four o'clock. They shouldered their luggage and walked along the railway tracks that ran parallel to the road. Reaching the town of Sachin at 9:00 A.M., they stopped near a porter's hut where Gustadji cooked dal and rice for the group.