High Point: A vintage fire fighters helmet from 1931 that had been handed down to fire fighters in Voray sur l’Ognon was presented to Steve, very humbling. Steve says it’s easily the coolest thing we’ve ever been given!
Low point: Steve winning no swear Friday yet again, even after a strong start from Matt, potty mouth
An early visit to St Remy fire station to start the day, where the fire fighters and mayoral representative provided us with a tour of the fire station and a well needed cup of coffee, the fire fighters were amazed at the miles that the crew have been covered in 9 months.
They very kindly presented us with a commemorative plate and fire station tops, unfortunately Steve was given a captains shirt, and cap, so was unbearable, he even had the audacity to ask the captain for his actual rank badge, which he obliged with. His cap no longer fits his head! ;o)
High Point: The reception we received in Torrevieja town square
Low Point: Eating six bags of prawn crackers
No Point: Police escort out of town but still being stuck in traffic (although it was a nice touch)
Location: El Chaparrel to Barcelona
Authors Comments:
When Steve mentioned his plan to drive a fire engine around the world firstly I thought he was nuts, but then I already knew that! Secondly I thought, is he going to ask me to tackle the tricky parts of Russia, the wonders of Asia? No Steve knew I would suit the short burst at the end and all the associated glory! Read more →
High point: Hitting our second antipode which means we’re even closer to completing full global circumnavigation, oh yeah!
Low point: Waking up freezing and convinced our tent was going to blow away in the gale force winds
No point: Why do Mehul and Steve keep speaking to the bewildered locals in French? Who is Delboy and who is Rodders? “Mange tout Rodney, mange tout”.
Quote of the day: ‘Merci beacoup’
I’m a big fan of camping but my four seasons sleeping bag just doesn’t cut the mustard, on top of that the wind howling all night and rattling the tent didn’t make for the best sleep I ever had, but I mustn’t grumble.
Rolling into Casablanca though complete carnage was somewhat iconic. It has long been on the itinerary and sits alongside Moscow, Beijing, Singapore, Sydney, Auckland and New York as a key mile stone for the expedition. It’s hard to describe the level of satisfaction or indeed relief, as with most experiences on this trip, it’s simply too out there to comprehend.
Here at the Fire Fighters Charity, we’re all eagerly counting down to Martha and the crew successfully completing their world circumnavigation on Sunday, 10 April at 1pm at the Grand Square and Colonnades, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich.
I’m quite new at the Fire Fighters Charity, having joined as PR Manager just a couple of weeks ago, but as a former member of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service I have ‘followed that fire engine’ since the expedition got underway last July. What a trip!
We’ve enjoyed every step of the journey as Steve Moore has lead Martha and the crew an impressive 26,000 miles through 28 countries. In particular, the highs and the lows have kept us all entertained over the past 9 months; the silliness of shipping, the amazing cities, the GPS blips, and especially the quotes of the day! Our sincere thanks go to you all for your epic achievement and we’re both proud and touched to be one of the team’s chosen charities. Read more →
High point: Amazing jazz band at Ricks Café, in Casablanca
Low point: Was he dead?
Breakfast at Riad Verus can only be described as a treat; this guy really has done an amazing job with this old building. It was only after breakfast that I took a walk up the four flights of stairs to the roof, and discovered that it doesn’t actually have a roof, well not one in the traditional sense anyway.
Being a Sunday didn’t mean that the Souk in Fes would be any quieter, the hustle of the market was in full flow, people going in all directions, with the odd donkey carrying supplies, and the never ending number of cats roaming around.
High Point: Entering Morocco and taking Martha into her 5th continent!
Low Point: Narrow bumpy roads and speeding trucks made me feel like I was back in Russia.
No Point: Moroccan guy “Hi are you from England?” …. James (Master of languages) Morrowreplies “Ci” … Nice.
After 8 and a half months we had finally reached the African continent. Yet something wasn`t quite right as we awoke in the Spanish city of Ceuta on the very tip of Northern Africa. Ceuta has been a Spanish territory since the 1600s and in 1995 was recognised as an autonomous Spanish region in order to help control illegal immigration into mainland Spain. Moroccans don’t recognise the city easily and I got the feeling the crew didn’t quite feel they were on the African continent properly until we had crossed over into Morocco.
High point: Making the ship to Cueta, the Spanish border town in Morocco, with two minutes to spare thanks to ‘pedal to the metal Morrow’ and a bit of good old fashioned FTFE luck
Low point: Driving around Cueta for about 40 minutes trying to find a place to stay on a road we could fit Martha down
No point: Ship cam, 35 minutes watching the view from the front of the ship was riveting
Location: Coveta Fuma (Spain) to Cueta (Morocco)
Waking up somewhere familiar was very surreal indeed. Casa Holder brought back nice memories of summer weekends with friends, I never thought we’d be visiting again in a fire engine!
