High point: Steve remembering to pick his Mum up from Gare du Nord train station – the reunion we have all been waiting for!
French point: Spot the landmark- Eiffel Tower, Concorde, Madeleine, Musee du Louvre.
No point: The revelation that Coca Cola Light (ie Diet Coke in France) tastes better because it actually does have different ingredients!
Ah, Paris in springtime. The sun is shining, the blossom trees are blooming, the tulips are trumpeting in honour of Martha’s impending arrival. It’s the homestretch now! One day to go! Read more →
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.
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.
A wonderful wonderful day! A touch of nerves as per normal when we have to deal with anything shipping related. Today was no was exception. Martha had already been in Spain for couple of days and we were itching to get on the road (and very conscious of our time constraints). The sillyness of shipping didn’t disappoint but with our man Eric on the case dealing with all the craziness. He did a grand job of dealing with the shipping lines, warehouses, truck drivers, crane operators and all the other people involved in this over complicated process.
Low point: The search for a mobile internet solution for updates to the website, computer says no
First night ever in a hostel, and a nice one at that. The others have made comments on my snoring, but I’m quite sure its all fictitious. The room was quite a sight first thing.
A good start to the day, with a meeting at Sea World’s offices at 9am. Eric from shipping company Sea World Services has been a star and has managed to get the fire engine cleared by customs in record time, hopefully this will enable us to unload and get going by lunchtime tomorrow. This obviously depends on how long it takes to re-inflate the tires and reattach the lights that had to be taken off for the shipping from New York to Valencia.
