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Bridges, Breakdowns, and Rainbows!

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Friday July 26

We arrived in Volgograd, Russia around 9pm last night with the  Mother Russia statue‘s  outstretched arms rising in the distance high over the city.  Sunset had fallen and lodging/camping options appeared slim to none.  The collective agreed to make a bee- line for Atyrau, Kazakhstan and the  plush Marriott hotel rooms (Thanks Sarah!!) with wi-fi, showers, and a hot meal and cold beer (ammenities we have truly come to cherish) that awaited our arrival for tonight.

Driving out of town, we passed the miles and miles of oil and natural gas refineries that have come to define Volgograd.  We arrived at a McDonalds in Astrakhan, Russia this morning around 8am catching some zzz’s in our seats, while Don, Pietro, & Sarah  drove us through the night.  Not being much of a fast food aficionado, I must say my Egg McMuffin tasted MIGHTY FINE!!

Our first adventure of the day –
We were all ecstatic to discover that our oversized weighty bus WOULD be allowed to pass onto the floating bridge that we needed to get across in order to easily reach the Kazakhstan border.  I got my turn up on on the roof rack and camped myself up there with camera in hand as we crossed the rickety 1 lane bridge. It was AWESOME!!  Stefano and Pietro walked ahead, and photographed the bus coming across the bridge.  We successfully reached the other side to the many cheers & honks of the cars waiting their turn to go the other way.

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But the fun did not end there…..we had our first breakdown of the trip!!
As The Adventurists say….”if nothing goes wrong,  everything has gone wrong”.

About 3km(?) from the border, we pass over a small bridge with a guardrail, Don hears a clacky clacky sound from the wheels on the starboard/right side of the bus.  Quickly pulling over,  he and Tommy discover that the bracket holding up the brake calipers has gone missing.  The bus is dead in the water!!

We empty out of the bus and folks spread out and start walking back down the road looking for the bracket, to no avail.  It’s possible some scrap metal Sarah found might work, but now we need a hacksaw.  I work my magic and flag down a Semi (YES!!).

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Not just any semi mind you, turns out this guy works for a metal fabrication co. and has an electric hand grinder in his tool chest.  The guys go to work on the scrap metal, cutting and shaping it into what Don needs to make this impropmtu repair. Sarah rewards my NEW “knight in shining armor” (I had no idea they were EVERYWHERE!) with his very own Dixie Chickens T-Shirt!!  With our part now ready for install, the semi disappears on down the road.
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A local herdsman has come to check out all the action as well:

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Don gets us back up to speed and just for good measure we drive back down the road a bit further than the mile or so folks had walked.  And, NO SHIT! There, in the middle of the road, about 2km back, Don spies the bracket just laying there in the middle of the road. Over an hour later, it is still intact and undamaged from the semis and cars that have driven by it.  And it’s a good thing we found it too, because after we’ve turned around and headed back towards the border, not a mile later we hear the clackety clack again.  Don pulls back over.  The impromptu fix had loosened, so back on the bracket went and we were good to go!

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Border Crossings in the Rally are  legendary, and today’s is no different,  but I’m  saving that for another post.  Without TOO much shakedown, and with only minor pilfering (confiscation) of our some of our liquor stash (Sarita’s Jaegermeister among them) , we have arrived in Kazakhstan!

If Don thought the roads in the Ukraine and Russia were something to snark about, Kazakstan has welcomed him with some wild slalom driving on a road that is not unlike what the apollo lunar module must have encountered in the asteroid craters of the moon back in 1969!  YIKES!  Sarita says , with her best efforts of an eastern european accent,  “Here in Kazakhstan, we fix road, every day, best in world,”  We’re  in stitches.  280 km to Atyrau – and GO!

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A short while later we encounter our first MAJOR storm of the Rally, as the skies unleash a torrent of rain,  wild winds, blowing sand, and HAIL!  As the sun emerges out of the black clouds above,  it is still raining,  I figure there might be one heckuva rainbow out there on the horizon  – and I”m right!

it takes awhile to really kick in, but when it does, it is one of the most BRILLIANT rainbows I have EVER seen in my life.  It so clear, so intense and seems to last forever.   Don gets so sick of all of us hanging out the windows with photo lust in our eyes and hearts, he relents, stops the bus, and shoos us out the door with the comment of “ok folks go get those damn rainbow photos!!”  YEEHAW!!   The rainbow  is even more spectacular outside the bus – and we are even treated to a magical DOUBLE rainbow! (LOVED the “vivid” setting on the new camera!)

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Of course the day is not over, and I get to see my very first – not in a zoo – Camels!   They’re tagged & numbered, and they are right along the side of the road, but I am excited nonetheless. Don stops for another Photo Op!!

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This has been a SPECTACULAR day!

Transfaragasan

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Thursday July 18

After tearing ourselves away from the fabulous fortified church in Cristian, the gentle rolling farm fields quickly gave way to the rising uplifted glacial mountains & craggy peaks of the Transfaragasan.

 

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This  mountain pass is one of THE top roads coveted by sports car enthusiasts the world over for its long series of hairpin “S” curves.

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This is the  2nd highest road in Romania, rising 2,034 meters. Originally built as a military road, it is 90 km of twists and turns running north / south across the tallest sections of the southern Carpathian Mountains.  It connects the regions of Transylvania & Wallachia.

We could only imagine the # of folks who’d come from thousands of miles away only to be stuck behind a school bus!!1 (there’s also an easy way up – via tram – complete with a coca cola logo! – aahh.. SO proud of Corporate America!)

The Bus needed a few rests on the way up, which afforded us a number of great photo op’s, and time to gaze at the grandeur of this beautiful scenery1  (And chat with the bevy of passersby who were intrigued about the bus and our journey!)

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We bypass the big crowds and gift shops near the top and head straight through the tunnel to the other side to get the bus prepped for our photo shoot.  The plan was for Sarita to ride down on the bicycle  (yes, the donated one –  the one with no brakes…) and then time lapse film our descent down the switchbacks.  We would also have video cameras mounted on the bus front and back filming.

Well, best laid plans…….after much consternation, it’s determined that the bike’s tires were so dry rotted they would not hold any air.  So……on to plan “B”.   She’ll need someone up on the roof rack to video our descent.  I was so busy photographing at the summit I TOTALLY missed out on volunteering for this fabulous crazy ass adventure! DARN!  Cale got the job – lucky bastard!  He donned some warmer clothes, and climbed up onto the roof of the bus!  **SO Jealous**!!

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In the meantime, Don has traded said bicycle for a waxed round of local romanian cheese – pretty good deal we think.

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Another rally car has joined us at the top – Team Detour (Swedish).  They also want to photograph us, but it’s taking too long for us to get the cameras mounted and working, so they head on down.

Finally, we’re ready!  We realize the other side is the much more “filmable” one with it’s visually apparent line of “S” turns on the mountain, but this side is equally as stunning in its scenery and we’re all hanging out the windows with our cameras madly snapping away.  Oh yeah, and Cale is having a fab time up top – with the best seat in the house!!

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At some point Team Detour comes screaming past us…..Hey where’d they come from?  Passing us, also going downhill, they are in the uphill / oncoming lane of traffic.  They slow to match our speed and are just in front of, and off our left front bumper.   So, yes, driving down & around a number of blind curves, their photographer has at least half his body hanging out the passenger window turned back toward us, firing off shots of the bus.

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So in the  – which is crazier – a guy on the roof, or speeding around blind curves into oncoming traffic – I think they win!

Bus & Don did a fantastic job up & down – and best of all – no brake overhaul required after the descent!

Back at lower altitude, the twisty road continues on for at least another hour – winding its way  past a massive lake.  Views are hard to come by due to the heavily forested shoreline, but we get occasional glimpses.  There is NOWHERE to pull over.  We later discover this lake is dammed at the far end and the observation tower offers stunning views of the lake and back up to the Transfaragasan & the Carpathian mountains we just drove through.

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It was 7pm and at least another 2 hour drive to Bucaresti.  Finally out of the mountains, we pass a number of small cafes on the side of the road.  The Masses are tired, hungry (for a hot meal!) and most importantly, THIRSTY!!  Don finally relents to our pleas as we pass the parking lot of the Pensiunea Pomi – with “Team Detour’s” car in the parking lot.  A quick u-turn  and we are happily soon sitting on the outdoor patio,  cold beers in hand, viewing some of the awesome footage they shot of our descent.

We are in the small town of Oestii Ungureni and our hosts at the bar are fabulous.  We enjoyed a great meal,  watched the rush hour traffic go by (the occasional horse drawn hay wagons)  and caught up on our posts to the outside world  via the free wi-fi!  I even got my first (for this trip) “…aaah Chicago…blam blam…Al Capone…eh … eh..?”

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This amazing day came to a close with our tents pitched in the field across from the Pomi.

 

 

 

 

The Storks of Cristian

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Wednesday July 17

Driving from Budapest, we arrive in a small town of Cristian, just outside of Sibiu, Romanina near the Transfagarasan.

Sarah has arranged, via Vlad Grigori (sp?) with Team Mongolification, and Liliana, (the Director of The Fortified Churches of Romania),  for us to stay in an absolutely delightful historic old fortified church.  There is a very excited crowd waiting outside the church gate when we arrive at 10pm.

The Bus, with the roof rack stripped of most of it’s luggage, barely manages to squeak just under the low arched gate, and we enterinto their beautiful gardened courtyard.

We are summoned to the kitchen and treated to a traditional Romanian welcome toast.  The church house is full of older gracious German speaking ladies who take excellent care of us.   Inside is a spiral wooden staircase that leads to the 2nd floor and a large room with sleeping for 15 in very comfy beds.

Vlad is hosting a Mongol Rally Party in the nearby town of Sibiu, which most of our team quickly changes clothes for and heads out the door to.  I very much wanted to go, but I decide I must take a pass to catch up on sleep, so I stay behind with Jan.  We had a wonderful time chatting together on the quiet patio under the stars. Sarita also stayed behind to get ready for tomorrow’s filming of our journey on the Transfagarasan.

Everyone agreed the next morning over a delicious scrambled egg, potato, bacon? hash breakfast whipped up by our teammate Calethat it was an awesome party, but that “Free Beer ALWAYS has a price”  (Cale also discovered some wonderful dried/smoked sausages from the smoke cellar in town!)

The most amazing this about this town, is their Storks.  They are EVERYWHERE.  Walking through town, they have built huge nests on top of the electricity poles, chimneys, and rooftops.  They are absolutely beautiful creatures and I am delighted to be able to watch them in their nests with their young, and catch them soaring in flight with their fabulous outstretched and graceful wings.

We lingered in the late morning light of the courtyard and its garden. Don commented “To Hell with the Rally, let’s just stay here!”  We finally packed up around 1pm as the Transfagarasan beckoned us with its mountains, cool weather, and hair pinned curves.

This town has been a wonderful treat – a definite slice of heaven!

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Sunflowers & Haystacks

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We may not have spent much time at all in France, but driving through Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania…I feel like I am in the middle of some Van Gogh and Monet Paintings.

Particularly when golden hour arrives, that wonderful late afternoon sunlight that just glows, the long shadows that draw across the landscape, and the sun kissed endless miles of hay, corn, and sunflower fields just shimmer.

The sky has that almost idyllic quiet about it. White puffy cumulus clouds dotting the sunny blue skies we’ve had every day.  This is one of my very favorite times of day.

It is easy to see where Van Gogh and Monet got their inspiration and to envision them sitting in these fields taking it all in and painting away the day.

It has been mostly flatland, but as we enter Hungary and Romania, the hay bales of  Western Europe give way to haystacks, which mimic the gentle rolling hills.

We’ve camped almost every night so far, and falling asleep under the brilliant star filled sky watching the moon grow from a crescent to nearly full has been wonderful. I can not even imagine what the stars in Kazakhstan and Mongilia will be like.

 

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Czech it out!

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July 15, 2013

A very full day of driving from Cologne, Germany  to Klatovy, Czech Republic for the Czech Out Party / Launch #2  at Klenova Castle!

The drive through Germany was full of gentle rolling hills, farm fields (perfect for glider land-outs), red roofed homes, and a few solar array fields and windmill farms.

One of our teammates departed the bus today – Eric Krause – who had to head back to Chicago for work. Plans for him to come with us to the Czech Out Party did not materialize due to our unplanned stop in Frankfurt (to acquire the new spot tracker) and the slow speed of the bus. (We did set a new top speed record for the bus today of 58 MPH – DOWNHILL!)  We dropped Eric off at the bus station in Plzn around 7:30pm so he could make it up to Prague for his flight tomorrow.  Plnz has some beautiful architecture, but also has some that is a stark reminder that we are now in what was once a soviet bloc country.

We rolled into Klatovy around 9p.  Don’s harrowing steep drive down the forested 1 lane pot-holed access road from the castle down to the campground had us all thinking he was going to string Buddy, The Adventurist Emcee from the Bodiam launch, up by his ankles when we saw him for for this choice road of entry.  (We later discovered – on our way out the next morning – of course – a much more favorable route for the bus!)

We quickly set up camp before total darkness ensued, and hiked back up the hill to the Castle entrance and the party.  Inside, plenty of food & alcohol was on hand to nourish the Ralliers after 2 very long days of driving to get here from the UK (nearly 800 km!).  The views were wonderful, the rave cave w/lasers and electronic music was filled to capacity with the 20-something’s dancing all out, the rest of us explored the castle grounds meeting more new ralliers & catching up with the other teams on what they’d all gotten into (and out of)  so far.

The best offering of the night came at 11pm when a group of fire spinners took to the castle grounds and memorized the crowd with their finesse.  The most awesome was the finale with the poi spark spinners. – (And as soon as I figure out how to add the video I will)

The after party down at the campground in the military hangar, and at the bus, were nearly all night affairs, including Sarah giving over 100 tours of the bus!.  Alas, a la a night in Vegas, the stories should likley remain in the journal, and not here (something about Absinthe, a bus roof dance photo shoot,  failed sobriety tests…) I woke the next morning to a group of guys playing golf through / around our tents.

We decided to skip the 2nd launch shenanigans and get on the road early and head for Budapest and another very long day of driving.

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