Hello,

Dit berichtje maak ik alvast vanuit de auto. We rijden nu tussen Sofia en Istanbul in Bulgarije. Er is dag 4 en er is al van alles gebeurd.

Ik zal bij het begin beginnen. In de ochtend van donderdag 10 februari zijn we om 9 uur uit Hengelo weggereden. Uitgezwaaid door mijn ouders, Judith, Michiel, Joop en Steven. Het begin van de reis liep voorspoedig maar 200km voor Munchen zag Lance ineens witte rook: de slang van het koelwatersysteem was losgeschoten. Dit komt omdat een sluitring kapot was. Het hele koelwatersysteem was nu leeggelopen. Met behulp van een vriendelijke Tsjechische vrachtwagen chauffeur hebben we het probleem opgelost. Na 50km bleek dat ons dual battery system kapot was. De draad van de stroomvoorziening was kompleet doorgebrand: BALEN!

Doorgereden naar onze eerste overnachting: Villa Rosa. Zoals de naam misschien al doet vermoeden werd dit pension gerund door 2 homo’s. Maar het was perfect!

De volgende morgen hebben we de draad van het dual batt syst vervangen en alles liep weer op rolletjes. We zijn de mooie Alpen doorgekruist dwars door Karnten en Slovenie naar Zagreb.

Zagreb is een leuk klein stadje in Kroatie. We zijn een rondje gelopen door het centrum (mooie Kathedraal) en hebben er heerlijk gegeten voor weinig: 15 euro met z’n tweeën.

De volgende dag op naar Sofia. We zijn via Belgrado gegaan en hebben ook een stukje stad meegepikt. Wat een bende! Ongelooflijk wat je daar ziet: overal afval, lege gebouwen en de andere gebouwen zijn super aftands. Het maakt een hele grauwe, trieste indruk. Het verbaasd me eigenlijk dat die mensen niet met bussen vol naar het westen toe komen als je dat ziet…

Uiteindelijk laat in Sofia aangekomen. Helaas Wouter konden we het hotel niet vinden en zijn we uitgeweken naar hotel Budapest, een keer zo duur maar op zich ok.

Vanmorgen de auto nagekeken en een schrikwekkende ontdekking gedaan: een slang van het koelwatersysteem liep tegen de v-snaar aan. Nu hebben we het provisorisch opgelost en rijden door naar Istanbul waar we de boel moeten laten vervangen.

Het voelt goed dat we morgen een beetje rust hebben in Istanbul maar toch baal ik dat we met de auto bezig moeten op een dag dat ik de toerist had willen spelen. Toch ben ik blij dat we het nu hebben ontdekt want in de woestijn was dit een groter probleem geweest! Dus op naar Istanbul en later meer van deze globe trotters!

E Hi,

So after a year of preperations the time has finnaly come to get on the road and start our trip to Sunny South Africa.

Day 1 Hengelo-Munich :

After a lot of Photo’s and Goodbye’s to family,friends and of course Jude we left Hengelo at 9am on the 10th of Feb. The trip started easy enough with us quickly passing into Germany on the Legeondary Autobhan. Normally there is no speed limit here and you are free to race like a lunatic. Unfortunately with 3.5 tons of Landrover the top speed we managed was 95 Km/h. Not a problem for us but a huge irritation to the people behind us.

All was well and we were praising our trusty car when 200km’s before Munich I noticed some smoke comming out the back of thre car. We quickly pulled over to investigate. We opened the bonnet and saw a lot of white smoke. Maurice quickly located the problem. A Radiator hose had slipped off the water pump and water was being pumnped out onto the exhaust causing huge plumes of white smoke. We were Lucky to quickly see this otherwise the trip name would have to be changed to “the long way to Munich and back!”

After the quick and easy repair we continued to Munich and quickly the second problem appeared. Our second battery was not charging. This was a major drama as our thoughts turned to the desert and no cold beer! After doing some testing we found the problem here as well. A wire had burnt through. How or why we can’t tell you but it’s fixed and our beer will be cooled!

After a very long First day with enough excitement we arrived in Munich and went to bed asking what the next day would bring.

Day 2 Munich-Zagreb.

We left Munich at 9am and started our trip to Zagreb Croatia. Driving through Austria presented very little problems and very soon we were in Slovenia and before long reached the Croatian border. Here we realized that we were leaving the EU and so we had to get our Carnet de Passage stamped to “export” our Landrover out of the EU. No problems except that customs did not have a clue what to do with the paper I gave them and I ended up telling them where to sign and stamp the document.

After the border we drove on and reached Zagreb at about 8pm. A nice town with a huge cathedral and small old city centre. We had a good (cheap) meal and went off to bed, as day 3 would be a very long drive.

Day 3 Zagreb-Sophia

Good news this morning: President Mubarack had stepped down and Egypt was in party mood. This was a huge relief as we were constantly changeing our plans for Egypt, but now it seemed that we could keep our original schedule and also apply for our much needed visa for Sudan in Cairo.

The day started easy enough. Driving through Coatia and then entering Serbia. Serbia was not much to write home about. Grey and dreary and when the landscape started changing to something worthwhile to look at, the sun started to set and we were left to drive in the dark in small ill lit mountain roads.

We crossed the Serbian border with no hassle and were back in the EU driving through Bulgaria. Sophia was about an 1.5 hour drive from the border and we arrived there at 9:30pm. A lot later than planned but that was due to our TomTom leading us into some very strange neighbourhoods!

The hotel we wanted to stay in could not be found and eventually we stayed at the hotel that we passed 4 times looking for our original hotel! We payed a lot more for the hotel than we wanted to, but we compinsated by eating crackers and kippers in the hotel room! Maurce had never eaten kippers before but has now decided that we have to stock up on kippers. I think he has aquired a taste fort hem.

Day4 Sophia-istanbul

We left Sophia nice and early 7 am but we quickly were drawn to another problem with our Landrover. Last night while we were looking for a hotel we started hearing a strange noise while pulling away in First gear. While we were trying to find out where the sound was comming from Maurice saw that one of the radiator hoses was rubbing against the water pump and was in very bad shape. We checked the hose and although not leaking it does not look good! We will have to find a replacement hose in Istanbul. No way that we want a hose in that condition in the Sahara!

So driving through Bulgaria went nice and quick and we arrived at 1pm at the Turkish border.

Here for the First time the car was searched and this meant that we had to open the roof top tent. Good practice for Africa!

After all formalities it was on the road agian to istanbul luckily it’s a Sunday and traffic is good.

And then after all was going well. The Landy decided to throw in some excitement! Driving into Istanbul which is one of the biggest and most crowded cities of europe the clutch died!!! Maurice was driving so I can give him the blameJ After stopping on the Highway, we maanged to get some life back into it. We think that there is air in the clutch system.

We did make the hotel with a lot of swearing and praying and will be taking a look at it tomorrow

But First some food and a cold beer and enjoy the sights of Istanbul.

I’ll keep you all updated.