A proper update from Dakhla

Ok, so today was cool we had a major vehicle malfunction, a taste of real desert settings, and a great relief.

Yesterday when we were driving down the highway I saw a bloated dead camel on the side of the road. It was so much bigger than the live ones we have seen grazing alongside the road. I pointed it out but Anthony was a bit slower and missed it. One of the other teams in our convoy actually stopped and took a picture so perhaps we can get a copy.

Then today as we were driving down the highway we had a tail wind and flat ground so we were traveling along at a whopping 100 kph (60mph). At this point Anthony noticed a bit of rumbling outside the front left corner of the car. He looked out the window and I saw glass and black stuff come flying over the hood of the car. I had thought he had hit something. So we pulled over and lucky we did.

It appears the bungee cord holding down the hood broke due to excess wear and caused the hood to shake up and down. Somehow, something came loose or maybe the hood smashed the front headlight which then caused a very sharp very thick piece of glass (the bit of the lamp attached to the power cables) to dangle in front of the front tire. This piece of glass then shredded all the tread off the tire. When we stopped we essentially were rolling on an inflated tube. So we changed out tires and were on our way the road again in 30 minutes.

The rest of the trip to Dakhla was more or less quiet apart from us needing to remove the headlamp housing sine it was deformed and rubbing against our new tire, The Sandbox Savants (the other American team and they are from boston) ran out of gas and had to pull their jerry cans to refill, and then on the approach to the peninsula where dakhla is there was wind storm like conditions.

The stretch of road going from the Gendarme post into the Dakhla peninsula was and open road that spanned between two hillsides. It led down to a beautiful bay where people were windsurfing and parasailing. But the winds from the hillsides that these people were enjoying were blastin our car with sand. We had to prop open our car doors while we were driving to roll up our windows (the roll cage blocks the window cranks so they can only go up and down with the doors open).

Fortunately for us the two other teams in our caravan arrived in Dakhla a few minutes before us and met a British couple. They gave us the names and contacts of some guides that can take us down the coastal route to Mauritania so we don't blow ourselves up in the mine fields. Looking forward to riding the tidal beaches!!!!!

Now we head back to our bungalows to enjoy some beers which have been three days in the making. Due to the strict Muslim culture here finding alcohol is extremely hard. A few frosty brews at mere cents a piece will be so glorious for our souls!!

Western Sahara

So we have made it to the Western Sahara. The French keyboards are quite a pain for updating but weùll perservere. After our crazy night drive we headed into Rabat. Managed to get our Mauritanian visas in the works and ran into several other teams who were doing the same.

They told us they were staying in a clearing of woods just outside of town and we were invited to join. So after the embassy we all headed out to camp and we got a much needed rest and food. Afterwards, Anthony started to get over the culture shock attached with large African cities; the noise, the mayhem, the smell, etc.

So now we are in Layounne and looking to make it to Mauritania in two days. We should be able to make it barring any major setbacks. Based on the nature of our convoy it should not be a problem.

Wish we had more time to elaborate but internet cafes are slow and not very common. perhaps we can do a proper update in Noukchott while we are waiting for our Mali visas.

Morroco!!!!

So we made it to Morroco and cleared customs. Not that bad of a process actually. But since we weren't feeling like paying even more tolls to travel along the main highways, we took a route through the mountains that was on the GPS. EEEEEEP!!!! That was an adventure and a half. First we quickly saw some beutiful sights but once the sun set things got crazy;

The twisty mountian roads were quite narrow with little sturdy shoulder. Sometimes it was a few hundred feet drops off the side. In addition our headlights were not quite aligned properly so visibility was always a problem. Toss in the two tons of smashed bugs on our windshield and we could hardly tell where the road was when the maniacle drivers would come the opposite direction with their highbeams on and not shutting them off. Our quick drive to Rabat soon took nearly 6 hours by the time we stopped for the night.

So right now we are tired, cramped and hungry. We did manage to run into some of the other Africa Rally teams at the mauritanian embassy. They told us of a nice quiet place off the side of the highway to camp so we'll be spending the night there. Finally a chance to stretch out our legs.

We are still looking to get some more car parts. I'm still trying to call Bank of America since you cannot make collect calls from Morroco to the US. Overall I think we are just going to get some food and go take a nap.

After we get our visa for Mauritania tomorrrow we will head south and get our Mali visa in Mauritania. We're both looking forward to setting our eyes on the desert.

Tracking and update

First of all if you want to follow our trip we are sending text messages to an Adventurist bot which posts our texts on a google map. The link is this but to see our European updates you gotta drag the map down cuz it automatically focuses on Africa. In addition they only have certain points which corespond to real life cities so most of the places we can´t post from.

ANYWHO, so since we took off from Wiesbaden we headed out to klenova which is a tiny town with a castle about an hour from Prague. Our only little mishaps of the journey was when Anthony backed into a ditch and I had to push it out while he floored it. But c´est la vie. The party was ok, we met loads of people from the Mongol Rally [I hadn´t realized it was so big (that´s what she said)]. We ended up partying till 3 am despite our constant intent on gettin to bed early.

We woke up and started tuning and fixing up the car. We did for a while end up with a little better gas mileage and performance, but by the end of the day it was back to the old ways again. So we plugged along trying to tune and fix the car as we went. It was touch and go for a while. Then we decided to say screw it and just deal with it till we got to Morrocco.

Then began our 30 hours straight drive. We had only gotten to the French-German border near stuttgart by the end of our first day out. So we started up again at 6am and drove all day and night until we got to Malaga. We took shifts of sleeping and driving. But mostly we were just being cranky and smelly.

We have already bought our ferry ticket and hope to catch one in an hour or two once we get to algeciras. But we need to find a few things before we cross over. I also have to call the bank so they release my CC. Since, with the 2-to-1 exchange rate we are practically broke on cash till our paychecks arrive on friday.

On our way to Prague!!

so it is noon in wiesbaden and we leave in a few. hope the new haircuts streamline the car more to give us better gas mileage.

Day two - Start of Rally

This morning we kicked off the Rally in Hyde Park London. It seems that our vehicle generated a lot of buzz in London. Everywhere we went heads were turning, thumbs up galore, kids chasing us down. I'm guessing some of that had to due with the defeafening roar of the engine.

But when we arrived at the starting point it was great to see the great array of cars showing we were not the only crazy souls actually taking part. Some of the cars were quite awesome looking, carpetted like a zebra or cheetah, another painted with an african scene on it.

After walking down the line of vehicles we noticed that we were the only fools to ship our car. That and the fact that we were one of three American teams. But from the sounds of it, we had the most popular car, although the head honchos didn't reward our efforts.

As we set off we decided that the best option would be just to follow the line of cars leaving the park. Almost immediately I knew this was a bad idea. At the first stop light the fellows in front of us jumped out of their car and said, "Hope you aren't following us mate we haven't a clue where we are going". So in order to get us to where I thought we should head we got stuck in traffic outside a construction site. This set us back about an hour.

Finally we busted through and got our route back on track, but since London was built hundreds of years before the invention of the car it's inner city throughways are not designed to handle 20th century traffic. So after a noon start we didn't get to the Chunnel train until after 4. We hopped on and found we weren't the only team to get lost so we chatted with one of the other American teams on the way over.

ONcewe hit continental highways we really found out what our vehicle was made of. Come to find out 55mph uphill is balls out fast, and downhill we can reach upto 65mph. So the typical 6 hour drive from Calais to Frankfurt us about 10 hours. We arrived in Wiesbaden around 3 am. I felt bad because we had no money and no phone and Soline had been expecting us at 10pm. Once we found her apt and buzzed her, she told us that the sound of the car coming down the street woke her us and she knew it was us.

So the first day of travel has opned our eyes as far as our ability to cross vast stretches of land. It looks like we will have to drive in shifts and camp in rest stops to make Morrocco in time to get our visas before next weekend. Today we get the car looked at to set the timing and tomorrow it's knights and wenches party in Praha.

Cheers FOLKS!!!

First Day in London!!!!

Oh what an exciting first day. Anthony and I both showed up a little late for our flights in the US and somehow got bumped up to better flights so we both ended up meeting earlier in Heathrow. We certainly needed the extra time because it took us all day to get our car from the warehouse.

We left Heathrow on the Tube heading north to the Liverpool street train terminal and got there two hours later [just to give you an idea of the size of london]. Hopped a train out to Felixstowe and got the car.

The guys at the warehouse got a kick out of the idea that we were going to be driving the Deathtrap all the way to Cameroon. Let me tell you, the damn thing truly lived up to it's name. Not 10 seconds after we left the parking lot did Anthony notice a weird smell and stopped the car. I looked over at him and saw a cloud of smoke billowing up behind him.

He looked back said oh shit and hopped out. He pulled his seat forward to show a small fire had started underneath his luggage. We both ran around to the area of the fire and quickly extinguished the small spot of flames. We also started looking for the cause.

We then noticed the metal runner on the bottom of Anthony's overloaded suitcase has jammed it's way down and was causing a short circuit on the relay causing the wires to overheat and start burning.

After 45 minutes of electrical work and repacking we were on our way into London. After a few wrong turns and a little scrape in a roundabout we managed to find our way to my friend's flat. And thus ended the first leg of our adventure. 100 miles down, 9,900 to go!!!!!

Time permitting pictures later.

In the morning!

So, in 5 hours I will be waking up to get on my way to LAX. I have a 9:45am flight with some questionable luggage. I had one suitcase filled to the brim with tools, books and other car rebuilding goodness but it was tipping the scale at about 75lbs. I realized that I can only bring 50lbs max on my suitcase, which, by the way, I found outside next to the dumpster. After breaking the handle off from trying to lug it around, I had to pull out all heavy objects which I deemed as safe items (ie. wrench set, socket set, vise grips and a few books) and replaced them with items from my carry on. Now my plush carry on weight about 35lbs and not so happy to move around. The suitcase, success! It weights 50lbs on the dot. I hope security doesn't question my carry on contents cause I can pretty much rebuild their x-ray machine with what I have in it.

After LAX, it's to Chicago and then London. I bid farewell to work for the month I will be gone and after this thought, no more work!!!!!! Sorry Breast Liftians.

Prior to this leave, I got to visit Tijuana with Missy and her family. So, so much fun! We got to shop, drink, eat and take pictures with donkeys....keep it clean y'all.

Team Deathwish #2 Africa Rally fundraiser in past month

I'd just like to thank all our donors again. Thanks to your generosity Team Deathwish has raise the second most money for the three charities in the past month. Our total of £761.72 is just behind the first place team [the Sandbox Savants-£777.46] THANKS!!!

Check it out here: https://www.willwemakeit.com/challenge/theadventuristsafricarally

Travels begin

I arrived in Florida this morning [6am eastern] after a red-eye flight from Seattle. I'll be here in the Keys/Miami area through tomorrow. My mom's husband is taking me out fishing tomorrow afternoon. It's just a quick stop on my way out. Then Sunday morning I leave bright and early for NYC. I'll be picking up my passport from CIBT and spending a few days finalizing things. Then it's away we go.

Tick tIck tiCk ticK

Time is counting down. In the last few days we managed to raise a good amount of fund raising but we still are a bit away from or goal. Although the two charities add up to about roughly 700pounds (around $1500) we still raised a lot more. What isn't shown is a hefty amount that helped us get the DeathTrap up and running. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. We will help out our charities and also furnish you with tons of stories, pictures and video from this event. The last two pending on theft and/or robbery. Lets hope that that doesn't happen. For me it's 7 days and counting while Kevin has 3 days and counting. Excitement!!!

8 Days and counting down

A little more then a week and we will be on our way to London. Kind of chaotic and exciting. Seems my life is moving in as much chaos as the rally. I will be packing up my belongings and moving them into a storage facility next Friday which will mark the day of my homelessness. Some couch surfing will endure for the couple of days before I leave. Kevin has been picking up some supplies and he will also be fronting the shipping fees for the bug. As to our surprise, we have to put down more money on a car deposit for the race. Other then that, I received the wolverine storage unit and it seems super simple but very susceptible to the elements. I will need to keep it bagged up from the dust along with my 35mm camera. Still waiting for the rest of the gear to arrive. As for now, its crunch time for the donations and fund raising. Raising money is tough and I guess I don't really have a knack for it. Need more practice on that front.

Quick Update

Today I bought a few items for the Rally. The first was the Panasonic SDR-SW20 which is a cheap almost HD quality video camera with no real bells and whistles besides the waterproof casing and the ability to withstand dust and a minor 5ft drop.

I then got a Wolverine FlashPac to unload the info of the SDHC cards from both the camera, video camera and GPS.

Finally I picked up the Garmin eTrek Vista HCX handheld GPS unit that will allow me to atleast have a direction in the chaos of Africa. So, hopefully I can document this epic adventure.


On top of these orders, the DeathTrap had docked in Felixstowe, UK and is waiting for us to pick it up. The Visas are on their way and fund raising is ramping up quickly. We have a few more buys but for the most part we will have everything Rock-n-Roll for the 15th.

Also, I went and downloaded some GPS maps of Africa from Tracks4Africa and will be able to put these maps into the Garmin and atleast have some major roads to navigate our route by. Pretty sweet.