Ending Point: N48°42 E44°30
Distance Traveled: 294.8 miles
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Our new friends approve of the Panda!
The sunflower field was a perfect place for the night judging by just how late we slept in the following morning. Once we got back on the road, it was a smooth drive until we hit the bumpy, pothole-dotted roads into Volgograd. Based on our arrival, Volgograd appeared the friendliest city to the Mongol Rally that we have passed so far. Driving along the main road into downtown, a man pulled up next to us honking and showing off a shirt that we couldn’t read. We’re assuming it was an old Rally shirt or one from a team because when he got close enough he gave us a thumbs-up and shouted “Mongol Rally!! Yeah!!” A few moments later, another car pulled up alongside and asked “Mongolia? We’re from Uzbekistan! Awesome!” Then, they threw us some beads with a spider carving for good luck on the journey. We knew we were in for a good time in Volgograd. Traffic wasn’t our friend at first though as we cruised around looking for a spot with Internet. Eventually, we made our way slightly out of town to juice bar in a mall. Once online, we saw that two other teams were still in Volgograd, so we turned around and headed towards the hostel where they were staying. Finding the hostel (through an archway, along a garden, ringing up from a steel door, taking the elevator to the fifth floor, and finding a door with an owl on it) was difficult but worth the effort once we met Lorenzo and Emanuele of Team Rougher Dan Khan and James from the Thunderyaks as well as Ting traveling from China. We went out to dinner nearby at a pub the first two found the day before. Though it took us a while to navigate the Russian-only menu, we did so to great success and enjoyed our first hot meal since leaving Moscow.While Lorenzo and Emmanuele worked through some of their issues with their car and its massive engine problems, James joined us out in the park for a beer. That night, however, was no ordinary night in the park. It was an evening of celebrating the Russian Navy! We had seen blue and white flags all over town as we were driving in, and suddenly it all made sense (we had wondered if the flags were for a football match, graduation, or if we’d accidentally found ourselves in Chechnya with an uprising starting). Soon, we were surrounded by a big group of friendly Russian soldiers who explained the holiday and really liked to shout “Russian tradition!!” Once we had all finished our beers, we went for a walk in the park to a café for another round. Conversation was all over the place in a mixture of languages, but the excitement and comradery was unforgettable. Starting Point: N51°47 E41°47
Ending Point: N48°42 E44°30 Distance Traveled: 294.8 miles
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We had been thinking about this day for months, maybe even years: the start of the Mongol Rally! It was really happening! The morning was a blur of packing up, stickering, networking, and eating breakfast sandwiches. Then, everyone came together for a series of announcements and an awards ceremony. There were the expected awards like for best-outfitted car and most money raised for charity. The most memorable award was for the over-prepared car; the prize was a large golden TV to take with them on their roof rack. Following the ceremony, there was the traditional joust in front of the castle with two men on horseback and then a less traditional joust with one man on horseback and one on top of a car. The knight on horseback won… Perhaps an omen for the Rally? We hope not. After the ceremony and much anticipation, we finally rolled up the starting platform. No one could forget our start. We were the only team to stall three times getting up the ramp! We lived up to British stereotypes of Americans in that moment, but at least we were memorable, though perhaps less so than the team that had a mother get on the microphone to say goodbye. Leaving Bodiam, we followed Scarlett and Tom to Dover—a short hour-long drive full of Rally cars. At the ferry terminal, we accidentally separated from our navigators as we tried to pick up our tickets at the wrong building. The day changed from there, as we couldn’t possibly meet up with them in Frankfurt, Germany, at a pub whose name we didn’t know. We were lucky, however, to get on an earlier ferry to Calais with lots of other Ralliers. In the waiting lanes for the boat, we met Duncan and Jared from New Zealand and decided to aim for Luxembourg for the night. On board, we solidified our plans as we watched the white cliffs of Dover disappear into the distance. Just before leaving the ferry, we met Dick (we individually commented on his nice car) and he gave us better direction for the afternoon. We landed in France and met the Kiwis at the Calais Wine Superstore just outside the dock. The drive through France was beautiful and easy, until we were stopped in traffic for an hour, and then the drive through Belgium was almost as nice despite the change in road surface quality. Our delay in traffic put us behind in our plan for Luxembourg, so we found a camping spot in Belgium for the night and made some dinner while enjoying Belgian beers. Starting Point: N50°49 W00°18
Ending Point: N50°10 E05°22 Distance Traveled: 254.1 miles |