Kent2Kas

The Journey Home

2008-06-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

June 5^th

Rimini to Cortemeila 303 miles

Having wandered around the shops last night, for a couple of hours, and the view of the beach earlier with all those sun beds, we decided that Rimini lovely as it was, was not our scene. So packed up and headed towards some friends who’d moved to northern Italy a few years earlier.

A long days driving today, should have been about 260 miles but coming across a closed junction off the motorway, we had no choice but to stay with it for a few more miles, but unfortunately taking the next exit sent us onto a northbound motorway totally in the opposite with nowhere to turn around. AARRRGGGHHHHH.

Arriving about an hour and a half later than intended we were warmly welcomed by John and Rita with a glass of wine (well several actually) and a lovely meal.

Our friends told us it had been raining all day with them, so we felt lucky that apart from a light drizzle as we’d climbed up the hill towards our hosts we’d had a dry journey.

June 6^th

After a good nights sleep, woke to an overcast morning. Apparently it had rained here nearly every day in May, and June hadn’t got off to a great start either.

Mid morning we set off to see Jonquilio, Rita’s horse, Alison rode him for half an hour, the rain coming and going. Rita is unable to ride at the moment due to a nasty bite on her hand by one of Jonquilio’s stable mates.

Lunch was had in “Aqui Therme” a lovely town aptly named as it has a natural hot spring in the centre of town. I did wonder why this hot gift was not put to good use by the locals, maybe having bathing pools, the water being a good healing medium for skin allergies etc.

June 7^th Cortemelia (Italy) to Briancon (France) 132 miles

After another lovely dinner and a good nights sleep we set off to cross the Alps on the final leg of our journey. We didn’t get going till midday (the bed was too comfortable to get up early) and though it looked like rain it was still dry.

We wound our way through the lovely Piemonte countryside before joining the autostrada south of Turin and heading west towards the mountains. Our intention was to cross the Mon Cenis pass but when we reached Susa we discovered the pass was closed, the road having been washed away by the recent rains! We went south to try the Montgenevre hoping it would be open as the other alternative was a 15km tunnel which we didn’t fancy.

This turned out to be the original medieval part of the town complete with moat, drawbridge, portcullis and even fresh running water in a channel down the centre of the main street! There were lots of shops and restaurants in narrow cobbled streets as well as an impressive church. We had a super meal in a cellar restaurant part owned by an English guy who was also the chef.

June 8^thBriancon to Dijon, 230 miles.

We woke to more rain! This eventually eased so we donned our wet suits and set off towards Grenoble where we were going to pick up the autostrada, with Dijon as that days’ destination.

Our route took us over the Col de Lautaret and through a National Park. We rode through alpine meadows filled with flowers of every colour of the rainbow, past lakes and through valleys with majestic snow capped peaks (snow was actually settling on these mountain peaks!) There were numerous water falls, some of which I think were new! And even in the rain it was stunningly beautiful, though I hadn’t expected snow in June!!

As we descended the weather improved and by the time we got on the motorway the sun was almost out. With dry roads and no trucks, it was Sunday, we made good progress and stopped for the night at a service station just south of Dijon. That night there was a terrific thunder storm and we woke to blue cloudless skies and sunshine!

June 9^th Dijon to Guignicourt (near Reims) 236 miles

We stayed on the autostrada which was still relatively light in traffic and continued northwards. We came off just north of Reims having ridden 380 miles of motorway with no accidents or traffic jams (definitely not the M25!) The map had showed canals and rivers in this area so we reckoned there must be campsites as well. Our instincts were correct and after asking in a village shop were directed to a lovely site in the village of Guignicourt.

It was beside a river, complete with swans, and there were at least half a dozen British caravans and motor homes already in situe. We erected the tent with relative ease, considering it was our 1^st time, and felt that any one watching wouldn’t have know we were amateurs, though the fact we were reading the instructions might have given it away! I then discovered my pannier was full of ants! It wasn’t difficult to empty it and get rid of them but we weren’t sure of the source! Were we on top of the nest or had they arrived on my jacket that had been sitting under a tree for a while? We decided to stand our ground, after all we were bigger than them, and basically we couldn’t be bothered to move the tent! After a brew we went off to investigate the town.

We found one bar open, (why does everywhere in France always seem to be closed?) and had a couple of beers before walking back along the river to the campsite for a snack supper. There were no ants about so we figured it was safe to retire! With no telly we went to bed as the sun went down and woke up very early with the rising sun (4am) shining directly in the tent. Neither of us slept brilliantly but we had at least slept under canvas, well manmade fibre.

June 10^th Guignicourt (France) to Rotherfield (Kent UK) via Calais 239 miles.

Once we’d had our morning coffee, I was contemplating walking into town to get breakfast when it came to us in the form of a bakers van with fresh bread a croissants!

We packed the scooter for the last time and set of for Calais. We had no idea of ferry times that was down to luck. We started out on national roads but after a couple of hours the traffic was getting to Tony, so we stopped at a Lidl’s to get ham and brie to go in our fresh bread before getting on the autostrada and heading for Calais. Arriving just after 16.00hrs, luck was on our side and we were sailing at 16.40! We sailed into Dover around 17.00hrs and encountered our 1^st traffic jam since leaving England 10 weeks earlier! (That had been the queue into Dover!!) It took nearly half an hour to get out of the dock!! We’d brought the sun with us, as promised, and once out of Dover settled down for the last 60 miles of our marathon.

Driving through the Kent countryside in the evening sunshine was as beautiful as any of the other wonderful places we’d visited on out travels. We arrived home just after 7pm tired, but in one piece, after a total of just under 3500 driven miles plus several hundred ferry miles.

We collected more money on our travels and several people in the UK have collected donations in our absence. We think the final figure we’ve raised will be around £2000. A HUGE thank you to all of you for being so generous and for believing in us even if you thought we were mad! I think you were right, but WE DID IT!!!

Short Updates for 4th and 7th June

2008-06-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

4 June

Finally got the scooter back at 10.00 a.m. but then the heavens opened so we decided to stay put until 3.00 p.m. Drove 50 miles to Rimini. This was all a bit harrowing with Italian drivers living up to their reputation - 40 ton trucks six feet behind us and doing 60 mph. Anyway, we finally arrived in one piece and found a nice but cheap hotel with an English landlady.

Never seen so many sunbeds on a beach - must be thousands!

Glad it’s not high season!

7 June

Still not found an internet café so having to do text updates. We are stopping tonight in Briancon in the Alps. This is a stunning place but you would never know if just driving through. A little stream runs down the centre and the buildings are beautiful. We are sitting in a bar with a log fire – yes I know it is June! It is raining outside. Just had vegetable soup and waiting the arrival of a lamb curry. Another good find and an English chef!

This detour was due to Moncenis Pass being blocked by a landslide

Anyone for skiing!

Tony

June 3rd, Still in Ancona

2008-06-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we got up bright and early to walk the 2 miles to the scooter place and get it picked up for repair. We'd gone 50yrds when a man asked us where we were going. I think the sat nav had caught his attention. We told him and he shook his head. 'Today is a national holiday all over Italy, everything is closed' So that was that. We headed for the beach but gave up on that as it was cloudy and even started to rain on the way back!

This morning we tried again. We arrived at the place at 08:15 but it looked as if it was totally closed and had moved, but we couldn't work out where! Getting a bit despondent we asked someone who assured us it was the right place. We walked back just as someone turned up. We were too early!!! They made a phone call, and within the time it took for me to get us 2 coffees a van had turned up. He took us to the dock and disappeared off with the scooter, saying it would be a day! We headed for the beach again, more sun today. At 4pm, when we reckoned they'd be back from their siesta! Tony asked our kind landlord to phone up to enquire about progress. We were told 10am tomorrow, maybe!

So the plan to go to Venice goes out the window as well, hey ho, and we still haven't put the tent up! We will try and do this camping thing on the way home. Bit silly to go all this way and back and not use it! Tony is looking up campsites at the moment behind me, and for those of you who say it's not proper camping unless it rains, we've just had a heavy shower here and we're going further north! I suppose we need to acclimatise before getting back to the UK though we will try and bring some sunshine with us.

Hopefully next update somewhere on route home!

1st June

2008-06-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

We left Kas at 9.30am on May 27th with temperatures already in the late 20's, bit too hot for motor bike suits, but once we were rolling it wasn't too bad. Our destination was somewhere near Ephasus about 200 miles away. We were making good progress, it was 1pm and we were about 35km south of Mugla, when we suddenly lost drive. Having coasted to a stop, Tony investigated and it became obvious the drive belt had broken. We stripped off down to shorts in the now 30 degree heat and pushed the scooter off the road behind a broken down bus. We were disappointed as the scooter had been serviced in Kas and maybe this should have been noticed.

As we were contemplating our next move 2 Turkish guys turned up to fix the bus and within 5 minutes Tony had been whisked off to a scooter garage 4km away. He was back in 10 minutes with a mechanic, followed closely by 2 more guys in a van equipped to transport bikes. After several phone calls they established that the necessary parts were not available at any of the nearby dealerships but they would be happy to take us to Izmir, 180 miles away. Tony had breakdown assistance so we called them to ask if we could accept this transport offer and send in the bill after, but they said ‘no’ we had to use their people. Regretfully we said ‘thank you and goodbye’ to the helpful Turks, pushed the scooter 200 yrds to a cafe where we then waited 2 hrs for a breakdown truck to pick us up!!!

We were taken to a dealership in Mugla where surprise, surprise - they didn't have the parts and it would take 4/5 days to get them! We already knew this but the breakdown people have to go by the book! typical b.....y English! So, we rang them back and said we wanted to be transported to Cesme, 200 miles away, so we get the ferry we were booked on the following day, and get to Italy where we felt we had more chance of getting things sorted. Once again the Turks were very helpful, supplying us with tea delivered on a bicycle while we waited to here back from the UK. After another 2 hrs waiting the garage owner took us to a hotel in town and told us to ring him in the morning and he would come and pick us up.

The following morning the insurance company rang, a different girl this time, to tell us it would take 4/5 days to get the parts! We repeated our request to be taken to Cesme and after another hour they came back with an OK. The same transporter came to pick us up, we'd told him the day before 'we'd see him tomorrow' and we were on our way. 5hrs later, having driven within 1km of Ephasus and seen it in the distance! we arrived at the port. Whilst waiting to board we met up with an English couple, John and Tracie who had been on the rough ferry crossing we didn't get from Kos to Bodrum on 19th April!! Small world. We also met a German couple, Anette and Kai, who were on their way home from having been to Australia and back on a home built motorbike and side car! Now that’s what I call a journey!! They had shipped the bike to Oz and then Singapore, driven round Thailand, Malasiya, Laos, India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. They have a web page with their travels on which I think is www.Dreiradententour.de Once on board we discovered to our disappointment that we weren't going through the Corinth Canal. Oh well, that was the 3rd thing!

After 3 nights and 2 sunbathing days on the ferry, the crossing was like a mill pond, we arrived in Ancona. We pushed the scooter off waved goodbye to our new friends and set about getting the scooter taken to a garage. We had several numbers to ring but unfortunately it was Saturday and this was Italy. Everything was shut. Nothing we could do but wait! So here we are having wandered around this lovely old town, eaten drunk and slept and hopefully tomorrow will bring some good news.

Soon to be 'homeward bound'

2008-05-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

May 23rd,

We're bronzed and rested and slowly getting ready for the return journey. We leave Kas, regretfully, next Tuesday and go northwest up the Turkish coast where we hope to finally get the tent out and camp somewhere Ephesus. Wednesday we'll have a wander round these wonderful ruins before heading to the coast and Cesme port. Here we get a ferry at 23:30 for Ancona in north-east Italy. We have 3 nights on the ferry and it will take us through the Corinth Canal - which we drove over on the way out.

We arrive in Ancona at 07:30 on the 31st and will head north up the east coast towards Venice, where we will spend a day or more. We then head west across Italy to stay with some friends in the Piedmont region. From there we go over the Alps again, hopefully staying on two wheels this time! Then back across France and home around the 11th June.

Alison and Tony

And you thought we were mad!

2008-04-27T02:46:00.000-07:00

Now if anyone is thinking we were a little nuts, how about this:

Friday
Met a guy in Kas yesterday, name of Ash (Ashley) had been taking some time out after University, had bought a second hand bike in Katmandu, and was travelling back to Shrewsbury in the U.K..... and the bike a Royal Enfield Bullet 350cc. Although these are still made in India the basic bike is still a 1950's design.

He visited Napal, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey Syria, Jordan, then back to Syria and Turkey again. He'd set off this morning to Bodrum, intending to take a couple of days, and then catching the mini ferry to Kos, then on ferry hopping to Venice.
To think we'd gone from Croatia to Italy to avoid (wots the place) because it was supposed to be a little unsafe.

Hats off to you Ash, hope the rest of your trip goes safe and well, and you manage to avoid the 'old bill' on the last leg.

After a couple of days rest - an update!

2008-04-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday - Day 20

We decided to get going fairly early in the morning, well 9 o’clock, that’s earlier than most days. A quick cup of coffee, loaded up, and off. The roads were much easier in the daylight, although travelling at night was not too stressful, being able to see the uneven surfaces and potholes further ahead meant faster progress, and soon we were happily motoring along.

Stopping after about an hour for fuel and an omelette breakfast, we then motored on and only stopped again near Dalaman for coffee, a large glass of water, and the chance to empty out the first coffee.

The thick protective clothing that had kept the wind out in France, the cold out over the Alps, and the rain out in Croatia, was by now keeping the sweat well and truly in (perspiration in Alison’s case!) Just a few seconds stop at traffic lights and you could feel your temperature rising.

The road from Dalaman onwards I know well, and the thought that after all those miles, only a couple of hours away from our destination seemed to make the time just fly by.

After one more fuel stop about half an hour away, İ could feel Alison fiddling about behind me. İ soon found out that she was texting all our friends to say we were nearly there.

We pulled into Kas slowly and did the last bit of video on the move, then pulling up at Smiley's Bar near the harbour for a welcome cold beer, and being greeted by a host of friends. A BIG THANK YOU to all who turned up, and also the 'welcome' texts and messages from those that couldn't make it. Sorry to you all if we smelt a bit high, but as one friend put it ''Everyone smells in Kas at some time''

After an hour or so we set off to the apartments to well needed showers, and a change of clothes. While the reality of it all sank in.

Sunday 21st April

Feel rather sorry for Alison, all that way, then 24 hours later she has to leave to fly back to England. Then today out to Menorca to help with a family matter. Still, it’s also hot there, so it’s a question now who is going to have the best suntan in the next week to 10 days when she travels back to Turkey.

The knees are doing OK, hopefully another day or so and back to normal

Photos to follow.

Tony

WE MADE IT!

2008-04-20T09:14:00.001-07:00

Photo - Kas Harbour

WELL, WE MADE IT.
JUST ABOUT IN ONE PIECE.
ARRIVED IN KAS 14.30 LOCAL TIME.
YEY!!!

Still a day’s drive to Kas.

2008-04-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

Photos - Turkey - Finally!

Well, we made it to Turkey - still a day's drive to Kas.
Left Kos eventually, about 4.30pm only about 36 hours later than hoped. The guy we'd met the day before (that’s in her part of blog) arrived at the ferry 2 mins before departure with his BMW bike on a trailer, having gone for a ride around the island, had picked up a puncture. So we set sail only a few minutes late and headed for the next problem. Turkish customs...

We docked in Bodrum Harbour, got the bikes off in about 5 mins and then got the visas stamped.
All OK so far. Now we have to get the bike accepted. Now this shouldn't be too much of a problem. We have all the necessary documents. Only need a photocopy of the visa, with entry stamp. So I hobble off behind this custom guy to the photocopy shop 100 yds away. So far so good. Back to the custom office, hand over passport and all and off he trotted...... somewhere.......... After about an hour of knowing nothing of what was going on, we wandered off along the quayside to find something to eat. Meatballs, chips, rice, salad and water - very nice. Suitably refreshed we wondered back to the custom office. Still no sign.......... By this time Andy had had his puncture repaired. The sun was going down, and the hopes of getting 100 or so miles under our belts before dark faded with the sinking sun. Alison by now had gone off to find a cash machine and some credit for the Turkish phones.

I decided to get the video and film the sunset, balancing the camera precariously on the back of the scooter zooming in on the sun, pressed the record button and as if by magic the customs man appeared. İ think he'd waited in the wings for the 'best' moment to reappear. Well İ thought, ‘sod it’, and carried on filming. A few minutes later as the golden ball disappeared, he was still sorting Andy and the other passengers with a car, so İ got my sunset video (maybe)

I'm sending it in bits so I don't lose it!

Anyway, documents stamped and off we set. By now it was dark but a full moon was on the horizon, so we set off, got out of Bodrum and onto the open road.
Doing only about 10 miles, we spotted a motel, so we decided that the day has been eventful enough and stopped there for the night. And they have an internet cafe that seems to work and not lose everything, though I'm not going to risk the spell checker (sorry, leaving bit that to Sue!)

İ must have a word with Andy, that wheeze of getting himself and bike off the ferry and leaving his passenger behind… (I jest, of course !!!)
Tony

Friday - 'So near and yet so far'

2008-04-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

Photos - The Smallest Ferry in the World!

We arrived in the Greek island of Kos at 05.30. The dock was the same organised chaos Pireaus had been! The ferry was being loaded and unloaded at the same time but in about 20 mins all was sorted and the ferry set off for the next island and all passengers and cargo had dispersed. There was a small café, which provided a much needed coffee while we pondered our next move. We hoped there would be a ferry to Bodrum that day but at the early hour there was no one to ask. Another ferry arrived and disgorged its passengers including a British 1200 BMW bike with two passengers who roared off out of the dock area without seeing us. I asked someone about the Bodrum boat and he said to come back at 08.00 so we set off into town in search of breakfast. Here we met the BMW complete with Andy and his father Peter who had come down from Hull in just under a week! They had decided to avoid Switzerland ‘cause of the weather! Lightweights! They said, according to the internet, there was a ferry which ran Monday, Wednesday, Friday, so we were in luck.

Over breakfast Andy told us how he had managed to leave his father on the ferry at Igoumenista! They had travelled the same route as us from Bari but different ferry and decided to get off at Igoumenista and drive through Patras to Pireaus. Andy over slept and woke to the tannoy asking the owner of the BMW registration X to disembark. He threw some clothes on, went down to the hold got the bike off, turned round to see the ramp being lifted and the ferry leaving for Patras! Luckily he had his crash helmet, jacket and passport, but no money. The shipping agent lent him 100 € for fuel and he set off to Patras arriving an hour before the ferry, and rescued his father. (I hope Tony doesn't get any ideas!)

Just after 08.00 we went back to the dock, where a helpful policeman told us, “yes” there was a ferry and where to get tickets. Back to town to wait for the ticket office to open. When it did the agent said to wait till 09.30 as he would ring to check the ferry was running as there was quite a wind and swell. He did and it was. We bought our ticket and started to relax. Off to the internet for me to get flights back to UK and out to Menorca where I was needed on Tuesday. That done, we went off for a drive and a bite of lunch. It was quite cold and windy so we decided to double check the boat was still going.

We got to dock about 13.00hrs and saw the captain. He said, “yes” it was running but we couldn't go, as it was full! We said we'd bought tickets that morning. He said the agent should have phoned him, as the boat had been booked for two days. We said there was another bike. He knew and had told them the same. He said we could go tomorrow, Saturday, and that somehow he would organise the customs people to work as they don't usually work weekends. We said, “thank you” and left, a bit disgruntled, to change our ticket and find a hotel.
The travel agent was shut so we found a hotel and walked back, he was still shut. We went and had a beer…he was still shut! I was getting p.....d off by now so we went round the corner to another agent and explained the situation to her. She apologised on his behalf and said he should have checked before selling the ticket. Apparently she and her husband were the main agents, so she said it would be no problem to change the ticket, however she was unaware that the ferry was running tomorrow as it was Saturday! We said the captain had told us. She said to come back at 16:30 when her husband would have seen the boat off and confirm tomorrow’s departure! If the ferry didn't go on Saturday the next one was 16:30 on Monday by which time I should be checking in at Antalya airport!!! My stress level was rising!

We decided to see our ferry off without us so walked back to the dock. We hadn't see Andy or Peter since breakfast and were a little surprised to see them on the ferry! However it turned they were on foot. Andy's mum was flying into Bodrum at 3 am so they needed to go and meet her. Andy was coming back for the bike the next day. There were 3 cars and 140 people on the little boat, which wasn't much bigger than some of the dive boats we'd been on! We had confirmation again it was going the next day and with the weather being extremely rough we were actually quite glad not to be on it! We videoed it leaving and it was really plunging as it left the harbour! (Andy told me today when we crossed on a lovely flat calm sea, that there were a lot of green and white faces going in and out of the loo!!!) He also said the bikes would have been all over the place too, so maybe someone was watching over us.

Perhaps that someone is St Nicholas (Father Christmas) the patron saint of sailors, who was bishop of Myra 50km to the west of Kas, born in Patara 50 km to the east of Kas, and whose bones were stolen by Italian sailors and lie in Barı!!

Not much left to do now but have a wander around Kos and then get a good nights sleep, which I was well ready for, having been awake since about 03:30.
Alison

Ferry hopping! 17th to 18th April

2008-04-19T02:10:00.000-07:00

Photo - Kos Harbour - grey skies

Arrived at Patras at 13.00. Went across the Peloponnesian peninsula and on to Pireaus. We had hoped to do the Corinth Canal (click for link) on the way back.
Port of Pireaus not impressive. Looked like a digging machine had been busy!
5.00 p.m. ferry to Kos.
Yuk!
Bulging at the seams and the 'no smoking' ban clearly hasn't reached this far!
No cabins left.
But - the beer is very cold and my left knee has been better. I have had a few twinges in the right one (and my back) but Alison says its 'cause I have favoured the other one and not just the right one coming out in sympathy!
Could be in Kas tomorrow p.m. if all goes well...

Photo - a beer in Kos - blue skies

Wednesday 16th April

2008-04-19T01:52:00.000-07:00

We spent the day at Trulli di Alberobello (click for link.) These are little round houses.The town of Alberobello is made up of a hundred trulli. The little houses are whitewashed each year to keep them gleaming. They have grey cone shaped roofs. They are common in the area but unknown anywhere else. No one really knows the origin of the teepee design. Some say they are 5000 years old and others say they date back to the Middle Ages.

We have had to cut short our tour of Greece on the way out as there is a more pressing need to get to Turkey. So we will explore a little more on our way back. Basically we are now ferry hopping and should be in Kas in a couple of days.

Tuesday 15th April

2008-04-19T01:47:00.000-07:00

Photo - Coffee stop on the way to Dubrovnik - rain just stopped!

We left Split and then five minutes later the heavens opened! It rained all day and we could only see 100 yards ahead. At one point we stopped for a coffee and left a puddle in the cafe where we sat! Eventually the rain stopped and the £13 rainsuits from Lidls had proved to be a good investment as we were dry on the inside.
We carried on to Dubrovnik where we could get the overnight ferry to Bari.

Photo - sun setting on Dubrovnik

Friday 11th to Monday 14th

2008-04-15T01:45:00.000-07:00

Photo -'The Sea' Northern Adriatic coast - Day 11

We left Lipicia on Friday and, as we did a quick entry and exit of Italy to get on the road through Slovenia to Croatia, it started to rain. This got heavier and more persistent and when a Croatian border guard suggested a nice town just before Rijeka we decided to stop even though we had only travelled 44 miles. We found a lovely Pension on the sea edge, but as we were now in warmer climbs there was no heating -which wasn't a problem except for drying stuff out! On the plus side the Pension had a lovely fish restaurant and half the television films were in English. The next morning, Saturday, it was still raining and I was not a happy bunny, but over breakfast the sun came out and Tony cheered me up by being his usual silly self! The stuff was more or less dry so we packed up and headed south down the famous Dalmation coast.

Photo - coffee stop at dive centre showing interesting finds

There was the occasional shower as we followed the stunning wiggly coastline but not enough to dampen our spirits. We could see clearer weather approaching from the east, which gave some interesting skies with the dark clouds ahead. We caught up with an English camper van and stopped in a lay by for a chat. Tim and Judith left the UK a month ago to settle permanently in Croatia and they are ‘loving it’. That morning they had bought a house and were on their way to sort paperwork etc out. After a picnic lunch we continued on our wiggly way and stopped in a little town called Karlobag for the night.

Photo - view from our room Karlobag

Once again we were on the waterfront, and after a delicious pizza, watched ‘Back to the Future’ before going to bed!

Photo - Remains of Karlobag Church.

Sunday dawned sunny and we set off aiming for Split. The coast continued to be gorgeous with little fishing hamlets on our right side and snow capped mountains on our left. Once past Zadar there wasn't a cloud in the sky, we'd been told the weather changed here, and the vegetation was noticeably greener. There were several swallows and swifts about and as we'd heard a cuckoo in Lipicia it was definitely beginning to feel more like spring/summer. The speedo decided to pack up just before we arrived in Split but I knew we'd travelled about 1400 miles by then.

This coastline was a little longer than guesstimated because of all the wiggles! We stopped at an expensive hotel where the very friendly receptionist phoned a friend, who sent a taxi for us to follow to a delightful fishing village just outside Split. Here again our room looks out onto the waterfront, very similar to Kas, and once again is over a pizza restaurant! Last night we watched ‘American Pie’ before falling asleep!

Today, Monday, dawned with blue cloudless skies and sunshine over our balcony. Bliss.

Photo - view from our window in Stobrec outside Split day 14

Half Way!

We had intended to visit Vis but our friendly receptionist had phoned and discovered it was a 2 hour ferry ride, 2 hours there then 2hours back, so we decided an easy day in Split was more up our street. We also tried to find an illusive Suzuki Service place. It took an hour of circumnavigating Split to find him, only to be told the part would take 15 days to arrive! We abandoned the idea of a new speedo cable and went for a coffee on the beach instead!

Photo - Coffee on the beach in Split - Day 14

Tomorrow, Tuesday, we're off to Dubrovnik where we catch a ferry at 23:00 hrs to Bari in Italy.

Alison

Days 9 and 10

2008-04-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

Photo - Day 10 Lipizzaner mares at a very soggy Lipicia

Day 9 Wednesday Meran to Tolmezzo 160 miles.

We set off on a slightly revised route to circumnavigate the Dolomites as we did not want to encounter any more snowy roads and thought the first section might be iffy and also wanted Tony to be happy with his knee. The latter proved no trouble riding the scooter and as the roads were good we decided to get back on our intended route from Cortina and go up over a pass at 1398m. Being lower than the pass through the Alps which was 2194m, we hoped the roads would be OK and they were. The Dolmites were more imposing than the Alps with narrower valleys and steeper sided mountains, I thought it might be bear country but we didn’t see any! We drove through some beautiful old towns and the weather was kind to us till we started to descend then it got a bit murky. In Tolmezzo the hotel we eventually found was on the outskirts with no restaurant, but it did have a SPAR next door so we had a picnic in our room. Almost camping!!

Day 10 Tolmezzo to Lipicia (Slovenia) 89 miles (1059 driven miles)

We got under way in good time but the weather was quite grey. The first section to Udine was very stressful driving for Tony as not only was visibility impaired by the weather, but the Italian drivers kept cutting in or sitting on his tail. He tried leaving a sensible space to the vehicle in front, but it was constantly filled by an impatient Italian. We decided to divert slightly and enter Slovenia further north so as not to have the same driving conditions in Trieste. In general it was a good decision though the border itself was a bit illusive! but we eventually found it and sailed through. We then had a lovely climb through some old hill villages, stopping for a picnic at the top of one climb, before continuing on to Lipicia in the worsening weather. We arrived a bit soggy but having found our room - in totally the opposite direction to the arrows - had a wander round the old Lipizzaner stud farm. We went and said hello to some mares in a paddock, had a look in the one of the stallion barns, then watched the youngsters come galloping in to their over night pen. There is a show jumping competition here tomorrow which we may watch a few rounds of before setting off to Croatia. Lipicia (click for link) was established in 1580 and is the original stud farm of the horses for famous Spanish riding School in Vienna.
Alison

Sunday and an eventful Monday!

2008-04-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Photo - Morning day 6 in Switzerland

Day 6 Sunday 6th

Long time ago now for my little brain. We left Altdorf (where William Tell was born apparently) by which time the rain had turned to snow. Happily this had not settling on the roads, and rode in near white out conditions, but stunning, for the next hour over the hill towards Lake Zurich. We then headed for the Spa/swimming complex that Alison knew called Alpamare on the edge of the lake (makes Larkfield look like village pond!). She had been there 30years before and it was much as she remembered but with a few additions. Had to leave the bike in the car park with all the kit on board, and I must say I was a little apprehensive that all would be there when we returned, but sure enough it was.
We spent a couple of hours there, took the video camera in (complete with water proof housing), though wasn't too sure if I should, knowing what the laws are like in the UK. We didn't want to get thrown out, so tried to be very discrete and only took a little footage. We then proceeded to head for the water slides to prove that we were still young at heart, in fact there was a long queue so (good excuse) we took the leisurely route in big rubber rings down the gradual slope, much more suited to our Elder Statesman image! Outside were two pools at 35 degrees complete with occasional Jacuzzi effect for the grown ups, whilst inside the kids enjoyed a pool with wave machine.

Photo Day 7 - The pass over the Alps

Day 7 Monday 7^th

Yesterday - an eventful day to put it mildly!
All started well, although there was about an inch of snow on the bike! We headed off from our overnight stay in a roadside truck type stop, but it was Sunday night so had the place almost to ourselves. Just as well as don't think Alison would have relished sharing a shower and wash room with a dozen burly truckers, though I can't see that they would have complained (some people eh!) MSP viewpoint!

We soon started to climb and the scenery was spectacular with mostly virgin snow everywhere except on the roads of course which were perfectly clear. We'd been told, our chosen route, over the Fluelapass was closed, but that there was a 15km tunnel from near Klosters to Susch. Now I did think that might be a bit fumy all that way, but as the traffic was so light compared to the UK thought no more. However as we kept climbing and no tunnel appeared, I began to wonder!! By this time the snow was beginning to lay on the roads in places so the speed was very slow and cautious. We just passed a minor accident under a road bridge and just as I was thinking to myself 'glad we weren't there a few minutes sooner' a police car came hurling down the road lights on and siren blaring, and moving slightly to the edge to keep out of his way I managed to lose it in a patch of slush and we both hit the deck with a bit of a bump. Apart from a bang on my knee there was no damage done and soon we were off again.

The annoying thing was that we'd passed the tunnel, there was a small terminal and you have to go through the tunnel on a train. By the time we'd found this out we were in the next village that little bit higher and well into skiing terrain. We stopped for a coffee, got several rye glances from people who thought we must be mad (we tended to agree!) and set off down the hill again to the tunnel, where we waited only a few minutes then drove onto the train and were out the other side in 20 minutes to blue sky and sunshine.

The roads the other side were clear and dry and we decided to take the preferred route through a National Park towards Italy rather than the alternative one which involved another tunnel. Although very cold we were well wrapped up and had the roads and stunning scenery almost to ourselves, at one point seeing an eagle soar past no more than 15 to 20 metres away. We stopped for a very welcome soup and a chance to warm the fingers and toes just before the border, and then continued on into Italy. As we descended after the border we immediately noticed the change in temperature. This bit of Italy is very like Austria as it's in the southern Tyrol area of the Alps. After 30 miles of almost continuous vineyards and apple orchards we stopped at a very nice hotel complete with Jacuzzi sauna and internet (which I've been cursing ever since, the internet that is)

Just to prove a point, that I'm not as young and agile as I thought I was, the bang on the knee, although not bothering me much during the day, by the evening I was beginning to walk around like Herr Flick of the Gestapo! So by this morning (Tuesday) we decided it could do with a day's rest.

Photo - Meran in Southern Tyrol

Saturday 5th Day Five

2008-04-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

We left Mulhouse and set off towards the Swiss border in Basel. We'd been in contact with my mum who was on a coach trip to Italy, staying in Switzerland just south of Luzern on Saturday night, so we decided to make a slight detour and meet her. We wanted to stay off the Swiss motorways, as you’re supposed to pay a 14 month road tax to use them and it's the same price as a car. However this proved more difficult than we expected so we gave up trying and sailed on to Luzern keeping our fingers crossed. After a bite of lunch in a street called Kas we continued slowly around the lake to the south east corner, admiring the gorgeous view of sun on the water and snow capped mountains behind. We found mum’s hotel, and a 10 min walk further up the mountain, a delightful B&B complete with cable car, water mill and goats with bells! Mum’s coach arrived at 7.30pm so we joined her for dinner and waved her off the next morning in the rain!
Alison

Arras to Mulhouse

2008-04-05T00:46:00.000-07:00

Day 2 April 2^nd Arras to Metz. Mileage 202

We waved Catherine goodbye and then set off for the nearest petrol station (travelling on the final fumes left in the tank!) Our journey was uneventful, nice open roads and very little traffic. We stopped a few times for refreshments and leg stretches, arriving in Metz around 7pm.

Jane found a lovely hotel about a 20 min walk from the town centre. The hotel owner recommended an excellent restaurant by the stunning cathedral. Metz is a beautiful city and very old, parts of it date back 3000 yrs.

It had been another long day but both of us, though tired, were feeling ok. Tony's helmet was giving him a bit of gyp on his forehead. When he investigated there was a bit inside, proud of the rest. The Swiss army knife came to the rescue!

Day 3 April 3^rd Metz to Mulhouse. Mileage 151

click for map

The weather was still being kind to us. No rain at all yet, and with the first two thirds of the journey on dual carriageway we really motored. I did wonder at one point what the M25 was like at that moment as there was no traffic in front, behind or even on the other side of the road!

We stopped at a roadside truck stop for a snack then carried on into the foothills of the Alps. At one point we were pretty high and passing large piles of snow, a forerunner of days to come. We got to Mulhouse around 3pm and found a hotel called the St Bernard. When I went in to enquire if they had a room, I was met by a St Bernard dog about the same size as the scooter!

We decided to stay 2 nights as we'd covered a fifth of the mileage (499) and wanted to catch up on emails and washing, as well as visiting the Schlumpf Museum. We have also decided (for those who are following the journey plan) to extend the Dalmation Coast by 3 days, so we aim to get the next ferry to Bari. The ferry only goes every 3 days, and we are aiming at the 15th, so we have time in hand. Last night we ate in a Tunisian restaurant. Delicious!

Day 4 April 4^th Mulhouse

After a coffee and pain au chocolate for breakfast, we went off to Schlumpf Museum (click for link). It was breath-taking with many, many cars representing the last 100 years of motoring. The Bugatti Royal was stunning! Only six were built and two are in the museum. It was originally a private collection of the Schlumpf brothers who ran the old woollen mill the collection is in. When they ran into financial problems in the 70's the museum was confiscated and opened to the public in the early 80's. Their original love was Bugatti's (of which there are many, having been lovingly restored) and all the original cars, whatever their make, were in working order. The collection has been added to over the years with one section now devoted to racing from the 30's to present day.

Tomorrow we head off to Switzerland and I'm hoping to find a wonderful place I visited 30 years ago on the eastern end of Lake Zurich. If we find it I'll tell you all about it next time.
Alison

Somewhere in France...

2008-04-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

Day 1 1st April - Kent to Arras via Dover and Calais. Mileage 146

We set off in sunshine and met up with some friends, Tim and Barbara Senior, who escorted us to Dover in their MGB. All was well till 3 miles out of Dover the traffic ground to a halt. After 10 minutes of not moving far we left Tim and Barbara and wove through the traffic (dodgy at times!) arriving at check-in at 2pm for the 2.20 sailing only to discover the boat was 40mins late! We had a coffee and watched an interesting game of football being played by girls and boys in pyjamas on the quayside!
Once on board we met a lone female biker, Catherine, from Northern Ireland, who teaches History in Chelmsford. She was travelling round France for a week during her Easter break and decided to come with us to Arras, our first stop.
Jane, our Sat Nav, then decided to throw a bit of a wobbly! She seemed to have some directional problems and was trying to send us via Belgium! After a few detours from the map we eventually found a hotel outside Arras - all the ones in town were full. This was about 9pm with the scooter having registered empty for the last 20 miles. "Running on fumes" as Tony said! The hotel was a little above budget but we didn't care at that stage, we were on the way! After a couple of well earned beers we slept like logs.
Alison

2 hours till we leave...

2008-04-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 1st April.
Well it's 2hrs till we leave, we’re catching the 14.20 ferry. The weather’s a bit murky but the sun is supposed to come out later. A big thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, we’ve raise just under £1000 which is terrific, keep telling your friends. Also a huge thank you to Sue for doing such a wonderful job on the blog. I’m just painting my toe nails, we girls have to do these things! Before finally zipping up the panniers (I hope mine closes!) and loading Dupre (the scooter).
Next posting from somewhere in France...
Alison

Official visit to Canine Partners

2008-03-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

Thursday 27th,

We visited Canine Partners again yesterday for ‘official’ photoshoot, when they could get the camera to work. Tony was as taken with the place, people and dogs as I was the week before. Everyone is happy and enthusiastic in their work and so grateful for what we’re doing, it’s a lovely atmosphere. We met Allen whose wife runs the puppy training and his dog Endal has won many awards including the canine equivalent of the ’George Cross’ for bravery. He put Allen in the recovery position when he collapsed, covered him with a blanket and activated the emergency phone. He also can work a cash point, pin number and all!!!! You can visit his website on:

http://www.milleniumdog.freeserve.co.uk/

We had hoped to get some interest from the media which would have helped us to reach our target amount, but this has not been forthcoming, so maybe our expectations are a little high. However we will endeavour to continue towards this amount as this is such a worthwhile charity and both Tony and I feel this is the beginning of a long association with them. If anyone has any suggestions please let us know.

Visits planned

2008-03-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Scheduled visits so far:

Mulhouse Buggati museum

Lipicia Lipizzaner Stud

Island of Viz

Alberobello

Thessolonika ( Aturturks’ birthplace)

Gallipoli Peninsular

Troy

Ephesus

Donations to Canine Partners

2008-03-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

A big 'Thank you' to all those who are supporting us.
We already have £620.
Just click on this link to make a donation:
http://secure.justgiving.com/kent2kas

Route Plan - well, we are getting close to departure!

2008-03-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

*Kent2Kas approximate Route Plan*
Tues 1st	Kent to Arras via Calais (FR)	150 mile
Wed 2^nd	Arras to Metz	200 miles
Thurs 3^rd	Metz to Mulhouse	130 miles
Fri 4^th	a.m Mulhouse museum p.m Mulhouse to Weesen (CH)	100 miles
Sat 5^th	Weesen to Bolzano Bozen (I)	150 miles
Sun 6^th	Bolzano Bozen to Sistana	150 miles
Mon 7^th	a.m Sistana to Lipicia (SL) p.m Lipicia to Baker (CR)	15 miles 50 – 100 miles
Tues 8^th	Baker to Primosten	150 miles
Wed 9^th	a.m Primosten to Split day trip to VIZ	25 miles
Thurs 10^th	Split to Dubrovnik	100 miles
Fri 11^th	The government website recommends not to travel through Albania and Kosovo, which we had thought, so to get from Croatia to Greece we have to get a ferry to Italy and back!!	1250 miles *half way*
Sat 12^th	Dubrovnik to Bari Ferry leaves 15.30hrs arrives 21.30hrs
Sun 13^th	Bari to Brindisi via Alberobello - visit the lovely village of Trulli di Alberello where all the houses have strange pointed cone shaped roofs! Brindisi to Igoumenitsa (GR) Ferry leaves 20.00hrs arrives 07.30 hrs	80 miles
Mon 14^th	Igoumenitsa to Thessalonika	220 miles
Tues 15^th	Thessolonika to Alexandroupoli	200 miles
Wed 16^th	Alexandroupoli to Troy (TR)	130 miles
Thurs 17^th	a.m Troy p.m Troy to Bergama	120 miles
Fri 18^th	Bergama to Ephesus p.m. Ephesus	100 miles
Sat 19^th	Ephesus to Dalyan	130 miles
Sun 20th	Dalyan to Kas	100 miles
		2^nd leg 1080 miles
		Total mileage 2330

Alison's Visit to Canine Partners

2008-03-20T02:22:00.000-07:00

I first heard about Canine Partners on Radio 2 last November and as we were looking for a charity to support for our forthcoming trip I thought they would be a worthwhile candidate. Then a client of mine, a budding 3 day event rider, very sadly contracted meningitis which devastatingly for her resulted in blood poisoning and the amputation of her lower legs and ends of her fingers. This unfortunate change of her circumstance confirmed our decision to sponsor this charity with its wonderful assistance dogs. I found out on my visit today that another lady who had suffered the same terrible disease but had both lower arms amputated as well as her legs, now has a canine partner who has helped her regain her independence.

We were invited to an open day at the principal training centre at Heyshott just south of Midhurst in West Sussex. Unfortunately Tony had to work but I went along to meet a variety of dogs and their partners and to learn more about the skills that transform people’s lives and sometimes even save them. Once fully trained these amazing dogs respond to over 100 different commands which include fetching the phone, opening the washing machine filling and emptying it, opening doors, drawers and cupboards, dressing and undressing, food shopping, pressing pedestrian crossing buttons etc, etc. They even go to the loo on command!!

I met Bernard Wallis and Jinx, his golden retriever partner of 8 years:

Bernard Wallis and Jinx

Some dogs, and Jinx is one of them, have gone beyond their training and have got vital help for their partner when an accident has befallen them. Bernard told us how much having Jinx meant to him, not only in performing the many tasks he was trained to do, but also in getting people talking who would otherwise ignore him because of his disability. Shopping that used to take him 30 mins can now take up to two and a half hours because so many people stop and talk to them both!!

Isadora is just 11 weeks old and 3 weeks into her puppy training. She is a black Poodle and though most of the dogs used are Retrievers or Labradors, a percentage are Poodle’s and Poodle crosses, trained and placed with partners who have allergies to moulting coats. This was of great interest to me as I am asthmatic with dogs on the long list of things I’m allergic to! Isadora is pictured with Xyla, a four yr old display Retriever:

We asked if we could sponsor a puppy right through training to graduation but at Canine Partners suggestion, we will now sponsor a ‘class’ because there is a small percentage who don’t graduate mainly due to ill health or unsuitability and it would be very disappointing to sponsor a puppy who didn’t make it. I thought Izzy was adorable so as new recruits we’re hoping to sponsor the ‘I’ class which means raising between £7000 and £8000! A tall order but a very worthwhile challenge! The ‘I ‘class will be going into advanced training next March when they are 14 months old. After 3 to 6 months successful dogs will graduate and be placed with matched human partners for a final 2 weeks of training to get used to each other before starting their new life together.

"The plan is, there is no plan"

2008-03-07T07:21:00.000-08:00

When I purchased a Chinese scooter three years ago to get around the small town of Kas, where I have an apartment, all the memories of my teenage biking days came flooding back. Back in my ‘greaser’ years, I was described by some as a bit of an ace rider. Friday night would see me taking my weekly trip down to Groombridges, Cross in Hand to blow my lowly wage packet on whatever I could afford. I would then spend most of the weekend carrying out repairs and, with a bit of luck, would take a ride down to the coast or at the very least, up to the youth club to do some impressive wheelies. Of course, the reality was no money for petrol or protective gear and a bike that was constantly in the shed for maintenance.

This time though, I was almost always guaranteed a warm and dry day whenever I felt like a ride. I was soon well and truly re-bitten by the motorbike bug!

Despite the fine weather, the combination of a 125cc engine with two onboard (combined weight 24 stone) meant a hilly drive could only be accomplished at a snails pace. It was therefore understandable, to see a look of absolute horror on Alison’s face when I first suggested buying a scooter in England and riding to Turkey.

To be fair, a 17 km ride on the Chinese scooter to the next village in Turkey, inevitably resulted in her suffering from a stiff back and legs, as she had to sit in a cramped position on a seat considerably narrower than our derrieres.

She put up a noble fight, raging from “You must be joking!” to “How about I fly to Italy, meet you there for a couple of days, then fly on to Turkey and wait for you?”

However, what she didn’t know was that I had set my sights on something a little more comfortable and powerful than the Chinese scooter.

Meet our Suzuki Burgman…

We took our first outing on the new (to us) ‘wheels’ to Southend. OK, not so far really but quite an experience as it happens. We had checked the weather forecast but had not noted the expected high winds! After being blown sideways by 40-50 mph winds most of the way, we survived and felt that the comfort was acceptable and the 100 mile ride was no real problem.

When I sold my Private Hire business 3 ½ years ago (no… 4 ½ years, time flies!), I was often asked: “What are your plans?” My reply was always the same: “The plan is, there is no plan!” This journey is much along the same lines. Of course we have had to work out a basic route but that could easily change – the growing problems in Kosovo for example…

Last Christmas was unusual in that, when asked by the family, “What do you want?” I had a list of pre trip items to collect. My family, always complaining that I was really hard to buy for, greeted these ideas with enthusiasm. Soon I had acquired a camping gaz stove; over seat luggage bags; micro towels (yes- they are really micro!) and other assorted bits and bobs. Where do we put it all? Arrgghh.

Then, laying in bed one morning, pondering as you do - I was thinking about Messrs McGregor and Boorman on their Long Way Round/Down trips – and I recalled that they raised a fair bit for Unicef on their travels. Well, we may not be quite as adventurous but hey, I’m older and this is ‘two up’ on a second hand machine, half the size of their (brand new) BMW Superbikes. So let’s see if we can raise a few pennies for a worthy cause.

We have come up with Canine Partners. We are off to visit them in Midhurst in Surrey soon (report to follow) and have already started collecting some donations.

2008-03-07T07:19:00.003-08:00

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2008-03-07T07:17:00.001-08:00