We'll update this page when we can, but also check the SMS Update Page for news of our progress.

10.01.09 - The Journey begins.......

Tim and the Ste's left Stockton at 1pm on Saturday as planned to catch the ferry at Portsmouth (that they thought was) at 11:00pm. However, at 10:00pm (and miles away from Portsmouth) they discovered that the ferry was actually leaving at 10:30pm so only just managed to catch it in time! A cabin was booked to enable the lads to get some much needed rest prior to the long journey ahead............but who needs sleep when there's a bar on board?! after a few emergency pints they finally got to bed only to be awoken four hours later by a tannoy message instructing them to return to the car as they were about to dock.

11.01.09
Lack of sleep, hangovers and a diet consisting only of sugar and e numbers contributed towards a rise in tension in the car on the journey through France. There was a heated debate regarding which CD should be on in the car - Disco Vs Kings of Leon (no competition) however a compromise was reached before things got out of hand and they settled for the Hoosiers. They thought it was all over during a coffee stop in France when they spotted a pool of water that had leaked from the car and feared that the radiator had burst, the radiator would need to be emptied and the car cooled for 4 hours before a sealant could be used. Deciding they didn't have time for this kind of carry on, they journeyed on and after 15 hours of driving today, arrived at a hotel in Pamplona, North Spain for another well earned "rest."

So the word on the street now (10:20pm) is.......the team are enjoying a few more beers in the hotel and an omelette in a baguette - how continental! they will be heading for Gibraltar tomorrow. Let's just hope they get some sleep tonight or it could all kick off..........!

12.01.09
Set off this morning from Pamplona, heading for Madrid. The road headed over the Pyrenees and the car loses lots of power when going uphill, so it's a bit embarrassing to have to go into the crawler lane and get overtaken by lorries! Going has been slow and will be after dark when we make Madrid so probably won't make Gibraltar tonight. Lot's of snow on tops of mountains - very picturesque driving today, we should have brought a sledge! Stopped in a little village for lunch where nobody spoke English but we managed to order chicken and chips with a bottle of very chilled red wine! Back on the road again - watch this space.

13.01.09
Yesterday was another long drive. We missed a turn and Jukesy had to drive through the centre of Madrid in rush hour! There were a number of very near misses - Deansy and McGill screaming at him while he tried to negotiate five lanes of traffic! We had a little detour through an industrial estate and tried half a dozen routes before we found our way out! Stopped at a truck stop for tea (chicken swimming in olive oil!) then stopped at Pamplona overnight.

Set off this morning over the Pyrenees - alternated between 140 kmh downhill to 40 kmh uphill - ended up overtaking the same lorry five times cos he overtook us on the uphill bits! Beautiful country though and the mountains all covered in snow. Made it to Malaga this afternoon but drove right through and couldn't find the beach! Deansy was doing 90 in a 40 limit (says he didn't notice) and then had to stop at some lights in a hurry! Lost about an inch of rubber off the tyres, but at least we know the brakes work! Stopped in Torremolinos for lunch where Jukesy and McGill had a traditional Polish meal! The weather here is a bit warmer - like a british spring day.

Stopped for fuel and Jukesy decided to give the car a jet wash (against advice) cos it's filthy and we can't see out of the windows. The car then refused to start and made some horrendous noises (a bit like Jukesy snoring) A bit of rocking backwards and forwards got her started again though. On our way to Gibraltar again and should get there tonight (though staying a bit short of it in Sotogrande - and should meet up with some of the other teams!)

14.01.09
Arrived at Sotogrande last night. Met loads of the other competitors - seem like a nice bunch! They all arrived the day before cos it looks like we have the slowest car, they were going to get the ferry this morning so we all decided to go in convoy which didn't leave us time to see Gibraltar. Got the ferry first thing this morning and now in Morocco. It was supposed to take 3 hours to get through customs, but we 'tipped' a couple of guys 20 Euros and got through in 20 minutes without getting searched! Heading to Fez at the moment - the adventure begins!

The weather is warm but not boiling. We stopped in Tetuon for mint tea. Heading up the hills to Fez now - 270 km. We've just passed a donkey carrying a massive load, we all said 'poor thing' then passed an old woman doubled over carrying a load twice the size! interesting place!

There's a few dodgy characters in Fez - we were sat outside a cafe and two blokes were loitering around the car, they were blatantly tampering with the petrol cap until McGill scared them off with a fist full of hammers (not really, asked them politely to move!) Staying in a hotel with secure parking tonight! a few of the other competitors are still stuck in customs in their ambulance!

15.01.09
Stayed last night in Fez in a hotel with secure underground parking. Tried to contact some of the other teams to see where they are but kept ringing random Moroccans! We did get in touch with the guys who were taking an ambulance to the Gambia; they were still stuck at the border and had been told that they had to pay 7000 euros to get through - looks like they will be heading back home!

Today we hoped to see Fez but there were a few jobs we needed to do. We had to get Moroccan car insurance so hunted down a broker - a weeks cover is about 70 quid! Also checked the official website to get info on other teams - the internet cafe we found had keyboards in arabic instead of qwerty so had to hit keys at random until we found the right ones! Then McGill went for a haircut and beard trim while Jukesy and Deansy tried to get the barber to do random styles found in magazines (like duke nukem crew cut!) McGill looked a bit uncomfortable when the barber started using a cut throat razor on him, but the finished result looks good.

We contacted some other teams who are heading over the atlas mountains - we have decided to head for the coast instead so are going to Rabat today and then maybe Casablanca. Set off in the car but it couldn't make it up the slope out of the underground garage! we were getting lots of carbon monoxide as the garage filled with exhaust and then a bloke helped Deansy and Jukesy push it while McGill revved like mad! we think it's a good idea to avoid the atlas mountains!

P.S. Whoever sits in the back seat of the car can see out the front windscreen now that McGill has had his neck shaved - Jukesy wants to contact Guinness book of records to see if he is the worlds hairiest man!

Drove to Rabat today. We drove right round looking for the campsite with no joy. We then found a pizza hut by chance and as McGill has been banging on about pepperoni pizza for the past two days we decided to have one - not quite like the ones we get at home!

Then back into the traffic chaos of Rabat where there are five lanes of traffic but only two lanes of road! We discovered that the camp site closed a year ago so were looking for a hotel with secure parking. On a very busy street the clutch failed and we came to a halt next to a bus stop! With buses arriving every 30 seconds we were getting lots of blarring horns, so pushed the car to the side of the road. It's worth mentioning that we have been having a warning light showing for two days which we thought was a brake warning (and we know the brakes are fine) but we found out tonight it was also a clutch warning light!

Deansy stayed with the car while Jukesy and McGill went into a nearby shop to ask for directions to a garage. The shop owner took them to a local garage who refused to help, then another who was too busy and then a third who came to look at it. This guy left his shop to help us out - there are some amazing people in Morocco.

The mechanics looked at the car and said they needed to take it back to the garage they just took the handbrake off and pushed it out into the rush hour traffic. We realised quickly how unfit we were trying to push our car through a maze of cars and up a hill!

At the garage they fixed the leaking clutch fluid problem in an hour or so. One of the mechanics spoke english and chatted to us and made us some mint tea. After fixing the car he took us to a secure car park then showed us a cheap hotel. He has offered to show us round Rabat tomorrow. These people are really friendly and helpful - it's been a bit of a revelation today!