The return home

This is to wish all our readers a Happy New Year for 2019.

The following post was written shortly after our return to the UK but I did not get around to publishing it. My intention is to write a resume at some time in the future 'when the dust has settled' and I am in a frame of mind to reflect on our achievements and relive some of the outstanding experiences, hopefully with pictures (there's a lot to sort through since Cameroon, the last time I recorded our travels photographically).
We had a very relaxing voyage aboard the Grande Ellade. There was not much to do so we spent a lot of time reading, interspersed with mealtimes at 7.30, 12.00 and 18.00. At lunch and dinner we had at least one course of pasta and the 4 passengers were offered a small bottle of red or white wine each. The officers and crew were allowed no alcohol so this was a special dispensation for carrying passengers. In general the weather was good and we had the freedom of the clear bridge deck to get some exercise. We were also able to visit the Bridge and Chris had a full tour of the Engine Room.

The day after leaving Alexandria we passed close to Rhodes and were in sight of islands all day. The ship visited 2 ports in Turkey: first Gemlik where we off-loaded truck cabs then loaded more cars and some eight-wheel trucks. Chris had to move the Enterprise so that it would be in the correct position for when we arrived in Italy. It was well fastened down. We had a day of rougher weather before we reached Salerno. An unexpected detour to a second Turkish port of Tepekoy in the Sea of Marmara, beyond Istanbul was interesting. This was to the Ford owned berth where another 500 cars were driven aboard.

On Friday, 30th November we woke to find we were in the Gulf of Catania off Italy and Sicily and after breakfast we were on deck as we passed through the narrow Strait of Messina. It was surprising to see snow on the slopes of Mount Etna. The coast of Sicily around Taormina with its ancient Greek theatre was very pretty in the morning sun. It took the rest of the day before we entered Salerno just after dark. We were able to have our last Italian meal aboard and had to wait for the ramp to be lowered and port formalities before being escorted down to the Enterprise by the 3rd mate. Unloading had already started so there was another delay until 9pm before we were free to go. We had expected to have to visit Customs and maybe pay some Port fees, but we were off the ship and out the dock gates with no further stops.

Salerno was an attractive old town of narrow streets and would have been a nice place to visit in daylight. It was our first taste of Christmas with twinkling illuminations and happy people thronging the town centre. The tall historic buildings masked satellite reception which confused our GPS and it took us a while to find our way out to the main autostrada towards Naples and Rome. Again, a daylight journey would have been interesting but we were anxious to make some progress north. Beyond Rome we had a reasonably quiet night at a motorway service area and had an early start the following morning.

All went well until we made a breakfast stop just before Firenze (Florence). The Enterprise refused to start! Was it the starter motor again? Chris donned boilersuit and crawled underneath with his big stick to give it a bash while I turned the key in the ignition: nothing. However, with a little more investigation Chris spotted a wire which had become disconnected - probably loosened when we had the thorough pressure wash in Ashdod. It took well over an hour to fix the problem, but we were on our way again, relieved that it had been an obvious fault. It just re-inforced my admiration for Chris's mechanical skills. 

The remainder of the day passed uneventfully, taking it in turns to drive. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the A1 motorway from Florence to Bologna cut straight through the mountains, across long viaducts and long tunnels - not on any of our maps. By sunset at 16.35 we were into the narrow valley heading towards the Brenner Pass through the snow capped Dolomites and made our night's stop at 18.30 with the temperature dropping close to freezing. Chris calculated that, as it was then Saturday, 1st December we could make a ferry crossing from Calais on Monday morning, and he duly made an online booking. I was very surprised at the distance we had already covered, but then we were on better roads than we had experienced through most of Africa, and Europe is not that big.

A noisy night spent at a truck stop next to the road and a busy railway line, but we slept well after the previous day's journey. Austria was beautiful at sunrise: snow on the mountains, low mist in the frosty valleys and onion-domed churches presiding over pretty villages. What a contrast to our recent travels (Israel is by no means picturesque). Another hour's delay when we reached the first toll. As a large vehicle we were informed we should have purchased a 'Go-box' to travel on Austrian toll roads to automatically record our usage. The fine for not having one was 240 euros, plus the initial charge. A lot of persuasive talking by Chris and the fine was dismissed, and it was explained that when we crossed the border into Germany we should hand back the Go-box and any unused toll charge would be refunded.

Another picturesque drive through the Tyrol to cross into Germany at Scharnitz but by then it was raining. It virtually rained from then on, but the roads were quiet as it was Sunday and commercial traffic is banned, unless they carry food or medecine. Apart from a slow diversion off the autobahn near Pforzheim, all went well and we kept driving until we reached the first service station in Luxembourg around 6pm for cheap diesel and stop at a very fancy McDonalds. From then on we kept going in torrential rain through Belgium and were in Calais by 1am on Monday morning. All truck stops had been closed off, presumably to deter illegal immigrants from boarding lorries bound for Dover. Parking in the ferry terminal meant we did not have to make a very early start. Our 6.45am ferry was almost empty.

Arriving in Dover we decided it would be a good idea to visit Customs to get a stamp back into the UK on our Carnet. Dover Docks is under refurbishment and it took us a while to find the Customs building. British Customs is now outsourced to an independent company and all freight entering the UK is quickly processed electronically. With our Carnet stamped we were soon on our way. My worries at not having a valid test certificate and tax for the Enterprise, which had expired in 2017, were unfounded and apart from noticing what a great volume of traffic there is on English motorways, we had a good journey home to Derbyshire and were sitting in front of a log fire by 4pm.

WE DID IT! And in general had an exciting, adventurous time.

Africa again

Here we are back in Egypt, or not quite, as we are not allowed ashore from the ship. That suits us as we have no desire to see Alexandria other than from the Port. This is the same ship that we would have sent the Enterprise on alone if we had not made it through the Sinai. As it is, Chris was able to drive it aboard himself and keep everything locked up safely. The Enterprise is very happy on Deck 6, almost on its own.

We sailed from Ashdod at 10pm on 22nd and arrived here about 3pm yesterday in a strong wind. It was fascinating to watch the Captain's skill in manoeuvring the big ship sideways into the berth. Not much cargo has been off-loaded, just more cars including, we believe, an Overlander's vehicle. We have not seen it but we know of some people waiting in Alexandria for their car to arrive from Greece on a ship yesterday. We expect to leave here soon for Gemlik in Turkey to load more cars and then straight to Salerno.

Life aboard is very relaxing and if we are not careful we will leave the ship much larger than when we arrived! Most of the Officers and Crew are Italian, including the Cook. There are a few Phillipinos and everyone speaks English. The food is surprisingly good and we have a pasta course every day for lunch and dinner. This morning I had pizza for breakfast. We had to pay quite a lot for our tickets so we are getting our money's worth! We sit with Ingrid and Peter at mealtimes and there is usually a difference of opinion between the men on how things work on a ship!

We have lost the good weather we had all the way to Ashdod with rain on the crossing so we are preparing for winter when we get back to Europe. Kirsty tells us there has already been snow in Derbyshire.

We will not get another opportunity to update the blog once we sail from Egypt so this is finally goodbye to our African adventures.

Grim(aldi)'s Fairy Tales

Well everything has gone better than hoped for in Ashdod. On Tuesday, 20th, after a couple of hours sitting in Zipi's office with the boss of the Customs Forwarding agents, Chris had all the formalities sorted and most of the questions answered. Meanwhile I sat out in the busy street double parked in the Enterprise, as many Israelis were doing, and moving backwards and forwards to let cars out of side roads and parking spaces which we couldn't fit into. By late afternoon with all completed until the following morning when the ship was due to arrive, we drove to the sea front overlooking a lovely sandy beach and the Mediterranean.

We were up early yesterday morning to go out into the countryside to find a quiet place to finish emptying 2 of the balloon gas cylinders so as not to cause any problems for going on the ship. We were caught up in heavy traffic on the 3 lane motorway to Tel Aviv. Errand completed we found a truck jet wash and had a professional clean for the first time in 2 years. We had been deliberately travelling dirty to be less noticeable in Africa and it was a joy to see the Enterprise clean and shiny again but with a few more scars than when we left Europe.

Returning to our spot near the beach we went for a walk along the sand and a paddle. The early morning haze had cleared and the temperature had risen to a pleasant 24C. At shortly before 11am we spotted the Grande Ellade ship coming into the port close by. Giving the batteries a bit more time on charge from the sun (the interior batteries are really struggling to hold electrical charge these days), we went back into town to do some last minute shopping: mainly alcohol! 

At 1.30 Zipi zipped us off to the port entrance where we had to have an interview with the Security officers, a payment of port fees (much less than we had feared), passport check and by 3pm we were on the dockside at the ship. Unloading had only just started and it was interesting to watch the stevedores driving the cargo ashore. There are 8 decks of new cars aboard but also JCB diggers, Isuzu road sweepers and quite a few huge containers.  Unloading continues this morning.

At 4.30 one of the Second Mates took us up to our cabin. We were a little disappointed to find that it is an internal cabin with no portholes or windows and will be a little claustrophobic for 8 days. However, we are happy to be aboard. The Enterprise remained on the dock overnight but we are back in it this morning waiting for loading to begin and we missed it overnight!

We are not the only passengers. A young Polish/Australian woman with a huge motorcycle has come on the ship from Salerno to travel south through Africa and had been refused permission to enter Israel as she had an Iranian stamp in her passport. She was getting desperate yesterday evening but before bed the Israeli Immigration relented and she has left this morning. We have been able to give her lots of advice on what to expect ahead. The other 2 passengers are Peter and Ingrid, a German couple in their 80s who are having a 'cruise' aboard the ship from Esjberg in Denmark and back. Yesterday they were ashore when we arrived on a visit to Jerusalem. In the past they have done a lot of Overlanding on various Continents and been to many of the same places so we have a lot in common. At one time Peter had worked at the banana port in Bremerhaven and correctly guessed that Chris had been a Chief Engineer with Salen. We will enjoy their company for the next week. We have been told that the ship should leave here late afternoon but we expect that will depend on when loading begins.

Hope to update the blog when we are in Alexandria if our Egyptian SIM card still works.

Way down on the Dead Sea

On Friday we had a good run up north following close to the Jordanian border on the luxury of smooth roads, a novelty after all the African roads we have travelled. As we approached the Dead Sea the scenery was very strange: pale rock eroded by water into small canyons and pinnacles. The lower part of the Sea was lined with magnesium factories and the whole expanse of water had salt extraction 'beds'. It was here at the town of Zafor that the resort hotels were situated with bathing beaches. Not exactly something that really attracted us! 

We arrived at the camp site at Ein Gedi Oasis set on the hillside overlooking a more attractive stretch of the Dead Sea, with the intention of staying one night only. Even though we are not close to the shore we are still at an altitude of -336 metres (over -1,000 feet).

Friday, being the Israeli weekend, the Camp was packed with families pitching their tents on the concrete 'runways'. There is a Kibbutz here set in Botanical Gardens where it's possible to eat in their restaurant. We decided to take advantage of that and had a good buffet meal. The camp itself is a real backpackers place. They have static tents with mattresses on the floor, not quite "glamping" but it appears popular. There is a Nature Reserve close by which may also be an attraction.

With no news on Saturday from Zipi, the Customs Clearance lady (who has been far from zippy) there was no point moving on to Ashdod. Just as well as I was feeling under the weather and spent the whole day asleep in bed. I have had a bad cough for over a week and I think it developed into a slight chest infection. Now better. Chris had an evening out on his own at the bar, chatting to 2 young men from the World Bank and regaling them with ballooning stories!

We now hear that the Grimaldi ship, the Grande Ellade, does not arrive in Ashdod until 21st and we don't know yet when it is due to sail but hope it will be on 22nd. It is the same ship that goes to Alexandria but we could not have sailed on it from there. We are pleased not to be waiting around in Egypt to send the Enterprise aboard it and mounting up handling fees. We are finding Israel extremely expensive but it is better than the alternative.

Tomorrow we leave for Ashdod and hopefully start the paperwork involved in shipping a vehicle. It will be an interesting exercise.

Elated in Eilat

We have remained in Eilat close to Palm Beach since we got here on Monday. Our initial excitement at having found there is space on the next sailing of the Grimaldi Ro-Ro ship turned to despair. Grimaldi's conditions state that we have to have travel insurance to cover the dates of the voyage and 10 days beyond. Chris duly purchased insurance online but this was unacceptable. After many telephone calls and emails and a lot of time spent on the laptop, we have finally met all the conditions by getting travel insurance cover through a UK broker with a letter from them summarising the Policy. 

We are very grateful to Marco of Allalouf shipping agents in Tel Aviv who has spent so much time on our behalf as a go-between. He has a great sense of humour which helped. This afternoon we have at last received our tickets and started the process of contacting the forwarding agents in Ashdod who will do all the Customs formalities. The ship is due to sail on 21st but this has already been delayed 3 days so who knows! It is a great relief to actually have our tickets.

As you can see we have not been lounging on the beach. The beach itself where we park at night is a dirty strip of sand but it is further from the road and the great rumbling lorries than the car park where we spend the day. We are also right under the flight path for jets landing but that is probably true for most of Eilat as the airport is in the centre of town. 

This is the longest period we have spent 'wild camping' and Chris is constantly monitoring the voltage. The "hotel" batteries are entirely dependant on the solar panels so at night we have very little power and the fridge has to be switched off.

Yesterday for a change of scene, and to buy a local SIM card, we drove to a shopping mall at the end of the runway and spent most of the day there. We took an evening stroll along the seafront with the holiday makers and ended up eating at a Russian restaurant, where quantity won over quality! It made a pleasant change and took our minds off the previous few hours worry over getting tickets on the ship.

We would have liked to go to Jordan as the border is so close and visit Wadi Rum and Petra but the complication over taking the balloon out of Israel and the unpacking of everything again on re-entry discouraged us, especially as time would be tight. Pity, as it would have been such a good opportunity. We have discovered that the balloon at Wadi Rum is not currently operating due to weather.

Eilat has been a good place to stop this week as the climate is so pleasant but we will probably start heading north some time tomorrow and find pastures new.

Out of Africa

This morning was a momentous event: the Enterprise finally left Africa for the first time since entering Morocco in December 2016. We were out of the Israeli border and into Eilat having spent the night there.

Yesterday we had a change of plan when we reached Nuweiba and found that the cost of taking the ferry to Jordan was way outside our budget. We were therefore committed to continuing up the coast to leave Egypt at the Taba border. No problems with the formalities there. The security man who checked inside the Enterprise was a Manchester United supporter so Chris 'bonded' with him and he skipped a thorough search. We returned the Egyptian number plates, paid 5 euros exit fee and were stamped out.

Entering Israel was an entirely different matter! They were welcoming in a reserved way but once through the first security barrier we were informed that we had to take everything out of the vehicle, place it in trolleys and take it all to be scanned. We had an inkling that this would be asked of us so we had bought lots of plastic sacks to put clothes, bedding, etc in. We started by emptying the box on the back of balloon, tools, chairs, sand plates, winch and overwhelming them. It was decided after inspection that the balloon didn't need to be scanned, but we were informed we could not take it into Israel and it would have to be left in Customs until we left the country (Panama all over again?!) Meanwhile, I was emptying drawer, cupboards and putting as much as I could into bags. I hadn't realised quite how much stuff we have. Fortunately the Head of Customs came to have a look and decided that food, pots and pans, utensils and the contents of the fridge could stay put. Chris then had to take the Enterprise into another compound for it to be thoroughly inspected before we could start putting everything back. It took us 4 hours of hard, dirty work and was after dark before we could move on to the next bit. We were exhausted and Chris had lost his voice due to a sore throat. Permission was given for us to remain within the border for the night. We relaxed with some food, listening to the Brazilian Grand Prix. There was one bit of excitement when all the security men, armed with guns went running past and arrested a man who "had gone mad". It is a 24 hour border but few cars passed through during the night to disturb us. Only the clicking of luggage wheels as foot passengers walked by and the continuous music over loud speakers could have kept us awake but we were both so tired we slept reasonably well. At 7am we were ready to complete the vehicle paperwork and then we were out. First however the Customs Chief took us to Eilat port to sort out what should be done about the balloon. A compromise was reached: we had to write a letter requesting permission to transit Israel with the balloon, providing it would not be flown, and a refundable deposit payment of £1,000! This we agreed to so that we could be on our way.

We have been to Eilat before when we attended a balloon meet held in the nearby Timna National Park many years ago so we had never intended flying here this time. We have had a lazy day to recover from yesterday's stresses on the sea front watching boats, wind surfers and sail boarders out on the water, passing amongst the cargo ships at anchor. The view of the Eilat and Aquaba coastline was attractive by day but now at night it is stunning.

The day has not been unproductive. After several phone calls yesterday to shipping agents in Haifa and Ashdod, we received confirmation of the charges for sailings from both ports and the possibility of cabin space for us. Chris has this afternoon made a booking from Ashdod with Grimaldi to Salerno. The ship sails on 21st and will take 9 days, visiting Alexandria and a Turkish port en route. It will be a relaxing 'cruise' for us.

Not diving in Dahab

That appears to be the main reason for coming to Dahab on the Gulf of Aquaba, famous for the Blue Hole. There are dive schools and equipment rental at every turn and hotels galore. It is a very laid back place where Egyptians and many other nationalities mingle on the waterfront and in the cafés and restaurants. By far the largest group are Russians of all ages and many Koreans. It suits us as a place to stop for a couple of days: we can soak up the holiday atmosphere on the seafront at night and people watch during the day. Not for us one of the quaint hotels (the Enterprise could not get through low gates). We are parked in the side yard of a local laundry alongside builders' rubble and dead palm fronds! We are on full view to passers-by but the laundry man is not charging much and we have electricity. As I am writing this Chris has gone to make use of a free shower at a nearby hotel after cleaning the fuel filter.

The reason we have paused our journey north is that we need to check that there is cabin space for us on a ferry from Ashdod in Israel on the next sailing on 18th or 20th with Grimaldi (conflicting dates given). The Israeli office is closed for the weekend until Sunday morning. Chris telephoned the London office yesterday and there is room for the Enterprise but we need to be able travel with it. The Grimaldi ferry goes to Salerno in Italy but there is another option from Haifa to Greece which we may have to take.
The delay here may be fortunate. Rather than cross from Egypt to Israel at the Taba land border which can be problematic, we are planning to take a ferry from Nuweiba to Aquaba in Jordan and visit Wadi Rum and Petra. We have just seen on the BBC news that there has been flash flooding in Jordan and tourists have been evacuated! The forecast is that the weather is improving from now on. Let's hope so.

Our journey from Luxor went really without a hitch. We reached Hurghada mid morning, did some shopping in a supermarket full of tourists and sped on up the coast on good road. We found a wild camping spot with a view of the sea and offshore oilrigs, hidden from view in some trees near a water treatment plant. We were amazed at the number of Resorts strung along the coast between the oil terminals, green oases in the desert. Before arriving at Suez we had removed the winch from the front and hidden the sand plates to make the Enterprise less like a 4WD vehicle.

By noon we had reached the entrance to the Suez tunnel and queued up with trucks to go through the X Ray scanner. In no time at all we had completed the security check, a little hesitation over our gas cylinders but accepted when Chris showed a photo of the balloon. Fortunately he had also made an online booking for a hotel in Sharm El-Sheikh as they wanted to know where we would be staying. By 12.35 we were through the tunnel and into the Sinai.

We have been extremely lucky all the way through Egypt. We have not had to travel in police convoys as other people we've met have had to. There has been no problem for us at the police checks, some even wave us through. A Scottish Australian motorcyclist we spent time with in Luxor was turned back frequently to take longer routes. Maybe it's because of our age and we don't pose a threat.

We had another night wild camping within a short distance of a police post. We had spoken to 2 young soldiers guarding a sea water pumping plant nearby and they reassured us we could park on a track. Nevertheless we were hassled by 2 local men who wanted us to sleep at their house and who sat outside waiting for us to move until dark.

Arriving in Sharm before 10am yesterday morning, and another scanning session, we found the place deserted. Far too early for tourists to be about. We had decided to have breakfast at McDonald's for a change but it didn't open until after 11, by which time we were on our way through the mountains heading for Dahab.

Tomorrow to Nuweiba to see what the next few days will bring.