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November
28, 1999
This is
Todd Borgie. It's Sunday, November 28th and, today we traveled from Istanbul, Turkey to Thessalonika, Greece.
Although we
were pleased to be in Europe, I don't think any of us were ready to leave
Turkey. It was a land of great food, beautiful women, a rich history and
genuine friendliness. However, the cars were now ready and the end of the
year is quickly approaching, so it’s time to tackle another continent.
Scheduling
is a constant source of debate for the team. We drew up a schedule before
we left, but it didn't include extra days where we would get distracted
or delayed. It is hard to plan for the group's daily attitude and
diligence, mechanical difficulties and all the unexpected side trips. We
might need to push on, but we usually end up saying "since we have
come this far we might as well.’’ All these things impact the schedule
and we have to barter among each other to ascertain what is important to
each of us. I am the extreme on one side. Wherever we happen to be at the
time, I always seem to lobby for an extra few hours or days. There is so
much to learn, so many people to talk to and so many things to do, I
could spend years at a given place. However, on the other hand, Doug has
a wife who just got a new job and moved 1,000 miles away from their old
home. She secured an apartment, packed up and moved by herself. Although
she has been very supportive of the trip, this had to spark some
resentment. Doug signed on with the idea of completing the trip, which is
very important to him. I'm sure he would like to get home sooner rather
than later, but he wants to make the most of this experience and complete
the trip along with the rest of the team. These are just a few examples
of what goes into our decisions. I lament the fact that I didn't get much
time to see Istanbul, but it has infected me. Its charm will definitely influence
my travel destinations in the future.
We’ve grown
accustomed to early departures and today was no different as Doug whipped
the Baggarlys into shape. We made it back to the main highway and only
needed to turn around once. We passed a toll booth and began our day on
perfect multiple-lane highways. We picked up the route that was laid out
in all the 1997 Peking to Paris rally books.
I was
riding co-pilot, navigating in Alaska, which has become my regular
station since Earle departed. I usually went through my morning muses
with Nick and Chanda, but these muses caused a disagreement this morning.
I looked out the window, I talked to Chanda in the back seat, and had the
rally book in my lap all at the same time. Nick, knowing that my
multitasking skills were not so refined, admonished me for not paying
attention. He reminded me that I should be watching the odometer and the
rally book more closely. I retorted that we had quite some distance to
travel before the next turn and that I didn't need to watch things that
closely. Nick was irritated by this attitude and demanded to know how I
went about doing my job. I became irritated by his condescending tone,
and insulted by his lack of faith in my skills. I informed him that I
travel by the power of Zen and that frankly, I didn't need his map. I
figured if Nick knew how to do everything so well, he should do it
himself. I put an exclamation point at the end of this sentence and threw
the rally book between he and I and turned away to stare out the window. Unfortunately
for Chanda, tensions escalated. I refused to read the map any further if
I was going to be subject to this kind of scrutiny. Nick figured he would
teach me a lesson in map reading, so he watched the map closely, found
the turn himself and silently took it.
When we
were on the correct road, Nick asked me where we were. I said I didn't
know and he proceeded to tell me exactly were we were, vindicating
himself and thus supporting his side of the earlier argument. Silence
ensued, as I knew that there was only one way to deal with this problem.
I needed to drive Hercules.
[Editor's
note: This incident marked a tension crescendo between Todd and Nick.
Although similar arguments occurred, they eventually discussed this
matter over a beer and came to terms.]
As was
customary, when heading to a new border, we had to either exchange our
old currency or spend it. We found a little Turkish market and Chanda
shopped for breakfast. She bought cheese, salami and some fruit. Cleaning
out the cars, Jeff found some biscuits and crackers purchased in India
and added them to this feast. We took about a half-hour to take care of
breakfast and purchase personal supplies.
Since we
had spent long hours in the car between regular rest stops, Doug invented
a creative solution to roadside urination. He would stop the Rover, then
open the front and back door of Hercules to create a stall that kept him
shielded from sight and high winds. Usually this worked well. But this
morning, after relieving himself, he grabbed for his coat and sent a
nearby pack of dental floss airborne into his newly created puddle. He
let out an expletive in a big burst of disappointment. The rest of us
stood around and laughed.
The next
stop was the Greek border. The landscape seemed somewhat familiar to us
because we were all Californians. We were driving through a Mediterranean
climate; an environment similar to Southern California where both Nick
and I grew up.
We were
unsure of what we would experience at the Greek border because the
relationship between Greece and Turkey was less than cordial. The Turks
were on the losing side of World War I and the Greeks were on the
victors' side. The Allies gave the Greeks the green light to take
whatever they wanted from Turks. The Greeks took this opportunity, and if
it hadn't been for Ataturk's ability to mobilize the Turkish spirit to
defend against this foreign invasion, the map of Europe would perhaps
look much different. TO reduce it to simple terms, the Turks and the
Greeks have long memories. Turkey has been suing for entrance into the
European Union only to be blocked by Greece every single time. Who knows
what it will take to mend these old wounds?
We arrived
at the Greek border. After a bit of paper and a customs siesta, we were
on our way. Border crossings are becoming easier as we continue west. It
will be interesting to see how much we use the carnets from here on out.
When we were at the Turkey-Iran border we met up with an English traveler
driving an old English taxi eastbound. He informed us that this boarder
was his first use of his carnets. This is reassuring. Hopefully we won't
need them anymore.
Although
this statement might be offensive to Europeans, I think it is safe to say
that the European Union is being built, definitely in reply to, and in
the pattern of the United States. They see and realize the benefits of a
united economic block. It's good for foreigners because it means easier
border crossings. As I said before, we will see.
When we
were deciding on a route for this trip, there weren't a lot of choices
from which to select. There usually is one primary road that connects two
places and sometimes an alternate road. There aren't a lot of roads
westbound out of Beijing that connect through countries that are
politically stable enough to travel through. Therefore, our route up to
now was dictated primarily by access and safety, and basically we're
limited to the roads that meet these conditions. But as we left Turkey,
we were presented with a multitude of options. The two main options were
the Northern route or the Southern Route. The Northern route offered us
travel through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and finally into the EU,
entering into Austria. Perhaps this will be the basis for another trip.
Instead, we decided on the more predictable Southern route through Greece
and Italy. And, we have many other choices as we decide what to visit
along the way.
Our main
concern with the Northern route was that it was almost December and
winter was quickly approaching. You have much less recourse if you get
stuck in a freezing environment as opposed to a warm one. Also, road
conditions are a major factor, as anyone knows who has driven in ice and
snow.
It was
great to be on the back roads of Greece. Two-lane highways took us
through the Greek countryside. We drove through small town after small
town, and if we had a little more time perhaps we would have stopped to
take in a local football match that zoomed by our window at one point.
Instead we pressed on. I had bartered for a day in Athens and was eager
to see this ancient and wonderful city.
We stopped
to get gas and were disappointed that gas prices were not any cheaper
here than they had been in Turkey, about $2.50 a gallon. Nick was facing
the music that gas prices were only going to go up between here and the
States.
We drove
until we came across the town of Kavala, which was too beautiful to pass
up. It appeared to be a fishing town, with rugged cliffs and hills rising
quickly in the background. It seemed remote and reminded me of Catalina
Island; one of the Channel Islands that sits off of the coast of
California. We parked the cars and began trolling for a place to eat.
Driving
from east to west, there is an unfortunate correlation between prices.
Things get more expensive each day. Greece was no exception to this
pattern. Also, with each new country we enter, we have to develop a new
slide rule to see how far our money will go. Since we're all familiar
with the U.S. dollar, we spend a lot of time memorizing exchange rates
and discussing and comparing local prices. We read the menu at several
shoreline restaurants and found the seafood to be about $30! I'm not a
seafood eater so this did not concern me. Moments later we learned that
seafood is sold by the kilogram which seemed odd for a restaurant. But
upon further reflection, perhaps this a more efficient method for selling
and serving food. Nick had the feeling there were some over-fishing and
environmental issues here because of the high price of seafood --
combined with a comment from our server that the fishermen were coming up
empty handed lately.
After
taking a couple of hours to dine, we resumed our journey toward
Thessalonika. The sun had set and we were again driving at night. Nick
again following the Rally book very closely. He wanted to stay at the
same hotel where the rally people stayed. Although these were pricier
hotels, they provided vehicle security. Most important, we had directions
straight to them listed in the rally book. Again we found city driving to
be much more difficult than on the highway, and spent close to an hour
trying to figure out where the hotel was. We finally found the hotel, but
after hearing the prices decided to continue on and cast our lots in a
different direction. We had some trouble finding our way out of the city,
but after a few circles we found our way to the highway that led out of
town.
After a few
toll booths, negotiations began over the radios to discuss when and where
we would stop for the evening. We realized that there were no significant
cities ahead, so we decided to sleep in our own Dormobile Hotels. We took
a turnoff that seemed particularly dark and drove away from the highway.
Eventually we found a small dirt road leading into what appeared to be a
plowed field. We turned off on this road, found a place to park and
popped the tops for the night.
I'm off to
bed. Thanks for tuning in. This is Todd Borgie saying... sweet dreams!
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