Babs’ travels -The Peking to Paris Rally and other driving adventures.

There were only three of us left in La Paz last night. Jorge's Mercedes needed repair and he was not sure if it could be done. What he was sure of was that, even if it had to be towed, he was getting his car out of Bolivia and into Peru. None of us could wait to leave. We had to yell at the taxi driver ( not the lovely Ruben) to slow down as he was driving like a lunatic in the pouring rain. I thought that we are not going to die on our way out of his terrible country. The airport was what you would expect, scruffy, busy, noisy, with the added bonus that, next to our clerk , was a howling dog in a cage. In the next queue was a lady with a bin liner over her bowler hat to keep off the rain. Even leaving the country wasn't straightforward. There was much frowning and head shaking going on and a supervisor was called over. Apparently, you have to have you passport number on the booking confirmation, but I wasn't asked for it by ebookers when I booked the day before....

We keep thinking about how we could have kept have kept going. But it's hard to think of a way. Some of our problems were fairly minor and easily fixable - if there had been been time, others were more serious but possibly surmountable, again given a little time. The driving days have been so long and the conditions so punishing that it all became impossible. We expected to be slower than the days driving time in the route book, but, in reality, many people have been having problems keeping up. The worst thing is that when you arrive in day after day close to midnight or even well afterwards and then have to get off at 6, and do not have a rest day after some of the most gruelling conditions imaginable there is never an opportunity to work on the cars without falling badly behind. Conditions were very hard in Mongolia but, even the slower cars like us managed to arrive in daylight or only shortly after dark most nights. Plus we had two rest days to recuperate and get repairs etc...

Part I. On reading this mornings post I realised that it was full of typos and errors. Only 7 hours sleep in 48 hrs does that to you. Ironically, I only slept for three hours last night even though I could have had 5 and even though I was so tired I was practically hallucinating Typing on the running board with dozens of Bolivians staring at you doesn't help. Excuses! Anyway, did I tell you how hard the drive was yesterday? Not enough, I feel. Trust me, you never, ever want to experience anything like it. One of the mechanics told us that there were sheer drops of over a thousand feet on the narrow 'road' too. I'm almost glad it was dark. We had our own 'death road'. Actually, the people in the Plaza were rather sweet and polite and all dressed in their Sunday best. One local entrepreneur even came with a camera and portable printer and was charging people to create an instant postcard. Every mantelpiece in Sucre will now be displaying a family p...

Border crossings are always tedious and Brazil/Bolivia was was up there with the worst. We arrived at the Brazilian post at 0745 and finally got our stamps a couple of hours later. On the drive there Chris and Mark noticed that one of our wheels looked a bit wobbly. At least the delay there meant that Adrian was able to fix it, with Mark's help. It was the split pin - the car was jacked up, a suitable tool borrowed from the lovely chaps in the Cadillac, Chuck and Lloyd, and all was well. The navigators were able to walk to the Bolivian post whilst the drivers it the car papers sorted out. All immediately changed. It was very very scruffy - not too surprising in such an impoverished country. We had to queue for ages, but finally got our stamps. When Adrian finally arrived and joined the queue we were hoping that it wouldn't be too long before we were on our way. At 1200 hrs, when Adrian was next in line, the door was slammed shut for a hour lunch break. The office tha...

It's not every day that an ant eater crosses the road in front of you. It almost made up for sliding around in the mud for 50 kms. We decided to miss the second test and, along with David and Karen in the Itala, we devised a plot to take another route through a bit of National Park which enabled us to stay on decent roads. Two old girls of 83 and 106 need to be cosseted a bit. The route was stunning and the road empty. We saw an armadillo, some Rhea, several massive storks, toucans and various other birds that I did not know the name of. We even stopped for a spot of lunch - a first for all of us. Then the rain came. It wasn't just rain it was horizontal shards of glass type rain. Dramatic rked lightening and the loudest thunder that you have ever heard. At least we had a roof, poor David and Karen were totally exposed. Our car stopped. Water was in the electrics. We had to wait for the worst of the storm to pass and then we ventured out and got drowned whilst w...

The crew of car #7 were up at 0345 today and on the road by 0430. Such dedication to the rally cause. It was really lovely because although it was still dark, the roads were empty, it was cool and we arrived early enough to avoid the road closure to enable the authorities to dynamite the road. It was a straightforward run today of 510 kms on good roads. The early part of our journey was through gorgeous farming country. It all felt quite prosperous. The villages and small towns were all immaculate with lovely municipal planting and obvious pride. It then became rather dull really. Flattish landscape that stretched on forever, lots of trucks, searing heat and the route book that was just straight, straight, straight. The navigator had an easy time of it. We have been skirting the border with Paraguay all day whilst making our way towards Bolivia. Such an early start meant an early arrival or all the crews at our home for the night: Dourados. Tomorrow is a long day- 100 km...

I hardly need any words today as the pictures tell it all. This morning we enjoyed a rally outing to the falls, all arranged by the organisers. What a morning we had! Through rainforest, by a variety of different transport and onto the highlight; a trip on a speed boat through the rapids and then UNDERNEATH the falls! We all knew that we were going to get very wet and so had left all our things at the hotel. Getting wet sounded rather good as it was so steamily hot. All except Paddy 'wussbag' Walker who, for some strange reason, did what all the Japanese tourists were doing and wrapped himself in plastic. Just the thing for the tropics! It was FABULOUS! Back to reality this afternoon and fixing of cars. We have just had the delightful news that 200 kms in tomorrow the road is going to be closed and if we are not here by 10am we will have to drive an extra 270 kms. A very, very early start beckons we have 65 (really) speed bumps before the road closure and so avera...

The journey from the huge city of Curitiba to Foz Iguacu is over 700 kms. We climbed up onto a plateau of over 3,000 feet making it mercifully cooler as the inside of #7 has been like a Turkish bath. We were in farming country and more than a bit of it felt like middle England with its rolling hills and fields of maize. Some beautiful scenery, fabulous birds and enormous colourful butterflies. And the car? Well people, I have to tell you, but only in a whisper, that Car#7 had virtually a trouble free day. We had a puncture but the engine ran beautifully. It must have been all the talk of being sent home. We are 20 kms from Iguacu Falls tonight and tomorrow is a rest day. I see lots of water in our near future.

Having started day 2 as a mere husk of a Model A (see previous pic) car #7, quite astonishingly, managed to complete all 527 kms to Curitiba under its own steam, Ace mechanic Charlie managed to do something very clever to our radiator and, the crack mechanical team of Adrian, David and Richard had changed the head gasket and put the whole thing back to together again, enabling us to leave, at 1030. Of course it was still 'scorchio' and working so hard in a car park without any shade after very little sleep was punishing. My role was to keep the chaps constantly supplied with cooling drinks and plenty of food. A bit like home really. We were not the only crew to have had a dreadful first day. Lloyd and Treacy limped in at 2230 having had endless overheating problems, a door they had to hold on with a bungee, a falling tree that narrowly missed them and water in the ignition after a short, sudden downpour. They were having to take their car to São Paulo to try to get i...