Africa at Last

Just a quick one - We sailed (or drifted) into Egypt yesterday afternoon, enduring the bewildering customs processes late into the night. More about that soon. In Dahab now, planning some more diving, and to watch England vs Samoa this afternoon!

Red Sea Adventure Divers

Last recorded coordinates:
29º 25’ 22” N
034º 58’ 42” E

Distance travelled so far (odometer): 10100 miles (approx 16250km)

Diesel used: 1637 Litres

Distance from London (as crow flies): 3800km

Maximum recorded tent temperature so far: 53.3ºC
Minimum recorded tent temperature so far: 4ºC

Having just spent our ninth night camping at the Bedouin Garden Village just south of Aqaba, we feel like we are now part of the furniture there. It is by far the longest we have stayed at one place since our extended sojourns in Kerswell Green prior to our departure from the UK. It has been quite a convenient place to base ourselves while we wait for our new carnet to arrive. It is on the Gulf of Aqaba, and the coastline here is a marine reserve with coral reefs, wrecks and plenty of fish to amuse us.

Catkin mentioned last week that after looking at various options we decided to apply for a new Carnet that would enable us to drive through Egypt. This process has taken time, but we are hoping that our new documentation will arrive at the DHL office today, which will mean we can finally move on.

Catkin also mentioned diving. Since then she has completed the Open Water Diver course, with all the instructors commenting on how good a diver she is. After her first day I was able to get my hands on her manual and refresh myself on everything I had forgotten since I did the same course in 1995. Having not dived in 10 years I’d forgotten just about everything… Luckily it all came flooding back quickly. The next morning I sat in on Catkin’s lesson for a quick skills refresher in the pool before starting an Advanced Open Water course. I completed the course after five adventure dives (peak performance buoyancy, navigation, deep dive, wreck dive and search and recovery), and it has been great to get back into scuba gear. One of the dive centre staff bore a striking resemblance to Manuel from Fawlty Towers, but luckily for us, he was an excellent dive instructor and a great guy also. We are hoping to keep our hand in with dives on the Sinai coast and elsewhere in Africa, as well as Australia later in our trip.

Aqaba is inevitably a bottleneck for overlanders. We had seen no one up until 10 days ago. Then, on our first day in Wadi Rum, we saw a French family in their Land Rover campervan. They were in exactly the same situation as us, having been unable to obtain transit visas for Saudi Arabia. Since then we have spent a lot of time with them, as they are also staying at the Bedouin Garden Village awaiting a new Carnet (it’s been touch and go to see who gets theirs first, but it looks like we might win). Their planned route is very similar to ours, so we might be seeing a lot more of them in the next few months. Their eldest son, Jeremie, has already been around the world with his parents in a Land Rover, and his eye for detail is evident in the excellent picture he has given us of our vehicle, set in Africa.


We have had another couple in a four wheel drive camp here as well, plus another overland truck which came in off the ferry early one morning, woke everyone up, and then left later that day. A German couple in a 4x4 truck stayed the night before last, and they are also travelling a similar route so we hope to see them along the way too.

As well as our diving adventures, we have been able to spend a bit of time doing all sorts of jobs that you don’t get a chance to do when you are travelling every day. Catkin has cleaned out all of the kitchen crates and the fridge and stove, as well as giving the Camel a good clean inside and out. I’ve fixed a few little bit and pieces I’d been putting off, as well as getting our air conditioning going, again, after it stopped working, again. Our stove has been playing up a wee bit, so that’s been stripped down and cleaned, and reassembled (after a trip to find a supplier of rubber O rings in Aqaba). It’s still a bit on the temperamental side, so this may not be the last you hear about the stove… And on top of all of that I’ve had plenty of time to count the grey hairs in my beard.

The Garden Village has a swimming pool too, so it’s been great to be able to cool off in the water and watch the sunset behind the Sinai across the gulf.

So, we still haven’t quite escaped from Aqaba yet, but hopefully by the next time we can update you we will finally have made it to Africa!

Escape from Aqaba

After both a productive (lots of things on the car fixed) and disappointing (Saudi embassy not wanting to issue us transit visas) sojourn in the Capital, we have left Amman, the Duke, the Good Doctor and his honey farm behind. We got to know Amman quite well in the end. We had our favourite juice stall and found a place that made great chocolate milkshakes. It is not the most beautiful city but it had a bit of a buzz and is fairly unusual in that it is built on so many hills. Some of the roads give San Francisco a run for its money in terms of gradient. On one of the off ramps off the expressway we had to go down into 1st gear it was so steep. During our stay, the Good Doctor, a dentist who in his spare time is the apiarist on the farm we camped on, was very busy preparing his honey stall for a big Food Expo in Amman. Luckily for me this opened before we left so we spent a couple of hours eating our way round this Expo sampling all sorts of Jordanian and Arabic delicacies.

From Amman we headed due south to Madabar to view an interesting mosaic map of the Holy Lands in a Greek orthodox church, and from there to Mount Nebo and the Dead Sea. As we were nearing Mount Nebo the sign post told us it was only 5 km or so away, and yet we could see no mountain. Then we were on Mount Nebo and we realised that were still at quite high altitude (700m) and the Dead Sea in the distance was at over 350m below sea level. Israel and the Palestinian Territories sit on the other side of the Dead Sea so we knew that there would be many military check points in the area which makes it very difficult/ impossible to camp. As soon as we saw a sign stating "checkpoint" we turned around to look for somewhere to camp and found a lovely spot nestled in the hills out of sight of the checkpoint.

The Dead Sea - what a dump. The water was really bizarre. We never expected it to feel so oily and even 5-10 minutes after getting out we had not dried off. It was quite windy so the water was a bit choppy and I splashed some in my mouth - it tasted really foul. I could not have stayed in for very long because everything starts to sting. However I think there could be something in the claims of beautifying properties because after a quick rinse off my skin did feel really smooth.

The drive along the Dead Sea coast was fascinating. There were many small gullies emptying into the Dead Sea. In such a barren landscape it was lovely to see wilding date palms clinging to the steep rocky sides. The largest valley was Wadi Mijub where there is a National Park. We spent a wonderfully refreshing few hours gorge walking, getting completely soaked in neck deep water. At the entrance it was not clear that it was a gorge walk so we were slightly unprepared and took our non-waterproof camera. As the water got deeper I acted as pathfinder- usually finding the deepest parts and telling Gavin not to go in those parts. It was rather incredible to think that what looked like a tiny trickle of water emerging from out of the hillside was a raging torrent in places. Our progress ended when we reached a high waterfall so we turned back.

Our next stop was the Jordanian highlight of Petra. After a 1km walk down through a narrow canyon, which was a fissure created by tectonic activity, we emerged in the ancient city and were greeted by the stunning façade of a tomb carved out of the soft sandstone. We spent the whole day climbing hills and steps, peering down into caves and simply marvelling at the splendour.

Much of the central part of Jordan is at quite high altitude and we really relished the cool nights, especially before heading to the desert and the majestic Wadi Rum.

T. E. Lawrence apparently spent much time here. We had a wonderful 3 days playing in the soft sand… I mean learning about how the car manages soft sand and improving our driving techniques. Luckily, in spite of our weight and skinny tyres, we did not get bogged down to the extent that we needed to get the shovel, or the sand ladders, or let out tyre pressure, or find a local to drag us out. Unlike one party of flash 4 wheel drivers who kept us entertained for nearly an hour as one driver managed to lose parts from his car in the sand and another got well and truly stuck.

We could not pass the opportunity by to ride on a camel of the hairy variety in it’s natural environment, either.

After a couple of nights star gazing it was on to Aqaba to find a way to get to Africa. Our problem is that we did not want to drive through Egypt because they request an unfeasibly high deposit as security against us importing the vehicle permanently. So our carnet specifically excluded Egypt. It is apparently possible to levy a bank guarantee for 250% of the value of the vehicle at the border, which is returned to us when we depart Egypt. However, our bank was decidedly clueless about this and suggested that we visit our local HSBC branch in the UK to discuss. Also, we were not certain that such letter of guarantee would really follow us from Nuweiba to Aswan to be returned to us on our departure. Our other option was to ship from Aqaba to somewhere on the East African coast. Will at Hawknet had a fantastic offer from Suez to Port Sudan, however, we had to get to Suez which means driving into Egypt. We also asked a few shipping companies for a quote. The current going price to ship the car in a container to Port Sudan is in excess of US $1600. The cost without a container is around US$150. What a difference. The most important difference to us is that with the latter option our car would be dumped on the dock in Port Sudan and in all likelihood be stripped of everything by the time we would be able to retrieve it. Our final solution is to get a new carnet issued which will cover Egypt. As I write this, the carnet is hopefully being processed and couriered out to us.

Whilst we are waiting in Aqaba, which is on the Red Sea, we have decided to make the most of our slightly extended stay here. Today I start on a PADI open water diving course whilst Gavin refreshes his diving skills.

I looked over Jordan and what did I see?

What Catkin didn’t mention in her last entry was the delicious birthday dinner that she prepared for me on our last night in Turkey. We had steak and chips (yum), followed by - wait for it – Banoffee Pie. How many people have had banoffee pie made in a kitchen in the back of a Land Rover for their birthday? It was delicious, and I ate too much.

Catkin did mention that we were in Damascus. Damascus was mad, but fun all the same. It was the only place since leaving Turkey that we stayed in a proper campsite, and for two nights we were the only people there. We can only assume that the overland trucks stop there and keep it in business. We spent a day wandering around the city, and most of that was spent trying to find the centre from where the minivan driver told us was our stop (not where we thought he was taking us).

Main Souk in Damascus

Before leaving Syria we wanted to fill up with diesel to take advantage of the cheap price per litre of US$0.14 and get maximum benefit of the US$100 diesel tax we had to pay when entering the country. This proved a difficult task, however, as every station we pulled into had run out. From the sign language it seemed the tanker had crashed or something. Anyway, they were certain there would be diesel in the afternoon… We were ready to leave Syria, so decided to head toward the border, detour to Bosra (another Roman ruin with an outstanding fortified amphitheatre) and see if we could fill up later in the day near the border. Eventually we did find a station and took on 140 litres in the two tanks to keep us going.

Exiting Syria was much easier than entering, and entering Jordan was also relatively hassle-free. This was a very busy border, so it still took a few hours to get all the appropriate paperwork stamped and distributed to various departments.

Our main priority now was to get to Amman in order to look at getting Saudi transit visas and carry out a few repairs/checks on the Land Rover. Since it was Friday the following day (the weekend) we decided to do a short loop through Umm Qais and Jerash (more Roman ruins). We made it to Umm Qais just after dark, and as we had seen no suitable campsites enroute, decided to ask the tourist police at the site if it would be okay for us to stay in the carpark overnight and visit the site in the morning. This was not permitted, and we were told we would have to stay in the hotel. I explained that we would prefer to camp, but it seemed there was no camping permitted in the whole area. Just as we were preparing to leave to go and look at the hotel, the policeman approached us and said that actually we might be able to stay inside the ruins, next to the Police Office. He made a few calls and it was all arranged. The night shift officers were a bit noisy when they had a break in the wee small hours, and I was afraid Catkin was going to get up and tell them to be quiet, like she did to the people camping next to us in Vienna and the nightclub owner in Hungary. She hasn’t told anyone off for a while now…

Hard to see, but the Sea of Galilee is in the distance

We had a good look around the ruins in the morning after pancakes for breakfast, getting a good view over the Jordan Valley and the Sea of Galilee. Our route south took us down into the valley and right alongside the Palestinian border, where we were stopped every few kilometres at military checkpoints to check our passports. Turning east we headed over some very steep hills towards Jerash and found the Olive Branch Resort, a hotel with camping facilities. The best thing was that they had a swimming pool, and we spent the whole afternoon sitting by the pool and swimming. A family who was having a picnic in the hotel grounds even gave us a fantastic lunch, which was much appreciated.

We didn’t bother going into the Jerash ruins, as we both felt a bit “ruined out”, and satisfied ourselves with looking in through the fence. From there on into Amman, the capital.

We had not been able to find out about any camping grounds in or near Amman, so thought we would go to the tourist information office and see if they could help. Whilst waiting in traffic, the driver next to me called out, asking what we were looking for. When we said the information centre, he said it was closed and enquired what we wanted to ask them. We replied that we wanted to find a camping site, and he said, “There’s no camping in Amman. Follow me!” Eventually he stopped and got out, telling us that we might be able to camp on one of his properties. He was going to be back in one hour, and we could park around the corner and wait for him in “The Duke’s Diwan”, a cultural centre on the next street. Well, it turned out that he was the Duke of the Diwan, and he had a farm that is used for honey production that we could camp on. We have spent four nights there so far and it has been the perfect base for us. We even went on a tour of the surrounding area, which is all the Duke’s land, including the magnificent home that has been in the family since about 1860.

In Amman we have found a Land Rover specialist garage who have welded our cracked front differential, as well as completely servicing the right front wheel bearings and CV joint, and we have the local aircon specialist looking for a replacement switch to get the A/C back up and running. More about all of that and other repairs in the "preparation" blog on the links to the right. We are still waiting for some parts ordered from the UK to arrive at the post office, so keep having to trudge back there to check.

The Saudi transit visa situation has not been so successful. We have been twice and been told that we cannot get a transit visa in Jordan, only from the embassy in our country of residence. This is contrary to what we were told in London, but that is the nature of the game I guess. On top of all this, we have been told of another couple who had the required visa, but were refused entry into Saudi Arabia because their Land Rover was right hand drive (as is ours). Even diplomatic personnel seem to require special permission to drive into Saudi. We are trying a few other options, but at this stage it looks like we will have to miss UAE, Oman and Yemen and ship the vehicle directly from Aqaba to Mombasa while we travel separately via Egypt to meet it. We will keep you posted on that front.

One of Catkin's favourite pastimes throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East has been buying fresh fruit and veges from the many well stocked roadside stalls.

So far, since leaving London on the 25th of June we have travelled 9389 miles crossing 23 borders and visiting 18 different countries (we entered some countries in Europe more than once). Thanks to all who have commented on the Blog. It’s good to know that you are enjoying reading it as much as we are writing it. Unfortunately we can’t reply to everyone individually. Keep the comments coming though – it gives us something to look forward to!

Happy birthday Claire, from us in Amman, Jordan. Hope you have had a good day and have had lots of treats. We will write more about our latest adventures soon!

On The Road To Damascus.....

Finally we bought a carpet in Cappadocia. After crash course in Turkish carpet production and its history, we settled on one just the right size to fit under the mattress in our roof tent. After waving goodbye to Cappadocia - our longest home yet - we headed across what we think were the Taurus Mountains. This road was fantastic. The highest point was at 2000 metres and it felt as if we were in the middle of a quarry. There were lots and lots of trucks travelling up the road empty and down the hill very full of terracotta coloured soil and travelling very slowly. We barely saw any other private vehicles and at the top great swathes of the mountain side had been taken away; even one mountain top was completely gone. It was slow road down the other side as we remained high in the mountains for a long time.

After coming out of the mountains we sought out a tyre repair establishment. We had been looking for a few days but all we could find in Cappadocia were grotty sheds which seemed to specialise in bicycle tyre repairs so we were resigned to pumping up the tyre every morning- it was a very slow puncture and Gavin did enjoy having to use his compact compressor. However, Lassa was a much more sophisticated set up; they even had a portable wheel balancing machine. After playing with Google Earth, drinking tea and enjoying the comforts of the proprietor’s air-conditioned office we paid the hefty charge of £2.50 and headed to Anavarza.
We understand Anavarza to be of Roman, English and Spanish origin. Spectacular as it was it was difficult to find out any further information, but we had a lot of fun climbing all over the ruins.

We decided to stay in Turkey for one more day. It was not going to be much fun queuing at the border for Gavin on his birthday. So we headed for the beach and found a beautiful and deserted part of the Mediterranean coastline. While we were parked up - for two hours or so - only one other vehicle drove by. The water was decidedly warm and crystal clear.

The next day we spent three and a half hours at the Turkish/Syrian border. First impressions of Syria are of a somewhat chaotic place. Firstly we were obliged to queue at a counter for an hour only to be told that we needed a visa, "no" we say and point to the visas in our passport. "No, no" we must go through the unmarked door, through a corridor and find another unmarked office. We duly follow orders. Here our passports were closely scrutinised and still the official had difficulty recognising the visa his embassy in London had issued. Eventually they agree that it is OK and our passports are processed. Then we have more fun and games with customs with the first customs official declining to sign us off despite being satisfied that there was nothing amiss. Eventually after a customs officials conference another customs cfficial agrees to sign us off based on the original customs official’s inspection. Then we were off to get the all important Carnet de Passage processed. So all our fees are paid, tax for this and for that . Then we realise that we paid some extra money to one rather dour chap behind a glass screen and we have no idea what it was for and we have no receipt. Finally after some discussion with him, neither party understanding much of what the other was saying, we did get a receipt for a fraction of what we had paid. So I continued to stand there interrupting his business and persisting in showing him how much he still owed us I finally got back the rest of the money. I suspect he was going to pocket for himself.. Throughout all of this just about everyone was as courteous and polite as they could be.

Syria has some amazing sights. The Souks in Aleppo are like nothing I have seen before and I even enjoyed a visit to a rather grotty Hamam. What a wonderful experience. I felt as if I had entered into a secret world. It was a little odd to be scrubbed, and I mean scoured (I still have the grazes) by a woman in her bra and knickers, smoking cigarettes, who 10 minutes later was indistinguishable from most other women after she put on her Abeyya and veil.

On Monday (I think) we visited the Krak de Chevalliers, a Crusader’s Castle that has been described as a Castle to fulfil every child’s fantasy. It is such good condition we spent hours exploring all the nooks and crannies. We camped in the shadow of the castle.

Thanks Mohammed for the tip to visit Palmyra which is one of the most impressive places I have visited. We camped a very short stones throw from the ruins. We first visted the ruins in the evening sun and the following day surveyed them before breakfast in the crisp morning sun.

Unfortunately we are unable to spend as much time in Syria as we would like to, but the $100 weekly fuel tax and the need to sort out a few repairs on the car make it necessary for us to hot tail it to Jordan- the spare parts have been sent out to Amman.

Before I go however, I am very much aware that we have visited some places of which we really have very poor background knowledge. If anyone reading does have any interesting information to share about any of these places please feel free to enlighten us by leaving a "comment".

Happy Bırthday, Sue

Hope you are having a great day, as am I as I hit halfway to 70. Many thanks for the Hot Chocolate - will be perfect for the cold desert nights. Currently just outside the ancient city of Antakya (Antioch), soon to cross into Syria.