Saturday 31st July

152880,,,,,,,Beautiful day, have done all the washing in the river, workman stop in lorry to say hello, they are very friendly but as drunk as lords!!! We do our first river crossing and stop for picnic --trees,, mountains it is so WOW!!!! Beverley has seen four white siberian huskies so far, I have just seen my first--so gorgeous,,,,we camp by the river again it's 35 in the shade.. happy....

Friday 30th July

152806....lovely sunshine today and warm....stop at shop for bread etc. they have an abacus for counting, no calculator.....getting higher now 1590 my ears can feel it!! Stop at a small town and walk around market, I buy a warm jacket, great now I can throw away my old jumpers which are so much trouble to wash and dry.....we see beautiful picture postcard villages, this area is stunning it is called Alty....camp at river again....a car stops, policeman he has run out of petrol, we give him what we have in our can we use for cooker, he tells us this area has no trouble and we will be ok for another 100k.....a family stop and the daughter speaks english, they say we are very brave.....we light a fire and settle for evening, cars and vans passing tooting horns and waving.......the people are much happier here!!!!!!

Thursday 29th July

Arrive in BNNCK looking for jerry cans for diesel for Mongolia, we have no idea what it will be like for petrol stations, we have been told they can be hundreds of miles apart, don't really think so, but we have to be prepared just in case.as we drive on we see a huge graveyard in the forest, not in a clearing but inbetween the trees - very unusual.....as we go towards the mountains the plants are getting bigger and taller and the leaves are huge..........we see a rope bridge for cars, but we are too tall .we pitch in a lovely spot by the river in a clearing just big enough to turn the Landy around.....

Wednesday 28th July

152525,,,,,,On road for 9am.....If this is summer in Siberia I can understand why huskies have such thick coats.......we see a genuine Russian cowboy with a hat and a whip.......there are huge rips in the earth where it has ripped open leaving huge gaping holes.....Lee notices that at least half of the cars are right hand drive....the houses are provided with hot water and you can see the steam rising from holes in the streets......went into a town and bought a new phone card and Beverley found an Oggi shop, and bought another couple of outfits, she loves Oggi fashion, we first came across it in Astana, then Almati and then here in Russia......driving out of town looking for place to camp we find an empty hanger and decide to set up here, it keeps most of the rain off us, enabling Lee to mend the headlights, good news as it is compulsary to have them on all day, and I was able to cook us all some hot food, it's only 15 degrees and very wet!!!!!

Tuesday 27th July

152322....temperature only 11 degrees....it's cold and I was cold in the night ---- grey skies -- on road for 12.30pm...1.45pm we see first police, all ok let us pass!!! 5pm after family discussion we decide to change our plans, to get to lake Baikal will mean travelling long distances for the next five days=====we all feel that we would prefer to just leisurely drive straight down to Mongolia, through the mountains and enter on the west side, we have all seen many lakes and feel that such an effort may end up with something we have said quite a few times before "Is that it?" ,,,, We find a good pitch for the night in a field behind a huge haystack, no mosies......we are just starting to watch a film as it is dusk, when the farmer and his wife arrive to collect a cart full of hay, they welcome us and let us know that they are happy with us camping there,, we watch them loading the hay and say hello to the horse, it is great to see the wooden tack that they use,,,,,,,

Monday 26th July

152156........After good night -- driving N.E.....2.40pm getting close to the last Kaz. town before the border!!!!! scarey Russia!!!!WE see huge fields full of sunflowers...we are heading for a storm----arrived at border called Kocok at 3.30 and managed to buy insurance!!!! Feel a bit sad to leave Kaz - we have driven over 5,000miles and it's been good--------------------4pm through first borde,,r checked car---4.15 second barrier--passports,,,now to Russian side------4.40 3rd barrier for passports....4.45 checked by dog at customs. 5pm through 4th barrier.... No problems then at the final barrier, where they Sprayed our wheels with disinfectant, and then asked for 100 dollars to raise the barrier,, Lee was not amused - he told them No money ---they tried again --- NO -----OK, 5.05pm we passed through!! Beverley comments that they are all like little hitlers------ almost immediately the landscape changes, it is much greener with loads of trees and its raining with black clouds!!!!.........5.45pm we stopped for a break, the mosies are enormous and we all get bitten again!!! 6.30 pm looking for a place to camp --- the hour has changed again it is now 7.30pm here......we have a full phone signal,but the phone will not connect, its just gives us a message we cannot read....

Sunday July 25th

151925....on road for 9am driving east to Pavlodar -- 250miles --half way we stopped for supplies and topped up phone.......drove up path to camp for night behind some trees, Beverley found a cows foot -- lovely!!!

Saturday July 24th

off to visit Astana Tower, fantastic views of the city, you can see right to the finish of the city -- there are no outskirts, no houses..just the start of the desert.....then went to a shopping centre which had a swimming pool on the top floor, a strange shaped building, it looked like it was falling over......Lee fixed the Landy again, a policeman came over and told him to clean it......in the evening we watched Jackie Chan and then the Pirates of the Caribean 2 .....in Russian or should I say Kazakhie??? It was very well dubbed and the voices were very well done.....

Friday July 23rd

another day of shopping, we were chased by a car, it seemed that the young man just wanted to say hello, but as we drove off he followed us until we parked outside a shop.....his freinds, who had shown us the way to Astana, had sent him a photo of us on his mobile phone, he showed it to us absolutely delighted to have spotted us, then more photos so that he could send them a photo back.....we had a couple of beers with Ian, a motorcyclist we met at the hotel, he told us of a couple more buildings worth a visit....

Thursday July 22nd

Went for a good walk around the town through a beatiful park, back to hotel and rested.....lazy day........

Wednesday July 21st

151876 exactly 300 miles.......Last night at hotel we were just going to Landy to get our bags when Anne and Andrew walk in with Jessica and A.J...spent time chatting and catching up.......This morning we walk to get new car insurance, cost us only £3 for ten days, bought even louder new horns for the Landy....lazy day!!!

Tuesday July 20th

151576....good nights sleep.......we see a strange insect, it is about 3" long and one and a half wide, it has the head of a locust, six legs, two what look like long spinerettes and is grey, see photos --- 12pm on the road, we see an upturned trailer which was carrying water melons, ......on our left there is black sky and lightening - on our right a dead cow---pooh!!!! We are driving into the storm, then we see a van off the road stuck in the sand/mud, Lee drives down to help them and we sink also, we dig and drive ourselves out and get back on the road, then Lee takes the sandboards down to them, they escape, very grateful!! We drive away from the storm for hours, stopped by police and asked for money, because they said we were speeding; Lee refuses to pay them and they ask for a camera, Lee declines and they let us go........we arrive at Astana at 8.30pm and go to the same hotel as before....car insurance has now run out......

Monday 19th July

151306.........Up at 5.30am because of storm......a herd of cows pass us on both sides of the car, the bull comes and checks us out with a closer inspection.....on road for 7am raining, but soon clears...we go to see a lake it is massive, very beautiful......stop and camp about 5pm, much cooler now, the sky is clear, crossed fingers for tonight we are all very tired!!!

Sunday 18th July

151082.....yesterdays extreme heat turned into a storm -- no surprise there -- we have had little sleep and now all have new sets of mosie bites....cooler now and as we drive in the rain through the mountains it reminds me of Wales......3pm the storm continues with rain and lightening, the Landy is leaking!!!! We see a herd (if that's the right term) of camels perhaps 20 to 30 being rounded up by men on horseback.......

Saturday July 17th

150916.......8.30am and it's 31 degrees in the shade!! We get fresh water from well, nice and cold, fresh bread, tomatoes, peaches, melon and apricots, a great breakfast......there are lots and lots of donkeys here, but not many horses......2pm we pass through a huge gorge, desert and mountains either side of us, it is so hot 39 in shade, on top of cold fridge, at least 69 outside, luckily we have cloud cover today!!! We enter the State National Park of Charin....

Friday July 16th

150822.......Lee puts on new starter motor before it's too hot, we prepare to leave hotel, by 12pm we are on the road heading for a huge canyon we have been told about.....we had left some apples - under cover, in the car, they are cooked right through!! We start to drive up a mountain to visit a lake, but too hot, the brake master cylinder has now gone...--... back to Landrover dealer, but they have nothing.......drive back out the city and on.....landscape changes again, we camp on the side of a track with very tall bamboo all around....

Thursday July 15th

Very hot...Lee goes for a walk and finds a Landrover dealer,,,,Later we go for a drive and the starter motor is broke again, we get a tow start, and back to Landrover dealer ------ 3 weeks ago it cost us £600 to have the motor fixed.....today it costs us £170 for a brand new one!! Back at the hotel we park the car in the shade to cool down, the sun is so hot the car is impossible to work on.....later Lee takes off old starter motor..

Wednesday 14th July

Very hot, we spend the day walking around the town and finding markets....

Tuesday 13th July

We have a drive around, there are people everwhere hitching lifts, cars stopping all the time to give lifts, obviously the norm, the people seem happy, lots of smiling faces.....then we go for a walk around and buy a new horn for the Landy, horns are used constantly like a second language....

Monday 12th July

150585....272miles yesterday........Not much sleep last night, there was a strong wind storm..---...12.30pm stopped to watch a herd of horses galloping freely -- a beautiful sight.......2pm stopped at river for a paddle, the landscape is changing, there are trees both sides of the road and water everywhere, we see a canal and a lake, then at 2.30pm with no warning - we see in the distance right across our path, a snow topped mountain range, really strange to be so hot and to see all that snow -- 100km to Almaty-----We arrive in the city and drive around for ages looking for a hotel, then at the traffic lights somebody in their car says hello and asks where we are from, we tell him and ask if he knows of a hotel, "Yes", he says, "follow me", -- after perhaps 10 minutes we arrive at the hotel Astra, our guide just waves and drives off!!! The hotel is fully booked except for single rooms, we can have 3, we ask to see one, it has a double bed and room for a sleeping bag on the floor, we tell them one room will be ok for us, at this they offer us a mattress and sheets, all for around £50 a night for all of us.....to us the rom is large = after the Landy, we are quite happy!!!!

Sunday 11th July

150313,,,,,,,bit cold......back to salt flats and camels...drove down to a lake - very touristy----shame but just a bit too nippy for a dip-----2,30pm only 584km to go....

Saturday 10th July

150145.......good night..off for 10,30am----temp. dropped now quite cool

Friday 9th July

150078.....prepare to leave to Almaty====3.30 off we see a sign it says Almaty 1165km... on our map that;s about 3 inches!!

Thursday 8th July

sight seeing===Palace of peace and accord----brilliant building in the shape of a pyramid...the lifts have to go sideways to fit in shape--cool---we all love Astana it's a beautiful city!!

Wednesday 7th July

spent day shopping, bought a new horn for James (the Landy) sounds a bit like a mouse at the moment....evening spent talking to Didier in France and catching up..

Tuesday July 6th

149933......We had cut off a corner by going across the fields..now soon to arrive in the capital Actaha--in English Astana----temperature has dropped, still hot and sunny, the land is green with trees, we have not seen a tree for ages.....we arrive, there is a car broken down in middle lane -- Lee stops and gives him a tow --- now to find a hotel --- 1st hotel we find 5 star - £500 a night each -- they kindly give us directions to hotel number 2 --4 star - £150 a night for all of us -- we decide it's still too much for a few days, off to hotel number 3 ---whats a star???? -- £70 a night for all three of us, breakfast included, we book two nights...very large room three clean, large beds tv ect....and a bath!!!!!!!

Monday July 5th

149744......did repairs on tents, bits of sewing etc., - Beverley drives the first 10 miles this morning, through the fields, she is very good!! The land is completely flat, there are fields of wheat and some hay, miles long and miles wide, hay cutting is going on all over the place --- hot today 40 degrees in car.....the roads are so bad we are driving on small tracks using the compass--12.30pm Beverley takes the wheel for another half hour------1.30 and we run out of tracks ending in an empty derelict village--deserted--we see a lovely watering hole but as we approach it is all dung and mud!!!!After back tracking a bit and trying another track we eventually end up at the main road---motorway---well two way traffic ......on tarmac ---lasts for 100 miles then back to potholes........

Sunday 4th July

149592-------very windy in tent again---bad roads again...no signs...we turn right N. East.....Tyre blows out, Lee changes, all ok --- 2 cars stop to see if they can help, they tell us we are on the right road----passed village and just took the N.E. track, saw a herd of horses, looked like they were all limping, they all have their legs tied together--front to back---so sad -----see signpost for Actaha (Astana) still 673km---landscape changes to acres of planted crops---arrived at a town - almost a ghost town - asked a man if they had any diesel here, he said "yes, follow me" in Kaz of course, ,,,he takes us to the garage, with just one stop on the way to buy us 4 cans of beer for a present...filled up and drove onto traffic lights and asked people in car the way to Astana -- they said "follow us" so we did for about ten minutes thinking they were going our way, but when they reached the main turning ;they stopped --- could they take a photo before they left to go back to town -- these people are lovely!!!!!!!!

Saturday 3rd July

mileage reads 149353....Lee did all repairs - all ok--good job the nearest town or village is around 100 miles either way.....camped in desert--no mosies but terrific winds, we hardly slept, then it started to rain, if this is a biggy it,s possible that the ground to change to mud, so we got on the move quickly----Beverley said she was cold, although the temp. still reads 27--------2 hours and still raining, white and pink flowers are blooming,---arrived at large town the people are european looking----lost!!! we ask lots of people and have lots of photos taken, but nobody knows the way---found our way out to North to capital----the earth changes colour to a bright red, after a few miles bright orange, then normal sandy colour;, then the colour is green----green sand and rocks!!!!----made camp, man on horse appears and seems to say something about sacred ground, he rides off....we make tea and wait----car arrives, he is very freindly and invites us to his house for tea, ok, we follow him about ten minutes to village----it seems he is the mayor of the town, he gives us a beautiful book, with some english in....yes the ground is sacred---his wife offers us tea with bread, jam,biscuits, cream, sweats and salty meat - mutton I think --then all is followed by a very large dish of fermented mares milk - served cold----I cannot describe the taste to be like anything---Lee drank it too---they asked us to stay the night and offered us more mares milk and vodka,,,,,very kind but at this point we decided best to leave, - they gave Beverley a leather computer bag with a diary and boxed pen in -- lovely gift...

Friday 2nd July

10am hot..we all got bitten loads last night, there were thousands of tiny mossies..so small they were getting in through the nets, hopefully it seems that we have not got any bad reactions....11am the landscape is changing again, it's now green and swampy, agricultural and pongy!!! Heading for Kizylorda..getting closer to the town we see a bus stop with horses in, it's the only shade......found the bazarre...bought a new grease gun (we drove over the other one) ..pop and juice and samosas---Lees' face when he tasted the samosa--yum food......1pm now heading back N.E. it's gone deserty again---at 3.50pm the milage reads 149325 we have driven exactly 10,000 miles !!!!! Roads gone very bad again bumpimg and banging us around, then car on fire-- we all jumped out-- it was the battery..all ok...that's what you get if you shake a car battery very hard !!!!!

Thursday July 1st

Back to Aral for supplies...at the well a local lady gives us one of her water bottles and warns us that in the next few days there is going to be a heatwave of 70 plus ----decide to head up to Astana the capital in the north but will probably take us at least 3 days.......it is so hot that fresh bread is crispy before you can finish making a sanwich, and if you put a bottle of water in the front of the landy for a while it is hot enough to make a cup of tea, and the metal parts in the car burn to the touch, there is no shade anywhere, we haven't seen a tree for ages....this is good training for the Gobi !!!!

Wednesday June 30th

off to find Aral sea, must be somewhere, it is now 60 degrees in the sun.....-----after hours of being shaken in the car ;we have found the sea ----yuk! what a disappointment------we see the famous ships in the desert and then drive 5 and half miles to the sea and then sink into it....we dig ourselves out having to use the four sand boards---would of been in a pickle without them---driveing back we stop to collect a few shells and Beverley takes a photo of a fish in a bush, how it got there we do not know----it is a 8 and a half mile drive to the village which used to be on the waters edge----Lee is exhausted now, he had no sleep last night with his bad knee....stopped for the night -- Lee mended wiring and then changed a UJ--put tents up--no flies tonight!!!!

Tuesday 29th June

Another 30 miles of dust road--come to juction as we had hoped, found diesel and filled up tank fo about £22 --33pence a litre------now going south east towards Alal sea, on tarmac road, well for 5 miles anyway, back to normal gravel and huge potholes and chunks of road just missing---road blocked off for repairs again--in places there is thousands of pounds worth of machinery but you never see anyone doing anything, no matter what the time of day------got my lap seatbelt on tight - it stops me from banging my head on the roof---the car is full of dust, lots of twisters today----suddenly we see what looks like a huge lake but its a mirage---the temperature has gone off the scale it is 55 degrees plus!! As we pass lorrys we get engulfed with dust and can't see anything for a few seconds---eventually 3pm a bit of not too bad road----and a sign Aral 116km---------Arrived, huge place but not modern at all except for what is like a town square with statues-----rubbish is dumped everywhere, slums all around and many cows---we find a tiny shop, a young girl- maybe 16 - speaks to us in English, we ask her where the sea is, but she has ;no idea, and neither has anyone else they just say its a long way-----back to desert to camp for the night....

Monday 28th June

A good night 11am on road 37 in shade---more desert, roads are corregated--heading S.E. ...stopped for water, started talking to locals, they asked us to stay, we had tea and bread and Jam---the mother was called Lisa, she asked us to stop the night and have showers-- inside her house they had everything we have microwave oven ect. TV sateellite of course. Lisa asked us to come back again so she could cook us a big meal with all her family, as we left she gave us a home-made loaf and took photos.....drove on a while then stopped to watch the wild horses -- unbelievable-- what a day!!! Saw huge birds of prey.....stopped for supplies, but they had no diesell......after 101 miles we have had enough have been rattled to pieces, we have enough diesel for 60 miles and its about 35 miles to next town---crossed fingers on standby----camped---prairie dog holes everywhere...Lee killed a fly with his hand then wiped his hand with a tissue to remove tiny maggots Yuk yuk!!! Ther is absolute silence here -- no birds no crickets, just the odd fly which I believe belong to th prarie dogs and they are hiding......no good the flies are biting Lee, move on a mile and it's all ok.......

Sunday 27th June

50degrees in shade ..may be higher its gone off the scale!!!! Lee gave James (the landrover) a check-up---the back end of the chassis is broken and the roof is lifting above the windscreen -- all together a sorry sight-- leaking oil out of the transfer box at the rate of about 1 and a half litres per week-----will James survive?? ...4pm saw our first proper oasis -- not with palm tress, but trees and one lone house-----desert and more desert, camped --watched sunset--bed.

Saturday 26th June

only problem with the hotel was the mosies came in the vents, so got a new load of bites---could be worse----off to Aral sea 46 degrees in shade, we got lost and had to retrace our way by 60 miles---camped for night--no mosies!!!

Friday 25th June

7am -- 30 degrees in shade--roll start ok----11.30 police stop us--all ok---11.45 police stop this time they want money, they have accused Lee of being a drunk driver, they made him roll up our insurance papers and blow through them--said they could smell vodka, then asked for money---Lee said no - have no money-- they tried to get me to admit Lee had been drinking, and then accused Beverley of drinking.....very scarey!! Lee held his ground and said no, then they just gave him the papers back and let us go .......we arrived at ATKOBE at 12.30pm and found a garage that can fix starter but they want £450 , good day for the garage.....3.15 still waiting..hot very hot 43 degrees in shade--so glad for our fridge!!! Poor Beverley has a bad stomach today and the only toilet belongs to the garage, which is best not described, she manages to sleep in back of car while we wait,,,,,5.15pm fixed--price has gone up, but we explain we have no more..ok..5.30pm looking for hotel, and found one straight away---Hotel Daston Aktobe, it even has pizza on the menu----shower bath and wifi !!!

Thursday 24th June

Down hill start...passed watering holes and saw some sort of vultures,...this road is like a white knuckle ride but it lasts for hours, there is dust and dust!!! We see herds of animals in the distance -- this is how I had imagined Africa to look, the sand is sucked up into big twisters some can completely engulf the car---we stop at town to fill up with water and buy bread, they are very friendly, Lee is given a bottle full of millk and told to leave it in the sun for two days--this is the famous fermented mares milk that we thought was only in Mongolia!!! It's hot 46 degrees in shade....9.15 pm now 30 degrees---hoping to get a starter motor tomorrow, fed up of pitching up on a hill, tonights is very steep, hope we don't slide out of bed!!!!

Wednesday 23rd June

cooler today only 35 in shade....off up north to Actobe today, there is a long and a short road, we opt for the short...long is supposed to be quicker because of the bad road......we come to a salt lake still has the water in it, as we walk down to it our feet sink into the oil in the ground and it sticks to our shoes...I think the sun has got to me because for some reason I try and read the sign backwards--as if reading Russian is not difficult enough, backwards is ridiculous....we follow the track--we have only a tiny map of Kaz in our Russian map book---no compass as that decided to jump out of the window off the dashboard, luckily we still have Sandy the satnav, she has no idea where she is but can tell us north or south ect......we go off the so called road onto mud track it is better...now a hundred miles of bone shaking road....saw our first prairie dog ( aah! sweet just like a big gerbil) --saw horses sheltering in huge drainage pipes.48 degrees in shade......we stopped to camp but we were too near the road, or really too near a track which turned out to be another used road----so we went to move but can't start--starter motor dead!!! A lorry came along and pull started us, now we have to camp on a hill!!!

Tuesday 22nd June

very very windy....lots to see today, camels, horses, goats, graves, saw a house standing alone bit too much of a quiet location!! Stopped at oasis not a pretty one but the waters there, me and Beverley had a paddle and we did the washing......Me and Beverley are dreaming of a hotel again--no shower of bath since 3rd June--plenty of buckets but not quite the same---we did have a shower but that had to go with the trailer - no space for it......We are soon to arrive in Actipay, our first big Khaz town, it's near the aspian sea, which up to now, has been a big big disappointment, so we are not holding our breath!!Well it turns out to be a huge modern city with a better feel than the Russian cities, the people just seem to be much happier, we have heard some english being spoken---again people have right of way and just walk out into the traffic---trying to find a map we ask at a garage--no good--but two young men offer to show us the way to a shop where we can buy one--their names are Cherub and Fernando, after following them from shop to shop we are then passed over to their freind whom we follow for a while but between them all they cannot find us a map or a compass or a satnav!!! We drive on through the town and camp in the desert, good just a few mosies..........

Monday 21st June

had a good night --not to many bites, which is good because we have dozens already---the visas for Khazakstan start today, so off we go........country 18 and it's hot 45 degrees----we crossed a river on a very iffy bridge--saw a herd of horses running free!!!11am arrived at Russian customs and handed in all our papers---they did not check anything that we were made to delare on entering Russia----passport control o.k.---2 hours and we are through====now 10km no mans land to Khaz customs====they split us up===me and Beverley to walk through--Lee with car---after a long wait we got through and met up--now Lee set off for passport control and we waited in car and waited and waited---elderley lady in car next to us keeps wailing at us to go to her...but we cannot...we can't understand what she is shouting and why is she there....I.m very sorry but it's very scarey just being here I can't get involved with other peoples problems------after another 20 mins Lee comes back he needs 500 rubels for customs man---special price for tourists==50 rubels for anyone else!!! 2.30 Lee has to sort out insurance--well at least we may get some this time---he comes back just needs bribes now so we give them our walkie talkies and a knife and a pen they want more and more but we say no---ok then---3pm we enter Khaz........we see more wild horses and houses made of wood with flat roofs---so not much rain here then----graves everywhere======Beverley says "Is it me or are they camels over there?" they are everywhere!!! ....pitched up on flat sand area and cooked rice ect....can see house in distance=====A shepherd comes to say hello (no english) he stays and eats with us, he invites us to go sleep at his house, we decline and thank him...he fetches his neighbour and we drink water together, the shepherd tells us he has 400 sheep........

Sunday 20th June

off to border, ready to cross tomorrow, Beverley listening to music, Lee playing bogle on the ninentdo...hot 35 in shade....bought bread and found good water supply at standpipe...camped.........

Saturday 19th June

The road is brown because it is thickly covered in crickets, others swarming in the air===people now all look oriental, stopped at shop they are very friendly....22km of grit and sand road--police stopped us and asked to see insurance--we showed the tickets we had been given but no good, we had paid for insurance but not given any, as we thought, they just told us to go !! Arrived at a town and drove round and round the sat nav has defineatly lost it--broken.....found a place to camp and got eaten by midges, they fly into your face --up your nose and ears...yuk,,

Friday 18th June

we think our Russian satnav is having a breakdown--we set the route but before we have even moved it is saying we have left route----set off 10,20 it is hot and a little rainy----diesel is now 25p per litre----1.30pm stopped by police all ok, have noticed peoples faces are now appearing asian......main road is now a sand desert trrack--Beverley notices that there are sea shells everywhere---was the Black sea and Caspian one big sea once? There are pink and yellow flowers spread around and its hot....after talking about it we have decided that in our experience the Russian people seem to be not very happy !!! 4pm another police stop all ok ---camped in dung beetle field....

Thursday 17th June

hot hot ...we all got chewed by mosies last night, the noiseof the crickets is drowning out our radio----driving S.E. about level with South of France or Italy...stopped by police and sent another way up the motorway because of trouble in Chechnya,,,stopped 7 more times, the last stop they gave us a sausage-----6.45pm the desert has started, we camp and see a huge spider, giant millipede, crickets, locusts, and dung beetles, the latter being brilliant -- as soon as you have finished going to the toilet they are there it all disappears in no time at all!!!!!

Wednesday 16th June

Set out for Caspian sea---east---straight across====camped in field at 7pm.....realised we have missed a time zone, yesterday we went to meet Russian couple an hour late, but they would of had to drive past us to leave, oh well !!

Tuesday 15th June

stayed at camp again to meet Russian couple at 6, they had disappeared, drove back to mountain where we had camped on Friday, too late to find new pitch...another huge thunderstorm we had to sit it out in the car--scarey!!

Monday 14th June

Stayed again---Lee checked under car and cut his head open on the door---just short of a hospital job-----went to walk to cash point -- very hot--looked down at my hands and my fingers looked like big fat sausages, don't know why so lifted my hands up and kept moving my fingers??? well I'm still alive!!!....back at campsite met a Russian family and drank tea with them.....they invite us to their house tomorrow, will meet tomorrow at 6pm

Sunday 13th June

stayed on campsite and swam in sea......

Saturday 12th June

Drove coast road and spotted a campsite----swam in sea---beautiful---is this really Russia--hot hot hot!!!

Friday 11th June

Nothing happened last night!!! I think because Lee was watching----Its 9am nobody up except me, am waiting for lorry to move on so I can go to the toilet!!! We all wash our hair with the rest of the water then a very drunk man arrives on moped, again conviced we can understand his every word--we pack up------drove to AHANA its a very busy, typical seaside resort--saw the black sea--gorgeous---drive down coast to find a pitch---found some water and cash point, there is lots of money here---lots of vineyards, never thought of Russian wine.....saw people with towels so we parked and followed them, swam with loads of jelly fish...Beverley was a little nervous of the jelly fish at first but soon got the knack of putting them on my head......drove on--nowhere to stop....Hot Hot...we drove up dry mountain track--lokked just like Spain----camped--brilliant just us!!!!

Thursday 10th June

Hot sunny--smelly, bitten itchy, sore bits;, spotty, but we are all fine....We saw Ivan again---stopped for tea (of course) made Ivan a cheese and branston pickle sandwich he gave us a bag of cherries..........Heading for coast at Black Sea--there is nowhere to stop its all rice fields and mosquitos, went past village there was no satellite dishes-----stopped by police for crossing white line--fined 200 euros--pay now or licence with-held--luckily we had enough but now down to last 100 euros emergency fine money!!!fFound parking spot but we are not hidden from road, its 8.30 and we've all had enough, Lee is so tired!! Moped comes and checks us out 3 times and then the same car a couple of times---Lee goes and sits in car for hours, not a good evening!!

Wednesday 9th June

Passed a man on a bike who was obviously a traveller, said hello, can you speak english...yes his name is Ivan and he comes from the Isle of Man...stopped for cups of tea....Ivan is doing the same trip as us---all alone on his pushbike--now thats what you call brave (or mad).......later we stopped to fill up with water at a well at the side of road in village....a lady came out to greet us, she seemed absolutely convinced that we could understand every word she said, and then she insisted on giving us a bag of fish, the bag felt warm, then as it got hotter I realised it must of been in the process of being smoked;, very kind but we have stopped eating meat and fish so had to give to local cats!! Saw graveyard full of table and benches painted blue, passing olive trees.....got lost on the dirt tracks think satnav has had a nervous breakdown.......3.30 arrived in Enck, seaside town with windsurfing and a nice beach--we took a swim--lovely----there are bars, lots of the usual junk for sale, childrens entertainment--roses and poppys everywhere---is this the same couontry??? Went to camp on a quiet beach then named it DEad Fish Beach and drove up onto cliff---later to be known as insect cliff!!!

Tuesday 8th June

found lake, the water has that sulphur smell and thick mud in the bottom and we are sharing our camp site with a herd of cows, therefore we have named this spot cow-pat beach..very smelly but thats nature!!!

Monday 7th June

9.50--29 degrees---Bopohex is a lovely, very clean city---we are enjoying the journey again now we are out of the major traffic in Moscow, we also did a bit of shopping and bought Beverley a leather jacket, just what she had been looking for,---off tom lake or black sea,,,not sure if the two join together-----found great campping spot in meadow, the colours of the flowers are beautiful......

Sunday 6th June

lovely sunny day--heading south for Tyna, did washing at standpipe and put the rubbish into the burning bin at the side of the road seems normal to burn the rubbish this way......got stopped by police--they asked where we are going --then took a photo and let us go----there is a petrol station every 300--to 500 metres---heading for Bopohex---found another lovely field to camp in.....

Saturday 5th June

Lee checked car and found what the noise is---the rear prop shaft--removed it to sort out in better place----set off on motorway and the hand brake drum fell off--Lee retieved it from middle of road---something else to fix!!!! parked up and Lee fixed everything!!...drove off road behind some trees and found a beautiful meadow wth-out mosies ---perfect...........

Friday 4th June

woke to a big storm in motel 150 km short of Moscow...hot and clammy today..............arrived Moscow (MOCKBA) 11.50am...8 lanes of traffic with zebra crossings--people just walk out-some don't even look!!!! still arriving at 12.50---at 2.20 still driving, eventually found hotel--but no thank you ---we don't like the look of it-----5.15 still driving but now leaving Moscow.....we had wanted a few days in a hotel and time to wander around the city but its just impossible....never again will we vist Moscow it's the worst city we have ever been in with the worst drivers and the worst road system --we have seen a good ten accidents today, they just seem to swerve into each other then everyone stops to wait for the police.....eventually we find a pitch off road with no horse flies and its quiet!!!

Thursday 3rd June

9.30 back on road heading for Moscow...dull and cloudy but not cold...looking for shopping centre for cash point---yesterday we took out 2000 rubels, but it was only about £40 so we need more.........arrived Novgovrod about 12pm..stopped by police...Lee knew they were asking for papers but he pretended he didn't undersstand and just spoke in English---they waved us away--question is - do we have insurance??? There is one straight road from St. P. to Moscow full of lorries of all shapes and sizes, some are just enormous, they swerve around the pot-holes from one side of the road to the other in a zig-zag,,,,the houses along the side all seem to be of the same design, just different colours, perhaps pink and green or blue, green and purple!!!! Tried to stop a couple of times but keep finding horseflies, Lee has a very bad reaction to them , so 7pm looking for hotel/motel---diesel is now 40pence per litre..

Wednesday 2nd June

Terrific storm last night, hope tents stayed dry!!....11am gave trailer away--all sorted--squashed in car but hey--doesn,t matter...but all that work and time and money and food and effort --- gone--just like that...bought another ticket for the queue and will try again....12.10pm back in queue.....2.30 in Russia;, they checked passports and paperwork time and time again, paperwork is crazy....5.10pm St. Petersburgh --the car in front is a ford focus called a ROLF!!....8.50 still driving around looking for hotel--the traffic is unbelievable its taken us hours to move just 5km. cars driving on pavements to overtake and pushing into queues--it's like every driver thinks that they are the only important one on the road----we put music on...David Bowie...now it becomes fun again....people are waving and taking photos manage to move some more.....stopped to buy satnav!!! St. P. is a beautiful city,,,very hard work for us as strangers, but well worth the visit!! 10pm found motel but no cashpoint so we just took one room and brought in sleeping bags, we can now stretch our legs out for a bit, there is zero leg room in the car!!!

Tuesday 1st June 2010

forgot to mention yesterday that Lee managed to get the spring welded--trailer all fixed now-good as new!!!.......Off to Russia today, we need to get car insurance and some cash......We have read that you get insurance at border but when we asked they said "No go transit place" and pointed at map..O.K ....at transit place "no insurance here--buy at border--20 euros please for ticket for boder queue"...O.K...so at 11.30am we joined queue again at the border..I gave them the ticket and again asked, the reply was "I no not this word insurance"...1pm...through first barrier--told to wait---asked for papers for trailer, but of course the papers don't exist--it's an old 1968 trailer--no papers needed..or so we were told....at 1.10 they said ok and sent us to next queue--1.30 haven't moved an inch....2.05 moved a few feet through red light and given custom and migration papers to fill in...2.20 still queueing...3pm same....3.30 moved a bit and handed in papers...told us we had filled them in wrong--do it again---ok---still wrong do it again and make copies---then asked for papers for trailer--explained it all again---4pm...refused entry and told to wait-----5pm still waiting..(bladders bursting)....6pm still waiting----7pm sent back to Estonia----went back to Hotel---YES Hurray..bank card still working;, so at least we are ok for tonight..........started sorting trailer out, giving all the food ect. away to passers by, soon we had about 30 people---word spreads quickly---man turned up, said he was from salvation army he works rehousing alchoholics, said he could use the trailer...will come tomorrow at 11am to collect...........then we had pizza and went to bed.....what a day!!!!!!!!!!

Monday 31st May

Off to Narva--border town---to hotel to clean up, ready for Russia-----found Hotel Narva--great 5 minutes from border crossing--we walked up and saw the cars queueing, there is also a huge castle and river, great for photos but left the camera in hotel!!! Went and had a pizza then a beer in hotel room and we found an english channel on the television showing a film that we had not seen before, great---wow---Russia tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday 30th May

backtracking because Lee saw a Jaguar breakers and thinks they may have a suitable spring----no good-----drive down to lake its beautiful and free parking but of course thousands of mosquitos!!!

Saturday 29th May

very cold last night, doesn't get dark till about 11pm--moon low in sky---weather today is ok but not warm enough for the beach, so off to Tallin---still only one or two motorbikes and no bike shops---continue to the sea--see sign for St.Petersburg 323km....Today we have seen only one animal--a dog--no sheep no cows nothing--trees are in blossom and dandylions are flowering---every house we see is different never two the same.......Arrived at a place called Kunda--no seaside just factories--yuk---6pm and nowhere to stop, sides of roads are all drainage ditches and bus stops---another 2 hours before we find a site!!

Friday 28th May

moved up the coast a bit and found miles and miles of white,sandy,empty beaches.........1.40pm hello Estonia, again no stop at border---looks clean and tidy, there is a sign for reindeer!......drove up to Parnu....we found a motorbike shop, but no good, they said they could order a spring but it would take about 2 weeks!! Parked up on grass next to the beach--no-one else here---our own private beach, fantastic--if the weather holds we will stay here a day or so---we cannot enter Russia before the 1st of June.......

Thursday 27th May

stayed day and night

Wednesday 26th May

off to find new camping pitch--trees still full of blossom--arrived at KLAIPEDA again there are no motorbikes to be seen, this place has jewellers, hairdressers and casinos--rain, rain and rain---off to try Latvia, there are no bikes here!!! heading for RIGA....Arrived Latvia at 4.30pm the sun shining--passed through Riga and found a camp on a lake--beautiful--£3 per night!!!

Tuesday 25th May

Sunshine and showers---to Kaunas for spring--neat tidy city, no motorbikes to be seen!!! We found the shop but no good.....off to seaside---many wooden houses made of larch, some painted others natural....some made of small bricks the colour of cotswald stone-----found a campsite at Vente called Camp Ventaine and as the name says it is just too windy---nice site so stay one night----we walked onto the beach to see the Baltic sea--it looks browny-grey--yuk--not inviting and very rough!!!

Monday 24th May

Searched for motorcycle shop for new spring---no luck in town, so started out for Lithuania.......Sandy satnav took us the quiet way through the countryside. we saw cows with their front legs roped together like handcuffs---miles and miles of forests with ground covered with lily of the valley---beautiful------3.30pm country 14 - Lithuania -no stops, just a wave.....looks very clean and tidy----found nice parking spot-off road with a sheer drop down to river---dandylions have just finished flowering----chap stopped for a chat, an RAF officer, tolld us where to look for motorbike shop and gave us his phone number in case we had any problems

Sunday 23rd May

8am more people arriving for drinks!!!! 8.30am we are off----Landy not happy--UJ sqeaking making horrible noises--Lee stops and greases them...ok now......See more sand bags and rivers flooded ...the sun is shining its 22 degrees!!! 50k from Warsaw and its orchards everywhere with bits of blossom still in trees.....10k from Warsaw and we start to notice English words appearing..like For Sale ect.........We see a huge Ikea--McD--KFC..any shop you can think of----but all closed today---even the 24 hour 7 day Tesco is closed.....driving north past Warsaw to Bialstok..pull over to stop--now the spring on the trailer has broken..it will still tow but we are not very happy and there are mosquitos everywhere-----drive to hotel and write this,,,,,,,,,,,,.........

Saturday 22nd May

Sitting next to desert enjoying a rest---asked to move on very politely by police---got stuck in sand--dug Landy out--good practice for Gobi........we reached 100 km from Warsaw and stopped at layby---people stop and drink a bottle of vodka then drive off again....thunderstorms again!!!!

Friday 21st May

Auschwitz......it's impossible to put our feelings into words, you have to see !!......To Krakow it's the only open way to get to the north.....head for desert at Olkusz...we see rivers flooded and bridges destroyed...we also see Aldi--Tesco and McDonalds.

Thursday 20th May

Set out for Poland...counting England this is our thirteenth country......We can't get through mountain passes--roads closed - flooded--Sat nav sent us up un-paved road- scarey, decide to ignore sandy satnav and go main roads only!!! Grey sky..rain..rain..and water everywhere--river banks collapsed--fields flooded--sand bags everywhere-----Arrived at Oswiecim (Auschwitz) at 5.30pm----camped nearby at truckstop..

Wednesday 19th May

Drove to find place to open up tents to dry out----saw wooden church built 1746--unesco site ---then saw huge bonfire made from logs in the shape of a pyramid (we think Wicker Man you know Edward Woodward)---off we go!!!............Picked up trailer, they have done great job 160 euros....drive to thermal spring that Tomas told us about...great..

Tuesday 18th May

camped outside a pizza restaurant, in the car park, camp sites are flooded....all our bedding soaked, we have spare sleeping bags and Beverley let us sleep in her tent------drove on looking for off road centre and found it!!! Left the trailer to be picked up tomorrow---went and bought new sleeping bags and blow up pillows...then we climbed a mountain and went into the ice caves---brilliant------found our first Hotel, and had hot baths--our first since January--

Monday 17th May

Just drizzling----drove into centre of BRNO and bought a jockey wheel for the trailer for 1080 korunas (about £30) now we just need someone to weld it on and re-inforce the hitch...it's very clean here lots of recycling bins---Arrived at Blansko---can't see any signs for the Monastry---found tourist info, me and Beverley go in and explain what we are looking for--the lady spoke good English, so that bit was easy but---wrong Blansko--"We don't have bones here..just a wooden church" she wasn't very impressed with us!!!!!!---we can't find a map to buy and have no internet connection....ok back to Slovakia....Lee had seen an off road centre and thought that would be the best place to get our repairs done.

Sunday 16th May

Rain-rain and more rain--Slovakia is much cleaner--rivers with no plastic bottles---every few miles there is a Tesco--we have just bought a new phone card from one, at the top of a mountain...12.30 the sun is trying---we all have wet feet and trousers--pretty horrible!! Decide to drive to Czech Rep. and visit Monastry famous for human bones----Have just passed a sign that said 'Bears-wild horses-wolves-deer'-------4.35pm arrive at border --no customs or stops--just a sign----still raining heavily----find a sheltered spot off the road in the trees....

Saturday 15th May

To Oreadea on the Romanian-Hungarian border-----time to leave Romania we've been here so long we've stopped converting the money---clocks go back an hour -----rain-rain-rain, all the fields are flooded----5pm arrive at Hungarian-Slovak border--trailer hitch snapped clean off--we've blocked the border!!! We are undercover--Lee managed to move trailer across--two cars pass--one stops he is a mechanic, a freind of the border policeman, he goes off and fetches his welding gear and an hour and a half later we are back on the road---unbelievable!!!!

Friday 14th May

Left to visit the other Dracula castle at Sighisoara...not impressed..drove further to a camp site at Cluj Napoca, as we drove Beverleys guitar--which had been attatched to the trailer---fell off and broke......At the camp Lee checked the car and changed all the tyres round, me and Beverley caught up with the washing......

Thursday 13th May

We were out of bed at 5am to get into the car--the storm was overhead--rain lashing down, strong winds and lightening was enough to scare anyone!!! When it was over we set off down the mountain--wet and cold---the road was a mess--flooded in places and there had been rock falls...this was far scarier than going up!!--Heading back to Bran we passed a ruined castle which was supposed to be the proper Dracula castle, Lee and Beverley climbed the 1400 steps to have a look, I decided to guard the car!!! Arrived back at Bran to find our passports had arrived..........

Wednesday 12th May

Last night three horses came to visit us--it was pitch black, we could hear them but needed the torches to see...today we found a pond it was full of newts and leeches.....only one car passed all day..

Tuesday 11th May

Slept well on pitch next to river....moved further down the mountain to the lake for a quiet day--no driving--beautiful open pitch---we saw only 3 cars all day, one stopped to take a photo for his fishing magazine.

Monday 10th May

Set off for Transfagaran Highway, fabulous alpine roads--25 degrees....start to climb--845m still warm--loads of wild camping spots--edges of road collapsed--very bumpy--lorries full of logs----sheer drops--waterfalls---then a long drive road is twisty but normal---forest is very thick--first bits of snow, then the road opens up, the forest just ends and you can see all the snow---the road is narrow, the snow has been cut through, on the inside it is as high as the Landy, on the outside sheer drops....we come to a place that it is possible to turn rourd, we all agree it's far too dangerous to continue, it's just not worth it, we know its blocked further on...so we take the photos and drive down just below the snow to find a pitch for the night......

Sunday 9th May

Goodbye Frank....we went back through the gorge again--it was that breath-taking....we saw what at first looked like a beach but it was entirely made up of plastic bottles, ------back to Bran.....

Saturday 8th May

Drove to man-made lake at Bicaz, drove through a canyon -- it was stunning--couldn't get down to lake--then we saw a sign 'zone touristica' --it turned out to be a closed,fallling down factory, they said we could camp there but me and Beverley said no--it was horrible!! Wild camped, built a big fire with Frank, he gave Lee a knife....many passers by toot their horns and wave at us.......

Friday 7th May (Happy Birthday Jan).....

Beautiful morning-went for walk for a few hours--then another pizza..best yet!...still warm but storm--rain--thunder.....

Thursday 6th May

To Savata---north to salt lake and cave----rain, rain and more rain--nowhere to wild camp--1st campsite closed-2nd horrible--3rd great----hello Frank---eventually stopped raining--warm--we all went for a pizza together, just a short walk.

Wednesday 5th May

Beverley busy writing, Lee reading.....Frank a biker from Germany has come over for a chat, he has travelled all over the world, we exchange stories for a while...today we chill!!!!

Tuesday 4th May

....Spent most of the day re-organising the Landy and trailer, washing ect...We got the summer clothes out and put the awning up---it's lovely---too hot to sit in the sun!!! Beverley got some books out of the trailer and sat reading for ages......at about 11am thousands of little black flies appear, they don't do any harm just hover around for a couple of hours,mating, then disappear......It has changed here since our last visit--the trees have blossomed, a little less snow on the mountain top, and the forests have filled out, there is so much vegetation it's dark in there...

Monday 3rd May

went on ferry across delta...back into mountains towards Brasov, arrived back at Vampire camping to find trailer ok.

Sunday 2nd May

Left Vama Veche (old border) and drove to the Danube Delta at Tulcea...hilly...very lush green...23 degrees-----parked up for night next to trees standing in water

Saturday 1st May

Just chilled today...on the night we met Adrian and Andrew----two young Romanians, we had a good laugh with them; talking around the fire....

Friday 30th April

.....Last night we sat around campfire talking to our neighbours- 2 bikers--Holger (german) and Anne (polish) and the caravanetters Pascal and Cecille (swiss)--Anne gave Beverley a collection of shells from the beach----The party on the beach was now in full swing--in fact it went on all night till the sun came up.......Collected wood with Pascal and Cecille for tonight is the night of the witches and the tradition is a big bonfire!!....Hot sun shining now...big stage built on beach, there are literally thousands of people down there...Lots have walked up on to the cliff top and taken our photo as they passed....Cecille has given Beverley a penknife with an attatchment that will (with a bit of effort) make holes in the shells----Beverley has spent hours making a necklace and anklet... Met Susie and Tomas--a German and Slovak, they are both in their 20's and have been on the road for a year in their van....sat around camp fire and talked..brilliant!!

Thursday 29th April

Last night stayed on another camp site, we want to go back to wild camping......Have found a lovely spot, on top of cliff, beautiful sea views, lovely sandy beach,--paddled in the sea with Beverley --collected shells--walked around the cliffs--the place is starting to open up, people arriving to open up the bars, this week-end there is to be a big party on the beach--Workers day---

Date???? Started to write this thinking its Friday the 30th but the computer says its Thursday 29th--very confusing,, I have no idea how I have jumped a day, but the good thing is it really doesn't matter--it makes no difference.........

Wednesday 28th April

The land is so flat and open--lots of rape seed--the animals are changing, it's now goats instead of sheep and there seems to be a lot of donkeys...

Tuesday 27th April

Last night stayed in a campsite, it had not opened for the season, but they didn't mind.....it was by the side of a small lake and the bull frogs were singing really loudly, hearing them was just like being back in France!! Three of four dogs around--as usual, we have two names for them that they all seem to fit---Limpy or Infectie dog!!

Monday 26th April

It's sunny and hot!!!! Pack up, leaving trailor on site and set off---we see a man talking on his moble phone whilst driving his horse and cart--well why not, but it does look odd--two different worlds!!....We see roadside stalls selling loads of plastic--all I can call it is tat--gnomes, dancing flowers, balls---then there is a hotel--then another stall, and so on.....We drive through a town called Ploiesti ---all along the roads there are wells---Lee has noticed that nobody in Romania wears glasses, so of course now that is what we are looking for---seems to be true!!! As the miles go past--there are still wells every hundred yards or so!!!!

Sunday 25th April

much the same as yesterday, decide to leave for Black Sea tomorrow....

Saturday 24th April

Up at 9.30--it's just stopped raining--the sun is trying.....bit of a grey, overcast day, Beverley, Jessica and AJ watched films----we all had dinner together, played scrabble--glass of wine---bed......

Friday 23rd April

Went back to Bran castle and took it slowly--sat and watched out windows--it was good.....As we left Anne and Andrew drove past, we walked back down to our campsite--and they were there---we have driven 2 and a half thousand miles and we end up on the same site!!!! Good to see Beverley playing with Jessica and A.J....we all had dinner together then played scrabble----checked e-mails and the passports have arrived at our agents Real Russia---phew!!!

Thursday 22nd April

showery day, so we set up the big television and the wii---watched Dr. Who (thanks again Grandad)--lazy day.....

Wednesday 21st April

Up at 7 today, we had a visitor last night, of the four legged variety, bins emptied, cheese gone-out of container--footprints all over table....8am sun comes out--it's a beautiful day, I can see the snow top mountains they look like they are shining!! Off to Brasov today, with directions from Tony, to a shop calle Hornbach, to buy new ladder and padlock!......Very successful, we got everything we wanted....driving around Brasov we saw the usual Carrefour and McDonalds, then Lee spotted The Royal Bank of Scotland...we were not expecting that one.......stopped at traffic lights---they all have countdown timers on them....this is a huge town, lots of second hand shops? People just walk out into the road, sometimes on crossings--sometimes not and they don't even glance at the traffic--(Beverley says that explains why they have such large graveyards)-----There are white taxis everywhere and people sweeping the roads with witches brooms, we have noticed today that the horses and carts here have number plates........On our way back to the tent we stop at local supermarket called 'Wolf'---Lee bought a cheap hair dye for £2, now he has blond hair with blue streaks (his first blue rinse) he likes it!!! --- everywhere you look in the shops there is something with the name Hannah Montanna on it, it was the same at the castle---mugs T.shirts and games with Dracula--Vlad the Impaler and Hannah ---- happily for us Beverley grew out of the Hannah stage a while back!!!!

Monday 19th April

slept well, woken once by noises, Lee said he saw a large wolf like dog-or wolf-we don't know, it was trying to get into one of the bins,,,, Yesterday we washed, cleaned and cooked so today none of that nonsense.....Bacon and egg for us, weetabix for Beverley, then off to Bran Castle......3pm The castle was as Beverley said "Brilliant and good fun" and Lee "Big and high with so many tiny steps"....there was plenty to look at and read about Vlad the impaler and of course Dracula----great fun ---souveigner shops everywhere,,Lee managed to talk Beverley into buying a T.shirt, it was only £5 but Beverley insisted she could make one for less, she wouldn't buy anything else!!!!! Finished with a picnic in castle grounds........Temp is 20 degrees---Lee changed wheel bearing, I re-arranged Landy again, there was so much stuff on top of the fridge it wouldn't open....Beverley reading and drawing....6.45pm Lee and Beverley both reading .. it's raining outside,, hope its just tonight......Toni sent the passports today, so now we wait!!should be about 10 days.........

Sunday 18th April

Yesterday evening as we drove excitedly into Bran, we saw a sign that said Vampire camping, we trurned in, could this be a proper camp site? Yes - hot showers, washing machine and wifi - luxury!! Settled in went to bed 9.30.....woke up at 9.30.. we had slept a full 12 hours!!! The sun is shining and I heard a cricket singin;g, I love this time of year when they start singing, it means summer will soon be here.........Toni the man who runs this site, lives here with his wife, he speaks English and is very freindly and helpful....Lee asked him if we could use his address to send off for our Russian visas....(we couldn't do this before because the visas don't last very long and we would not have time to cross Russia before they ran out)..........He said yes and as he was going to town tomorrow he would see to the correct postage for us....So now we all have to wait and see --- visas should be issued between the 18-26th April, all we can do now is cross our fingers........---......After having showers and doing washing ect. we walked up to Castle Bran, it looks great, better and spookier than I had imagined, after seeing many pictures and talking about being here, it feels like a proper achievement to be here...it is 4pm and it closes at 6pm so we make the decision to go in tomorrow and not have to rush. All around the castle are stalls and all the usual touristy things, so we had a walk around and bought a couple of pizzzas and a beer and coke, then back to base camp......The sun is shining and I am sitting here in a T.shirt, we will be staying here for a while---great not to have to pack anything for a change......Lee is lying on the bench moaning that he hasn't got a beer and Beverley is on the computer drawing whilst listening to Harry Potter.....In the field with us are sheep and a couple of them have bells on, it's a very pleasant sound, they started to wander towards the gate, the shepherd gives one whistle and they run to him, just like well trained dogs, they have three lambs with them--ahh so cute.....7pm there is one other caravan on the site and the people are getting ready to leave.........Toni comes over and asks if we would like eggs and cheese from the shepherd/farmer, we ended up with 20 fresh eggs a whole homemade cheese and its huge, and delicious, and apples--£6.50, can't complain about that!! Looking at our table we notice we have ,obviously, cheese and eggs form Romania---cheese from Hungary--bread form Germany--veg oil from France--wine for Slavenia---margerine from Tesco England and chile oil from Thailand -the chile oil we actually brought in France and has travelled with us since we left and we will probably take it back to its home in Thailand........

Saturday 17th April

Slept well and woke to warm sunshine....We had had visitors in the night---we had a 4 part ladder, now only one part! Some wahing gone and line cut---could of been worse! We were going to stop for the day, but now are going to move on, we think it wiser......On the road for midday, we are going to try and find the Fagarus highway that we saw on Top Gear....We pass lots of tiny tiny stalls selling cheeses and bread and then a Great Western Hotel with a limo on the drive, then a man sitting in a field by the side of the road (no fences) watching his cows....We see people working the land with horses, a man shepherding his goats on the railway line, and many slums, although they do seem to all have satelite dishes!.....1.30pm turned off towards the mountains covered in snow, passing through the last marked village on the map-----mountain marked as 2254m, don't know if I am looking forward to this climb it's going to be very cold.........500m trees full of mistletoe....670m signs fo snow tyres and chains, sun still shining, getting very windy...800m trees very thick, some being felled....935m--yawning--air getting thinner......1000m it's just corner after corner---1074m stopped to ,let engine cool down.....1113m snow.......1255m...road blocked, road has collapsed---Lee has to reverse very very slowly and turning---scarey...glad that's over!!That is a shame, to be stopped in this was.......oh well ---onto Dracula Castle!! 4.20pm getting close to Bran now, there are oxen and carts here with cows walking alongside....5.20pm...6km from Bran.....stopped at local shop for beer supply, me and Beverley went, Lee stayed with the Landy, they were very friendly and cheap......then we saw a horse and cart with a coffin in the back........

Friday 16th April

Slept well, (no vampires or wolves).......Lit fire and put a joint of pork to cook in the dutch oven, we decided to stay here for a day, really nice and the sun is shining....Then we had a visitor, a Romanian man on his bike, seemed really freindly, his bike was equipped with almost everything you could need, but he said he didn't have a pump and could he borrow one, Lee tried to help but our pump was no good for his bike.....after he left Lee said, and we agreed, it was time to move off, the man was just too suspicious, all that equipment and no pump? Also Lee had noticed his tyre was quite firm anyway.....We packed up, a few miles up the road we saw the man cycling, perhaps he was ok, we will never know!!! As we drive there are horses standing and walking over the roads, we also saw one being carried on the back of a pick up truck....climbing up another mountain road, the forest is getting thicker and thicker, then all of a sudden we came to a cement works!!! We have to say that this country is definately full of surprises......Then we came to the town of Zlatra---yuk---slums everywhere you look....Lee says "Now I can understand the border guard, when he asked me WHY do you want to visit Romania?"...............Further on, another town Alba Lulia---new houses everywhere, we think there must be loads of money here..........3.30pm we pass an old shepherd wrapped in blankets, just sitting there watching his sheep, the traffic is crazy, the drivers take a lot of risks and inbetween them are the horse and carts, you can see an accident about to happen every minute, but somehow they get away with it, such a mixture fo people!! Leesays "Watching artics dodging pot holes on a motorway---love this place it's starting to grow on me"...We see yet another McD and signs for the Hilton Hotel....Drove on till we found another road side wild camping area, seems to bel all there is,here the river water looks clean so me and Beverley wash a bucketful......We ate the ribs of pork we had cooked in the dutch oven.....fantastic--beats TGI Friday's anyday!!!! We watched Pirates of the Carribean 3---glass of wine------bed.

Thursday 15th April

Slept well, it's 10.30! Well the clocks have been changed on us, it's not raining and the sun is trying to come out, great spooky castle on the hill above us. We will move on today, the camp-site is fine only no showers or washing facilities. It's next to a large river, which at first looks lovely, but as you watch you can see plastic bottles floating, I can count ten at a time!... Lee went to pay for our stay but they would not take any money, so we gave them a bottle of champagne, which we still had from England, it brought a smile....We don't know where to go for Draculas castle----we were supposed to meet A@A tomorrow, they have all the guide books and the connection for the internet, but they sent a message to say they will not be arriving for another week. We will find a way by ourselves!........1.30 it is beautiful here in the mountains (although it has started raining again) except for the rubbish, it's everywhere!! We are looking at the forests and the mountains and talking about how there are still bears and wolves living here...better watch where we camp tonight!!! There are sheep everywhere and each group has a shepherd, that proves the wolf theory....Going through the towns another thing that stands out is the gas pipes, they are all above ground, it's a right mess, also the amount of holes in the roads and loads of people hitch-hiking,and a man , with a baby, who came over to us begging for money, Lee told him where to go, he understood better when Lee showed him his machettte!!...........7.15pm This is more like it...wild camping....all sitting around the camp fire cooking dinner....Beverley is busy making a big wooden stake (with the pen knife we got last year is Switzerland) ready for the vampires tonight....scarey!!!! We are camped at the side of a river, where we have found some really strange bones, and we are next to the forest and it's becoming dusk....I wonder if we will have any visitors tonight!!!!! Beverley was going to bed, pitch black except for the torch, and we both heard strange noises, that was enough, tonight we all sleep together in one tent!!!!!

Wednesday 14th April

Wednesday 14th April........Slept well--on road for 9, it's just stopped raining.....We decided to head south for Arad in Romania---9,02 into Hungary---9.06 back in Slovakia, tallking in car the question arose as to how many countries we had visited so far--it seems to be 9....Holland-Belgium-Germany-Croatia-Italy, Hungary-Austria-Slovak rep. and Slovenia-------11.30 just leaving Budapest, another busy city, dreadful place, although mostly interesting.--11.40 stopped raining!!!!! 12.20 Sun--wow--first for days.......We will remember Hungary for rain - Tescos and lots of ladies with bright red hair..(.I'm sure it is lovely in the summer).----2pm ,,,looking a lot better--we are half way to Arad...sun shining, seem to keep seeing dogs in the middle of nowhere 4 or 5 just alone.------Stopped to buy bread at a tiny co-op in Szentey - very freindly, we bought 6 rolls and a big loaf it cost us 369 florints about £1.50---It's still dry with tiny patches of blue sky and sun......Having fun trying to pronounce the place names---the land is very flat and open----roads are boneshakers, so many potholes I'm gald we are in the Landy!! Everywhere we look we see machines called donkeys digging for oil......3.20 leaving Hungary everyone stopped for a police check --ok--then 3.30 (the time changed to 4.30) entered Romania stopped by customs who checked our passports ect.--ok---drove straight to garage to buy vignette-in Romainian Rovineta---road tax about £3 per week....Land is very flat, there are no fences and sheep everywhere looks very bleak--more oil donkeys----then within minutes we come to a large shopping complex with a Carrefore--Bricostore--Intersport, the same as in France---stopped to get some cash, me and Beverley stay with the car....Lee says it is the largest shopping complex he has ever seen--you can buy anything and half of it is English----not been expecting that!!!A few minutes later we arrived in Arad, it is easily as busy as London with crazy drivers and trams and horns and hundreds of people-----makes my toes curl with all this traffic---Lee says "Like driving in Paris" nothing bothers him, this is really not how we imagined Romania to be!! More and more shopping complexs--see advert it says 'house and land 50,000 euro' ooh no thanks---it's absolute chaos---i think there must be loads of money around-------pouring with rain again!!! The signs have a lot of French and Italian....6.15pm raining, road still very busy but getting a bit better......spotted camp site.......

Tuesday 13th April

Tuesday 13th April ....Slept well..still raining--on road for 10am---spoke to local who stopped by ..very interested in what we are doing.. he told us there is no freedom in Hungary any more--Lee went to Tesco and bought a phone charger--phoned visa--card back on,---- for 1195 florint (£6.50).......11am off to Slovak rep. saw another Tesco, stopped to spend the rest of Hungarian cash.........12.45 still raining......2pm rain seeems to be clearing , we stopped 41 km from Gyor crossed into Slovakia at 3pm, by 3.45pm we are thinking should of gone to Romania, don't like it , it,s still raining.. so we drove onto Sturovo where we stopped at a pizza bar---able to connect to internet, sent e-mails ---afterwards found a lovely layby------listened to Mr. Potter, glass of wine, then bed

Monday 12th April

Monday 12th April....Slovenia 8am raining,stopped just long enough to do tents==on road for 9,30. straight to ALDI (they are everywhere) and also SPAR, bought wine beer bread fruit--raining again, really miserable today ...11.35 popped into Austria again..11.41 back in Slavenia --11.55 at Munska Sobota--diversion and low bridge 2,5metres, stopped drove around town, no way our,,, back to bridge--height strips hanging down and we touched them, we just got under the bridge--then Sandy satnav got lost and took us to a factory carpark and told us to drive on!! Passed through town called Fokovci-- 1pm crossed border into Hungary, no one at border! Stopped to buy Beverley a new coat but the card will not work, drove to Keszthely and changed a bit of cash --Euro for Florint--looking for phone box to phone bank--it won't stop raining - yuk . Notice they have a Tesco and McD......Phone box will not take money-still raining, everywhere is closed====this is the lowest part of our trip so far! also we got internet conection for a few minutes and got an e-mail from A&A to say they won't get to Arad for another week. Also poured a can of beer all over myself just to add to it!!! Lee cooked tea while Beverley read to me and did a bit of writing--now sitting in Landy and just talking--it's good,...Beverley says she is going to have a series Landrover and a fire truck..-----Lake is completely obscured by closed businesses and fences.

Sunday 11th April

Sunday 11th April-----strong winds all night, Beverley slept through it all! Battered us all night long, but we still didn't fall into the sea!!! 1 nil to us!----sunny and warm, but so windy--decided will probably end up sitting in car, so will move---midday on the road again--heading for Lake Balaton Hungary...1pm have just driven up the steepest hill ever to top of mountain to be met by a snow blizzard...They are building the road as we drive--sheer drops and very bumpy. Wasn't expecting to see these conditions until we reached the eastern block! Passed through a bridge dated 1945 with a hammer and sickle on--very spooky! It's freezing cold and snowing--now hailing! Yuk! It was my stupid idea to leave the sunny seaside! -- Very heavy snow storm===2.10 drove out of the storm heading towards Slovenia...suns out getting warmer--stopped at border, Lee severely questioned on why do we carry diesel, why no cigarettes, what are those things on the roof etcetera. Anyway here we are back in the land of the portaloo, as Lee calls it, heading for Ljubljana on 106 keeping a close eye on Sandy satnav, because we don't want to go back to Croatia again because of border control..Satnav behaving 4.45 at Lukovica north of Ljubljana. Lee spota sign on wall 'Walkers exhausts' they are made in Tyseley in Birmingham.---Lots of houses--brightly painted lime green, pink and orange sometimes even on the same house, as if coloured paint has just arrived....Found layby in woods, home for the night,--cooked mash potato, noodles and sweetcorn--watched film-The Time Machine--glass of wine--bed.......

Saturday 10th April

Driving back to Crikvenica,to Camp Selce, we see the sea, it is crystal clear. We are speaking a mix of English-French-German and Italian, it works. Lots of boats, seems to be money here, cocktail bars! 20 degrees, asked again in tourist office - found it. It is magnificent, we are pitched 20 feet from the Adriatic , I can hear the waves lapping as I write this, sitting at our table under a fig tree. It's now 7.25 in the morning and its warm enough for shorts...Yesterday we had a walk along the front, bought a couple of delicious pizzas and a couple of beers--cost about £16----The sea is very cold but it didn't stop Beverley jumping in followed closely by Lee, I took the photos--after that we all went and had a hot shower---oooh luxury! Also did the washing, no machine but doesn't matter we have hot water!!!

Saturday 10th April----Slept well-up at 7.15--tea and bacon sandwich-9am Beverley gets up--tidying up tent, spitting with rain so we put up the awning, it's the first time we've seen it--brilliant can fit table and chairs easily underneath--11am raining--11.30 still raining but passing, still warm. Lee asked "Do you think we may have found a country without McD?". Beverley reading to me from the book of english magic....Very sunny and warm, go for walk to find shop, brought fruit, bread, beer and wine---had another pizza and beer, took a siesta--another walk, beautiful sunset. Met a couple from Malaysia who gave us their phone number and address and asked us to call in as we pass through-----getting windy now, passing Croation couple seem to be trying to tell us that we are going to fall into the sea? Must be a big storm coming.

Friday 9th April

Friday 9th April..........Found layby---cars passing very very fast---slept well----on road for 9am ---9.05 back in Slavenia again, bins and toilets everywhere!!!!---------9.45 Croatia!! It crept up on us, so used to crossing yellow boundary lines on our map------border control and passports---o.k straight through----they are literally building the road we are driving on.....Warm and sunny 17 degrees----have had breakfast---now want shop for fresh bread----do they have LIDL in Croatia?----Pizza restaurant every 200 yards!! Heading for main coast road---stopped to buy bread, they wanted KUNA they got euros! we all shrugged our shoulders--smiled and agreed that 20 Kuna was the correct change?? Rijeka, huge port town, it's getting hot, down to T.shirts---yes LIDL and all the rest---just another city!! the BBC advertising Walking with dinosaurs----signs for euros everywhere must be split currency at the moment.....went to tourist information they sent us to a camp but they are closed until mid-June, but told us of another........so far we have driven 1191miles.

Thursday 8th April

Thursday 8th April........Slept well, warm and cosy, must have been very cold in night--condensation in tent and can see our breath...Toast and tea, and on the road for 9.30--warm and 15degrees, the scenery is epic, unbelievable!!!! Todays agenda is breakfast in Austria--------lunch in Slavenia and tea in Croatia........Sandy the satnav has surprised me and taken us the other side of the mountain to what I thought was the route!! so now it's 11's in Italy....Got out and made a big snow ball, then walked down to river. Then stopped at 1000metres at a fantastic lake with fresh salmon and wild trout......Note to Top Gear---try and take the Predil pass and take fishing gear.......................12 o'clock Slavenia...we are high up 1186metres .....now going down slowly, stopped for cup of tea in layby with portable toilet...3 vans turn up full of portable toilets and then a lorry with gravel for layby, there are more people in this layby than we have seen together for ages!!... As we drive you see a portable toilet every couple of miles, listening to radio Slavenia---lot of english music--language sounds latin based, we stand a chance! 2.10 Italy again, warm, sunny 24 degrees. Down to Trieste--saw the sea----3.40 Slavenia again-----4pm back in Italy--getting annoyed with satnav now.....looking for somewhere to stop---Croatia will have to wait till tomorrow.

Wednesday 7th April

Wednesday 7th April.........1 week in........8.30 slept well, on the road for 9.45. Can see mountains with snow! Beverley and Lee very excited and want to get to snow, I think I do as well, busily thinking where the exra clothes are! 10.30 breakfast on the move, put sunglasses on and the mountains become clear against the sky---beautiful!!!!Austrian Alps WOW! WOW! WOW!!! heading to Austria for lunch...Ate at restuarant, 2.05 mountains getting closer, loads of snow....3.30 arriving at Austria/Slovenian border at Villach---satnav and road signs say we have to go on a train--the words "how hard can it be" spring to mind again, lets go and see!!!!.....Ski lifts and people carrying skis everywhere, climbing up 970metres--my ears have gone-----first patch of snow on road!...1035m---1082m......4.45pm.......Yes have been on train through tunnel now 75k to Villach, still warm and sunny 16degrees. 1195metres........starting to go down now...753m brakes are cooking and steaming!! stop for 10 minutes, Police- polizei arrive to see if we are ok, no problem....got to bottom of hill still cooking--saw sign for campsite, thought might be a good idea to stop for a bit, but place is deserted, drove on.....found layby surrounded by mountains covered in snow.......cooked mashed potato etc....in car for glass of wine and Harry Potter-----bed.

Tuesday 6th April

Tuesday 6th April......We had all slept very well, although Beverley was not happy at having to sleep in a completely PINK bedroom (Jasmines'). Kirston let me use the washing machine, then we put it all outside in the warm sun to dry 19 degrees....Lee changed front brake discs and pads because he is not happy---something wrong..then had shower. Beverley on computer, not a lot to say. we all went out to lunch and had pizza (again) but have enough left for tea, got some bread and fresh fruit at Aldi.....Then went to see Harley Davidson man Tosh and his wife (Lee met them last year) the bikes he is building are unbelievable;, then we went and played with their five lovely husky dogs (no I did not cry, even though one did have two blue eyes), we bought 2 T.shirts, one each for Lee and Beverley. Tosh said he would try and send us the address of his aunt in Sydney and insisted we visit her.......Arrived back at Holly and Kirstons about 2.30--told them we were off to Innsbruck, but Kirston said that it was snowing there and it is the highest mountain in Germany and all the winter sports are on---whoops----ok so now we are off to Salzburg...........7.30 making sandwich , looked up, here we are in Munich!! Looking for somewhere to stop--too built up! 8pm found good layby, heated up pizza and make a cup of tea......Couple of chapters of audio Harry Potter, glass of wine====bed.

Monday 5th April

Monday 5th April.....Sorted out Landy and trailer, got cooker set up in the back of Landy, it didn't work well outside in the wind, much easier to make tea now!......11am on the road to Munich, through the woods and then very very narrow streets.....satnav said "board ferry" what? Beverley says "satnav needs to go into mental hospital especially for insane satnavs"....The ferry is there to cross the river, satnav seems to think we are driving a mini, me and B. say "NO WAY" but Lee says "Why not? How hard can it be?" We're aboard----cost 7.50 and we crossed the Rhein from Boppard to Kestert...This is a beautiful valley stepped with vines; at a place called Lorch we see sign...The Reisling Route. There is so much traffic on the smaller roads, we think because of bank holiday, have decided to go back on the motorway for a while and get moving----Mainz--Karlruke--past Stuttgart to Ulm or just underneath Ulm at a place called Laupheim, the home of Holly, Kirston, Tim and Yasmin, (whom we met on holday in Austria last year) should arrive about 6.30.-----Arrived--parked on drive-no-body home, started chopping onions and garlic for sauce and cooking pasta....7.30 Holly and Kirston drove in behind trailer, (without the children, they had stayed at their grandparents), good surprise for them.They insisted that we sleep in their house---Holly kept saying "our castle is your castle"...After many beers off to bed.

Sunday 4th April

Easter Sunday 4th April---Woke up at 9, tea,coffee off for 10.---Set satnav --Off road to Frankfurt...11.30 driving back streets along the side of canal--interesting and funny, what a way to travel!!!9degrees and rainy--cosy in Landy---over 2 huge canals---12.10 left Belguim cutting across N.Lands to Germany---12.30 Aachan-Germany----How many families have travelled across the world using off road satnav? So far have been Hoek of Holland to Rotterdam to Dordrecht and Antwerp and back again, then to Breda, Maastricht and Aachen, now on the way to Koblenz.

Stopped at McD for coffee + wifi, but not free 8euro per half hour, so just had coffee. .Next to search for pizza, now 4pm.......Listened to 1st chapter of Harry Potter--really great idea!!! Thanks Paul.........Parked by river at a place called Winningham, by Mosel and walked to Pizza restaurant, great!.....Next the satnav got us stuck in the middle of a market, Lee reversed out to a round of applause, there are times when I'm glad I can't see out the back window!!----7pm, found a lovely spot in the woods, just about to set up tents we noticed a sign warning of dangerous large ants, I don't read German, but I can understand !!!!!! signs afer a picture...Found a proper parking pitch nest to a war graveyard, put up both tents......slept well.

Saturday 3rd April

2o'clock McD for wifi----YES Peiter has replied going to meet up tonight with Kees-Jacobyn-Peiter-Yana and Stein..Marie-Anne and Frank to be there also.....also e-mail from Holly (rude funny easter card) replied to say we will visit in next few days--it's all or no-one!!-----Waited outside port for AA, they followed us to McD for coffee and parking.

Sat 3rd April---Last night we all drove down to Peiters, B. very happy to see P again. they all watched the Lion King 3 together. Jac prepared a lovely fish meal for us all---much champagne and wine was consumed till 3am, many many good stories, great to catch up.--They have a beautiful house with goats, chickens rabbits and cats, we slept upstairs, slept well.---Had breakfast together and left about 12.30 heading for Germany.----AA off to Amsterdam, we meet up again Friday 16th April 5km east of Arad in Romania.----------3pm stopped for tea--6 stopped for dinner. Lee writes...7.30pm, not sure of time, got mugged by Marie-Anne for my watch, have just eaten a meal of mashed tater, sweetcorn and spam-delicious. Sitting at side of road at place called Heure-de-Romain, OUPEYE, Belguim, spoke to neighbour in French, no problem parking here, just enjoying a glass of wine in the rain.--8.30 took a walk to village-nothing----8.45 last glass of wine-bed...

Friday 2nd April

Hurray !!
Slept in the car, it's now 6.30am, and still haven't heard from AA (they said they would phone when they started out)
Excited ! All's well !.....9.00 o'clock onto ferry, it's HUGE ! We phoned AA, they're still in St Neots ! !!
Good crossing, good food, tea, coffee etc.
Arrived at 5.00pm local time, 6.00pm in Rotterdam, loads of greenhouses and water everywhere ! Headed for McD to see if we had contacted Pieter...7.00pm local time, no reply.
Heading to Roosendaal for somewhere to stop, looks quieter on the map, we shall see !?

Friday 2nd April
Sunny day, 15 degrees, great night in tent at the truckers yard (cost us 4 Euro's for 2 beers to stop there) Coffee and toilets good.
10.00am, called AA, they are now on the ferry and want to go to Amsterdam, should arrive about 3.30pm.
10.30am and we are in Belgium heading for Antwerp.
11.30am must be a jewish area, different clothes and BIG HATS ! Great to see, and very different.
Cycle lanes everywhere and they take right of way/ OUr first bad tarmac roads, paid to go through 2 big tunnels.
12.10pm - back in Netherlands, got off the main roads, through villages with thatches cottages and windmills ! (Sat-Nav now on OFF ROAD setting) now we can see people ad countryside, this is MUCH more fun ! very, very flat with THOUSANDS of wind turbines.

Heading slowly back to Rotterdam to meet up with AA - lovely weather !
2.00pm, in center, people on motorbikes with no helmets... VERY BUSY !