After four consecutive days of riding across Europe, and covering almost 2000 km in the process, I decide to take it easy today. I need to catchup on some emails etc, and decide to spend the day with Dave and Naomi.
They are in the throws of getting back into their "Real Lives", something I am sure I will have to deal with upon my return to South Africa. Not something I am looking forward to!! :-)
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Day 142, 2011/09/20
Today is officially my last day on the bike. I hope to be in London by this evening, and since I am shipping my bike back from there, this should be my last day in the saddle. Needless to say, I am up early, still need to get to Calais in France, and then get onto a ferry to Dover. The 200km to Calais are relatively uneventful, and I manage to find the ferry port easily. The ferry ticket turns out to be a huge ripoff!!! On the ferry company's website, one is able to purchase a ferry ticket for approximately 15 Pounds, which I did not since, I did not know when, and what time I was arriving in Calais. However, if you purchase the ticket on the day, at the port, it is 65 Euros!!! Yes, no one told me that. Nothing really one can do about that really. If you decide to wait a day and travel the next, you will have to book yourself into a hotel/hostel for the evening which, would most probably cost you the same. Anyway, lesson learnt, I purchase my ticket and I manage to catch the noon ferry to Dover.
The ferry is very impressive. It has lovely sitting area, with bars and restaurants and even it's own Duty Free shopping area. So far removed from the horrendous ferry from Wadi Halfa to Aswan, in Northern Sudan.
The 90 min crossing appears to pass quickly, and before I know it, I am finally riding on the correct side of the road again. Yeah, I have been on the right hand side of the road since I hit Ethiopia. I must admit, I have gotten use to it, and the first couple of traffic circles do require more than the normal levels of concentration.
Dover is about 100 odd km South East from London, so it does not take me long to get to the outskirts of London and the M25. I must admit, it is a slightly surreal feeling to find myself on my motorcycle, on the M25 in London. Who would ever have thought that, I after 142 of traveling, would be riding my bike into London. I must admit, I never thought I would have gotten this far!!
As irony would have, it was not all to be and approximately 10 km from the center of London, my motorcycle eventually decided to give up, and I broke down on the outskirts of London, in a place called Barking. The sprocket, that I had managed to fix in Northern Kenya, had finally decided enough was enough, and the entire shaft broke. This unfortunately was pretty terminal! Short of splitting the motor, and having the shaft replaced, there was no way I would be able to get going.
Look, I guess I could not have timed it any better. If the bike had broken down a couple of hours earlier, I would have been stuck in France!! And that would have made getting the bike to the shipping agents a nightmare. Well I guess I must have a guardian angel looking after me!! ;-)
After a number of phone calls and loads of help from Naomi, I eventually manage to contact the shipping agents who, say they are able to assist me in collecting the bike. Of course, this does not come cheap, and the towing of a motorcycle across London only set me back 180 Pounds!! Amazing, it costs 950 pounds to ship a bike from London to Durban, and from one side of London to the other, approximately 40 km costs me 180 Pounds! Amazing. None the less, I guess it could have been a lot worse, I could be stuck in the middle of nowhere, and then that would have been a nightmare.
After a two hour wait, James Cargo arrive to collect my bike. It is slightly sad to know that this if officially the end of my trip, and the next time I will see my motorcycle it will be back in South Africa. But I guess all good things must come to an end!!
After loading the bike, I get a lift to the closet tube station and make my way to
East Finchley, where Naomi pics me up.
All in all, it has been a reasonably good day, and been able to finally meet up again with Dave and Naomi, after seeing them last in Luxor in Egypt is lovely!
The ferry is very impressive. It has lovely sitting area, with bars and restaurants and even it's own Duty Free shopping area. So far removed from the horrendous ferry from Wadi Halfa to Aswan, in Northern Sudan.
The 90 min crossing appears to pass quickly, and before I know it, I am finally riding on the correct side of the road again. Yeah, I have been on the right hand side of the road since I hit Ethiopia. I must admit, I have gotten use to it, and the first couple of traffic circles do require more than the normal levels of concentration.
Dover is about 100 odd km South East from London, so it does not take me long to get to the outskirts of London and the M25. I must admit, it is a slightly surreal feeling to find myself on my motorcycle, on the M25 in London. Who would ever have thought that, I after 142 of traveling, would be riding my bike into London. I must admit, I never thought I would have gotten this far!!
As irony would have, it was not all to be and approximately 10 km from the center of London, my motorcycle eventually decided to give up, and I broke down on the outskirts of London, in a place called Barking. The sprocket, that I had managed to fix in Northern Kenya, had finally decided enough was enough, and the entire shaft broke. This unfortunately was pretty terminal! Short of splitting the motor, and having the shaft replaced, there was no way I would be able to get going.
Look, I guess I could not have timed it any better. If the bike had broken down a couple of hours earlier, I would have been stuck in France!! And that would have made getting the bike to the shipping agents a nightmare. Well I guess I must have a guardian angel looking after me!! ;-)
After a number of phone calls and loads of help from Naomi, I eventually manage to contact the shipping agents who, say they are able to assist me in collecting the bike. Of course, this does not come cheap, and the towing of a motorcycle across London only set me back 180 Pounds!! Amazing, it costs 950 pounds to ship a bike from London to Durban, and from one side of London to the other, approximately 40 km costs me 180 Pounds! Amazing. None the less, I guess it could have been a lot worse, I could be stuck in the middle of nowhere, and then that would have been a nightmare.
After a two hour wait, James Cargo arrive to collect my bike. It is slightly sad to know that this if officially the end of my trip, and the next time I will see my motorcycle it will be back in South Africa. But I guess all good things must come to an end!!
After loading the bike, I get a lift to the closet tube station and make my way to
East Finchley, where Naomi pics me up.
All in all, it has been a reasonably good day, and been able to finally meet up again with Dave and Naomi, after seeing them last in Luxor in Egypt is lovely!
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| Day 142, 2011/09/20 |
Day 141, 2011/09/19
It was not a particularly pleasant evening's sleep. I was in a hostel with four other guys. That is not necessarily a problem however, for the guy who was sleeping closets to me. He woke me on several occasions by hitting me and speaking in French. Eventually, after the umpteenth time that he had woken me, I asked in English what the problem was. He said I was keeping him awake with my snoring! I was unaware of the fact that I was such a loud snorer!! I really do not know why people choose to stay in hostels, and share rooms with people when, they are such lite sleepers. But hey, what do I know!!
Anyway, I am up early because I have a fairly long days riding. I need to get to Brussels in Belgium today. The road will take me via Luxembourg to Brussels.
The weather at least is far more pleasant today, it may be cold but at least there is no rain. The riding is very pleasant and I manage to arrive in the early afternoon. After finding my hostel, which happens to be right next to Grand Place, I make way do find a good local meal. The local meal, is a lovely big bowl of mussels with chips and mayo!! WOW!!! Well worth riding all this distance, just to have that. And, just to make sure it all gets washed down well, I have couple of Belgium fruit beers.
Anyway, I am up early because I have a fairly long days riding. I need to get to Brussels in Belgium today. The road will take me via Luxembourg to Brussels.
The weather at least is far more pleasant today, it may be cold but at least there is no rain. The riding is very pleasant and I manage to arrive in the early afternoon. After finding my hostel, which happens to be right next to Grand Place, I make way do find a good local meal. The local meal, is a lovely big bowl of mussels with chips and mayo!! WOW!!! Well worth riding all this distance, just to have that. And, just to make sure it all gets washed down well, I have couple of Belgium fruit beers.
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| Day 141, 2011/09/19 |
Day 140, 2011/09/18
I spent the evening at a basic but acceptable hostel about 15 km from the center of Piacensa. At the hostel were a number of asylum seekers from Ghana. They have been at the hostel now for almost 4 months. That were migrant labourers who lived and worked in Libya. When war broke out, they managed to escape on a boat to the island of Lampedusa. They are now in the process of applying for permanent residence in Italy.
Apparently a very lengthy process. Shame not a good place to find one's self. Anyway, I have a long days riding ahead of me. I have to get to Strasbourg in France. My route will take to via the outskirts of Milan. To add salt to the wound, I have been told that the weather is to turn nasty today, with loads of cold, wet weather expected. Not fun on a motorcycle. I guess, after all that hot weather I have had in Sudan, this will make a pleasant change.
As it turns out, the weather forecase is spot on and the heavens opened up as I approached the outskirts of Milan. All I can say is, thank god it is Sunday, and there is almost no traffic to contend with. Trying to endure a cloud burst is difficult enough!!
At least the rain petered out and I only had to endure very cold weather. The weather in Switzerland was exceptionally cold, with temperature below 10 degrees.
The other downside of Switzerland was the sheer cost. Two sandwiches and an awful coffee, only set me back R200!!!! Thank god I do not plan to remain in Europe for too long, this is most certainly not contributing to keeping the budget in check!!!
I manage to arrive in Strasbourg towards the late afternoon after traveling via Lugano and Basel.
After settling into my hostel for the evening, I hit the sights and sounds of Strasbourg. For those who do not know, Strasbourg is the official seat for the European Parliament. In addition, they have one of the most amazing cathedrals that I have ever seen. Well worth a visit.
Apparently a very lengthy process. Shame not a good place to find one's self. Anyway, I have a long days riding ahead of me. I have to get to Strasbourg in France. My route will take to via the outskirts of Milan. To add salt to the wound, I have been told that the weather is to turn nasty today, with loads of cold, wet weather expected. Not fun on a motorcycle. I guess, after all that hot weather I have had in Sudan, this will make a pleasant change.
As it turns out, the weather forecase is spot on and the heavens opened up as I approached the outskirts of Milan. All I can say is, thank god it is Sunday, and there is almost no traffic to contend with. Trying to endure a cloud burst is difficult enough!!
At least the rain petered out and I only had to endure very cold weather. The weather in Switzerland was exceptionally cold, with temperature below 10 degrees.
The other downside of Switzerland was the sheer cost. Two sandwiches and an awful coffee, only set me back R200!!!! Thank god I do not plan to remain in Europe for too long, this is most certainly not contributing to keeping the budget in check!!!
I manage to arrive in Strasbourg towards the late afternoon after traveling via Lugano and Basel.
After settling into my hostel for the evening, I hit the sights and sounds of Strasbourg. For those who do not know, Strasbourg is the official seat for the European Parliament. In addition, they have one of the most amazing cathedrals that I have ever seen. Well worth a visit.
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| Day 140, 2011/09/18 |
Day 139, 2011/09/17
I have made many inquiries into the costs of shipping my bike back to South Africa. Unfortunately, my bike now has sentimental value, and even thou it may have almost no monetary, I have decided to ship it back to South Africa. I have done research into the costs of shipping it back and discovered that, the cheapest option is a company specializing in motorcycle transport called James Cargo. The only thing is that, they are based in London. Not necessarily a problem I guess, I have crossed Africa, Europe in theory should be a lot easier. Also, the difference in cost between shipping it from Genoa, in Italy or, shipping it from London in the UK would most probably be equivalent to my travel costs to London.
So in the end, the decision has become a no brainer and, I have decided to travel to London and have my bike shipped back from there.
That would add addition approximately 1500 km to my journey. Why the hell not!
It is with that decision made that I decide to make my way across Europe to London.
Today would require a 500 km ride via Ancona, Bologna all the way to Piacensa.
So in the end, the decision has become a no brainer and, I have decided to travel to London and have my bike shipped back from there.
That would add addition approximately 1500 km to my journey. Why the hell not!
It is with that decision made that I decide to make my way across Europe to London.
Today would require a 500 km ride via Ancona, Bologna all the way to Piacensa.
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| Day 139, 2011/09/17 |
Day 138, 2011/09/16
After not been able to hook up with my uncle Giulio on Tuesday, he has invited me to lunch. He has also invited my aunt and uncle, Lucia and Luciano.
We had a lovely lunch of freshly fried fish.
We had a lovely lunch of freshly fried fish.
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| Day 138, 2011/09/16 |
Day 137, 2011/09/15
Another day of visiting family. This time I am off to Monte Urano, to visit my mom's sister Maria. I am lucky to meet up with my cousin Giovanni, his wife and his son Adriano.
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| Day 137, 2011/09/15 |
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