24 Jul Rally launch report
Mongol Rally first days July 13th-16th
(Typed on a phone, so please forgive errors)
The first week of the rally passed like a tornado. Long days of driving, a few memorable nights of parties, and the feeling of rushing to the next destination. Plus, without Internet access, we are all compelled to spend time doing whatever we used to do before smart phones. Like talking, looking at the scenery, and reading when the ride is not too bumpy.
We spent our last night on the coast at Folkestone on Friday before the rally, where some of our teammates met for the first time. enjoyed storytelling with neighboring Finnish and Norwegian ralliers, plus the beloved Canadians, and getting to know Johnny, Lina, and Jan a bit.
That day we’d had the good fortune to make a trip to Dover Castle on the local bus with teammate Chris and our adorable new rally friend, Amber, of the Canadian team Bros and Khans. When we went to catch the local bus, the driver offered Don, Amber, and me a family ticket at a discount. Too good not to pass up, plus we spent the day telling her that we expected her grades to be better and on and on in that vein.
The sunny day was perfect for touring the castle, and our favorite part was the underground hospital tour, complete with sound effects and a compelling storyline about a wounded pilot.
Saturday we were up early, ready to pack up to go to Bodiam Castle and the first official rally party. The bus arrived at noon, perfectly on time, and my first meeting with Rob Mills was him saying “of all the teams to be here at the time given, you are definitely the one I expected to be most on time.”
The big field where the rally launched rapidly filled with rally cars,
boisterous teams of every description, and brilliant sunlight. We parked amidst a sea of very tiny vehicles and surely stood out for that and our already growing team pouring out of the bus.
We met and mingled with the other teams, plus the Adventurist staff folks, some of whom Don had met back in Bristol. Many folks came by to see the bus as they’d only seen them on television. These were the first of what would be continuous bus tours we’d be giving for a few days.
Much to our delight, our first introduction to Dave, Amy, and Caroline was as jovial as we’d hoped and an immediate camaraderie began to develop. Being the last of our first leg team to join us, we truly felt like we were a real team at last. Plus our honorary Dixie Chicken, Gil Edwards, who came to cheer us on after many months of online friendship. We can certainly see where Dave gets his outstanding personality!
The party was to be in the actual castle, so our team all dressed in their chicken finery, including tuxedo t-shirts and fuzzy chicken hats. It made us rather easy to spot in the crowds, to say the least. At the party authentically dressed wenches were serving mead while knights did swordplay as an orchestra played. A fortune-telling wench offered to read Dave’s testicles but he demurred, preferring instead to receive whatever information his palm might instead provide. Not that we didn’t encourage him to drop trou!
The castle party was wrapped up by dark, but the techno after party went on til very late, or should I say early, since the music finally stopped around 4am.
We had some commotion even after that, as a spirited group of ralliers decided to haul about 50 bales of hay from the party area over to parking and completely encapsulate one of the rally cars as a practical joke.
Launch day was bright and sunny, uncharacteristically hot for England. We listened to a few silly speeches, then finally were turned loose around noon. But not before the emcee, Buddy, jumped from the stage to the top of the bus without our knowledge. We became worried when everyone was looking at the top of the bus until
Cale climbed out and said “that old boy with the microphone is up there” in classic Cale fashion.
We made the Dover ferry without complication, except that our original Spot Tracker we missing between the supermarket stop and the ferry ride, unfortunately. Thanks to Jan, we were able to get priority boarding on the ferry, and we all loved the windy yet bright weather up on top. Dave inventively put our $10 canteen coupon to good use, buying a case of very cheap beer to pass around. There were many one ralliers on the ferry, and we all had a good time talking routes and plans.
We knew we’d have to make good time to arrive at the Klatovy castle in Klenova, so pushed as far as possible the first European night, heading for a campground on the Rhine River in Cologne. Getting in was a different matter. Because of the late hour, we were refused entry with lots of shouting at poor Dave and Johnny for their trouble. Walking to the nearby pub, we discovered fellow ralliers Zan,
Carmel and Luke who’d sneaked into the campground and parked their car on the street.
The pub suggested we drive a bit further down and pitch tents in a public park under the the overpass, mentioning a group of Scouts were having a bit of a party there.
Imagine being wary Americans and being presented with such a scene, 20-30 kids drinking beer and playing music, the looming overpass above, and a altogether seedy look to the whole place. But, it was midnight, we were exhausted, and no other options seemed viable. Plus Dave assured us he’d talk to the kids in our behalf.
So we did camp, and walked over to meet the teens, who were absolutely delightful and friendly. So much for our preconceived notions of the danger. When we woke in the morning, the riverfront view rivaled that of the mixes hotel, and in the end we were glad of our choice.
Our goal for Monday the 15th was to make it to the castle, but also to locate a replacement for the missing Spot. As always, Sarita was our go-to for research, finding an Internet seller in Frankfurt, Germany. He didn’t answer his phone but we decided to just go to his store. Navigating there, however, we began to realize I was a leafy suburb, with only residential streets and nice apartment buildings.
Emboldened by their experiences the night before at the campground, that irrepressible duo of Johnny and Dave went right up and began buzzing the apartment intercom. When no one answered, they moved on to yelling up at the window, which produced success in the form of a somewhat rumpled man peering out at them, the rest of us, and the improbable school bus. Once they explained our mission, he happily let us in to purchase the only Spot tracker he had in stock, in his office cupboard. Then, he helped us set up the tracker for our account, giving me a European number to call to complete the setup. Wolfgang was a super nice guy, and we were soon on the road to the Czech Republic with our new, rather expensive replacement tracker.
Hustling our way across Germany and the Czech Republic with a full crew was very festive, and we were all entertained by the crossroads of Dave, Johnny, and Cale’s accents and gift for stories. It didn’t take long for them to break into the beer, and Cale spent some time fruitlessly searching for ice, aka Lad, to add to the cooler, to no avail. Finding ice would prove to be a focal point for Cale along the way.
We somehow came in the back way to the castle, squeezing down a tiny dirt road covered over with trees. But made it we did, parking in pride of place at the front of the rally car area. Little did I know this prime location would mean I would be conducting lots more bus tours.
We hurriedly pitched our tents so we could make it to the castle at the top of the very long hill in time to get some food and see a few of the bands. We ran into our favorite Canadians as well, trading stories of sketchy campsites the night before.
The Fire Fairies put on an amazing show, with fire poi and staffs, plus complicated tandem spinning fire dances. We stuck around for the castle party to wind down before heading back to the camp area and the nearby after party. Quite a few of our company retired for the night, but I proudly represented for the 40+ crowd by staying up until 4:30am with Dave, Amy, Chris Clark of the Cillage Idiots, Hans Sprechter of Gobi or Go Home, and the memorable RAF boys in elephant onesies.
I also found myself giving lots of bus tours, much to the amusement of our rally friends. The Spaniards who came by wanted to show their thanks by giving some of the special wines made in their uncle’s village and poured from a fragile and elaborate carafe directly into your mouth, preferably while singing. I didn’t manage the singing part, but the wine was pretty good and I didn’t spill any.
At last I was able to close the bus up and head down to the techno party down the way. There our Amy represented the team well by dancing up on stage, and we consoled the elephants, one for not getting Amy support for his strip show, and the other for appearing with no shirt or shoes ad no idea even what country he was in. After a lot of people watching, we returned to camp where Dave administered a sobriety test on Amy, which she failed cheerfully. We all climbed into our tents with the dawn brightening the sky and knowing we’d have no time at all until we’d be again awake and on the road.
Next up–traveling from Czech to Romania and the parties therein.