We are in the final few weeks of preparation before we head off for Baku. Most of the van related jobs are done and we have sourced pretty much every seal available and we should be well placed to strip most things down in the event that something fails. Failure is as sure as death and taxes. It’s not if, it’s more when and how often we will break down.
We still haven’t booked a crossing yet. That we will do a few days before, when we know what the weather is doing. One of the challenges we will have early on is the paucity of the heating system. Ineffective is a good word. When coupled with doors and windows that are poorly sealed, travelling in winter temperatures requires layers of warm clothes to stave off the cold that seeps into you over time.
Jennifer passed her MOT and we now have a piece of paper to prove it. Strictly in the uk she doesn’t need one, but we have found the piece of paper is useful when stopped by local police in some or other backwater. Trying to explain she’s MOT exempt is difficult using google translate. Like taxes, death, break downs – getting stopped by police is something that will happen. Having a full set of documents makes things a lot easier.
While we don’t have a plan for the six months we know that we will have to spend at least half of the time outside of the Schengen area and that will give us the opportunity to explore places we often miss – for example we’ve been to Albania a couple of times, but only fleetingly. We’ve never been to North Macedonia or Serbia. Bosnia we’ve only crossed en-route – I really want to visit Sarajevo.
Also there will be some themes that we take with us. I know Juliet is looking forward to the wildlife. I have a goal to see how many different places I can row. It’s one of the most basic and original forms of transport and the act of rowing connects one to the landscape and people in a very intimate way.
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