This morning we woke to a heavy frost and snow all around the car. Luckily it was the start of a transport day during which we were only required to drive from the Abant Lake Hotel to our next overnight stop just North West of Istanbul.
We had set the alarm for 6.00am to ensure that we'd miss the worst of the legendary Istanbul traffic ... but I was awoken at 5.30am by some P2P competitors who were already pulling out of the car. Now that is dedication.
The journey to Istanbul was uneventful and I drove deliberately slowly (100kph) giving Fugly a day off as well. The snow turned to rain once we were off the mountain and, as usual, the water poured through the dashboard and soaked my feet, but c'est la vie! As we moved west, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine. As a result, the temperature rose to 19C ... not bad for a day that started off in snow.
Once we realised that we were driving onto an enormous suspension bridge, we knew that we were crossing the famous Bosphorous. So after several weeks, we had finally left Asia behind ... and we had arrived back in Europe .... fantastic!
Once we realised that we were driving onto an enormous suspension bridge, we knew that we were crossing the famous Bosphorous. So after several weeks, we had finally left Asia behind ... and we had arrived back in Europe .... fantastic!
Our hotel room has a magnificent view the of the Eastern Mediterranean. Not that we've had time to enjoy it because, once checked in, we started the routine of work on Fugly. This included removing the kilos of mud that had accumulated over from the previous days' timed stages.
In total we spent 5 hours working on the car, whilst other competitors went sight seeing. Perhaps some of this obsessiveness has contributed to us moving up another slot on the leaderboard ... we're now 11th overall and 6th in class. I am still chasing a trophy but time is running out. I spend more and more time thinking about how those 2 coils could have failed us on the 2nd stage on day one!!!!!!! Oh well, I suppose that's motorsport.
Tomorrow we head into Greece and there are 3 more timed stages, so I hope that the time spent on Fugly today will pay dividents yet again.
There is a cocktail party tonight courtesy of the local car club, so Chin, Chin .... update tomorrow.
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PS from Peter: Istanbul is one of my favourite cities, so I'm very envious. Shame they didn't get to see the sights, but then that's why they're competing in the P2P and I'm at home in my armchair. Maybe they'll be able to stock up at the Spice Market...
... the spices are very practical ... they could even be used for sealing that leaking windscreen.
As you all know, Istanbul used to be known as Constantinople ... as explained in the short historical clip below:
Absolutely barking -- just caught up on the last few days -- Only a 90 foot drop for your friends -- glad it wasn't a long way down !!!!.
ReplyDeleteGood to see that the beard is going grey.
Istanbul -- just around the corner now ......