Day 2-5

Day 2, 7th December 2009:

Teams spend the morning checking and sorting – Richard and Jerome check the SWR ratings on the three CB radios we have for A1, A3 and A10. If we don't check the SWR the sets can get burned out. People are wandering around introducing if they don't know each other, sharing bread or sweeties. We have two more vehicles added to our group these are the Belgian contingent – so now we are 10. Team Leaders meeting sketches out where we are headed to. Mujj and I hold a team meeting to describe route to our destination, thank everyone for helping last night and outline how we want our group in convoy to work. Next stop
is in Germany, we will be going through Luxembourg.














The day's driving is going well when we stop at a service station just inside Luxembourg. Just about to depart when I notice there are nuts missing from the rear wheel we changed last night. This is not good. There are three remaining out of five nuts. I decide to send convoy on with Muj as lead vehicle, Muaz, Abdullah, Mujahid as deputies. Before leaving Richard and Jerome tighten the nuts up. I ring Sid convoy tyre man for advice who is travelling behind convoy to provide support. Unfortunately it turns out Sid and his vehicle have taken a different route and won't be passing us. Group F have been stopped at the services and provide advice. The question is whether or not to drive the vehicle as it is to Luxembourg or whether or not a tow is required. Group F leave us with their deputy Abid and another member Mustapha to stay with us. We get a call from Peter Finch who is a contemporary of another convoy member due to join us in Istanbul – he lives in Luxembourg and offers assistance. Unfortunately he does not know any mechanics or garages. In the services a helpful worker gets out the yellow pages and we look for garage numbers. It appears that there are no small independent garages in Luxembourg whatsoever. We decide to take up the offer of a bed for the night and opportunity to search for a mechanic in the morning – this involves carefully following Peter back to his home. He tells us Luxembourg is a wealthy country with green policies. We stay up around his kitchen table and Leah talks at some length about why she thinks a two state solution in Palestine would not be workable – partly due to the separation of West Bank and Gaza and the fracturing of the West Bank as it is now.




















Day 3 & Day 4, 8th and 9th December 2009

Web searches for local garages prove fruitless. Corporate service is what's available in Luxembourg.










Peter writes a message on the van for Gaza.





We head for Mercedes first thing and get directed to the commercial vehicles workshop. This is reassuring as there are many buses and trucks around the yard. We speak to a service manager and show him the van wheel. As we know this will involve removing the wheel and checking for damage. We have to wait for a slot therefore this is going to be a day of waiting around. Mercedes is comfortable with coffee vouchers, soft seats etc. When the work has been done it is gone 4.30pm, they have found the wheel is knackered, the brake pads were thin and some parts relating to the wheels and brakes need replacing – all in all the price is over 1000 euro. I speak to the manager and he gives us a discount on the labour and one of the parts so it comes down to under 1000. An expensive puncture. However I am loaded with around £25,000 aid so this is a fraction – plus the vehicle wheels are now in shape for a long journey and Gaza will get a van that will be reliable.

So we have to catch up with the convoy now and they are a day and a half ahead. Abid and I have looked at the route and it looks like it is going to be better for us to head south through Germany, past Basel into Switzerland, into Italy and then re-contact the main convoy there. So a major overnight and day drive ahead. Its raining and windy but we make good progress on the autobahn until just before Basel when we hit a 13 km tailback. So a few hours sitting chatting with Leah and Cedric. Leah has a 25 year old daughter who is an actor and singer. Leah sings herself and Cedric has a good voice so they sing some songs e.g. Bandiera Rossa. Both Leah and Cedric are much more knowledgeable then me about Israel Palestinian history so it is fascinating to listen to them and ask questions.
















We get into Switzerland at 3ish am and continue driving until 4. We stop at a service station and agree to have a power nap for an hour or two before heading on to Luzern. Switzerland is expensive e.g. .50 cent to use the loos. Abid's vehicle is having a power problem and loses power sometimes. We need to get this checked out at VW.




















6am we head down into Luzern to look for VW. We have breakfast of instant noodles in the car park. The workshop say it will take until 4pm to get the analysis of what the problem is – from what they can see it would not kill the engine to carry on. Abid decides we should make up the time instead of wait. So off we go. Beautiful scenery through Switzerland and Italy.
























We stop inside Italy around 2pm for a sit down and lunch. Trying to find a place involves walking around for half an hour – which is good after a long drive.

Heading on we find out the convoy is at Modena at a service station. While chatting to Cedric about his Palestinian exchange project in Switzerland we manage to miss the turning but its no drama, just adds another half an hour onto the journey. Joyous welcome when we catch up with everyone at Modena Auto Grill!. This is a funny place where they force you to walk through babylon of piled up products before you can exit the building on a one way system. However there are showers which is welcome after 24 hours on the road.

Day 5, 10th December 2009

Not a long journey from Modena to Ancona. However another drama is upon us after the student ambulance has lost their keys. Richard V entertains the troops and passing small children by swallowing a long balloon.




















We get Alpha Team parked up at Ancona – this site is a large patch of concrete with a couple of scrubby patches of grass and no facilities. Anyway the priority is trying to find out if there's anything we can do about the missing key. Mercedes has an office in Ancona – Cedric and I go there and speak to them. Seven days to get a replacement, 200 euros. Oh dear. Decide to decide in the morning whether or not to buy the key.

Muzzakir and his lads have stayed with Ryan, Nidal and Mesrob as per deputy duties. They have been through the bins twice, asked the service station staff three times. Muj is knackered as he was up late mediating between some folks last night. One of his boys is also unwell so I say come back, leave the students at Modena (only 30km away).

Back at the site there's a bonfire going, weather is cold and we need to borrow blankets to supplement the sleeping bag and thermals.