Day Three

December 31, 2005

I’m going to keep today’s report fairly brief, since I’m pretty short on time this evening. We just arrived here on the southern coast of Spain, where all of the participants are meeting up before we head off to Africa tomorrow.

And the only word that came out of my mouth when we pulled up to the hotel was ‘WOW!’. A truly extreme group of vehicles was gathered together here – all poised for a crazy trek through extreme desert terrain. So we added the mighty Sand Flea to this collection of about 20 cars (and a few trucks) worth a total of approximately $3000 and walked into for the pre-race briefing.

Before I close up here and head out to the local pub to celebrate the New Year, I do have one highlight that I have to share with everyone. The key safety issue in Africa is traffic accidents, i.e. people drive like lunatics with little regard for safety or the rules of the road (if there even are any). And one African driving custom struck me as particularly ‘unique’… Evidently most drivers in that part of the world drive with their lights off at night to enhance night vision (makes total sense, right?). And they only turn on their lights when they see you! I’m not even going to say any more on that topic – I’m sure you’re all just shaking your heads and laughing as you read this.

So, I’m off now. Enjoy the pictures and I’ll talk to you in 2006!