The Silk Route Motorcaravan Club.
Bulletin 104 (Part 1 of 2).
June 2003.
Editor (Original edition in French) Jacques
Mahaut.
Translated by Rowena Brunning and Les Brook.
Translation Edited
by Les Brook.
Uploaded from Iceland by GSM phone so no photographs and in two
parts!
Stephen Stewart.
Journeys Being Planned.
These are only projected. They do not bind anyone.
- Africa (South): Peltier, Laurent (In Progress) - Deschateaux.
- Africa (Trans): Stewart.
- Alaska : Bisschop - Jonquoy (Summer 2003) - Kohn (Hiring) - Notteau (Via Siberia) 2005.
- Algeria : Seddom (2004).
- America (North) : Leclerc ((In Progress) - Lefevre - Markham - Chaplard - Cortade.
- America (Central) : Nawrochi.
- America (South) : Berlivet (In Progress) - Herviou - Vergalier - Jonquoy (Patagonia 2004) - Hunter (Patagonia 2005).
- Australia : Abry - Petit - Helmbacher - R. Jacquard (4x4) - Graham.
- Austria: Marcel Rezzouk.
- Cameroon : Boby.
- Canada : Demontes, Mahaut (Hiring - Summer 2004) -Beaudouin - Brisson (In Progress) Chaplart - Flechard (2004).
- Corsica : Mahaut.
- Spain : Humm.
- Europe (Central) : Lecorre - Rezzouk - Maguire - Butler - Tribelhorn.
- Finland : Lherbette.
- France : Labat (Along The River Marne, Right Bank!) - Milliard.
- Greece : Million (July) - Pillot - Kirk - Dominique Gille.
- Iceland : Meunier (Summer 2003).
- Iran : Hagnere.
- Libya : Baudry - Cadiere - Maumier (End 2003, Looking For Co-Travellers).
- Morocco : Rudolf - Athenion - Lebastard - Mongay (6 Months) - Baudry - Rozier - Serena - Mathias.
- Mauritania : Deschateaux (Via Algeria) - Desfaucheux (+ Sénégal And Mali).
- Namibia : Chaigneau/Deschateaux (In Progress, Without Motorhome).
- Mexico : Chaplart.
- Norway : Hagnere - Naizet - Oliete - Moore.
- N.Z. : Coulon (4th Quarter 2003, Looking For Co-Travellers) - Atwell (January 2004).
- Uzbekistan (Samarkand) : D'amato (2004) - Cupid.
- Poland : Gouwy (In Progress) + Croatie.
- Reunion : Mulaton.
- Romania : Cruchet - Pillot - Thimjo.
- Russia And/Or Baltic States, St Petersburg : Cadiere - D'amato (July) - Seddom (January 2004) - Lamande - Ruginis-Pannoux - Sommer (On The Trans-Siberian).
- Sicily : Fenech (In Progress) - Duguerry (15 June).
- Tunisia (South) + Algeria : D'amato.
- Turkey : Athenion - Boby - Pillot - Bonis - Rozier - Brout - Courtin - Dominique Gille.
- Silk Route : Gasull - Marham - Bogaert (2004).
- Tour Of The World : Erwin Münch (3 Years, In Progress) - Hurault (On A Tractor, 2005)
Note.
From 4 to 13 August, there will be a rendezvous at the Club's summer HQ at the Le Relais de la Bresque campsite, Sillans la Cascade, Var, France. Please let us know if you are coming and the length of your stay. Contact Mr Vezant on (France) 04 94 04 64 89. A warm welcome is assured (new management), maximum charge (to be confirmed) €20 per day for two adults with hook-up, €17 without. Directions: take the A8 (La Provencale) motorway or the RN 7; leave at the junction next to Le Val and drive to Sillans via Carces and Cotignac. The campsite is out of Sillans on the route to Aups and the Gorges du Verdon. [Or see map in printed bulletin (104) - Ed].
The life of the Club.
Only idiots don't change.
In the last Bulletin, I wrote "You mustn't expect a complete account (of the Africa trip)" but in the end, and in response to the wishes of some members who phoned, you can't escape doing it! The few accounts that follow are a synthesis (by a famous person - find out who on page 3) of Michel Barbaudy's notes, Maguy Demontes and my 'live' recollections (actually not all that live!). If you don't like it, tough!
Moreover, again by request, I've included some maps, not very legible I grant, but better than nothing...I can't manage to do 20 pages.
With the last Bulletin, for the benefit of late-payers, I had added a bill... and I included one for some who had already paid up! Sincerest apologies, but in fact some of these people have actually paid again! Sometimes it works! And that compensates for those tight folks who no longer consider their wives to be on their team. It is true that we do know wives who do not share their husband's passion for travel and in such a case it's normal for the traveller only to pay €35 [the annual Club fee for a single person]. But is it always the case, or just a matter of not considering all the circumstances, that the cheque is written for the lower sub? Anyway, I am wondering if we ought not to fix only a single subscription since, whether one person or two is involved, the costs of editing and despatch are just the same.
Those who are able to visit the interesting website of our friend Alain Guillard (campingcar.enliberte.free.fr) will find that the fees for his club (ACCL) are only €25! When I asked him 'How do you do it?', he replied that on the one hand they had underestimated the cost of membership (which means their financial management has to be very tight), but on the other, having no hard-copy bulletins, their costs are lower. It seems to me that we ought to discuss the possibility of closer relations with our friends, in a manner to be defined by agreement later.
Amongst our friends, the Syncro-Club president Jean-Luc Viandier regularly sends me their bulletin, and we also have some members in common (but not common members!). If the VW fans out there don't yet know the Syncro-Club site, here's it is - syncro.club.free.fr.
With apologies to the authors, the abundance of copy* has forced me to cut in two the account of the trip to Egypt by Armand and Christiane Pourtau, and to report in B105 the statistical report (kms, stopovers etc) from our British friends on the 2002 China trip.
* For example, the itinerary of J-M Lamande (photo on front page) for his 2003 trip to St Petersburg via the Baltic States (a trendy destination this year)... website.
AGM and the Northern Balade.
Here is the programme:
Saturday 6 September 2003: welcome/reception from 8.00 to 14.00 (see below)
10.00: guided or self-guided visit round the town - about 1.5 hours - whilst the Espace Culturel [where the annual general meeting will take place] is being prepared. Bell-tower, room which housed allied forces central command [WW1], St Pierre and Notre Dame churches. Then a meal (own choice).
14.15: AGM at the Espace Culturel
14.30: Opening of the AGM by Mr Christian Vlaeminck, Vice President of the General Council and President of the Council of the Communes of the Doullenais [the area round Doullens]. Presentation of the annual and financial reports.
18.30: free drinks [aperitifs]
19.30: shared meal in the hall of the Espace Culturel with everyone contributing to the food
Sunday 7 September 2003
9.00: Back to business
12.00: Picardy lunch, same room
14.30: Back to more business
Then the balade, from Monday 8th to Wednesday 17th.
Doullens.
You get to Doullens via the A1 motorway, exit 12 (Roye), following the sign to Amiens, then Amiens-nord, then Doullens. Or by the A16, exit 20 (Amiens-nord), then following the signs to Amiens-est, then Doullens. Or by the N1 coming from Paris or the N29 coming from the east or west.
When coming via Amiens or Corbie, take the road towards Arras. There will be a reception point at Place St Martin, to the left as you enter the town, in a motorhome or a chalet labelled Routes de la Soie. (Note: because traffic is heavy, it can be difficult or dangerous to turn left at the square. Go straight on and in 500m there is a roundabout which allows you to do a right turn safely and return). When coming from any other direction, continue in the direction of Amiens, the meeting point being on the right a little before you leave the town.
Signs will be set up to point you to the reception point and the parking places. On arrival, you are invited to visit the reception where you will be given a file, map of the town centre, giving a free visit to the town. (The centre is in the form of a circle with a diameter of 800m. All the sights can be visited on foot). The parking places, places to eat and where the AGM will be held are marked on the map. Those joining late will be able to indicate which places they wish to visit on the balade (but there is no guarantee of availability for certain sites).
Important: All the town car parks will be open when you arrive and on all other days except Sunday 7th. On that day, because of the huge annual flea-market, the town centre will be closed, no traffic will be allowed in, and there will be no parking in many places. Those parking in car parks other than those set aside for our AGM will be obliged to move on at the crack of dawn without being guaranteed a place in the parks we signpost. Anywhere else, they won't be able to move an inch for any reason whatsoever until the following night.
Registration for the AGM and the Balade.
The contribution to costs that we ask for covers the use of the kitchen by the caterer and the Picardy meal (Sunday lunch). The menu will include ficelle picarde, confit of duck with Morello cherries and vegetables, salad and regional cheeses, selection of Amiens macaroons, water, wine and coffee.
Remember to bring the tapes of your trips and tell us how long they are they can be included in the AGM programme.
Although we do not know exactly how many people will be coming, we have had to make bookings based on your membership details. You need to negotiate any changes as best you can. For other reservations, most can be made in August. Therefore please fill in and return the enclosed booking form ASAP. On receipt of the registrations for the balade (the programme was set out in Bulletin 99 in November) the booklet (itinerary and details of the areas and places to be visited) will be sent to you with a slip to fill in your choice of visits, and this will need to be returned by 10th August. We cannot guarantee it, but will try to fit into visits those members returning from long trips who haven't been able to sign up by that date. As usual, accounts will be completed and adjusted at the end of the balade according to what was involved.
Mauritanian Experience.
Thanks for your account of the trips to Senegal via Maurfitania. Having recently joined the Club, in 2001 we went down to Abidjan (where I used to work) in a converted two-berth VW Syncro. We will go back there safely with a Loge Mobile on a Toyota HZJ 79 which we have just bought from Mr Contre (and which he had just finished building for his own use. The combo has been run in by his son, hopefully avoiding the problems you had with a blockage on the diesel breather pipe.
Just as you found, the carnet de douane [vehicle 'passport' for tax purposes] was not necessary (we didn't have one). However we slept well on the Nouadhibou-Choum train after waiting only one day. It's quite true that the track is not in very good shape but it does after all carry 12m tons each year. Elsewhere in Africa, I worked in another iron mine of the same kind. The Choum-Atar link went very well as I didn't have to tow the three 2CV Citroens which we did that journey in.
Where does one complete the exit formalities to leave Morocco? Is it still in Dakhla or on the border itself?
Jacques Henry
The formalities are completed at the border, going and coming back. No more convoys, the track is now free, but poor, and not signposted.
Postcards from...
Rony and Ghislaine Loeschnigg, Kalampaka, 24 April. Three week tour of Greece with our small van. Not a single French motorhome, only Germans and Italians, one of whom went to China in 2000.
Marie-Jo and Remy Chaigneau, Madelaine and Eugene Deschateaux, Namibia, 1st April 2003. A thought for Club members from the Namibian desert: the Etosha park and its huge animal reserve has got to be seen.
Paul and Jeanne Gouwy, Kielce, 11th May. Surprising Poland. Another Eastern European country but already truly European: small-scale enterprises and crafts, but lots of international businesses as well. A third of roads are up to EU standard, or are being worked on; another third are dreadful, like African 'roads'; the other third are 'maritime', roll and pitch and toss... both categories are very patchy.
Les and Margaret Brook (north of Aberdeen, wild camping by the sea), 25th May. We are in Scotland. We strongly recommend Scotland to all our French friends. It is a country with wonderful scenery, exciting wildlife, and a magnificent history. Support for tourism (information, signs etc) is first class. Plus motorcaravanning is easy. Good roads, not too much traffic, no difficulty with wild camping but many good campsites. And in the far north, there is no problem with driving on the left because most of the roads are single track!