The Silk Route Motorcaravan Club.

Bulletin 106 (Part 3 of 3).

Do you want to be treated like kings? Go to Turkey!

Only on the visit to Istanbul did we use a campsite. Everywhere else, we took advantage of people's kindness, staying in fields, police yards, stadiums. In the photo (on the cover of the printed version of the bulletin), the shepherds went to fetch their instruments and made us dance. Then they invited us to drink goat's milk. Extraordinary country!

Francoise and Paul Boby.

The Italian Lakes and Crotia in Spring.

Same country, different season. Like good travellers, before departure, our friends have read articles in the bulletins about this region.

The Italian lakes are only a first course. It's not easy to drive on the banks of the lakes Orta, Maggiore and Como. Narrow, densely populated, lots of traffic. Drivers must take great care, but what beauty! Lovely rhododendrons, hundred year old parks with majestic foliage and pretty houses. Beautiful panoramas of the steep mountain slopes above the lakes. Picturesque villages on the by-roads. Unfortunately the west bank of Lake Garda has lots of tunnels, but it also has wonderful Mediterranean vegetation with elegant cypresses and lemon trees of types found nowhere else.

To avoid campsites, we consulted www.camperonline.it/sosta.asp and used its list of aires de service for the places we visited The aire at Treviso was the least nice, too near the railway and at the far end of a car park with a mobile phone mast in a corner. You have to pay at the Riva del Garda, 0.5 euros per hour.

Grado at the end of its peninsular is not an official stopping place but they allow motorcaravans to park on the edge of the lagoon behind the stadium. It was the weekend so we were lucky to get a spot. We were to the left and right of the road. Services are possible at the bus station toilets.

Croatia.

Wild camping.

Although wild camping is not officially allowed, we stayed on campsites for only six nights in four weeks, the police being tolerant at this time of year. Reasonable prices (graduated tariff) and one of them (Auto kamp on the peninsular near Pag at Raanac) was even free, accessible but not officially open until 1 June. We took great advantage of the showers and hot water, the electricity and the BBQ, and we left a note for the owners.

On the return journey, we were pressurised by the tourist office in the little port of Slano. We were urged to go to a campsite (the police were mentioned), and we spent a quiet night. The story is this: we were on a little site at the end of the harbour near a wall on which was freshly painted "D in 100m and D in 500m AE". An Austrian whom we met at Senj told us he'd been fined €70 at Novigrad, one of our outward trip stop-overs. At Novigrad, we had chosen to wild camp in the pine plantation on the bay.

Our itinerary.

Coast of Istria until we embarked for Cres then Krk (which is not unpronounceable since 'r' is like a vowel and pronounced 'eur'), the coast of Krk from the bridge linking it to the mainland, the coast of Dalmatia, peninsular and island of Pag, then again the coast as far as Dubrovnik and the mouth of the Kotor to Montenegro. A ferry you can pay in €€ (71 each) allows a shortening of the return journey on the edge of the inland sea. Don't miss the end of the coast road which is in its original state.

To visit Dubrovnik, we chose the Kate campsite at Mlini (nice, 160 kunas for two nights, €1=0.13 kunas... so about €21). Frequent buses to town.

Going back, we went across Bosnia (no special documents) via Mostar, visiting the old town and its famous bridge that was being re-built. Then Sarajevo. The highway police told us to camp on a site but the only one we knew of round there was at Ilida, a small suburban town. In fact, [?what they recommended] was a hotel renting out bungalows. Going past this hotel and back round towards the town from the east and a well-off residential area, we found a huge parking area in the shade in a recreational, green zone - barouches, bars, terraces and a few old buildings which must once have been famous. The police drove past and ignored us. Next day, a touching visit to old Sarajevo, somewhat restored but still battle-scarred like the rest of the country.

Lots of villages and hamlets, destroyed and abandoned. Others in the process of reconstruction. Quite a lot of new buildings and recent graveyards in the countryside. Note that everywhere the religious buildings have been restored: mosques, orthodox and catholic churches.

Signs alert you to the danger of mines in the forest zones or in fallow land.

Lovely drive through Tuzla to go into Slavonia. We left it to go to Gradaac for our second night in Bosnia. A good choice. Above the town is a big car park behind a deserted block of flats. The Bosnian who lived in the house next to it invited us to taste home-made slivovits and Turkish coffee. More coffee next morning and a tour of the town's curiosities in the Merc of our host: the old citadel and its tower still showing traces of shooting, a Serbian armoured train blown up by shells from a tank right where it had fired over the area and from where the soldiers came out and slaughtered the survivors. All round, the houses are still in ruins and the train is often visited as a relic of war -two school buses followed us to the place. Then a spa centre for war-wounded and other disabled people.

Croatia again: Slavonia. We found to our delight agricultural villages like those we'd seen in Serbia and Bulgaria. No pavements but well maintained grassy areas [verges?]. Very few places to stop that are big enough for two motorcaravans. Vukovar has missed out on reconstruction grants and is still very damaged. A few town centre houses renovated, and some building sites. Visited the cemetery for the defenders of the city. Osijek on the Danube is still to come for the Pope. Dakovo - to re-join the little road that runs alongside the motorway. There we found the village gathered [together?] on the football ground and we spent the night there. A peasant who was cutting grass nearby came to take a glass of wine with us and gave us salad and onions from his garden. Guaranteed organic. The Una is a small river that forms the Bosnian-Croatian border. It has a picturesque riverbed and is pleasanter on the Bosnian side as it's nearer the road.

Back across Bosnia again via Bihaa and on to Plitviaka with its lakes and waterfalls. The entry ticket is for three days. To avoid sleeping in the park, we went south of Plitviaka into the hills opposite the Bistro Mizni Turak which on the first night grilled a lamb and on the second, a young pig. We treated ourselves to the local speciality after the visit to the lakes next day. Reasonable price and we asked for an extra helping of meat.

Lovely drive through the Vellebit mountains via Gospia, a panoramic road that goes down to Karlobag. Embarked for island of Rab , a dearer ferry (for our 6.2m long van, private company, 210 kunas, as against the nationalised company's 180 kunas). Two nights at Banjol campsite to give ourselves a break: 155 kunas. The north of the island is more interesting, lovely viewpoints and stopping places. Back up to the industrial Rijeka, and Opatija on the Croatian Riviera - steep banks with few places for our vans. Stop at Mouaeniaka Draga, a big shady campsite (with charges) where we set up our table for lunch and met a Croatian who has a flat in... Gap [Provence]! Last swim before crossing the Istria via Plomin and Piaan, the route of the churches. One of them attracted us and we discovered an interesting village, Gradaaiüae, lovely old buildings, some being restored. Camped opposite the school with the villagers' agreement.

Came back down to Porea to bring back a few handmade [?] candles and took the Trieste road to get back to the motorway.

Money exchange best in Osijek at the Slavonska Bank. No charge and best rate. Other places all more or less the same. We took €€€ to avoid charges on the use of credit [and cash?] cards but you need to make comparisons with all types of withdrawal.

Restaurants are cheap and the national speciality, grilled calamari, is delicious. The country is speeding up its urbanisation to increase its tourism capacity, and is improving its roads. Go to the interior to find 'wild' places. On the coast, the small roads leading to the sea almost always go to campsites. The lovely coves are all below rocky slopes forcing you to go back... we haven't a tent!

In summary, a very interesting and pleasant journey. At first the water seemed cold, then cool. Afterwards, we never missed the chance to bathe.

Helene Fenech

South America - Practical Advice.

15 July 2003

We are about to travel into Bolivia, towards Santa Cruz. Everything's going well. The cost of living is cheap. Best to bring €€€. $$$ no longer rate highly: €1=3.2 pesos, $1=2.8 pesos.

Information for those leaving for South America with their vehicle... No charge on arrival in Buenos Aires. The customs come on board and formalities are completed in an hour. No need for a carnet de passage. We were given a permit to travel which is valid for a year. Above all, don't disembark in Brazil. There, some Swiss people had a waiting time of 45 days and had to pay $2,000 cash to get the van out of Santos harbour! There are similar problems travelling in the reverse direction. For those wanting to go to Iguazu and then, like us, to the NW of Argentina (Salta), we'd advise taking an organised coach tour from BA or flying to Iguazu and leaving the van in a guarded car park in BA. The BA-Iguazu journey is very long (1,500kms) and monotonous.

Crossing Paraguay is dangerous and dull. Even Paraguayans advise against it! Highway 16 going the length of Paraguay is full of potholes between Rio Muerto and El Cabure and is also populated by wandering herds. It is a totally featureless road, not a bend or town for a 100kms at a time.

With a van, the best plan, in our opinion, is to go further south. The journey via Rosario, Cordoba and Tucuman is much shorter and probably more interesting.

Otherwise, the country is magnificent and Argentineans are very nice. Everything is very cheap. Unmissable are the many fine though sometimes difficult routes in the lovely countryside around Salta.

Don't travel at night in Argentina: cars without lights or number plates, bikes with no lights, dogs, pedestrians, horses...

Greetings to all.

Jacques Berlivet

These Things Don't Only Happen To The Mahauts.

[Summary translation]

My Nikon camera covers the principal fete in my village of Saint-Jean de Moirans. Climbing up on a container to get a better shot of the procession... CRASH!... and my shoulder really hurts. This is no laughing matter - the photo is blurred! I ended up fainting.

The ambulance (actually two) arrived. My right clavicle was fractured.

I'm having to type this email and keep up with my village website using only one hand. I should have stood atop my Fleurette [French motorcaravan]!

Alain Guillard