KM Events

Thought I would do a seperate post with more of the pictures from Pompeii, rather than put them all in the main update. Click read more if you want to look through lots of Pompeii photos..

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We rise late in the morning after last nights events. Naples was very hot and because parking is SO sparse, we were exhausted carrying our luggage from the car and all over town looking for places to stay. Eventually we decide to get some breakfast, but we have to plan scrapping the car and going to Pompeii today so there isn’t enough time for us to go meet everyone else at the main venue.

Heading outside after breakfast, our first port of call is to remove all the logos from the car as we heard that cars are sometimes not really scrapped and used for ‘illicit’ activities. We didn’t want anything coming back to us or our sponsors, so the car would be stripped clean. It’s another very hot day in Naples, so with this done we decide to worry about getting the car scrapped when we get back from Pompeii, and set off to find a ferry to take us there.

Unable to get a ferry, we take a bus instead which turned out to be a lot cheaper (€4 return vs €30 return). A short bus ride and we arrive at Pompeii. If you didn’t know, Pompeii was a large Roman city that was completely covered by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was accidentally re-discovered in 1599 and has been constantly excavated ever since. Even now, they are finding new things. It is definitely worth going to see if you ever have the chance, it gives a detailed insight into how these people lived back then, with houses, courtyards, a colosseum, amphitheatre and many other interesting things. The site is roughly 160 acres! so we didn’t get to take all of it in before having to leave to get the car scrapped. One other thing that really catches your attention is the dead bodies that are perfectly preserved on display on site, have a look at the pictures below. One image of a man with his head in his hands, another pregnant women trying to protect her unborn baby. Can you imagine what must have been going through their minds as they were covered by volcanic dust?

After stopping for a bite to eat, we realise we must get back quickly to sort out scrapping the car. ‘Quickly’ turned out to be a joke as we walked down the street outside the Pompeii site looking for a bus stop. We ended up down a side street about a mile from the entrance, and waited for about an hour before a bus turned up that was going back to Naples. On our way back we noticed there was actually a bus stop right by the entrance of the Pompeii site. Oops!

Now back at the hotel, we ask reception if they can help to get our car scrapped. The hotel staff at the H2C hotel in Naples are incredibly helpful! I’ve never known anything like it, they made lots of phone calls to arrange scrapping the car, gave us advice, looked after our stuff for the day, got one of their drivers to direct us to the scrap yard in his car, and then take us back to the hotel! Scrapping the car took some time as the scrap yard were very official with all the paperwork involved but were not used to dealing with international car scrapping. Eventually we got everything in order and the car was taken away to be crushed. It was a sad sight to see this motor we had done so many miles in being led away to be destroyed. Keith and I reminisce over all the little quirks, how we had become accustomed to the handling and, ahem.. ”what the car could and couldn’t do”. The scrap yard gave us the number plates to take back as a souvenir.

Back at the hotel, we decide to venture into town as we have a few hours until our flight back home. For the most part, Naples looks pretty grubby, with graffiti everywhere, and people seem to throw all their litter on the floor. BUT, the further you venture into the thin back streets, it becomes really quite pleasant. Tiny little cobbled streets teaming with shops and eateries, we start to find a love for this place. As it gets dark, those tiny back streets are brightly lit with so many shops and neon signs it looks wonderful, a never ending maze of cobbled streets flooded with people and scooters.

Naples is well known for being troublesome, in fact this is the first year for a while that the violence in Naples has calmed down enough that it is considered ‘safe’ to be there. There are army trucks with soldiers poking out the top holding machine guns on some of the bigger street corners, and whilst you should have your wits about you, it’s actually quite a pleasant environment and we stop to have pizza at a little back street pizzeria. I think this was the best pizza of our trip to Italy, which we had no trouble finishing despite its size. A walk back to the hotel at night, keeping to the brightly lit streets, we arrive to find our ‘driver’ is back again waiting to take us to the airport.

We set off, and it isn’t long before we arrive at Napoli international airport. It has been a long hot day, we are both exhausted sitting around in the departure lounge, with boarding and take off delayed. The flight back went smoothly, and we arrive back in blighty at midnight. A mix up with our scheduled pick up meant we waited a few hours before deciding we would have to get a taxi home. We had thought that it would be impossible to barter with the taxi service at the airport (they must ‘get it all the time’) but if you ever need to, remember this – you can. We stood firm and got a taxi back for much less. Back home at around 4:30am, this last leg of the event has been incredibly exhausting, and marks the end of our Staples2Naples 2010 journey.

We have had an incredible time, memories that will last a life time. I can’t recommend enough ‘giving it a go’ if you want to do something a bit different. We will be back next year for the next European rally. Thanks to everyone who donated, we are pleased to have raised a good sum of money for the Kipling Childrens Ward. If you were planning to do so on account of us completing the event, now is the time!

Thanks to all the other teams as well, they all gave us such good laughs! Great bunch of people. Special thanks to everyone in our ‘convoy’ too, we had a blast guys! See you next year!

Our mission this morning was to get Paul and Gary to the Airport in Rome following their spectacular exit from the rally. We received the challenge of the day from the organisers (photograph a very old car) but have given up on account that we are SO far behind all the other teams on the points. Our whole convoy agree to stick together and head for Rome airport, which turns out to be a great decision as the group of us headed for the beach for some lunch while everyone else continued to Naples. Nick (team Argo) and I couldn’t resist the urge to go for a swim, and fortunately had packed swimming gear before leaving (hadn’t actually planned to go swimming at all, but I do like to pack everything including the kitchen sink). After a good swim in the med, we dry off drinking beer and having some lunch before our convoy made the move to join everyone else in Naples for the finish.

Off the convoy set, now facing a long motorway run with the occasional piece of scenery worth snapping a picture of, we find entertainment in switching convoy positions, hanging out the window to take high speed pictures, and chasing very expensive cars (without breaking any limits of course). Eventually we reach Naples and let me tell you, this place is absolutely crazy! Although I’m sure rules exist for the roads, it is like a giant free-for-all. Cars merge onto each other, tailgate, overtake, undertake, the lanes mean nothing and there are motorbikes and scooters all around you buzzing in and out constantly. There is also a LOT of beeping horns, but we quickly realise this isn’t other drivers road rage but rather just a friendly curtious beep to let you know they are there so you don’t bump into them. With that in mind, Keith found this type of free-for-all driving quite enjoyable and began beeping everyone in site. Keith also managed to shunt someone (second time during our Staples2Naples journey!) and take out a wing mirror.

The hotel we booked turned out to be someones flat converted to a couple of ‘hotel’ rooms. We spent ages looking for it because we didn’t know we were looking for a FLAT! Eventually we got in, and climbed up to the 10th floor in the worlds most cramped lift. I’m not kidding when I say that Keith and I were practically hugging to fit in the lift (*shudder*). Not only that but we were both dubious about even getting into the lift on account of the lift not even lining up with the floor when it arrived and opened its doors. Nevertheless, we decided it was all ‘part of the experience’ and up we went to the top floor flat (sorry, hotel room). Unfortunately the owner was not there, we hung around for a while but nobody would answer so we gave up and found a nearby 4 star luxurious hotel for only another €20! We couldn’t believe the difference in quality, the new hotel H2C is stunning inside and we have a view of mount Vesuvius. In fact, we even have a gym!

Feeling hungry after a long day, we decide to eat and have a few beers in the hotel room to mark the end of the rally. We can’t make it to the main venue as we are too far away, but hope to meet everyone tomorrow before they all make their journeys home. We will be going to Pompeii tomorrow for a close up of mount Vesuvius before flying back in the evening.

We got our authentic Italian pizza last night, and for the first time slept the whole night through, so felt fresh and ready for today.

Today is dressing up day, and the car park is quickly filled with nuns holding water pistols. We all head to a local market square where it would soon ‘kick off’. Locals gather and probably wonder what on earth is going on. The green light is given and before long everyone is soaking wet.

After a quick dry off, we all head out for Viterbo and our little convoy again stick together. It isn’t long before we have to stop as we notice team ‘armoured farmers’ suddenly veer off and stop. We pull over to the hard shoulder, wondering what could have gone wrong. It turns out Paul was just desperate to ‘relieve’ himself! Setting off again, with another quick stop for petrol further down the road, we begin our long motorway journey to Viterbo. Memories of the monotonous French motorways come flooding back, but we are treated to some beautiful lake scenes and lots of mountain tunnel’s before there is nothing but grey roads and fields for several hours.

An Aston Martin Vanquish comes screaming up alongside our convoy, and ‘armoured farmers’ decide to give chase. The chase was going well until we all notice a big puff of smoke leave the exhaust and a stark reduction in speed. We pull over to try and help, but unfortunately it’s the end of the race for them with the engine blown. Our convoy have no choice but to set off again on our path to Viterbo.

At this point there isn’t much to write about as we travel endless motorways until we reach Viterbo. We stop occasionally for a break, some petrol and food. Eventually we reach Viterbo after approx 9 hours driving, and check in to our hotel which happens to be about 10 minutes walk from everyone else. The scenery improved greatly on the way into Viterbo, regularly stopping to take some great photos. Later we meet up with the ‘armoured farmers’ and offer to drop them off at Rome airport in the morning, but first we all head out late evening to try and find somewhere to eat (this is not easy in a sleepy Italian town at 10pm on a Sunday night!). There is a faint sight in the distance of other rally participants, and as we get closer we are directed into the ‘Van Dick’ tavern. Here we ate probably the thinnest (yet strangely filling!) pizza I have ever seen. Incidentally, authentic Itallian pizza’s all seem to be very thin, nothing like our ‘western’ take on Italian pizza. The table we are sitting at has all sorts of insignia’s etched into it, and we wonder if this is art or that people are welcome to scratch the table. Looking at other tables, they are all the same, so Keith set to work on “leaving our mark” (see pictures below).

Exhausted after the days events, we can only manage a few beers back at the hotel room, and some ranting about the lack of wireless before it’s time to sleep.

We arrived in Viterbo, Italy very late due to another day of excitement on route. I’ll talk more about that later, but the hotel we are at currently has problems with their Internet. They aren’t very 21st century out here!

Will do a proper day 3 update later, but the day 2 update is now uploaded below.

Well we made it over the mountain passes, and have had a thoroughly fantastic day. Unsure which way to head, after some discussion in the car park we decide to follow team ‘Freewheelin Palm Trees’, who successfully lead us out of Sarnen. Suddenly the cars start splitting up as teams take different routes to Aprica. We opted to go through the toughest passes, Grimsel Pass and Furka Pass. The scenery is nothing short of breath taking. If you ever get the chance to drive through Switzerland and the Alps, you must take it! Writing this now at the end of a long day getting to Aprica, both Keith and I found every moment very enjoyable.

Heading into Grimsel pass we were passed by two Porsche Carrera GT’s. Amusingly, despite their high speed antics, we would meet them again round the next corner stuck at traffic lights. When the lights went green they screeched off and into the tunnel ahead. The sound of a pair of £150,000 car’s roaring through a tunnel is quite something! Continuing up Grimsel Pass, our ears begin to pop as the altitude quickly changes. Coming round another corner we notice a convoy of other teams up ahead waiving us down. We stop to see what has happened, to find that team ‘Jovial Idiots’ had spectacularly broken down, with their engine on fire no less! A leaking engine cap had spewed oil all over the inside of the engine bay and caught alight. Putting the flames out and clearing up the mess revealed a split gasket seal. With no spare parts, they began fashioning a new one out of bits of rubber and leather pulled off the car. We even cut up our boot cover using a knife to cut a new ‘almost round’ gasket seal. The first attempt failed with the engine continuing to leak oil, but 3 more home made seals later and it finally held. They were able to pull away and several of us agreed to stay in a convoy so that we could stop and help if more problems arose.

On we went, higher and higher into the mountains. The scenery is incredible, the lakes encountered are the bluest you will ever see, it has to be seen to be believed. Dotted throughout the mountains there are little houses high in the hills with no apparent means to access them. Every corner has something new and interesting to look at, I think we ended up taking over 200 pictures by the end of our trip from Sarnen to Aprica.

With Grimsel Pass out of the way, we decide to break away from the convoy to get petrol. It’s an odd system in Switzerland, you pay at the pump BEFORE you fill up. Unsure how much we needed to fill up our tank, we aired on the side of caution and put in what we thought would at least fill up half the tank. This turned out to only be a quarter tank. Regardless, we ploughed on and headed up to Furka Pass. You may have heard about Furka Pass before, there are videos on youtube if you are interested. It is one of the higher passes, with some of the narrowest roads of all them all. Ear’s popping, we make it to the top and stop to take some spectacular pictures. We caught up with the rest of the convoy again, team ‘Jovial Idtiots’ car still holding up after their engine fire.

The convoy head down the Furka Pass towards a small town. New roads are being fashioned which throws all of us off course. We stop to check, and then realise it would be a good time to fill up and get something to eat, so the convoy heads for the town we see not too far away. A quick petrol stop for our whole convoy, we park up and then sniff out somewhere good to eat. A burger and chips later, followed by a quick stop at a CO-OP (no, not the CO-OP you are used to. Hope they have the copyrights!) to refill the boot with snacks, and we all set off again into the next mountain pass. Despite being in an old banger, these mountain passes are just so much fun to drive, we have a blast stopping occasionally to photograph the awesome scenery (and empty the tank! no I’m not talking about the car!). Our last pass before heading to Aprica is Julier Pass, and we are again greeted with fantastic tunnels, beautiful lakes, and amazing mountain top views.

Our banger has held up exceptionally well today, we have not had any troubles at all, though the strange noises are growing in intensity. We have a new noise, between changing gears sounds very much like a chain rattling. No idea what that means, but the car still goes forward, and we are happy with that!

It takes about another hour to get to Aprica, which we then realise is up in the Italian mountains. Up we go again, winding roads only this time it is dark so it’s hard to see what is below us. There are many professional rally cars going up and down the mountain, overtaking everything in sight at very high speeds. When we get to the top and hit Aprica, there are LOTS of these rally cars with team trucks and sponsors, camera crews, etc. Something big is going on, perhaps there is a Colin Mcrae style rally on tomorrow!

Eventually we reach the hotel after the whole convoy stopped to check where it was. Checked in, still reeling with excitement of today’s events, we are heading out for some authentic Italian pizza and to mix with the locals.

Good night all!

Unfortunately the hotel we are at does not have any Internet facilities (hello 1990!) so I can’t update tonight. Just a small message from my phone to say we will seek out somewhere tomorrow to upload all the photos and writeup for today. We have had an incredible day! Stay tuned…

Welcomed by a less frantic start this morning, we have had our breakfast and are heading into town to see if there is anything worth bringing back before the next phase starts in an hour or two. Our hotel room has a fantastic mountain view, and this morning we head for the Alps!

The gearbox on the car seems ok now but the car is sitting idle at the moment. I’ll update should when we make it over the mountain passes.

We’ve been out mixing with the locals in the bars here in Sarnen. This place is immaculate and everyone is super friendly, they even have burning columns in the streets – something you would not see in Hastings!

Had a fantastic meal, Bison was a first for both Keith and I. When we got back to the hotel we got word of a few fines picked up by other participants, mainly for passengers not wearing seat belts. One poor team suffered a fine, and then a tyre blowout on the motorway, but they completed the repairs and made it to Sarnen to join us all for a beer! One last team still hasn’t arrived, word has it they have suffered a blown head gasket, but they are veterans of the event and are still planning to arrive in the morning!

Here’s a few additional photos from today..