(It's a long one) Well... where to begin. It's been two days since we arrived here in Split for the finish of the
Sucata Split and we are just about to set sail on the over night ferry to
Ancona. But lets not get ahead of ourselves, lets go back two days to Sunday.
(I may repeat myself here from previous blogs) We had a bit of a lie in in Ljubljana and made our way back to Gertie. Found that the square we had parked her up in for the night was holding a farmers market and tractor rally so we fitted in quiet nicely. Alas though that we also found that someone had ripped a few patches off Gertrudes left flank. Bastards. Much honking and heading turning once again ensued as we headed out of town with Dominic at the wheel and Matt co-piloting as we headed up into the Slovinian mountains once again to test Doms skills. The journey down through the mountains was very twisty and roadwork free this day and we were soon down in the lowlands were we where able to finally stop along side some real cows (Krava) and see them grazing together, it was a beautiful moment. One odd moment was seeing some locals honking at a police car which was driving under the speed limit, they then over took him. We where not so brave and waited for them to pull in. Onwards we went towards the border and we found ourselves behind the Pale Riders car. Border crossing was uneventful and we got our passports stamped. We drove over the river to find the Riders had pulled up for a photo op. This seemed to displease the Croatian guards who went to have a word. We pulled up and where approached by a very deadpan faced lady armed with a 9mm pistol came to check our passports. She didn't seem that impressed by Gertie, and said she was a bad investment, though we could tell that she was in fact cracking a little humour. After a few minutes of her just holding our passports she gave them back and even honked out roof mount horn. Great Success. (also she told the Pale Riders that our car was better :) )
Once into Croatia we headed back onto the motorways and hoped to make good time down to the finish line. A quick water/toilet break turned into a slightly longer coffee break, and as we sat there we heard before we saw the Team Rambo boys who flew past the services, not sounding good. We got back on the road again and were slowed some what by a roadworks but once these had cleared my foot became somewhat leadened and I whipped Gertie into a fast trot. Out in the distance we spied the unmissable yellow of Team General Ignorance's "LeCitroen" and a plan was hatched, Dom armed the bowser as I used a passing BMW as cover and we flew past giving a broadside as we passed. Much whooping and celebration ensued. It seemed like only moments later that we where in Split and pulling into the car park of Hadjuk Splits Stadium to make the finally preparations to Gertie, bowser primed, Bob gaffa taped to the roof and straw hats firmly on head, the final few 100 yards was upon us and we headed for the finish. Kate (Keith, Karen, Kit-Kat) from the Sucata team was there to guide us in and we finally came to rest alongside the Mad Hatters, Team Rambo, Team Chaos, Chilli and Chocolate, Phat & Phin, Green Jackets and the Ay Team, oh, and Dominic, the last remaining member of Before I Fall to Pieces, Who's car never even made it out of Brugge. Huzzah. England prevails.
All that was left to do was sit and await the arrival of the other teams, while having a few celebratory beers and some cracking local food. In dribs and drabs the other teams arrived, Team G.I., Cool Runnings, Pale Riders, Banana Splits and the Morris Men. All that was left of to do now was get in the Adriatic and wash away the weariness of the day, or in my case the shirt i'd been wearing for four days :) Hour or so down at the beach chilling and we slowly filtered away to our respective hotels/hostels. Ours was Als place which we where sharing with the Madhatters and Team Chaos. We settled in and headed to the bar for the awards ceremony. More beer was drunk and Chris came to announce the total (to date) raised and awards. All told we'd achieved the target of £25K, which will be go up once some firms match the donations of their employees. huzzah. Then the awards, Most money raised went to Before I Fall to Pieces (Now known as Team Dom), Best Fancy dress went to The Morris Men, Worst Mishap went to Team Dom and the most coveted prize of all, Best car in show went to Jebediah Klunge & Associates. Great Success. Gertrude had truly done us proud. More drinking ensued until the Police arrived to close the bar, panic buying saw Dom bring into play a set of skills acquired over many years, which makes him a nightmare for people like the barmaid. She was broken down easily and bottles of Tequila, Vodka and Rum ( with mixers) left with us and down to the Marina. Here we stayed, chatting, drinking, accapella singing, trying out Sumo suits and other camaraderie until the sunrose...not became light but actually visible above the building. Great night ended with climbing into bed in a nice air conditioned room. Sucata Split 2009, finally finished. More to follow.
