Team Trans-Stan Express

A REVIEW. Col Du Parpaillon.

While we’ve all but departed your Instagram feeds, I’ve returned from Devon and have finished editing the best of the remaining photos so we can stretch out a few more days content. So from where we left off, the next stop was the Col du Parpaillon, SE France.

1. My favourite photo from the whole trip, taken just after waking up in a valley after the Col in which we’d camped, the sunrise lighting up a section of the valley floor. and return across the river from the early morning rays.

2. Mandy lugging herself up the final stretch of the track to the Col.

3. The wagons at the mouth of the tunnel at the Col, taken from the top of the arch giving a view of the surrounding mountains.

4. representing on the tunnel arch.

5. Wake-up in the valley with Stan’s new bullbars.

6. Gathered around the campfire having descended from the Col.

A REVIEW. DAY 5 - Karagyol Reservoir

The first of many clutch burners and the second time our exhaust jumped off. Some nice views from the peak though, towering over 2,200m above the Balkan plains.

1. One of the seventeen million hairpins needed to wind our way up to the Pole.

2+3. Lil photoshoot with Stan at the peak.

A REVIEW. DAY 3 Part 1 - POI 36 Adventures

Routing for POI 36 (Pole of Toxicity) leaving the town of Campeni, the site of our €7 hotel!

1. and getting ready to set out from Campeni.

2. The Pole of Toxicity, the church spire visible above the arsenic bath

3. our resident geologist studying this geological specimen (presumably)

4. A roadside stop on the way to POI 37, “Through the Hills”

5. Our stallions taking a brief rest on the skiddy hairpin. Safe to say we weren’t up to sliding the cars off the side of the hill.

END OF PART FOUR - PUSH FOR PRAGUE

DAY 22 - Homecoming

Well here we are ending Volume 1 of the Tran-Stan Express adventures after 4 parts. Part 5 has sadly been cancelled by our alternator as there never was a return trip from Prague.

The finish line looked a blast, top work to - gutted to miss out but might have to see you at another one…

Nevertheless Day 22 was a bag of nerves and finally a relief to reach Dunkirk and head to the holy land of breakdown cover.

A pleasantly punctual ferry (after Tanger shenanigans) took us to Dover and a short, left-side of the road night drive home (yes the lights still work) lands us in London, marking the end of this epic journey.

But don’t worry! We know you can’t handle a sudden cold turkey from the Trans-Stan Express content so we have more! More! Stay tuned, it’s good.

DAY 17 - Put it on expenses

Leaving Fes we pushed on South to POI 84 (Tizi n’Tamtdit), a bit of a motorway slog but no bother, Morocco can keep us entertained.

Anecdote 1: Outaide Rabat the convoy is pulled over by a lone policeman on his moped.
What’s he looking for? Documents? A chat with the boys? Ah yes - cash. The UK stickers on the back of our cars, acting as beacons for those looking to these swindle five, the haggling begins (never thought we’d be haggling with a policeman but here we are).

Starting at €70 then down to €10, and back up to €40 (it’s complicated) we resume our push South.

Cost to team: €40

Anecdote 2: .plaice gets too affectionate with a Ford Fiesta.

Kind of says it all really, though now we’ve lost our spotlights. Devastated.

Cost to team: €100

Anecdote 3: Nearing POI 84, 1600m up in the Atlas we pick what we think is a quiet spot on a mountain track. That is until we meet several locals who are rather excited to see us. Jokes in broken French and English are exchanged, along with bread, juice, and “UN OEUF!”.

Still confused as to how we’ve been given dinner by some strangers in the middle of the Atlas Mountains, they depart on their motorbikes on the clifftop road, in the dark, with headlights powered by iPhone torches. Obviously.

Cost to team: €0

Another rollercoaster of a day and we head off for POI 84 in Day 18.

See you then.