I have been back for a few weeks now but just thought I should let you know how the rally ended. The victory parade was good fun; we got lots of smiles and waves from passers-by. We drove through the presidential arch, which is normally reserved for the President. Only 2 cars broke down on the parade route, which was quite an achievement!
Then on Saturday we prepared the cars for the auction on Sunday. It was sad to see the car go, it had served us well – even in the desert the engine temperature had hardly risen, while cars all around us where packing up. The worst failure being the rear axle of an Opel separating from the rest of the car and flipping the car over in the process – luckily no-one was seriously hurt. Our car and it is contents (car and camping accessories, which were auctioned separately) rose over for £800 for Gambian charities, which in a country where most people only earn a couple of pounds a day, will go a long way.
I would be delighted if you would also give something to charity for our efforts and have set-up an on-line fundraising page, for Médecins Sans Frontieres at:
http://www.justgiving.com/msf-plymouth-to-dakar. Simply pay on-line by credit/debit card and the money will go directly to the charity, to provide much needed medical care to many more people across Africa and the world.
I am glad to be back but I had a fantastic adventure, raised money for charity and possibly made some life long friends - not bad for a 3 week trip!
I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and if you feel like taking part in the Plymouth to Dakar challenge yourself, next year, see:
http://www.plymouth-dakar.co.uk/ for further details.
When I get all my pictures together I will put them on-line and be sure to post the URL on the blog, so watch this space!
