EUROPE: Luceto (Italy) – Samara (Russia)
19/11/2006 - 8/01/2007

Relatives and friends say hello to us, it’s the departure’s day. Someone is starting to cry, someone hugs us tight, others tell us we’ll be back in a tin! There is a bit of sadness in the air for leaving at home the ones we love most, but we are eager to learn more and test our limits, we leave Luceto in this contest on the 19th November 2006.

The first stop is at Florence. Rocco and Alessandro, two friends of ours, wait for us. We spend together a nice evening. Rosco gives hospitality to us for the night.

So far we mostly slept inside our 4WD, only a few ones into the tent because of the snow. Besides darkness arrives soon during winter days. We go through Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia and visit Vienna and Prague. After to weeks on the road we reach the Ukrainian border and we get the first stamp on our passport.

Uzgorod is the first Ukrainian city to welcome us. The first city that differ from an European city. We pass on to Kiev where we apply for the kazak visas. Roads are a continuous sequence of potholes, but are wonderful if compared to the kazak ones we are going to beat. After days of fog Crimea welcomes us with sun! On the coast slopes seem to dive into the Black Sea while mountains behind us are spotted with clouds, it’s pretty surreal.

15 December 2006: we are entering Russia.
At the border we fill in some forms (or better two slips of paper!) in order to get the registration. We get a declaration for our 4WD for only fourteen days, in the following days we try hard to tackle the problem but unsuccessfully, we get always the same answer: “Get the border where paying € 50 you’ll get rid of the problem” ( widespread corruption!).

After two days in Russia we get an invitation. Rom is a chap who lives with his grandmother (babuska) in a small village at about 1000 meters above sea level, we are in the Caucasus. They offer us the dinner, vodka, a relaxing sauna and to sleep! For the first time we use our instant photo camera. Andrea, Claudio’s brother gives us a few hints about the road to follow, from Karacajev to Kislovodsk there is a breathtaking view of Mount Elbrus. At Terksol, at the slopes ot Mount Elbrus, we meet Aleg and Konstantin in a café. They invite us to their home, they tell us about their job as specialized guides on free ride (www.whiteguides.ru). They are from Moscow but rent in Teksol an apartment from December through May.

Moscow and St. Petersburg. On the way, in between these to cities there are frequent traffic jams because of the snow. Trucks obstruct roads and cars have to zig zag amongst them. The only saltcellar available we have seen so far consists of a man on the back of a truck trying to deliver the maximum amount of salt he could, but he got his shovel’s stick broken. Drivers conduct their trucks and cars recklessly with disastrous consequences like crushed cars along the road.

Roads are heavily patrolled, at the end of our staying in Russia will go through 25 checks. Policemen ask for documents and say “PROBLEMA” when they look at the registration. They are sure that one must register oneself every other three days, while in reality is not that way at all: the registration is compulsory within three days after entering Russia and a second registration is mandatory if one stays more then 72 hours in the same city.

Before entering in Kazakhstan we pay 1500 roubles (around € 45) at the Russian border for the expired declaration. Many peoples ask the price of our Suzuki in order to buy it on the spot!

Claudio and Patrizia