Day 9

Most of the team made it up in time for a shower prior to a good hearty breakfast of... bread and cheese! all washed down with a cup of tea. Tents were emptied and broken down, the ground was damp and the insides of the tents were sodden with condensation even though the vents were open. The team conscious that this may be the last time leg 1 used these tents tried to dry them out before departure with little success. The hope is to try and dry them out in Belarus when in at the children's home.

We left camp only a little after the agreed departure time (15 mins) we are getting better!!. The route this morning took us passed Auschwitz so a stop off was arranged. The route was a little entertaining as the main road we needed to use was closed for maintenance, no diversion was organised so we just followed the GPS.... ended doing some off-roading in a forest to get back to civilisation!

Where ever we go with the convoy we get looks and comments, today was no exception, as we pulled up at Auschwitz a local taxi driver came over and enquired what the vehicles were all about. He was the owner of a classic range rover and spoke about the off-road club he is part of in Poland.

As regards Auschwitz the less words the better. I found it very moving, traumatic and frightening.

So we assembled in the car park ready to depart for Lublin and the rain started .. the first we have seen for a week.

The convoy driving now is getting much better with all knowing what needs to happen which means we move a lot quicker. ie less wasted time at fuel stops. Stop the car and you can easily loose 20 mins.... 5 of that trying to get Bipin on the radio to see if he is good to go!! (Only Joking!!)

The journey across Poland took quite a while roads were mainly single carriageway and leave little room for overtaking, Also whilst the scenery is picturesque we have all had our senses dulled over the last few days with the breath taking views we have passed by!. So the cameras mostly stayed in the cases today with the occasional one coming out to capture bear and his exploits!

So we arrive in Lublin at a cheap hotel at approx 6.50 and then arrange to 'pop out' for a bite to eat,. The team assembled and proceeded to move off in the direction of town. Some of the team needed to get local currency so were loitering around the street by this road sign for a while.

Doing the usual walking from one end of the street to the other we ended up in a Greek restaurant! Had a good meal followed by a couple of glasses of lemonade. Bear once again made himself known to the waitress who served the team with Craig only able to sit and watch.

So during the meal we reflected on the long days drive that was today only for the team to realise that the drive to Minsk (Belarus) is considerably longer!! With it comes our first major border crossing. Lets hope all goes well