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August 15, 2007
Moksha arrival Europe
LOCATION: Istanbul, Turkey
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:40deg.58'40.
Latitude: E:029deg.02'48s.
Kms from Istanbul: 0 kms
Moksha is finally at rest in the front garden of Kathleen and Robin's house in Antwerp. Following the completion of the Arabian Sea crossing earlier this year she was loaded into a 40 foot container in Djibouti and shipped to Europe ready for the final crossing of the Channel and up the River Thames to finish at Greenwich.
Her rather dilapidated appearance is on account of having had all the paint stripped from her hull before leaving Djibouti. So one of the first jobs on arriving in Oostend next month is to throw on a new coat of marine finish and re-apply 2,000 names of friends, family and supporters who have assisted the expedition in a myriad of different ways since the beginning: from donating the equivalent of $20 USD or more, to providing a bed for the night, to hosting Moksha in their front garden (thanks Kathleen and Robin)! It is thanks to these people that the expedition was able to keep moving forward, albeit at a very slow pace, for the 12 years before we finally hooked a sponsor in the form of Aberdeen Asset Management in May 2006.
There are many factors affecting the speed at which a long-haul expedition like Expedition 360 can be completed: unforeseen mishaps and accidents, anomalies in seasonal weather patterns - all which have added years to the estimate of 3-4 that we originally thought it would take. But money has always been the biggest. For those wondering why it has taken so long to complete it is worth mentioning that since Aberdeen came on board a third of the expedition has been completed in just a year and a half. The first two thirds, when we had no sponsorship, took eleven and a half years. So one could reason that if we had found a funding partner from the very beginning our original guestimate would have been about right.
This morning I ride out of Istanbul on the final leg through Europe. I meet my cousin Merlin Lewis in a few days at the border with Bulgaria. Together we'll ride through Bulgaria, Romania and Austria before he flies out of Vienna early September. The company will be welcome after being alone for so long through Africa and the Middle East.
Jason
Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Posted on August 15, 2007 7:02 AM