All posts by Patontina

travel

Up and down the mountain

Today’s the day: finally entering a few hundreds km off-road, on stones, sand and mud. Of course, for a good start, we took the wrong way.
My family wanted to cut across the cedar forest and had thoroughly discussed various alternative routes. One really looked great, but also very hard and they opted for another looking safer and easier. They fed all waypoints to the GPS and we drove off.
Yet, something went wrong after a few Y-crossings. Don’t ask me why: they drove me right instead of left, taking to increasingly difficult paths, then tracks and finally just a line of bumps and stones. But they were right – what a breath-taking landscape! Dense forests of cedars that must have been hundred-year old, then sudden open breaks on the plateau. Nature had fun turning this land upside down: rock layers jump out almost vertically along fractured planes.
When we reached the top, I mean the very top of the last mountain, we couldn’t find the slightest sign of tracks so the lady asked some cattlemen but they only spoke the local dialect (which is not Arabic). Understanding wasn’t straightforward but somehow they made it: after a few km full of doubts here’s the track and finally the road. What a great team working!

 

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travel

New beginning

We started our trip and get to know each other better every day. My family has fun getting up and down the ceiling – sometimes to sleep, sometimes to take or leave tools, various objects, things…. They say they sleep very well and, to be honest, they do sleep a lot.
We are crossing new places, always new landscapes and unexpected languages. For instance we’ve been in Chefchaouen and had to speak Spanish (our “sort of “ Spanish…) in the narrow streets of a blue city lost amid the mountains. Then we wen through huge fields of olive trees, and saw the sun go down behind the ruins of Volubilis that seemed to live again. Today, instead, we reached the top of the world and found monkeys! I exaggerated a bit – the police told me I was running too fast and my sir had to pay a fine (he’s not so happy). UUUFFFFFF…. Pity. I just started to enjoy!

The blue city
The blue city
On the way to the top of the world
On the way to the top of the world

 

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travel

The Big Fast Ship

So my family took me on a big fast ship that made us cross the sea. Strange – I though I was fully loaded but all around me were many other gentlemen (not mine, just to be clear) with other cars even more loaded than me.
Before boarding we all lined up, one behind the other and then one line next to the other. Yet, those right in front of everybody decided to go shopping and, when the boarding time came, we were all stuck. Just for a second, though, as the wild bunch started to go around the obstacles (parked cars) and bard in a rush.
We did behave and finally I could get into the ship’s belly. I didn’t like to stay there without my family but when the big fast ship stopped I found myself in a new place (finally a sunny one!) and ready to go! HURRAY!!!!!

 

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general

Hello! My name is Pat!!!

I was born in Solihull, UK on  November 12th 1999 – it took a while before I started crawling all over the German countryside (February 2000). In 2011 circumstances brought me in the Netherlands, a rather boring country for me – I am a Land Rover! I was born for a more diversified terrain! But wait… over there I finally met my new family (I LOVE THEM).

Things slowly went changing, they are taking good care of me and started to give me a unique shape. No more water leaking (well, ok… not always 😛 ) and gently but firmly they decided it was time to put my wheels on the desert sand and rocks. After a long preparation in April I moved my first step in Africa – LOVE IT!!!

Morocco was a great experience – no rain finally, hills, bends, mountains and passes, hamadas and reg, dunes, sand, an incredible experience north to south, east to west. I was happy there, but after a short while they had to bring me back in the rainy Netherlands…

But hey!!! …That´s not the end … more interesting news came up… we are moving…crossing Germany, Switzerland to Italy… oh dear… you can´t even imagine, again a nice place, warmer – yet too raining for my taste mmmhhhhh – it was supposed to be summer wasn’t it ?? … well I understood this is only a temporary staying… they want me to be back soon in the middle of a dusty road, with sand, dunes, rocks… we are going back to Africa!!!

We’ll leave soon, bits of preparation have been done and we are finally ready. A big ferry is waiting for us in Genoa but I must admit I would prefer to be on the upper deck with my family – don´t really like a smelly garage in the belly of a ship … I want to feel the sea, watch around, listen to other people’s and cars’ story and tell them about mine!

Guess what… ? I can’t stay on the upper deck – fine (FINE???!!!). But I can keep you updated on our slow tour, in this new life experience and adventure.

“As slow as possible, as fast as necessary” off road and in life 🙂

 

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