An unexpected meeting - 21 countries in 21 days #bristanbul

In was a really unexpected meeting in the early morning when a black minibus entered the campground Rino at Lake Ohrid, the sliding door opened and couple of people, all equipped with huge cameras jumped off the bus.

Even some drones were in the sky quickly to take first pictures.

For sure, we were interested about the activities, what was the idea of this happening, when one of the photographers was ready for some explanation, which should be such next big surprise: the camera team was expecting some mobile homes and trailer caravans which are altogether on a marketing trip across Europe for the development of British camper tourism including the Balkans as destination: 21 countries in 21 days # bristanbul! Quite comparable to our project ideas. Next to the team of photographers, there will be a motor home and two cars with caravan trailers, which will arrive little later, as he explained. They all started in Bristol / Great Britain, were passing France, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania, to arrive at Lake Ohrid in Macedonia as an intermediate destination to continue until final destination which is Istanbul later on.

Watch your green insurance card - not all Balkan countries are included

Just some unexpected formal paperwork regarding the green insurance card for the campers which is very important to know, stopped them for a break at the border with Macedonia: Countries like Albania and Macedonia are not included in the green insurance card of British Insurance companies, a very important part to know as you have to pay extra at the border crossing. For that, for sure the border office has to be open for travellers. Cause the campers team from Bristol arrived late at night, they were not able to get the extra insurance, means they had a night in the nowhere land between the border offices. Quite unusual new experience for all of them.

Little later the team was completed, when camper cars arrived, sure they had a coffee and some breakfast, then continued taking photos. Daily there are short blog messages to be published in the media, as some examples, there are:

As we headed out of Bristol on Monday 9th April on our #Bristanbul adventure we were unsure on some of the road conditions that lay ahead. With 6 days until we reached Dubrovnik in Croatia, we were about to experience some challenging weather, glorious views and tricky hairpins...

Wednesday 11th April - Gigny-sur-Saone, France to Lake Garda, Italy – 385 miles

As we came out the Mont Blanc tunnel and entered Italy, the scenic route towards Milan was bright, sunny and with snow covering the hills of the Aosta Valley, the conditions couldn’t have been better… that was all to change.

Ten minutes after the glorious weather of our entry into Italy the heavens opened and we were in the midst of torrential rain and conditions that were far from ideal.

As we passed by the snow-covered hills on the approach to Courmayeur, the northwest village in Italy at the foot of Mont Blanc, the rain started to come down. Within five minutes the roads of Italy seemed to have shrunk as the rain came hurtling down. Next stop, Milan.

Thursday 12th April - Lake Garda, Italy to Lake Bled, Slovenia – 280 miles

If the Italian roads were to be known for their road conditions in torrential rain, then Slovenia was to be… well not much different in some ways.

While the drive from the Slovenian border to Lake Bled was beautifully picturesque, the conditions again proved to be testing with a second day of downpours after the previous days’ rain lashed journey to Lake Garda.

Friday 13th April - Lake Bled, Slovenia to Split, Croatia – 345 miles

Slovenia was stunning, despite the torrential rain that lasted for a large part of our journey (did I mention that before?). With road conditions not quite up to the standard in Italy, it meant towing was a little trickier, again with limited visibility and wetter roads than expected.

Having dealt with the roads of France, and then the roads of Italy and then Slovenia. We feared what awaited us in Croatia.

Saturday 14th April - Split to Dubrovnik, Croatia – 125 miles

 If we imagined the hairpins we’d taken on in Split were, a little tricky to navigate then we were in for a shock with the sweeping winding road that led from the top of the hill as we made our way into Dubrovnik.

As we zig zagged our way in to the city, the views we were presented with made every inch of road worth it. While the road conditions varied from each section in the road, taking the coast road is something that should not be missed.

With the route from Split to Dubrovnik taking us through a short stretch of Bosnia – the Neum Corridor, it is this side of the backroads of Europe, which allows you to see the part of Croatia you just cannot reach if you take a flight.

Follow the live map, regular blogs, vlogs , and updates whilst you get to know our adventurers taking part on the latest Bailey Big Adventure. We’re taking a Pursuit 550-4, Pegasus GT70 Rimini and Advance 76-4 to Asia and all the way back home to Bristol again. That’s 21 countries in 21 days!

To read more, please follow: 21 countries in 21 days #bristanbul

Please read as well:

Stand-up paddling on Lake Ohrid - meeting Linda and Jochen
Camper Cultural Trip - Albania - Macedonia - Greece

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