The drive to Troyes took us over the Chasseral mountain and via the Jura region. Driving through Switzerland so quickly really makes the different linguistic regions apparent. One valley may be German speaking but the adjacent one will be French and the one following that back to German.
Surprisingly the roads that we drove on today weren’t too great, with some having a number of potholes. There were also instances of cows on the roads, so we were very much reminded of the conditions in Mongolia although it wasn’t quite that extreme.
The navigating has been far more complex in Europe than in Asia. There seems to be at least one instruction every 3 km and sometimes many more. This is quite a change from Russia where it was even possible to have short naps on the long stretches we would drive on the same road. In general napping is only possible if you are following a good navigator, however this is not recommended! We made a couple of navigating mistakes by following people who didn’t quite know where they were going. Similarly whenever we would make mistakes it was almost certain that the car behind us would join us on our excursion.
Although we were all tired, we stayed up late to reminisce about the amazing experience that we have had! As most people have their families joining them in Paris this is the last night where it is just the competitors. Everyone has become very close and almost become a second family so it is a shame to think that we may not see many of the people again!
Thank you Noele and Mario, for the interessting reports and wonderful Pictures from your Peking – Paris adventure.
Take care and hope to see you sometimes.
Michael