Budapest to Bamako 2022. Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the strangers.

I've gotta type this now while the nostalgia is at it's peak.  If I don't it wont come out right.  This is the part where I'm supposed to have one big conclusion, and I'm afraid I dont.  Ok, but then what the hell was the point in all this?  What did I get out of it?  Would I do it again?

Honestly, I don't know.

I'm researching the Mongol Rallye now, and it's been a dream of Mrs. Hungary and I to walk the Camino De Santiago.  In doing so, everyone always says the same things

1) Don't do what we did!

2) You get life-long friends!

Both of those are wrong.

First:  Don't ever worry about how you're going to do something like this.  Those details sort themselves out along the way.  Do it the way I did it, do it the way you do it, what's more important than how it's done is THAT its done.  Whatever your version of adventure is, please go do it.  You only have one shot at life on this garden of eden we've inherited.  Please spend it doing whatever it is that you love best.

(I will say that this particular trip is best done with people who share the same native language that you do, and it's best done with people you can be rude to.  It relieves a lot of pressure)

Second.  That crap about "life-long friends" is exactly that.  "Crap".  From something like this, you get nothing of the sort.  Instead you get photos like this:

That's Jack and Max in that photo.  When I wrote them both and said I'd be visiting just over an hour from where each of them lived (in the UK) on almost zero notice they showed up.

There I was...

6-months after it was all said and done, I had a hotel in the Cotswolds on a work trip.  And since the family was going to join me the room had two double beds.  I decided it'd be the perfect time to try to visit old buddies!

Both accepted my invitation, and both showed up.  Apparently both didn't expect to be able to stay in my hotel room because Jack showed up in a van and found a secluded parking spot at the edge of town and planned to sleep inside on some bedding he brought.  Max showed up in a 4wd Hilux he bought and had been working on.  He was going to sleep in the cab and had also brought bedding.

And that's what you get better than I could ever describe it.  You don't get "life-long friends" out of this.  Instead you get people that will drop everything they're doing at a moments notice.  People who will drive and hour and be willing to spend the night sleeping uncomfortably in their vehicles to come out and have a beer with you just because you happened to be in the semi-near vicinity.  Never a question asked and only good times to be had.

We closed the bar down that night and then went up to my room where Max brought out a bottle of single malt.  Well, the darn thing must have sprung a leak because when we woke up, the bottle was half empty!

So what happened afterwards.

Well, a couple attempts have been made to visit with Katka.  I was out of town when she came to pick up her stuff from the truck.  She's OCD so I didnt touch anything inside (because she'd want to go through it all) and cant imagine what she thought of the mess.  We were out of town, and there was no way I could be there to assist and of course that was kind of a bummer.  She left me a bottle of the best tasting honey liquor I've ever had (70% and smooth as silk).

Katka got her rocks in that visit as well, as they were still in the truck.  They were for her doctor who likes to collect such things.  She promises that if her doc gives her good drugs in return, that she'll share with me.

Her and Julius got together once for dinner.  They both taunted me with photos and messages while I was stuck at the office.  We decided to have a meet up with the three of us this summer in Bratislava, but everyone fell ill.  Julius and Katka still tried to come out, and I had to tell them both to stop being stupid and to get some rest.

Katka, Julius and I still chat near-constantly on instagram.  We send each other reels, and laugh at each other's bad jokes.

Julius is no longer with Bananas.  He had a few more adventures with them, and has since moved on.

Katka lost her jet boil on a camping trip this summer, and I bought the 3d printer Dan recommended and have been absolutely loving it.  It's an Ender 3-pro and I just bought one for a Ukrainian child that we've been supporting.

The photo I took of Jack writing in his notebook in Senegal near the bulls is now his FB profile picture.  I'm kind of proud of that.  Obviously we were able to meet up when I visited the UK.  He's still on two wheels.  He has a scooter he takes to motorcycle events and runs their courses.  If you reference his scoot, he'll exclaim "What a machine!"

Miroslav was going to accompany me on a trip to Ukraine but his LandCruiser broke again.  Julius and I joke that he has the ONE unreliable Toyota.

The Polonez that gave me the heart shaped Ukraine sticker was hit in a car accident and died (the car, not the driver)

In or about April of this year, our story appeared in a Slovakian Fashion magazine.  Katka submitted the story and the photos.  Obviously I'm in a lot of them, which means your best buddy Bill was featured in a Slovakian Fashion magazine (and anyone who thought those words would ever be spoken, is just plain nuts!)

Lukas is in sporadic touch with us.  He's busy baking in the UAE.  He and Misha are married now and are expecting their first.  His lucrative potential career looks to have worked out as he's alway posting baking shots in instagram.

Linda is still doing her instagram modeling and you can see some of her pictures from her experience on the Bamako rallye on her instagram page here:  https://www.instagram.com/lindagunisova/

The story is here:  https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17849748800856685/

Max is just returning from Africa as we speak.  He filled his hilux with tools and drove it down to Sierra Leone to donate them to local craftsmen.

On our last chat, he was blazing north through Portugal with two cracks in his frame.  Looks like the road conditions haven't improved down there at all

Alistair bought a GIANT Mercedes truck, and entered his fire truck in the Mongol Rallye.  Unfortunately that was canceled by the organizers due to the war.  Fraiser bought a truck version of those Pugeots that were bombing past us on Fury Road and I am to understand the truck is an absolute heap...

There's just so much more, I could go on forever.

I think the biggest news is the Budapest to Bamako documentary that Misha was a part of in the beginning.  It's called "Rust to Glory" and you can see a trailer for it here:

I haven't seen it yet, but I can tell you from the preview that it's cherry picked and over-done.  The part where Andrew Szabo talks about being out of water was the exact station in Mauritania where we found the refrigerated and frozen water we brought to Bananas when they were broken on the side of the road.

It's supposed to stream soon, so if anyone sees it I would love to know where it's at.

When it was featured on the B2B facebook page, someone did ask Andrew about the Skoda team's experience:

Here's the story about Miroslav's breakdown in Morocco on his northbound trip:

Hello, do you remember a that "shell" in mauritania where wasn't be a fueling hoses, only bottles? Day after visa in Bivouacs? When i was returning home i fill there from 50 to 100 percent, and troubles didnt wait for so long. Approx 100 km from moroccan border i started loose a power. So, I decided dont stop and hold an engine in rpm, and continue further, as i didnt want, so i must stop by border in mauritania and and i continued in no man land, and cca 500 meters from morroco engine died...i had one hour till checkpoint will be closed, i decided to use a starter and destroy energy of batteries to get to morroco. I was successful. There i parked straight next to border control, and started to searching help. Guys when saw that i am coming from behing a border they exactly know where is a problem. A highest officer of checkpoint took a care of care, to dont be robbed etc...a mechanic told that, injectors are dead, so i took it out, found a taxi and went to dakhla, gave to technician, spent one day in dakhla in europa hotel, finally a shower. next day i took and all injectors and found a car who is going to border. I came there, installed and again not worked, car was still dead. Do you know a mechanoc Bravo from zagora? I called him, i need a towing, he told wait a three days and we will come, so i waited three days for them with only 40 liter drinking water and 4 conserva of tuna in citron sauce. Car came at morning and funny story started, a guy asked do you have a money or have an atm where to took it of? I started to laught, two hours of conversation and he loaded me in... i traveled 1807 km from border back to Zagora, i went with mechanicians to lunch and after that i continued in journey on another direction Marakesch, but in village ouzazarate, a dybamo died, so during night was successfull and we repaired, bit we give more energy, and again problem, just wait... i got myself to tangier and then to ceuta and was waiting for ferry two hours. On morning i started a journey to barcelona, but about 15:00 started new problem, lost and force, and in valencia on first gear i got out from highway to toyota dealer. Finished in village Xativa. Waited three days, turbo, dynamo, and first injector broken, everything changed for original parts and continued...and in village piacenza close by milano, hight pressure fuel pipeline, the pipe what is from head to injector...first and second exploded and fountain two meters, . Before i put a diagnostic cable and it show big fuel leak, low fuel pressure etc.. from that highway, took me a highway patrol to dealer, i put a car there, and asked how long it will take. They told 2 weeks, and it was my last words, ok thank you i am leaving a car here and towing truck will it took it back home, i took a flight to prague and then to kosice to home ( its only resume from trip, i am not able to write here 31 day what i was trying to get home)

Was it an adventure?  Definitely.  But not one I really want to do again.  I'm going to have to, as both Hungarlings want to go so maybe in 8 years or so but I have time to prepare for that....

This was my introduction to Africa.  I wanted the Toyota to be a family adventure vehicle, and she's proven she can do it.  But more importantly, Africa showed me where my comfort levels were.  Tunisia and Morocco will be good enough for me for now, and we may have a trip to one of those coming up this summer.  Any further south, and I'll probably pass.

What about what I think of the B2B itself.

Well.  it's not what I was expecting, that's for sure.  If you asked me immediately after the rally, I would probably have had some choice words.  But I have to sympathize with the organizers a bit and say they actually did a good job of setting something up for everybody.  Sure there were unhappy people, and sure there was drama in the chats, and even the most done up scam I've ever seen.  But as we found out on the way north, that's Africa.  The B2B offers you a well thought out route through Africa that gives you a taste of "adventure" with a safety net to fall back on.  What you discover though is that safety net isn't the rallye organizers, as many would expect, it's the other participants.  You're in a group of people on the same adventure as you, and there's some serious strength in those numbers.

The B2B also solves the issues with border crossings.  One look at your decals, and you're good to go.  You don't get that when you're on your own.

That being said.  My favorite parts, and the best times we had, were when we were away from the rallye.  When it was just us and Bananas, or me and the Brits.  You gotta hand it to the guys you're with when you can say "running into a man with a machine gun" is a "good time".  or "Stuck two days on a Senegal Highway" is a "good time".

I really wouldn't want to do this all again, but I'm glad I've done it.  I would never have the guts to enter into africa without it, but now that I have I can do so with confidence.

And then there are my friends.  I haven't made friends like this since i left the military, and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Unfortunately I can't find my translated photos of the magazine.  I'll retake those and post them here tomorrow.

Good times, guys.  And thanks for following along

Awesome thread and an amazing adventure. Thank you for taking the time to document and share with all of us! Do you have any end of trip stats? How many miles, days, gas, etc.? I guess I am most curious about how long did this take?

Loved reading the whole thing.

NY Nick said:

Awesome thread and an amazing adventure. Thank you for taking the time to document and share with all of us! Do you have any end of trip stats? How many miles, days, gas, etc.? I guess I am most curious about how long did this take?

aw, I wish I did.  Honestly, I don't even know how many teams didn't make it.

I know that Ginger Mary's Revenge had to be towed across the finish line, but the exact numbers are completely lost on me on this one due to... well.. everything

In total, the truck was driven 19,000kms and change for the down and back (without so much as an oil change!).  9430 or so kms were done in the rally and honestly I think we spent somewhere near $3000 in just fuel, and ferry costs.  1400 euro for the initial signup, and here are our costs for insurance and visas:

And then you have your own personal vaccinations, vehicle prep, and camp equipment, and food, etc (we also had to pay a boatload for covid testing).  It adds up pretty quick.  I think I budgeted $3000 for the entire thing and was on the credit card by the time I got stuck in Senegal   If we had bought the vehicle, there of course would have been added costs (totally willing to help anyone do that who wants to participate, by the way)

The rallye started on October 21, and the finish line was November 8th.  I was literally singing "Driving into Hungary" on November 20th at a flat out run to get back across the border (after resting and then being stuck).  The brits didn't make it home for over another week as they ran into ferry troubles as well.

But I do know I got ZERO speeding tickets from France

stafford1500 said:

Loved reading the whole thing.

Thanks, man!  I'll be honest, writing about all that kind of gave me a better feeling about the whole trip. Being in the thick of it wasn't fun at all, but reliving it from the comfort of my computer chair next to a fireplace actually makes me nostalgic for all the times and experiences we had. I kind of want to grab a few of them and do it all over again

Stage 2 fun.

Stage 2 fun is fun that basically sucks when you are living it real-time and then talk about how awesome the adventure was for the rest of your life.

Sorta like a 24hour endurance race 

Obviously, this was more than a simple 24 hour endurance race, it's just the example that came to mind.

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

 

And that's what you get better than I could ever describe it.  You don't get "life-long friends" out of this.  Instead you get people that will drop everything they're doing at a moments notice.  People who will drive and hour and be willing to spend the night sleeping uncomfortably in their vehicles to come out and have a beer with you just because you happened to be in the semi-near vicinity.  Never a question asked and only good times to be had.

Truth!

I met some folks on a trip in 2017. We've become quite close and stayed in touch; I'm in the US, a couple are in Aus, and a couple are the UK. We've attended each others' weddings (and, tragically, at one point a funeral). 

Just this summer I met up with a couple of them and we berkeleyed off to Jordan together for a week and a bit.

A few weeks ago my wife was poking around and mentioned that plane fares were cheap, and was there anywhere I wanted to go in January? Well, y'know, I've never been to Estonia. How are prices? Pretty dang good, as it turns out, so I bought myself a RT ticket to Estonia. After the fact I pinged this friends group on WhatsApp. 

"Hey, I'm going to be in Estonia in January because flights were cheap. Anyone want to join?"

Three of them are coming from two different countries just to hang out. How cool is that? 

wvumtnbkr said:

Stage 2 fun.

 

Stage 2 fun is fun that basically sucks when you are living it real-time and then talk about how awesome the adventure was for the rest of your life.

 

That is the perfect way of saying it.  I'm keeping that one ("Stage 2 fun")

brandonsmash said:

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

 

And that's what you get better than I could ever describe it.  You don't get "life-long friends" out of this.  Instead you get people that will drop everything they're doing at a moments notice.  People who will drive and hour and be willing to spend the night sleeping uncomfortably in their vehicles to come out and have a beer with you just because you happened to be in the semi-near vicinity.  Never a question asked and only good times to be had.

Truth!

I met some folks on a trip in 2017. We've become quite close and stayed in touch; I'm in the US, a couple are in Aus, and a couple are the UK. We've attended each others' weddings (and, tragically, at one point a funeral). 

Just this summer I met up with a couple of them and we berkeleyed off to Jordan together for a week and a bit.

A few weeks ago my wife was poking around and mentioned that plane fares were cheap, and was there anywhere I wanted to go in January? Well, y'know, I've never been to Estonia. How are prices? Pretty dang good, as it turns out, so I bought myself a RT ticket to Estonia. After the fact I pinged this friends group on WhatsApp. 

"Hey, I'm going to be in Estonia in January because flights were cheap. Anyone want to join?"

Three of them are coming from two different countries just to hang out. How cool is that? 

 

Its nuts isn't it?  I mean aside from Mrs. Hungary and maybe 1 or 2 other people, I'd rather be on my own (traveling or otherwise).

But yeah, the guys you went adventuring with?  They're different.  I couldn't imagine traveling or adventuring without them!

Thank you for documenting your adventure.  It was a great read. I experienced it through you. That is as far as I care to go.

lownslow said:

Thank you for documenting your adventure.  It was a great read. I experienced it through you. That is as far as I care to go.

When I was signed up and looking for people, a friend of mine's husband was a previous participant.  I texted him and thought he'd 100% be onboard for what was nearly a free ride.

"Hey Bill, I think that adventure was a 'one and done' for me" was his reply.

At the time, I didn't understand (like at all).  Having just finished, I 100% get where you both are coming from

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for following along! 

oh man, I almost forgot!  The Slovakian Mercedes Van team made a video and put it on Youtube!  (click on the closed caption button for translation to english)

If you pause it RIGHT at the beginning, you'll see your best buddy bill on top of the Bananas Disco on his way to take a dip in the river:

I also found the Hungarians that were stuck on the Senegal highway with us (no translation available, unfortunately)

 

Here's the article in "Emma", from Slovakia: