The greatest adventure of your life
For Jorge, it has been a wonderful decision, and that His racing car is a '79 two-horse. "Naranjito turned out to be the best travel companion imaginable. Thanks to him, in every town, city or village we came to, the locals greeted us with a smile ", he tells us after having toured 54 countries with him. "I think Picking a '79 car was a great idea.. The world must be traveled slowly so as not to miss any detail. Also, the 2cv is pure mechanics, so repairs are easy and very inexpensive ". Something like that ** Herman Zapp also confessed to us **, another inveterate traveler. This one has more than 15 years circling the globe with his wife and their four children in a 1928 Graham Paige, which does not reach more than 70 kilometers per hour.
Although he celebrates it now, Jorge's was not a premeditated plan: "I wanted to travel in a different way than usual, and when they gave me the book The Earth in Round, of J. Seguela and J. Baudot, I did not doubt it. They they went around the world in the 50s on the back of a Citroen 2cv , and his relationship with the car was very interesting to me. I finished the book, and having no notion of mechanics , I bought a car, i restored it and I set off in search of the unknown. It's that simple," says the globetrotter.
THE FERRYS, "THE WORST"
The cross of the currency are, above all, "the necessary maritime transport" . "Dealing with the border agents, with the numerous corrupt officials and also with the demanding customs when arriving in a new country, "recalls Sierra. And he details:" In Australia you have to deal with paranoid customs controls. In India, with the pervasive corruption of the civil service and in Panama, with the little professionalism of the port workers, who much to my regret, they ransacked the car e before he could get it back. Despite this, my worst experience was in the port of Bangkok, where a high official wanted to keep my car. A whim that was about to cost me a lot and that delayed my trip more than 30 days ", he explains.
Other commuters, like Mogly and Felix, **haven't even been able to afford to get their mode of transportation**, an old school bus, onto the ferry that separates Panama from Colombia. However, the problem came mainly from the dimensions of the vehicle. With a regular car you should only take into account (in addition to everything Jorge says) that, sometimes, rental cars do not allow transportation in this medium.
Seriously, what's the worst that can happen...?
IMPASSABLE ROADS
Nevertheless, Jorge and Naranjito have overcome all the vicissitudes that have been presented to them: "We have arrived where we set out to," he tells us. He just had to get China out of his way, "a country where the government forces you to pay absurd amounts of money to be able to drive under the watchful eye of a local guide who acts as a police informer ", specifies the.
In fact, in the Asian giant foreigners cannot rent a car. Neither in Vietnam , where the closest thing you will be to doing it is hiring a private driver, so if you are one of those who enjoy roadtrips, it would be interesting for you to soak up all this information in advance.
It is also advisable to know, as far as possible, the uses and customs of the place: It is not the same to drive through Spain as through Thailand , where, In addition to driving on the left , the normal thing is that the motorcycles go without light at night or that Trucks pass you both on one side and on the other. And at the same time. Other countries through which it is also circulated "in reverse" are Cyprus, Ireland, Malta, United Kingdom, India, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa and Japan, but there is more, so check it out before you go!
To Jorge, versed in these differences, the traffic that has surprised him the most is that of Georgia. "It is a country of the Soviet orbit where drivers they strive to risk their lives at every moment ", he recalls." And of course, India, where one can come across elephants, monkeys, trucks, rickshaws, motorcycles with four passengers, carts pulled by donkeys or horses and children playing In the middle of the road. I got very scared driving on its dilapidated roads."
Driving is not the same in Mexico as in Madrid
WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW BEFORE LEAVING?:
1. TRAFFIC REGULATIONS
It also doesn't hurt to take a look at the country-specific regulations. In the United States, for example, it is it is mandatory to turn right even if the traffic light is red; in Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania they do not allow any alcohol in blood who leads; in Greece, You can not smoke in the car, and in Cyprus, not even drink water; before entering Costa Rica you have to fumigate the car, and you should at least wash it before you cross the Bulgarian border; in France you have to bring a first aid kit...
The best thing is that you inform yourself about the country you visit; **if you are within the EU, you can download this app** to know its road regulations. And be careful with the fines: if they put them in front of you, They will immobilize your car until you pay them. Another thing is that they do it when you can't see it, but even so, thanks to the new intra-community laws, now they are more likely than ever to come home to you.
two. TOLLS
In many countries you can only pay the toll with local currency, so make sure you bring some cash. In others, such as Austria, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Switzerland, you have to buy a sticker that you put on your windshield and is automatically read by the payment system. Also beware of electronic tolls in ** Portugal ;** you may pass them without realizing it.
3. BORDER CROSSING
Secondly, crossing borders outside the European Union is not always easy either, and usually requires quite a few documents. Among the most common are original documentation of the car, the driver's license, the valid DNI or passport of the driver, the vehicle's technical data sheet, the card of the Technical Inspection of Vehicles (ITV), the last receipt of the circulation tax and the insurance receipt in vigor. In addition, sometimes it is necessary to pay fees, take out mandatory insurance and sometimes even they will have to take your temperature , as is the case on the Nicaraguan border.
Also, it is interesting to have the international driving license (you can get it for ten euros at the Traffic offices) if you are going to drive through a country that does not appear on the following list: Germany, Austria, Andorra, Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Colombia , Croatia, Korea, Denmark, Ecuador, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Philippines, Finland, France, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Nicaragua, Countries Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, Czech Republic, Romania, San Salvador, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, in addition to Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, which belong to the European Economic Area. The list of countries can change, so again, better check it before you leave.
Also, if you travel in your own vehicle, it is interesting that you ask the insurance if it would cover you the same that you have contracted in Spain in the countries that you are going to visit. From the outset, it should work for you. circulate in 34 countries, 28 within the European Union plus Switzerland -including Liechtenstein-, Iceland, Norway, Andorra and Serbia. On the other hand, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Israel, Iran, Moldova, Morocco, Russia, Montenegro, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine, among others, require the International Certificate of Insurance, also known as a 'Green Card'. Check with your company if you need it too.
In order not to end up like Bonnie & Clide, it is better to travel without weapons... and with all the documents in order
IS IT WORTH RENTING?
It depends, of course. There are companies that they don't let you travel more than the country where you rent the car ; there are others who have limited mileage ; there are some that will charge you a fortune to pick up the vehicle in one area and return it in another. For all you will need a credit card with a medium high available (around 600 euros minimum) ; some They won't let you rent if you're under 25... It is best to consult the rules of each one according to the place you want to travel to.
Here you have the terms and conditions of AVIS , Sixt and Hertz , although to Jorge, the fact of going with his private car offered unexpected advantages : "I would like to mention the relationship with the mechanics, since every problem meant a new friendship and a new story to tell. In fact, many of the professionals who fixed my car in the four years of traveling they refused to charge me after services rendered. One more example of the generosity of the human being, and of the fantastic thing about traveling in your own vehicle", explains the explorer.
And the journey begins... now!