Huntik Season 2 Episode 1 Myspace

From the mountains of Cameroon to the slopes of the Congo. May 2010

Hello everyone. Here we continue with a thousand stories that have happened in our way by African soil. Each time a little further south, with some mechanical problems in the fragon, the tracks began to worsen, the landscape changes .. Central Africa is a new journey.

Mount Cameroon

After we went to the north, to join green mountainous area, Bamenda and its surroundings, where we started having real problems with the brakes. That means we are left with no brakes a few times. We have tried to fix, but it seems the mechanical incompetence following us, and even though we have changed brake pads and brake pump dismantled, no one we arrange them, which sometimes becomes desperate, very desperate. Luckily Barto's birthday was the perfect excuse to relax and even have a beer rich ... a small celebration very special.

So with that little problem, we could not dwell too much these lands, and that after a steep drop came a more and more smoke coming from the wheels. We decided the best thing would be to return to a more level field, so we took the road to Yaoundé, where you also have to collect the new passport and passage of the Meat fragon.

Cameroonians are friendly, and great beer drinkers. Difficult to find a place to drink a morning coffee .. national breakfast has nothing to do with caffeine and early morning all are already sit-together and enjoy their great beers early morning. The police has made it pretty quiet, and each control were kind, and even roadside stalls and the usual, seeing that we were white people were allowed to pass without asking for documentation. We have found that the police here are corrupt but as the tourists leave us quite alone.
common comments are that we will never forgive the Catalans have stopped going to Barca's Eto'o, but surely now everyone will be happy at the UEFA .. Here soccer is a real drug. (Half of the population and the other from Barcelona Inter).
Here we stayed in a small "Camping" in the Presbyterian Church, which for various reasons will be our home for two weeks. The passport should arrive on Monday with the diplomatic bag of the English embassy, \u200b\u200bfailed to Cameroon by the problem of flight in Europe at the eruption of Iceland, and we expect the following Monday. The passage I collect meat without any problem. (Aleluya!! Go off!)

In the campsite we found a group of bikers go also to the south. One German, two nova Zealanders and one Australian. Peter, the lonely old man from Tasmania, is turning the world on his bike, although something fucked up because by his BMW into a truck to overcome some sections Chung, and turning the truck just charging part of the bike, and almost kills the poor, opening a serious gap in the front.
The kids tell us they have found some Frenchmen who came from Congo. They had detailed the state of the roads, and explain that there is a stretch of 200 kilometers terrible, including Oyo Franceville and filled with sand, very hard. With such information we have stopped shaking. We knew that coming chungas tracks, but always expect to hear something like ".. it's really not so hard," which usually exaggerates .. "" .. with the van when they pass over "or something like ".. quiet, the Chinese have made a ten-lane highway in that area"!
In view of the information received to date, decided by all means raise your own possible suspension on the van, soldering an extension cushions (made in Barto). After seeing how bad mechanics who work in these lands, we decided to do it ourselves. When removing the first shock, we see the fudge that we had in Ouagadougou when we made the first attempt by a few inches up the van. We are thinking of sending a letter bomb! Any suggestions?

So get to work. With the wit and the hands of Barto, super help of Peter, Jordi doing what it can and Sofia making food and fetching screws through the city. There has been too easy, especially return the first shock.

The second we have gone more to the point, but the van, and even have been much higher, it seems difficult to make a good alignment. We do not know if we have done for better or for worse, but "nothing ventured qui no pinch. " Now it a try.
We also changed the rear tire size, bought wheels for the field, and finally decided to take off weight, leaving only half of the roof, removing cabinets, selling the refrigerator, bicycle, tent, ... everything ... as they come new adventures, and better than we caught light. Oh mama! We have the fragotunning ...!

On one trip to Sofia by the city to look for screws, has met with the cops doing immigration passport control and had no documentation as above it have been Commissioner, giving first a tour of the city, while the cop was doing his job and would arrest any illegal who had been on the streets, here in Cameroon are not few. It's amazing how illegal immigration is inside Africa itself. Well, it's not just more than a little scare and presenting your passport at the immigration office to let her go.

Well, Monday, new passport in hand, and go to the Embassy of Gabon to arrange for expensive visas. Three days after everything is ready for the journey. High van, new wheels, much lighter, passport visa, money ... money? Where is the money from Jordan? Search and retrieval, van upside down, and does not appear. There has been a mysterious disappearance of the waist, with money, cards ... and the old passport with the visa in Cameroon. Go fuck! What now? Cancel cards, police report, go to migration. So that in the kidneys was not the new passports and vaccination cards, but he has already been to die for. Middle

traumatized by the disappearance of magic, we go for the Gabonese border hoping that we will not ask the old passport with entry visa from Cameroon. Fortunately not ask and we are already in Gabon ... and it seems that the van is going well. Gabon
is green, all an impressive jungle. On the road villages are barely four houses up and down mad truck, led by Malaysia, China and Gabon, which at a frenetic pace they deforested the green lung of the world.

After the first shock to have sought a clue to sleep and stay stuck in the mud after rain during the night, we stopped at one of those mini-village for a coffee. When he suddenly heard a bang, cataplannn! Just like a shot, but all you see is our van parked in front of us .. shit! It has broken a suspension spring! For queeeeeeee?? With all the gigs that is, once again dismantle suspension, and then consider what to do, Sofia and Barto go to the nearest town, about 80 miles to try to shape and adapt the broken spring.

is done, they return and the next day is all built back up and running, to see if it stands the invention!

After passing through breathtaking scenery, we arrived at Libreville, where we expect Yvette, contact Couch surfing in Sofia, who lives in a supercasa to the sea with his brother.

a luxury.

In this city full of white, French military, luxury cars, casino, and macrosupermercados do the visa for the Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire, and known as Congo Kinshasa). We tried to make the difficult visa for Angola, but we have rejected. Will require further testing to the south.

also looking for suspension springs. In these latitudes is not easy to find this type of van, luckily we found a military scrap. Here we return to remove suspended, tests, questions .. true professionals! Although in the end we left the docks recently purchased parts and we only some small modifications.
have been some good days in Libreville, welcome, dip in the sea and eat well. So we had to give a little lecture to a group of young people in a leadership project, explaining our experience, but above all to encourage them to go. Strange, all very rare, or not?

Gabon has new president for about 6 months, although you can imagine, is the son who died. Democracy is subjective, but people can not do anything to respect and comply saying that the son, Ali, is more permissive than his late father and is doing good things for the country. This country, rich in timber, oil, diamonds, ... has paved des just one run north to the capital, and the rest of the country is connected by tracks. The latter looks set to change with the economic giant of Chinese meddling in Africa.
went out with the intrigue of whether or not we pass the next test, to call it somehow. First, a track about 400 km of which we read anything, but we do not have much recent information. According to everything we have learned, having that information in Africa is never trusted, is the best route to the Congo, because that goes straight to the south, it appears that is the "all evil", but just comes to the rebel zone.
The surprise is that the track is fixed in most sections, is that the Chinese are putting the batteries in terms of return dozens of road projects. The issue of working conditions and quality of final product I think we leave for future discussions.

The scenery is beautiful, very different than we had imagined, but of course amazing. In three days we Franceville, with some final stretches of asphalt, Nuevitas Unknown years.

This is where it ends up good, and after reaching the last village in Gabon and have doubt which is the best way forward, we explain that it is a terrible track, sand, crushed by trucks several times a week across to fetch material for the construction of future road that is building on the Congolese side. The option is to take a more northerly track, also sandy, but with less ruts, but also less busy, you do not know if it is in our interest if we had any problems with the van. Finally decided to go for the busiest, just where the asphalt ends and the sand begins.

One webss you put the tie, especially if we are told that we would not in any way, even the 4x4 get stuck in the sand and must go to rescue them in a month that we would be able to break through .. almost 300 km ...

Dash, sprint, and Barto at the wheel of the leading fragon to rally, but with the J5! We palláaaá!!

not go even two miles and we're stuck and shoveling, with sheets of sand, and looking for a tree to attach the hoist that luckily inherited the Child (like a shovel, and curlers ! And thank goodness). As my mother comes! Over two hours and got out the van.

About six miles later we are back and trapped, this time it seems worse, but luckily on the night passed a truck that takes us part of cable twice pulls that gets us and we started half bumpers, and even with miracles that we do not start the wheel axle. We begin to see where we've gotten. Perkins!

We came to a village in the middle of nowhere, under the watchful eyes of children and residents, where there are two guys to join a section, at least until the next town. Apparently by the features and especially the size, are pygmies. We went to the village where the small Congolese migration customs office, about 15 miles later the road less sandy. But actually turn to get stuck in the sand. We are in the middle of the track well run aground when displayed a convoy of trucks accompanied by a backhoe and a aniveladora, which in this case we take, we do not know whether to help, or rather to be removed from the medium to these tourists oblivious to interfere with heavy traffic. Five minutes later we are again stranded, this time until we have left the tire from the rim, and the hairs do not we carry the transmission. Go torture. With the help of pygmies, immigration officers and half the town we took the van.

The News here is that the track gets worse later .. How worse? ay mama! Since then, there were no exaggerated information rather, it had fallen short, there is recognition.

So after stamping the passports in a small hut made entirely customs with palm leaves, and buy 5 onions, which is the only thing we found in the village, continue.

Nothing else out and find a raise sandy impossible for the van. One of these increases with a truck burst midway, oil stains everywhere, deep trace ... if only missing the quicksand! We decided stand overnight and to expect some kind soul to pull us where you get a little better.

the sun has not come up when a giant retro is shooting us, by order of the head of the caravan of trucks and had helped us the day before and already back to Okoye. "Excuse me?" "Oh yes, I have orders to help Okoye (about 45km) where the track better."
is still night and we're going without believing ourselves what is happening to us.

We came a stretch and from there we are part of an amazing huge convoy of two trucks, a dump truck, a retro, a aniveladora, African motorists, and a Chinese couple in charge of supervision.

It's amazing how even the trucks get stuck and have to be hauled by one and another machine in the midst of this chaos of clues, like skate. It's amazing that we are helping. It's all very surreal. We realize how lucky we are taking as we go by miles, ".. here we had not gone, not here ... "or a month we had left on our own this mess!

Finally, after being towed a few times and make other leading the rally style, we Okoye, where we give them a good tip to drivers of the machines. If it were not for them where we were.

From here the Chinese are working to fix the track, where there is even stretches of asphalt, but that does not stop us to turn to get stuck in the sand again, which means again the blades and irons. With both remain stranded, the van began to show signs of being tired, but overall the clutch starts to slip, too much was spent. Still does not touch another as we continue to a village where we can take a workshop. We estimate that about 100 km. In one of those, half elated to have crossed this door, bought some cones in a small town, and stopped to eat later. The engine will not restart!

Nothing here, nothing there, and not knowing to look or taste in the engine, I get a white 4x4, Michel. Okoye said work, which has its own mechanic, and if we want to drag us, but 45 miles back. We are in doubt, but not too many options, being in the middle of nowhere, and according to him, thirty miles from a town where not find any mechanic. Accepted his offer and hospitality. Michel is to be a Frenchman, with a long history in Africa. He is responsible for overseeing the construction of the road. Suddenly we're taking a good French wine, hot showers, sleeping in a huge bed ... how will these things?

The mechanic tells us we have a battery problem, and put a new adapter (although you have to see if there really is not a problem alternator) but we say no we can fix the damn clutch. We see it really bad to get to the paved area, even at 120 miles, but Michel said that we can accompany a company car if I had to tow at some stage.

We want to find another solution and just going to speak personally to the shop next door that is of Chinese trucks, and after talking with the head Ning messier as we can, we agree that his mechanics dismantle the clutch. We never thought it was so much work and almost cried to see everything we dismounted from the van to get to the clutch disc. The problem is that there is no disc or material adapted for riveting. It should pazciéncia, and sent to one of the employees of Brazzaville Michel to adapt it.

mechanical Among all this mess, it seems that is what the trip is a bit lately, we enjoyed amazing hospitality, good times, great food that we prepare every day Roger .. is like a physical rest, and recovery of energy, but really all just waiting to have everything resolved before continuing. We can not complain, really. We ride the clutch a couple of days, and it's time to continue. It's time to say goodbye to Okoye, and the large family that we have these days. The track continues

sand,

but from here This virtually every footstep, so we got to the road, without saying that no new problems and this seems to be never ending. What the fuck have touched those damn mechanics? We

to Brazzaville. and play again pull strings, embassies, mechanics, people or people to be references to find the parts we need and which were left to put the mechanics of Okoye. Who has not heard that the first thing one needs to come to Africa is patience. But such is possible?

So here we are, artandonos of patience in the midst of Congo, searching for solutions and trying to rely on the unreliable, then the amount of bad experiences and the few visible alternatives. Is it the end of the J5? To find our friends a mechanic who knows what they are doing? Will there be replacement parts? Can these three white boys get to have the patience they need??

not miss the next chapter .... fra africaaaa gon!

and up here the last fragon. We send love, hugs and kisses incondionales ... petons to Clareta, very good vibe to the Martha and Rose and their respestivas barrigotas. We miss you all, is inevitably inevitable ...!!!! Jose, thanks!