We are three loonies
Or so they say. Maybe it’s true, maybe not. In any case, we are not the only ones.
We have a "bad" car, symbol of “ancient”, romanian times, that will lead us on some roads that “fit her perfectly”.
Between 15 and 31 January, the 2016 edition of the Budapest-Bamako rally takes place and we, the "Draco - The White Wolf" team participate in the "Spirit" category. This category involves participation with a car that is at least 30 years old and our car is 34. It’s the flagship car of the old communist Romania. We are talking about a Dacia 1300 from 1982.
In the 80’s Romania, Dacia 1300 was a term almost synonymous with the term "car". People did not ask you what car you have, only if you have one or not. If you had one, chances were small to not have a Dacia.
A car loved and hated at the same time. Loved and hated because in most cases, it was your only option but you had to wait an eternity to buy one. Hated and loved because it could break down for no reason but you could fix it using only some wire from the closest fence. It was that simple to fix a Dacia.
Time passed, Romania changed and so did the cars that roam our roads. Dacia 1300 has become a rare occurrence and people begin to forget it.
But we will remind them about this car.
The Budapest-Bamako rally can be considered the spiritual heir of the famous "Paris-Dakar" rally and the perfect opportunity to revive the spirit of our Dacia 1300. The departure is not from Paris and the destination is not Dakar but it keeps the same spirit of adventure. Much of the route is even on the old road of the Paris-Dakar rally.
We will embark on an epic journey with many other teams with old trucks and cars that are strange, colorful and forgotten by time.
From Budapest, we will drive on the European roads and motorways. From Hungary to Spain, through Austria, Italy and France, before we board a ferry to cross the Mediterranean sea and reach the realm of motorized adventures in Africa and forget the asphalt
There we will face bad roads and sand dunes. In short, the car will be back in its natural environment and the route will take us further through Morocco and Mauritania, on the Atlantic coast and the dunes of the Sahara desert before reaching our destination: Bamako, Mali.
We will make new friends, we will sweat pulling our Dacia 1300 out of the dunes of the Sahara desert, We will learn new things and get to know distant cultures.
Obviously, there are risks and the organizers do not hesitate to "scare us" with the potential hazards witch include: kidnapping, robberies, terrorist attacks, etc.
Details… We will be careful with ourselves and our car. We will not get discouraged.
At the destination, as a sign of gratitude for a great experience that we will have had lived, we will donate our car to a local in need.
Our adventure may end but the story will come back with us. We will return with a ton of pictures and a movie and they will be presented at a series of events in which we will share our African adventure with the public. The movie, the pictures and the stories will also be posted on our blog: www.draco-lupulalb.blogger.com.
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To do all this, we need your help. To cover the costs of the parts that are needed to prepare our Dacia 1300 for the road, the gasoline, the visas, the ferry, the return ticket, etc.
we need to raise 6000 euro.
Any contribution is greatly appreciated and in return we can send you postcards and keep you updated as often as possible on our adventure.
The updates will be posted on www.draco-lupulalb.blogger.com and on our facebook profiles:
www.facebook.com/stefan.andronache
www.facebook.com/dan.paici
www.facebook.com/sebastian.moga.96
The official Budapest-Bamako website: http://www.budapestbamako.org
