Hello All,

A Happy New Year from Dogubayazit in Turkey.

Looks like I'm out of the Iranian fire and into the 'Dog'ubayazit box. Haha. Sorry poor joke but it made me laugh.

Well I've finally made it out of Iran. It wasn't quite the way I'd planned it.

With a 3rd gearbox failure in 5 weeks it was time try and find another solution. So after sleeping in the car again I was picked up by my trusty recovery truck driver Amir and we headed northwest 300kms to the border with Turkey. At 5pm today in a first for the expedition I pushed Boris over the border into Turkey near Dogubayazit. Not exactly a triumphant entry / exit but successful nonetheless.

Now the word is out and I'm trying to source a new gearbox system, a new mechanics and a truck transporter (to wherever the mechanic is) Erzurum, Anakara and Istanbul are the likely options, with Istanbul being the favourite.

How long will I be in Turkey is difficult to predict. My lonely planet says its not so straightforward for me to leave without Boris, even temporally.

It looks like all those fans that were getting worried their daily fix of expedition drama was going to end have had a reprieve. I think its safe to say I will not be making it back for the 11th of January anymore. I suggest you all put January 18th in your diary for the time being. And perhaps the 25th the way things have been going.

I will updated you all as the adventure continues...

Big O, Boris and Kiwi Ted

Meanwhile here is the latest blog from Iran.

Merry Flippin Xmas - A Letter From Boris

And a picture of the crew taken at 2am the morning the gearbox failed for the 3rd time!!

Hi All,

I finally made it out of iran and then crossed Turkey on he back of two other trucks to the Greece border. In Greece I had a new gearbox from the UK flown out and installed. While I was waiting I had to return to London to work for two weks before returning to Greece to continue the drive home. The gearbox first went on November 24th and I got back on teh road properly on January 26th. And returned to London on Feb 1st. Job Done.

Thanks to everybody in Iran, Turkey and Greece for their amazing help.

Jonny

BigO, Well done mate, what an adventure.

Cheers Bigchaser,

Just to fill in a few more details here is my blog from Turkey.

Turkey – Istanbul, Dogbiscuit, Some Raki, And A Genius Idea | Big O's Adventures

Basically I decided to head straight for Greece as it was in the EU. Like Iran and was also considered about how long it would take for parts to clear customs in Turkey. As I couldn't leave the car in the country to be fixed and depart myself I chose to head for Greece.

Once I have the right parts in took one day to fix the car. Same it took nearly 8 weeks to get the right parts to the car.

Thanks for sharing these details

Something like this can happen on an journey. Good to see that you had manage it, to get you car back to europe, to fix it and was able to drive home!

May more technical fortune stay with you, on your next trip!

Surfy

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