Google Navigation Challenge III: from Cape to Cape

[Shadaza]

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/4P6R%2B ... &entry=ttu

The spirit of adventure calls. The car conks out and I push into Niger anyhow. But I'm not out of it yet. I'm not out of it yet.



57 minutes of penalty is worth it to be out of Nigeria, my god.

[DigitDan7]

Day 16

ROUTE



Start: HOTEL TARKA, V7MX+F7R, Niger
End: Casa do Bluezao, 7R9H+G23, Tchirozerine, Niger
Distance: 548km
Time: 9h 6min

Stop 1: Moutta boutique, F74M+H6H, Unnamed Road, Abalak, Niger
Stop 2: Restaurant Tihamarine, In Gall, Niger
Stop 3: Sabon Gari, Sabon gari, Agadez, Niger
Stop 4: Salamat Market Az, Unnamed Road, Agadez, Niger

[Nessafox]

3 distinct routes are being ran at this point, but the differences get larger.

Lowest Mileage

3042 Rob Dylan (DNF)
4827 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
5145 Ducktanian (DNF)
6786 pasta_maldonado
7661 Frogfoot9013
7752 NickyDustyOwl
8121 Shadaza
8201 Loadsamoney
8633 Nessafox
8778 Pinkd56
8920 Forti
9536 Klon
9566 DigitDan7
9654 TommyKl
9779 Girry
9795 Aislabie
10204 Nuppiz

Nuppiz does the complete opposite and passes the magical 10.000 km mark. A lot of those on the lower end of the spectrum are really barely in the race at this point.

Most Counties

15 Klon
15 Aislabie
13 Frogfoot9013
13 TommyKl
12 Forti
12 Pinkd56
11 DigitDan7
9 NickyDustyOwl
9 Nessafox
9 Nuppiz
8 Loadsamoney
8 Girry
8 Shadaza
6 pasta_maldonado
5 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
5 Ducktanian (DNF)
3 Rob Dylan (DNF)

Aislabie's big move has started, and in his footsteps will likely follow Forti and PinkD

Stage points

25 Girry 757
18 Nuppiz 691
15 TommyKl 691
12 Aislabie 670
10 Klon 651
8 Frogfoot9013 612
6 DigitDan7 548
4 Pinkd56 537
2 Forti 515
1 Shadaza 405
0 Nessafox 364

A good points haul for Girry. Nuppiz and TommyKl equal on km's but tie tiebreaker that was used is that Nuppiz posted their route first.

Championship

155 Aislabie
130 Girry
123 Shadaza
123 DigitDan7
123 Nuppiz
121 Loadsamoney
120 Ducktanian (DNF)
103 Forti
99 TommyKl
97 NickyDustyOwl
91 Pinkd56
86 Klon
77 Nessafox
62 Frogfoot9013
42 pasta_maldonado
33 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
32 Rob Dylan (DNF)

Aislabie's now taking a decent lead, Ducktanian is finally dropping in the standings. The fact that it took so long just show how strong he was.

Daily random object generator:
9, the rng just seems to love Klon
cement stone.
Welp.


Penalties
Nessafox 45 (9 overtime)
Aislabie 160 (32 overtime)
Frogfoot 265 (53 overtime)
Shadazy 285 (57 overtime) most important is that he's alive.
Girry 365 (73 overtime)

Country rng's


Ethiopia
Weather (% rain) 3%
21
Political unrest (% of something happening) 20-50%
94

South Sudan
Weather (% rain) 5%, more than 30°C
54
Political unrest (% of something happening) 20-50%
37 you've been held for questioning in the police office, lose 2 hours

Chad

Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 45¨C
no rng needed
Political unrest (% of something happening) 10-20%
24

Nigeria
Weather (% rain) 13%, more than 30*C
43
Political unrest (% of something happening)
South: 20-50%
41, you nearly die, spend 1 night in the hospital

North: 50-100%
6 you hit your toenail, you lose 25 mins in the hospital



Sudan
Weather (% rain) 1%, more than 40*C
2
Political unrest (% of something happening)
General 20-50%
98
Darfur: 50-100%
87, you get shot after 100 km,spend 3 nights in a hospital

Benin
Weather (% rain) 10%, more than 30*C
56
Political unrest (% of something happening) 10-20%
23

Togo
Weather (% rain) 4*, more than 30*C
22
Political unrest (% of something happening) 10-20%
71

Djibouti
Weather (% rain) 1%, more than 30*C
14
Political unrest (% of something happening) 0-5%
69

Eritrea
Weather (% rain) 39%
88
Political unrest (% of something happening) 0-5%
59

Niger
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 40*C
No rng needed
Political unrest (% of something happening) 20-50%
77

Ghana
Weather (% rain) 9%, more than 30*C
1, no time lost
Political unrest (% of something happening) 10-20%
15, how do you even keep getting scammed that often? Take a 2 hour lesson business practices in the nearest university.

Ivory Coast
Weather (% rain) 12%, more than 30*C
30
Political unrest (% of something happening) 5-10%
84

Burkina Faso
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 35*C
43
Political unrest (% of something happening) 20-50%
1 you get followed by an angry goat, lose 15 mins.


Mali
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40°C
27
Political unrest (% of something happening) 20-50%
25 sleep one night in jail

Liberia
Weather (% rain) 1%
18
Political unrest (% of something happen ing) 0-5%
11

Sierra Leone
Weather (% rain) 53%, more than 30*C
74
Political unrest (% of something happening) 0-5%
13

Guinee
Weather (% rain) 9%, more than 30*C
26
Political unrest (% of something happening) 5-10%
3, they want to test a new drug and need a... well... guinee pig. Lose 45 minutes, but gain some cash.

Guinee-Bissau
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
Political unrest (% of something happening) 0-5%
24

Senegal
Weather (% rain) 1%
73
Political unrest (% of something happening) 5-10%
12

Gambia
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
48
Political unrest (% of something happening) 0-5%
1 You encounter one of the many African women Jacky Ickx claimed to have slept with, lose 15 mins with her speech about white men.

Mauretania
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
13
Political unrest (% of something happening) 5-10%
75

Egypt
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40%
44

Political unrest (% of something happening) 5-10%
34

Libya
Weather (% rain) 0% more than 35*C
no rng needed
Political unrest (% of something happening) 20-50%
99

Tunisia
Weather (% rain) 24%
78
Political unrest (% of something happening) 5-10%
96

Algeria
Weather (% rain) 6%
43
Political unrest (% of something happening) 5-10%
31

Western Sahara
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
Political unrest (% of something happening) 5-10%
61

Morocco
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
Political unrest (% of something happening) 5-10%
64

Spanish exclaves (Ceuta, Mellila, etc)
Weather (% rain) 1%
86
Political unrest (% of something happening 0-5%
66

Saudi-Arabia
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
Political unrest (% of something happening) 10-20%
24




Pasta and Loadsamoney have til 12 pm to confirm they're still alive, if not, they will be considered 'lost'.


Leg 17 opens on Tuesday 28th of may, 2024, 12:00 GMT+1
Leg 17 stops at Thursday 30th of may, 2024 23:59 GMT+1

[Klon]

The stop in the middle is a construction company whom I graciously convince to sell me one of their cement stones



Time stamp: 2024-05-28 12:36:43

[Aislabie]

PREVIOUSLY: DAY ZERO () | DAY ONE () | DAY TWO () | DAY THREE () | DAY FOUR () | DAY FIVE () | DAY SIX () | DAY SEVEN ()
DAY EIGHT () | DAY NINE () | DAY TEN () | DAY ELEVEN () | DAY TWELVE () | DAY THIRTEEN () | DAY FOURTEEN ()
DAY FIFTEEN () | DAY SIXTEEN ( )

Day Seventeen

Here is Peter and Hanse's route today:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vuFq83FweEYw9LFA8

With the penalty for going over time and being obliged to act as a guinea pig today, we have three hours and 25 minutes of total time loss. As a result, we've driven for exactly 6 hr 35 today, making a total of exactly 10 hours including penalties.

[Frogfoot9013]

Double route post again because I seemingly forgot to post the previous route after it was okayed.

First Route:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Katende ... ?entry=ttu

Second route:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/3.60427 ... ?entry=ttu

[Nessafox]

I'm just gonna do this and stop there for 2 days so i have plenty of time to enjoy as a tourist

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/%D9%82% ... &entry=ttu

[Shadaza]

What is worse than going 57 minutes overtime?

Going 75 minutes (ish overtime)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Resta ... &entry=ttu




Niger, where the restaurants are questionable, but the scenery is amazing and the hotels aren't half bad.


This restaurant may be an even bigger battle of wills than whatever the bathplug happened in Nigeria.

[Nuppiz]

Leg 17: Tingar, Aswan Governorate, Egypt -> New Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt

924 km in 9 h 59 min without traffic

Stop 1: Restaurant for drinks.
Stop 2: Gas.
Stop 3: Grocery store for drinks.
Stop 4: Gas.
Stop 5: Cafe for drinks.
Stop 6: Restaurant for drinks.
Stop 7: Gas.

[tommykl]

April 24th

The threat of imminent death may have vanished north of Khartoum, but the Sahara sure didn't. While the path never strayed far from the Nile, there was a very clear boundary between the alluvial plain and the barren desert, and the highway north fell clearly on the latter side. The sun still beat down at well over 40 degrees. The café they'd visited the day before was the perfect place to start the leg before heading back north past Nekhen, the political capital of Upper Egypt more than five thousand years ago.



Over an hour into the drive (and via a second supply stop), the road ended, allowing Tom and Yulia to turn right into the plain for the first extended stretch of greenery in many moons. This would be one of their last opportunities for a pit stop for a while, considering the roads ahead, so they overfilled with snacks and water in wait. Shortly thereafter, they crossed the Nile for the first time in the city of Luxor.



As the Nile valley's most famous attractions blew past, their melancholy only grew. This was the greatest adventure of their lives so far, and they were spending all of it either in the car or staying in dingy homestays and cabins. They could try to rationalise it as noting down potential places to revisit on a future, far less stressful holiday, but fundamentally the previous days had been decidedly unfun. At this point, only two facts spurred them on to the end: they were well past the halfway mark, and they seemed to be in the lead. This small lead could be extended today.

After passing by an odd intersection just north of Qena, requiring a crucial couple minutes' detour, it was back into the desert, just on the right bank this time. The first few dozen kilometres were at least through the mountains of the Eastern Desert, but this only led to more arid desolation.

The main saving grace was the road's quality: a dual carriageway with fresh tarmac. Perfect for hauling arse for hours. Aside from one stop at a cafeteria north of Sohag, it was a straightforward trek north through the mountainous desert.



Their fears of being left stranded without water had proven to be unfounded, however. Despite the unforgiving landscape, the road had plentiful rest stops with their own cafeterias, not to mention ostentatious off-ramps, some of them not even connected to additional roads.



The signs were counting down, kilometre by kilometre, towards the biggest city they would have seen on the challenge by far. 800km into the day - shattering their previous best - they would enter the Cairo ring road... if they hadn't instead turned right to go around it. Accommodation was plentiful for the following half-hour as the highway twisted through the planned neighbourhoods of Egypt's definitely forthcoming brand new capital, but with a bit less than an hour left on the clock, they took a gamble and continued east.

Down the road was the Suez Canal.

They knew they had a bit of margin from the road signs, but as the city approached, it dawned on Tom first that it was not as large as they'd figured. With only a handful of minutes left on the clock, there was barely any sign of an urban area. Soon, a barebones community popped up on the right hand side, and they immediately veered into it, stopping at an advertised homestay, the only accommodation for travellers to be seen for another couple of kilometres. The sights of Suez City would have to wait until the off-the-clock evening. Nonetheless, they'd just about made it to the edge of Africa!




Muhammad Abul Naga lodging, Bimban (Egypt) to Al Jado homestay, Suez (Egypt), via four water stops

9h58 without traffic (154h32 total)
944km (10609m total)
18000 Egyptian pounds (£2396 total)

[DigitDan7]

Day 17

I'M OUT OF NIGER BABYYYYYYYYY

ROUTE



Start: Casa do Bluezao, 7R9H+G23, Tchirozerine, Niger
End: Hotel Adjad - In Guezzam, In Guezzam, Algeria
Distance: 450km
Time: 7h 43min

Stop 1: Bar 18, 7R7H+GPC, Tchirozérine, Niger
Stop 2: Marché central d’Arlit, P9QP+6J4, Arlit, Niger
Stop 3: Tsapta fast food, P86M+GRV, Nouveau pavé école quartier, Akokan, Niger
Stop 4: Plan b, P88R+879, Akokan, Niger

[Pinkd56]

DAY SEVENTEEN
Heading westwards again today.

I manage to rack up another country by getting into the home of George Weah - Liberia. I'd heard rumours of some bizarre medical experimentation, so I opt to stay away from Guinea for now - however my resting spot in Ganta is just on Guinea border, so I could possibly hop over after breakfast tomorrow. For now, the PEACE EMPIRE HOTEL is home for the night.


START: Complexe Hôtelier Oasis du Moronou, 25, 25 BP 2248 Abidjan, Bongouanou, Côte d’Ivoire

FINISH: PEACE EMPIRE HOTEL, 6X9V+MC6, Ganta, Liberia

TIME ELAPSED (TODAY): 9h36m
TIME ELAPSED (TOTAL): 139h36M



DISTANCE (TODAY): 644km
DISTANCE (TOTAL): 8423km

COUNTRIES VISITED: 14

ESSENTIAL OILS PACKAGES SOLD: 5/5!

[Nessafox]

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... 845837&z=5

The Geographical spread at this moment is absolutely huge. Theres still 3 general tactics, the relative safety of the African Westcoast, the daring move trough the Sahara, and the route trough the touristic nile valley, that will inevitaly force people into the political fire that is the middle-east.
And oh theres also 2 others lagging behind a bit.


Least Km's covered

3042 Rob Dylan (DNF)
4827 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
5145 Ducktanian (DNF)
6786 pasta_maldonado (DNF)
7752 NickyDustyOwl
7887 Frogfoot9013
8201 Loadsamoney (DNF)
8570 Shadaza
9422 Pinkd56
9524 Nessafox
9630 Forti
10016 DigitDan7
10062 Klon
10187 Girry
10231 Aislabie
10598 TommyKl
11128 Nuppiz

It's pretty safe to say that the winner of this will not be from Finland.

Most Countries
16 Klon
16 Aislabie
13 Frogfoot9013
13 TommyKl
13 Forti
13 Pinkd56
12 DigitDan7
10 Nessafox
9 NickyDustyOwl
9 Nuppiz
8 Loadsamoney (DNF)
8 Girry
8 Shadaza
6 pasta_maldonado (DNF)
5 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
5 Ducktanian (DNF)
3 Rob Dylan (DNF)
No insane differences today.

Stage points

TommyKl 944
Nuppiz 924
Nessafox 891
Forti 710
Pinkd56 644
Klon 526
Frogfoot9013 468
DigitDan7 450
Shadaza 449
Aislabie 436


Tommy scores his first stage win, Egypt is proving to be a real different game. We've seen the distances we haven't seen since Namibia and South-Africa.


Championship
156 Aislabie
141 Nuppiz
130 Girry
129 DigitDan7
126 Shadaza
124 TommyKl
121 Loadsamoney (DNF)
120 Ducktanian (DNF)
117 Forti
103 Pinkd56
97 NickyDustyOwl
94 Klon
92 Nessafox
61 Frogfoot9013
42 pasta_maldonado (DNF)
33 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
32 Rob Dylan (DNF)

Aislabie's low score today allowed Nuppiz to bring on a real challenge.


Daily random object generator:
6, nickydustyowl is set on a mission to get something, a magnifying glass. We have no idea why he needs that but things will explain itself eventually.


Penalties
Forti: 65 (13 overtime)
Nessafox 1175 (235 overtime)
Shadaza 380 (76 overtime)
Girry 700 (140 overtime)

Girry and Nessafox will not be allowed to start tomorrow.


Country RNG's


Ethiopia
Weather (% rain) 3%
99
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
9, they want you to find another holy relic again, you must visit mount Ararat and retrieve the Ark of Noah

South Sudan
Weather (% rain) 5%, more than 30°C
52
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%

20 you've been held for questioning in the police office, lose 1,5 hours

Chad

Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 45¨C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%

82

Nigeria
Weather (% rain) 13%, more than 30*C
43
chance of something going wrong,

South: up to 50%
47, you accidentally shoot yourself, spend 1 night in the hospital

North: up to 100%
21, you get interrogated, they find something surprising, lose 30 minutes explaining what it is.



Sudan
Weather (% rain) 1%, more than 40*C
17
chance of something going wrong,
General: up to 50%
11, police investigation, lose 30 mins
Darfur: up to 100%
56, you get shot after 300 km,spend 1night in a hospital

Benin
Weather (% rain) 10%, more than 30*C
73
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
93

Togo
Weather (% rain) 4*, more than 30*C
87
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%

11, when you say i need to go in the least funny way possible, they think to theirselves 'not so fast!' so they hold you up 30 mins

Djibouti
Weather (% rain) 1%, more than 30*C
88
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%

77

Eritrea
Weather (% rain) 39%
3, no time lost
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
39

Niger
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 40*C
No rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
30, drive200 km, sleep one night in jail


Ghana
Weather (% rain) 9%, more than 30*C
62
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
43


Ivory Coast
Weather (% rain) 12%, more than 30*C
61
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
17


Burkina Faso
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 35*C
42
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
61


Mali
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40°C
29
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
28 drive 300 km, sleep one night in jail

Liberia
Weather (% rain) 1%
98
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
32

Sierra Leone
Weather (% rain) 53%, more than 30*C
55
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
56

Guinee
Weather (% rain) 9%, more than 30*C
45
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
10 after-effects, lose 1 hour in total with diarrhee, visit a pharmacy

Guinee-Bissau
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
99

Senegal
Weather (% rain) 1%
96
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
36

Gambia
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
72
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
61

Mauretania
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
67
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
41

Egypt
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40%
31
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
25

Libya
Weather (% rain) 0% more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
4, you cut yourself, go see a pharmacy to get some plasters

Tunisia
Weather (% rain) 24%
92
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
3, you accidentally speak in french, an angry goat attacks you, lose 15 minutes

Algeria
Weather (% rain) 6%
42
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
93

Western Sahara
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
52

Morocco
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
48

Spanish exclaves (Ceuta, Mellila, etc)
Weather (% rain) 1%
6
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
3, they have questions. Forftunately you have answers, lose 30 mins.

Saudi-Arabia
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
50

UK (Gibraltar)
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
40

Malta
Weather (% rain) 20%
26
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
91, why are you even here?

Jordan
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
37

Palestine
Weather (% rain) 5%, more than 30*C
24, it might be raining bombs, but at least it's dry
chance of something going wrong
Gaza: minimum 100%
You're certain to die
West Bank up to 100%
94, that's a near-death experience, spend 4 days in a hospital

Isnotrael
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
31, you get caught in some anti-hamas protest, you don't get harmed but since safety measures are so drastic, you do lose 5 hours.

Syria
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
15, a stray bullet hits your car antenna, get it fixed in some car shop, because admin will not allow you to drive without antenna. Also Tommy Kl will need to visit a psychiatrist on the road because the PTSD is going out of hand.

libanon
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 20%
80

Iraq
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
29, great idea that was, your car is so damaged it's undriveable, find a new one

Turkey
Weather (% rain) 0%
chance of something going wrong up to 20%
60

Cyprus
Weather (% rain) 0%
chance of something going wrong up to 5%
69, not sure why you're here, but if you're here, fun times are awaiting you.


Leg 18 is now open, nest deadline monday june 3rd, 2024, 23:59 GMT+1

[Klon]

Time stamp: 2024-06-01 16:58:24

[Nuppiz]

Leg 18: New Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt -> Zarqa, Zarqa Governorate, Jordan

756 km in 9 h 58 min without traffic

Stop 1: Restaurant for drinks.
Stop 2: Grocery store for drinks.
Stop 3: McD's for refreshments.
Stop 4: Gas.
Stop 5: Restaurant for drinks.

[Shadaza]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Casa+ ... &entry=ttu

Short one to avoid penalties and police.

Hung out at a children's playground. Met Dom. He seemed pretty passionate about the Ukraine war for some reason. Staying at a hotel who's first image is an open sewer pipe.

Fun.

[NickyDustyOwl]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/d21QYwHeBm1CNH1A9

Note: The stop at Shoprite is for the magnifying glass. In this entire complex I would assume Mr. Chukwunyelu will be able to find one.

Timestamp: 4:29PM EST

[Aislabie]

PREVIOUSLY: DAY ZERO () | DAY ONE () | DAY TWO () | DAY THREE () | DAY FOUR () | DAY FIVE () | DAY SIX () | DAY SEVEN ()
DAY EIGHT () | DAY NINE () | DAY TEN () | DAY ELEVEN () | DAY TWELVE () | DAY THIRTEEN () | DAY FOURTEEN ()
DAY FIFTEEN () | DAY SIXTEEN ( ) | DAY SEVENTEEN ()

Day Eighteen

Here is Peter and Hanse's route today:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/whcn83bjs7mRCkMW9

After losing one hour to the porcelain gods, Peter and Hanse have made their best efforts to traverse not one but two rural Guineas.

[tommykl]

April 25th

Quite frankly, they had missed the warzones.

Well, not really, but a bit of gallows humour was required to get Tom and Yulia through the upcoming pass of the Middle East. They left Agrod at the usual time and drove towards Suez, not because the quickest way was through the city, but rather the only way was towards it. A quick U-turn later, they were on the motorway and after a stop at the Dream Rest café, they tunnelled under the Suez Canal.



Yulia's navigation had proven crucial throughout the race, more than making up for her inability to drive, but as they saw signs leading to Sharm-el-Sheikh, she had to use superhuman amounts of restraint to keep to the real plan rather than silently pull out of the event and spend the following week enjoying the Red Sea sun. Instead, they turned left to cross the hot Sinai desert, which at least had the courtesy to occupy a relatively small bit of land, allowing it to be dotted with more villages, offices, farms and - heaven forbid - hospitals than the Sahara had done. The Al-Nekhel fortress was a particularly interesting sight in the middle of it.



The crossing was fairly quiet and they made Taba on the Red Sea in good time. However, while they planned to turned north towards Eilat in Israel, a flick through local news by Yulia revealed a major protest regarding the war in Gaza. Fearing the worst (particularly given their arrival from Egypt), they pivoted to option two: bypassing Israel entirely by forking south towards the ferry straight to Jordan.




While the resorts in Tala Bay on arrival looked incredibly tempting already, there was quite a lot of time left on the clock. Instead, they topped up their fluids in a café within the community and forged on north. Aqaba's other resorts were merely a blip on the horizon as they turned inland into the Wadi Rum desert.



The desert itself mostly stretched through Saudi Arabia though, and after a mere hour it had become more civilised again, with towns coming one after the other. They had taken to writing down names of archaeological sites that seemed interesting, in case they ever returned. The relative stability of Jordan as a nation certainly helped matters, as they were legion and well signposted. At least, that's when they weren't busy expressing their undying love for the farm animals that flew by their window every couple of miles.

The large town of Al Jizah signalled the imminent rallying of Amman, the capital, and was an occasion for a final drinks stop (a third stop at a small town supermarket had already replenished their stash of water that remained in the Land Rover) before the slog continued.



Of course, it would be too good to be true to imagine actually getting to visit Amman. The quickest route north, as always, was to follow the ring road around the capital, instead roaring past subdivisions in development and aspiring high-tech university campuses.

A good half-hour later, it was time for the final stretch, continuing up highway 15 towards the Syrian border. They knew that entering the country would be another massive gamble for their lives, let alone their mental health, and the race itself not even entering the equation. They ran out of time before reaching the border though, instead leaving the highway to seek shelter in Al-Mafraq instead. The hotel isn't exactly clean, but it's got some of the basic amenities that a lot of homestays and lodges of the previous two weeks had been sorely missing.



Al Jado homestay, Suez (Egypt) to Fakher Apartments, Al-Mafraq (Jordan), via four water stops

9h55 without traffic (164h27 total)
750km (11359km total)
140 Jordanian dinars (£2551 total)

[DigitDan7]

Day 18

ROUTE



Start: Hotel Adjad - In Guezzam, In Guezzam, Algeria
End: Unnamed Road, In Amguel, Algeria (I think the site doesn't like the name of my lodging)
Distance: 519km
Time: 7h 33min

[Pinkd56]

START: PEACE EMPIRE HOTEL, 6X9V+MC6, Ganta, Liberia

FINISH: Madam Wokie Hotel, F4GQ+WRH, Magbeti, Sierra Leone

TIME ELAPSED (TODAY): 10h3m
TIME ELAPSED (TOTAL): 149h39M



DISTANCE (TODAY): 604km
DISTANCE (TOTAL): 9027km

COUNTRIES VISITED: 15

ESSENTIAL OILS PACKAGES SOLD: 5/5!

[Nessafox]

Still 3 different main routes. Well in the back one person is trying to get into Darfur for reasons unclear. Nuppiz and Tommy seem to have a huge lead. Can the others overcome that? Aislabie's slowly going to get better roads once he's in Senegal and Digitdan is in the middle of what seems to be the absolute nowhere. At this point i'm not sure anyone else is a main contenter for the win. But anything can happen in this game, and it usually does.

Lowest Mileage
3042 Rob Dylan (DNF)
4827 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
5145 Ducktanian (DNF)
6786 pasta_maldonado (DNF)
8201 Loadsamoney (DNF)
8224 Frogfoot9013
8316 NickyDustyOwl
8618 Shadaza
9524 Nessafox
10026 Pinkd56
10187 Girry
10205 Forti
10535 DigitDan7
10703 Klon
10708 Aislabie
11348 TommyKl
11884 Nuppiz


We're slowly getting an idea of who might be in the hunt for the eco challenge.


Most countries:
17 Klon
17 Aislabie
14 Pinkd56
14 TommyKl
14 Forti
14 Frogfoot9013
12 DigitDan7
10 Nessafox
10 NickyDustyOwl
10 Nuppiz
8 Loadsamoney (DNF)
8 Girry
8 Shadaza
6 pasta_maldonado (DNF)
5 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
5 Ducktanian (DNF)
3 Rob Dylan (DNF)


The lead is still shared, but we see a big chunk of people in third spot, all of them can still win this classification.


Stage points
25 Nuppiz 756
18 TommyKl 750
15 Klon 641
12 Pinkd56 604
10 Forti 575
8 NickyDustyOwl 564
6 DigitDan7 519
4 Aislabie 477
2 Frogfoot9013 337
1 Shadaza 48

It was really only between Nuppiz and TommyKL due to them having the benefit of better roads. Klon scores his first podium since leg 5

Championship

166 Nuppiz
160 Aislabie
142 TommyKl
135 DigitDan7
130 Girry
127 Shadaza
127 Forti
121 Loadsamoney (DNF)
120 Ducktanian (DNF)
115 Pinkd56
109 Klon
105 NickyDustyOwl
92 Nessafox
63 Frogfoot9013
42 pasta_maldonado (DNF)
33 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
32 Rob Dylan (DNF)

We got a new leader! Not a huge surprise though. Aislabie also scored points 11 times in a row, which is a commendable record.

Daily random object generator:
6, nickydustyowl again, what shall he get today?
Small pouch


Penalties
Girry 100 (leftover)
Nessafox 575 (leftover)
PinkD56 15 (3 mins overtime)

Bans
Shadaza is banned from entering Russia, as he's suspected of pro-Ukraine sentiment.


Country rng's

Ethiopia
Weather (% rain) 3%
60
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
62

South Sudan
Weather (% rain) 5%, more than 30°C
53
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%

1 you misspelled something on an official document, only time will tell if this affects you

Chad

Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 45¨C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%

61

Nigeria
Weather (% rain) 13%, more than 30*C
19
chance of something going wrong,

South: up to 50%
42, i'll make something up when you decide to go there

North: up to 100%
61, russian soldiers are taking you on a 'team building excercise', lose a full day.



Sudan
Weather (% rain) 1%, more than 40*C
9
chance of something going wrong,
General: up to 50%
84
Darfur: up to 100%
50 you get shot after 100 km (past the Darfur border) ,spend 1night in a hospital

Benin
Weather (% rain) 10%, more than 30*C
5, you can barely notice, lose 5 minutes
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
32

Togo
Weather (% rain) 4*, more than 30*C
15
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%

81

Djibouti
Weather (% rain) 1%, more than 30*C
17
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%

94

Eritrea
Weather (% rain) 39%
31
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
91

Niger
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 40*C
No rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
54

Ghana
Weather (% rain) 9%, more than 30*C
94
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
30

Ivory Coast
Weather (% rain) 12%, more than 30*C
28
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
44

Burkina Faso
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 35*C
25
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
52

Mali
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40°C
70
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
72

Liberia
Weather (% rain) 1%
88
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
96

Sierra Leone
Weather (% rain) 53%, more than 30*C
23, you lost 15 mins
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
29

Guinee
Weather (% rain) 9%, more than 30*C
83

chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
33

Guinee-Bissau
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
84

Senegal
Weather (% rain) 1%
81
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
54

Gambia
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
22
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
94

Mauretania
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
16
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
48

Egypt
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40%
95
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
31

Libya
Weather (% rain) 0% more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
93

Tunisia
Weather (% rain) 24%
3, no time lost
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
3, you accidentally speak in french, an angry goat attacks you, lose 15 minutes (same rng roll as yesterday)

Algeria
Weather (% rain) 6%
41
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
82

Western Sahara
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
29

Morocco
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
10, the customs office takes longer than exptected, lose 27.43 minutes

Spanish exclaves (Ceuta, Mellila, etc)
Weather (% rain) 1%
55
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
51

Saudi-Arabia
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
96

UK (Gibraltar)
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
32

Malta
Weather (% rain) 20%
8, you lose 10 minutes
Chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
46

Jordan
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
1 on an unrelated note, you get a call from a drunk Eddie Jordan who has spicy rumours about competitors, lost 10 minutes.

Palestine
Weather (% rain) 5%, more than 30*C
24, it might be raining bombs, but at least it's dry
chance of something going wrong
Gaza: minimum 100%
West Bank up to 100%
9 it's 'relatively safe' but you still lose 30 minutes with safety procedures.

Israel
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
73

Syria
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
55

libanon
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 20%
17, the Hezbollah confuses you for a pro-isreali person and detain you for 3 hours.

Iraq
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
97

Turkey
Weather (% rain) 0%
chance of something going wrong up to 20%
32

Cyprus
Weather (% rain) 0%
chance of something going wrong up to 5%
45

Leg 19 is open, next deadline is thursday 6th of june 2024, 23:59 GMT+1

[Nessafox]

I'm allowed 25 minutes, it isn't great

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/8WF8%2B ... &entry=ttu

[Aislabie]

PREVIOUSLY: DAY ZERO () | DAY ONE () | DAY TWO () | DAY THREE () | DAY FOUR () | DAY FIVE () | DAY SIX () | DAY SEVEN ()
DAY EIGHT () | DAY NINE () | DAY TEN () | DAY ELEVEN () | DAY TWELVE () | DAY THIRTEEN () | DAY FOURTEEN ()
DAY FIFTEEN () | DAY SIXTEEN ( ) | DAY SEVENTEEN () | DAY EIGHTEEN ()

Day Nineteem

Here is Peter and Hanse's route today:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/5eXHD2JpKRHyWxiZ7

A clear run for Peter and Hanse today, and they make good time.

[Shadaza]

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/7R9H%2B ... &entry=ttu

A mad scattering of bars and markets dot my trip across the blazing Sahara.


I've made it out of Niger, which to be fair has been rather pleasant to me. Into Algeria! There is a sense of safety and optimism in the air now.

[Klon]

I need more cola. Cola will save me. Colaaaaaa...



Time stamp: 2024-06-06 20:07:12

[NickyDustyOwl]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/BNptkAvDKdtDNkeg6

Timestamp: 4:59PM EST

[Pinkd56]

START: Madam Wokie Hotel, F4GQ+WRH, Magbeti, Sierra Leone

FINISH: Hotel Kakande, WPW9+96, Boke, Guinea

TIME ELAPSED (TODAY): 8h57m
TIME ELAPSED (TOTAL): 158h36M



DISTANCE (TODAY): 554km
DISTANCE (TOTAL): 9581km

COUNTRIES VISITED: 16

ESSENTIAL OILS PACKAGES SOLD: 5/5!

[DigitDan7]

Day 19

ROUTE



Start: Unnamed Road, In Amguel, Algeria
End: N1, between Sahla Fougania & Sahela Tahtania, north of In Salah
Distance: 554km
Time: 7h 10min

[Nessafox]

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... 271384&z=4

Reject of the day goes to Nuppiz who refused to post her leg before TommyKl did, but it seems TommyKl was just not home...

Anyway, this gives Digitdan a big chance to come closer.


Lowest mileage
3042 Rob Dylan (DNF)
4827 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
5145 Ducktanian (DNF)
6786 pasta_maldonado (DNF)
8201 Loadsamoney (DNF)
8754 Frogfoot9013
9002 NickyDustyOwl
9056 Shadaza
9541 Nessafox
10580 Pinkd56
10671 Girry
10823 Forti
11089 DigitDan7
11294 Aislabie
11348 TommyKl
11418 Klon
11884 Nuppiz



Most countries
19 Aislabie
17 Klon
15 Pinkd56
15 Forti
14 TommyKl
14 Frogfoot9013
12 DigitDan7
10 Nessafox
10 NickyDustyOwl
10 Nuppiz
9 Girry
9 Shadaza
8 Loadsamoney (DNF)
6 pasta_maldonado (DNF)
5 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
5 Ducktanian (DNF)
3 Rob Dylan (DNF)


This is an interesting development, Aislabie's plan seems to be working, for now at least.

Stage poins
25 Klon 715
18 NickyDustyOwl 686
15 Forti 618
12 Aislabie 586
10 Pinkd56 554
8 DigitDan7 554
6 Frogfoot9013 530
4 Girry 484
2 Shadaza 438
1 Nessafox 17

Due to the levels of idiocy displayed by others, admin gets a point by only driving 17km. Klon wins the stage, so that's a comfort. NickyDustyOwl also finally gets a good result.


Championship
172 Aislabie
166 Nuppiz
143 DigitDan7
142 TommyKl
142 Forti
134 Girry
134 Klon
129 Shadaza
125 Pinkd56
123 NickyDustyOwl
121 Loadsamoney (DNF)
120 Ducktanian (DNF)
93 Nessafox
69 Frogfoot9013
42 pasta_maldonado (DNF)
33 Kinnikuniverse (DNF)
32 Rob Dylan (DNF)


Nuppiz had the perfect opportunity to take over the lead, but then didn't do anything, that means Aislabie is doing quite well. Admin and frogfoot are still stuck behind some non-finishers.


Daily random object generator:
13, it's Digitdan! He needs to get scotch tape.


Penalties
NickyDustyOwl 235 (47 mins overtime)
Frogfoot 9013 705 (141 mins over time)

Bans
Shadaza is banned from entering Russia, as he's suspected of pro-Ukraine sentiment.

Country RNG


Ethiopia
Weather (% rain) 3%
25
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
49, i'll make up something if you decide to go there

Chad

Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 45¨C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%

20, i i'll make up something if you decide to go there

Sudan
Weather (% rain) 1%, more than 40*C
11
chance of something going wrong,
General: up to 50%
35, after 139 km of driving, you get taken hostage. Roleplay on the server to get 5 reactions, if not, you stay another day.
Darfur: up to 100%
100, you die, unless you are frogfoot because s**cide is not allowed in this game.

Niger
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 40*C
No rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
18, it's "nothing serious". Another bullet flies your direction and you lose a nostril. Spend 2 hours in a hospital for some bandages.

Mali
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40°C
70
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
57

Guinee
Weather (% rain) 9%, more than 30*C
75

chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
47

Guinee-Bissau
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
60

Senegal
Weather (% rain) 1%
99
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
63

Gambia
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
76
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
32

Mauretania
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
60
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
81
Egypt
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40%
63
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
71

Libya
Weather (% rain) 0% more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
93

Tunisia
Weather (% rain) 24%
4 no time lost
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
83

Algeria
Weather (% rain) 6%
92
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
75

Western Sahara
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
100

Morocco
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
44

Spanish exclaves (Ceuta, Mellila, etc)
Weather (% rain) 1%
65
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
37

Saudi-Arabia
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
12, you're acting very haram, make a detour to Mekka to repent for your sins

UK (Gibraltar)
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
93

Malta
Weather (% rain) 20%
51
Chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
54

Jordan
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
74

Palestine
Weather (% rain) 5%, more than 30*C
14it might be raining bombs, but at least it's dry
chance of something going wrong
Gaza: minimum 100%
West Bank up to 100%
64, not going well, spend 2 days in a hospital, you can drive 27 km into the border

Israel
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
60

Syria
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
68

libanon
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 20%
12, something weird gets stuck in your falafel, spend 3 hours at the doctor

Iraq
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
76

Turkey
Weather (% rain) 0%
chance of something going wrong up to 20%
2, they correct you when you say Turkey instead of Turkiye, lose 2 minutes hearing Turkish Swear words.

Cyprus
Weather (% rain) 0%
chance of something going wrong up to 5%
54


Leg 20 is now open, next deadline monday june 10th, 23u59 GMT+1

[Nessafox]

Narration some day i promise

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/%D8%B9% ... &entry=ttu

[NickyDustyOwl]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/uPPnFbDBiNXrqVgh8

Timestamp: 8:57PM EST

[Nuppiz]

Leg 19 20: Zarqa, Zarqa Governorate, Jordan -> Seyhan, Adana Province, Turkey Türkiye

772 km in 9 h 57 min without traffic

Lots of cursing in Finnish due to an alternator failure

Stop 1: Gas
Stop 2: Cafe for drinks.
Stop 3: Grocery store for drinks.
Stop 4: Restaurant for drinks.
Stop 5: Gas.

[tommykl]

April 26th

The day started easily enough. News from Syria was that fighting was localised to towns they wouldn't go anywhere near, so they agreed to go ahead and forge through. Immediately they stopped for a snack-and-drink at the Leader Café just across the street for a milkshake topped with strawberries and Nutella, true comfort food in its purest form for both of them.



The road was good for another 20km until reaching the border crossing. Thanks to the organisers' comprehensive preparation to ensure all possible visas would be covered, the borders had almost always been hassle-free outside of traffic and a few annoying questions.

Today, this was not the case.

They must have ended up with the one border guard who didn't get the memo, as he refused to accept their visa, passport, entry pass, any or all of them. After an hour of negotiations, he finally agreed to involve his superior, but seemingly gave him a very different story. This was going to be a rough day.

April 27th

The next morning, they were finally given the all-clear. The Belgian and Ukrainian embassies had gotten very involved in the proceedings, eventually resulting in a stern talking-to of the border guards and assurance that Tom and Yulia could proceed on emergency visas. The organisers apologised, but simply could not give them a time credit. More curiously, the Finns who were trailing them had not left Jordan either, apparently for car reliability issues. By that point the night had come and it was dangerous to drive, but the organisers agreed to let them spend the night at the border without getting to a hotel. Instead, they would leave with the previous day's time docked.

The south of Syria had had a few years now to begin to recover from the civil war, which by now was mostly confined to the north. Growth was slow, though, and while the area was peaceful and pretty easy going, it was clear that it was still struggling to bounce back. It takes more than just rebuilding to recover from ongoing national trauma like this. Al-Midan was their main impression of Damascus, a couple of hours into the drive.



Leaving the desert behind for the semi-desert - punctuated by more farms, shrubs and occasionally grass - was a blessing, as the temperature dipped below 40 degrees. The road was even sometimes fun to drive, for instance with the motorway north twisting through mountains and past much older remnants of bygone states and periods. The Al-Arus caravan stop gave a reminder of just how long people have lived here.



The city of Homs was completely circumvented around the ring road, after which a crossing of the Orontes river in Al-Rastan signalled the halfway point of the day's road to be nearing.



For the previous two weeks, they had taken note of every settlement larger than a village that they'd travelled. Now they'd reached the Near-East, it was simply impossible to keep track of all of them, with barely a dozen minutes between most towns or cities. Hama came and went (complete with a late lunch stop at the Al Draie restaurant for some very tasty chicken and pitta), then Saraqib. It was when they reached Idlib that they found the most recent signs of the conflict, still affecting the northern part of Syria despite an ostensible ceasefire.



From this point, the aim was to reach Turkey as quickly as possible. They switched to the M45 towards Sarmada, then the border crossing at Bal Al-Hawa. Most recommendations were to swing north to avoid the crossing and its associations with long lines and rebels, but Tom and Yulia decided to give it a try, and turn back if it wasn't working out. After all, their papers had been made effectively turbo-valid by the previous day's hubbub. Sure enough, the queues were reasonable at the time of arrival, and they got through quickly, saving a good half-hour of road time as they entered Turkey. They breathed a sigh of relief: crossing through to the Turkish-controlled zone had proven smoother than feared, and now they were permanently out of harm's way. No more active zones of conflict.



After one last food and drink stop at the Sunberoglu roadside restaurant - where the "no more conflict" paradigm was broken once they'd accidentally mentioned that they loved being in Turkey, not Türkiye - the road was completely smooth. Well, not literally, potholes weren't exactly an uncommon occurrence, but without the threat of gunfire, they breathed one last sigh of relief. It would take a long while for some of the wounds to recover, but the potential for new ones had gone. A trip through the D817 mountain road took them to the E91 motorway, and a long-awaited return to the European road network. From there they enjoyed their first view of the Mediterranean at Iskenderun before heading inland.



The motorways were now comfortingly boring. The E91 turned into the E90 going past Osmaniye, then Adana. At Tarsus, it twisted north, becoming the O-21 towards Ankara. Both of them acknowledged the birthplace of the Apostle Paul, but neither being particularly religious, it was merely written off as "huh, cool".



Getting close to the end of the allotted time, and having safely passed the originally planned stop before their border gamble, they finally left the motorway as it approached Pozanti and came to a stop at a boutique hotel, their first proper hotel stay in a long, long, long time. 13 minutes left on the clock. All smooth sailing from here!

Fakher Apartments, Al-Mafraq (Jordan) to Taspinar Butik Otel, Pozanti (Türkiye), via three water stops

9h45 without traffic, plus 2 minutes of argument (174h12 total)
813km (12172km total)
9213 Turkish lire (£2774 total)

[Klon]

Time stamp: 2024-06-07 14:46:08

[Shadaza]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/%D8%A ... &entry=ttu


Dubious Trans Sahara Highway Hostel.

Miles and miles of desert are broken up by the oasis city of Tamanrasset. With the spire dominating the skyline like some sort of fantasy kingdom.

[Aislabie]

PREVIOUSLY: DAY ZERO () | DAY ONE (, 1) | DAY TWO ( , 2) | DAY THREE ( , 3) | DAY FOUR () | DAY FIVE ()
DAY SIX ( , 5) | DAY SEVEN () | DAY EIGHT ( , 6) | DAY NINE ( , 7) | DAY TEN ( , 8) | DAY ELEVEN ( , 9)
DAY TWELVE ( , 10) | DAY THIRTEEN ( , 12) | DAY FOURTEEN ( , 13) | DAY FIFTEEN () | DAY SIXTEEN ( , 15)
DAY SEVENTEEN ( , 16) | DAY EIGHTEEN ( , 17) | DAY NINETEEN ( , 19)

Day Twenty (20 countries)

Here is Peter and Hanse's route today:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/F6JSeZUKFB8wAwCx6

Another full 10-hour day is nice.

I've also tidied up the flags at the top to show more accurately which countries I visited on which days.

[DigitDan7]

Day 20

ROUTE



Start: N1, between Sahla Fougania & Sahela Tahtania, north of In Salah
End: GAMA Full Catering, Hassi R'Mel, Algeria
Distance: 782km
Time: 9h 52min

Stop 1: RQPF+7RW, Berriane, Algeria (the store with a 2 in its name)

[Pinkd56]

START: Hotel Kakande, WPW9+96, Boke, Guinea

FINISH: Mansa Wally John, FCCW+562, Trans-Gambia Hwy, Pakalinding, Gambia

TIME ELAPSED (TODAY): 9h55m
TIME ELAPSED (TOTAL): 168h31M



DISTANCE (TODAY): 485km
DISTANCE (TOTAL): 10066km

COUNTRIES VISITED: 19

[Nessafox]

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... 104023&z=4


Generally the same tendencies as yesterday, a few people barely progressed or not at all, but for the majority it was a relatively smooth day.




Lowest mileage

8754 Frogfoot9013
9260 NickyDustyOwl
9776 Shadaza
10425 Nessafox
11065 Pinkd56
11308 Forti
11483 Girry
11557 Klon
11871 DigitDan7
11975 Aislabie
12161 TommyKl
12656 Nuppiz

Most countries
20 Aislabie
18 Pinkd56
17 Klon
17 Forti
16 TommyKl
14 Frogfoot9013
12 DigitDan7
12 Nuppiz
11 NickyDustyOwl
10 Nessafox
9 Girry
9 Shadaza


Klon will really need to think of something as he now drops to third place.

Stage points
25 Nessafox 884
18 TommyKl 813
15 Girry 812
12 DigitDan7 782
10 Nuppiz 772
8 Shadaza 720
6 Aislabie 681
4 Forti 485
2 Pinkd56 485
1 NickyDustyOwl 258

Admin shows a rare flash of competency

Championship

178 Aislabie
176 Nuppiz
160 TommyKl
155 DigitDan7
149 Girry
146 Forti
137 Shadaza
134 Klon
127 Pinkd56
124 NickyDustyOwl
118 Nessafox
69 Frogfoot9013


It is closer than we expected, admin is still stuck behind some people who DNF'd but at least crossed the 100 points mark.


Daily random object generator:
4, the rng also likes girry
purse/bag, and it's something useful even!



Penalties
Frogfoot 9013 105 left
(141 mins over time
shadaza: 16 (4 mins overtime)

Bans
Shadaza is banned from entering Russia, as he's suspected of pro-Ukraine sentiment.
Frogfoot9013 is banned from entering Ukraine, as she's suspected of pro-Russia Sentiment


Country rng's


Ethiopia
Weather (% rain) 3%
256
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
3 i'll roll rng if you decide to go there

Chad

Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 45¨C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%

22 i'll roll rng if you decide to go there

Sudan
Weather (% rain) 1%, more than 40*C
20
chance of something going wrong,
General: up to 50%
49 your car gets impounded, buy a new one.
Darfur: up to 100%
93, i'll rng if you decide to go there

Niger
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 40*C
No rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
95

Mali
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40°C
92
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
47

Guinee
Weather (% rain) 9%, more than 30*C
93

chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
70

Guinee-Bissau
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
76

Senegal
Weather (% rain) 1%
55
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
77

Gambia
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
49
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
5, theres one of jacky ickx' exes again whinging about white people and men in general, lose 15 mins.

Mauretania
Weather (% rain) 1% more than 30*C
16
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
29
Egypt
Weather (% rain) 2%, more than 40%
32
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
52

Libya
Weather (% rain) 0% more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 50%
19, i'll rng it when you decide to go there

Tunisia
Weather (% rain) 24%
47
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
90

Algeria
Weather (% rain) 6%
77
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
74

Western Sahara
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
78

Morocco
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 10%
33

Spanish exclaves (Ceuta, Mellila, etc)
Weather (% rain) 1%
51
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
56

Saudi-Arabia
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
59

UK (Gibraltar)
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
91

Malta
Weather (% rain) 20%
78
Chance of something going wrong, up to 5%
96

Jordan
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong, up to 20%
47

Palestine
Weather (% rain) 5%, more than 30*C
13 it might be raining bombs, but at least it's dry
chance of something going wrong
Gaza: minimum 100%
West Bank up to 100%
46, you get in trouble with 'settlers', i'll decide what happens next if you actually go there

Israel
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
18, difficult safety procedures, lose an hour time.

Syria
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
42 your car hits a landmine, you're safe enough to only have to spend 2 nights in the hospital, you need a new car

libanon
Weather (% rain) 0%
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 20%
6 something weird gets stuck in your falafel, spend 1 hours at the doctor

Iraq
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35*C
no rng needed
chance of something going wrong up to 50%
50, i'll think of something when you decide to actually go there

Turkey
Weather (% rain) 0%
chance of something going wrong up to 20%
25

Cyprus
Weather (% rain) 0%
chance of something going wrong up to 5%
50

Georgia
Weather (% rain) 60%, more than 30°C
44, lose 45 mins
chance of something going wrong up to 10%
75

Armenia
Weather (% rain) 46%
24, lose half an hour
chance of something going wrong up to 10%
9, they question you about your opinions about the Artsakh situations, you lose an hour.

Azerbaijan
Weather (% rain) 30, more than 30°C
63
General: chance of something going wrong up to 20%
47
Nagorno-Karabach: chance of something going wrong up to 50%
79

Greece
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 35°C
chance of something going wrong up to 5%
4, you encounter a bunch of PAOK hooligans, your car mirror is broken, get a new one


Bulgaria
Weather (% rain) 0%, more than 30°C
chance of something going wrong up to 5%
57


Leg 21 opens, next deadline is thursday 13th of june 20241 23:59 GMT+1