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Mon 8^th September 2008

Difficult to know where to begin! It feels like I have been travelling at least a month rather than a week, I have seen so much over the past seven days. Last Monday the journey began, after saying goodbye to my parents who dropped me on the M62, within an hour James and I had hitched our first lift with John, a trucker heading South. After explaining our plans to meet Tansy in Leicester he offered to pick her up and drop us just above London. We were barely waiting ten minutes before we had our second lift with a wealthy business man, who had hitched alot around China and Asia in his youth, apparently his sister had given him $500, 000 to do so in the 1960s!!! I can't imagine he had to budget like we do!

By late afternoon we had arrived at Ben's house in Wokingham. We decided to try and get across to France that day and with the help of Ben's dad who gave us a lift to Dover we just about managed it.

After spending afew hours together, once in Dover we split into pairs. James and I hitched the first lift onto the ferry.

Once on the ferry we positioned ourselves outside the Freight drivers cafe with a sign reading Polska, Wasawva, and began approaching all of the men (there were no woman in there!) who came out. Well, all except the very dodgy looking ones! Soon we had found a lift, Jarov. The even better news was Jarov was going directly to Poland.

It was two o clock when our ferry docked in Dunkirke. As I got into Jarov's van he put lots of caffine tablets into his water. I imagined that he would drive for afew hours and then sleep but he didn't stop, the cafffine tablets were his fuel. By 3pm Tuesday afternoon we had arrived in Poland. I couldn't believe we had got there so quickly. Despite being a little nervous at the thought of someone driving 12 hours straight, I felt really safe with Jarov, he had obviously done this before and despite having to deliver his goods that afternoon he used his van radio to get us another lift before we said goodbye. Grateful though I am to Jarov for organising us another lift once in Poland, the driver who Jarov had arranged to pick us up was a maniac. He sped, did some crazy over-taking and talked constantly on the phone. The crazy driving man also managed to drop us on the wrong road, just outside Wroctaw, on the Western side of Poland.

After a number of short lifts, we were eventually dropped at a services at around 2am on Wedsnesday and it was there that we waited and waited. All through the night. I tried to sleep for a while but the cold woke me up. There was a beautiful moment in the awfully long wait when one of the workers in the service station brought us some hot drinks for free. I was really touched by it.

After the free hot strawberry tea things got brighter, the sun rose and with the light came the more realistic opportunity of hitching a lift. Within an hour of good light a trucker stopped, he was going to Warsaw!

Afew hours after we had arrived in Warsaw James recieved a text from Tansy saying they were at Warsaw Central Station. We were re-united again! We shared our hitching adventures both ups and downs.

My experience of hitching to Poland was one that I would definitely do again. Many of our lifts went out of there way to help us. Since leaving Warsaw, we have been through Lithuania, Latvia and I'm writing this in the Lenin hostel in Moscow. I have so much more to say but I've been hogging the only computer in the hostel for too long so I'll save it for later.

name ann crossley

Dear Lavinia - Well on your way - hope you stocked lots of thermal undies , as it sounds like its getting chilly. Its just pouring down here - so not missing anything. Bon voyage .Luv Ann x.

name Adam

Good stories! Sounds like a road movie. It's good to hear how hitching still works - with a bit of luck and judgement. Enjoy Moscow

name Anna

Happy you are now warm and dry! Next stage of the avdventure awaits you! Anna x

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