Turtle Expedition Trans-Eurasian Odyssey

[haven]

Gary and Monika Wescott are preparing to leave their California home, and put some serious miles on the famous Turtle V camper. They call their next adventure the Trans-Eurasian Odyssey. The route starts in Portugal, winds across Europe, heads east along sections of a Silk Road route through Central Asia to China.

Preparations for the Trans Eurasian Odyssey are mentioned in the Turtle Expedition blog, http://www.turtleexpedition.com/travel-blog/ I couldn't find a map of the trip or a more complete description. Does anyone know where these might be located online?

 

[r3run33]

they are really great people! good luck to them.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

I don't know of any more detailed description of their planned route yet, although much of it follows the Silk Road, then and the Road of Bones, among other destinations. They'll be at the Overland Expo in May; if you're coming you could ask them in person.

 

[Dave Bennett]

:lurk:

 

[Monika Wescott]

The Turtle Expedition enters final Count-Down for The Trans-Eurasian Odyssey Lift-Off

The Turtle Expedition is on the move. We, Gary and Monika Wescott, are packing! It’s so easy to get stuck in “civilization”, otherwise know as “the Real World”. Breaking loose is like sitting in a space shuttle as you leave the gravitational pull of Earth. Suddenly, you’re floating free.

We will be lifting off this Spring on The Trans-Eurasian Odyssey, driving from Lisbon, Portugal to Shanghai, China through 26 countries and following the legendary Silk Road, an adventure we expect will take at least three years. While The Turtle V is undergoing final mechanical facelifts, our Tortuga Expedition Camper is seeing some modifications for the long road ahead. Out with the microwave and the oven. In with LED lights to reduce head and conserve amps. Adding a FlatPlate heat exchanger to work with our Espar D5 Hydronic for hot water was a major improvement.

Do we have a plan and a fixed route? Well, ----- sort of. As we have for 40 years of backroad exploring, we follow a tip from John Steinbeck’s book, Travels With Charlie: "Don’t take the trip. Let the trip take you."

Follow us on www.turtleexpedition.com. If you would like to keep up with our adventures, ---and misadventures---, sign up for “Subscribe to News” on our home page. You will get an email message when a new blog is posted.

 

[Christian P.]

Gary/Monika,

Please let me be the first one to welcome you on the forum.
There is no doubt that you are one of the first travelers to inspire me and give me this overlanding passion, which has never left since.

We all be following your adventures with great interest!

 

[SChandler]

I would like to say that I am eagerly awaiting updates on your latest adventures, in particular, your experiences in the Middle East and in China. I have always enjoyed following your travels in Four Wheeler magazine and on your blog, since the days of the Trans-Russia trek. I spotted the Turtle IV in a truck stop in California a long time ago and I felt like I'd spotted a celebrity. Good luck.

 

[Ray Hyland]

So looking forward to watching this one unfold. I love the Silk Road. Remember to try to go through Turpan in the grape harvesting season if you can, the city looks so cool with the grapes drying everywhere.

Ray

 

[Scott Brady]

Fantastic! We will watch with great interest.

Just don't eat the armpit cheese in Tajikistan - don't ask me how I know. . .

 

[Gary Wescott]

Must be like the Gamalost cheese we ate in Hardanger, Norway. It's made from skimmed cows milk. The cheese is rubbed with mold which is then allowed to cure, (rot), for 4 to 5 weeks. You need to have a hang-over or a long stick to get near it. It smells worse than the gooey stuff between your toes after a long hike and four days without a shower or a change of socks. Norwegians love it and eat it for breakfast often with eggs and beer.

 

[Rot Box]

Yahoo! Looking forward to this one :wings:

 

[MattScott]

Must be like the Gamalost cheese we ate in Hardanger, Norway. It's made from skimmed cows milk. The cheese is rubbed with mold which is then allowed to cure, (rot), for 4 to 5 weeks. You need to have a hang-over or a long stick to get near it. It smells worse than the gooey stuff between your toes after a long hike and four days without a shower or a change of socks. Norwegians love it and eat it for breakfast often with eggs and beer.

This image will cover my thoughts on Gamalost cheese and eating it for breakfast.

 

[haven]

Gary and Monika started their own thread about their trip, so I will close this one. See their thread here
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-Down-for-The-Trans-Eurasian-Odyssey-Lift-Off

Update: Monika deleted the above link, so this one will stay open.

 

[WheresMurph]

Hey Gary and Monica,normally,I would be very jealous,but,i'm heading to EU in March with the bike for a sidecar conversion and pretty much a similar route east over a 2 yr period myself.
I'll look forward to keeping up with you and will try to see if we can meet on the road somewhere like we did the first time at Bonneville.

Regards to you both,

Murph.

 

[Monika Wescott]

Hi Murph. It would be fun to bump into each other somewhere in route!
Happy Travels,
Monika