Newsflash: Our Shelterbox fundraising is going to be doubled

A quick call for any more sponsors to please direct their money towards our Shelterbox fundraising (see right margin for links). The boss at Chris's company has kindly offered to match whatever we raise (within reason)...and as things stand the Shelterbox pot is lagging a little behind. So, sponsors can make their money go further. A £25 donation will get the gift aid making it up to above £30...and will be matched too - so £25 becomes £55. Hmm, need to find a similar scheme for my wages!

Presents for the locals

Thanks to Aston Villa Football Club we'll be able to hand out pens, badges and signed team photos to people we meet on the journey. I received a sensible sized package at the weekend, which I should be able to squeeze into the rucksack. Many Peruvians will remember their hero Nolberto Solano playing for the club, so there should already be a bit of an affinity, which we look to build upon on the trip. Its nice to have something to give, however small, when being a guest in a country.

In 16 days we'll be airbourne...

So much going on now it is unbelievable, and time is closing in fast.

A quick round up:

*We've another sponsor on board, with a nice parcel arriving yesterday morning, containing things we can share with Peruvian folk we encounter on the journey - more on that in a separate blog post shortly.

*Our existing sponsor, ekit, has generously given us even more credit on our SIM card, which will mean we can get "cell-tower-triangulated" five times per day and provide regular updates of progress via SMS (subject to getting a signal)

*We finally booked up local flights (after a bit of a scare when the original airline we'd looked at had run out of seats. For a while we were staring down the barrel of flying with a company that translates as "small wardrobe".

*Chris has booked us up some accomodation in Cuzco, where we can settle in, acclimatise and use as a base whilst we sort out collecting the mototaxi and the various bits and bobs we'll need to maintain it.

*Chris has also sorted out his yellow fever jab - which is good, because without it he'd have been refused entry to the country.

*I have sorted my International Driving Permit, without which I'd be scuppered, and have to pay a fortune in bribes (might need to do that anyway, but there's one less reason to fine us now)

*And in In Peru news - it has just overtaken Columbia as the worlds biggest cocaine producer, so it adds that nice element of added peril to the trip as DEA and Mexican druglords all ramp up their respective efforts.

Still a fair bit to do, including booking up a quick trip to Machu Picchu the day after we arrive - it wou;d be rude not to.

More soon...

Keeping in touch - with ekit

The past 7 days has been particularly exciting, as we have a new sponsor on board. I have been in discussion with Rowena at ekit about getting a mobile phone, SIM card, and most importantly some sort of tracking service. What we've ended up with, thanks to ekit, is all three!

Yesterday I took delivery of this little number, which is now charged up and raring to go. On the face of it, it looks like a pretty basic mobile phone; but its what it can do that is the most exciting thing. This phone is cleverly linked up to a service called Travel Journal, which should be able to provide our followers the ability to follow our progress on the trip, pretty much in real-time

It is configured so that at various points during each day, the Travel Journal will try to 'locate' us. It does this using "cell tower triangulation". Anyone who's watched Jack Bauer in 24 will know the drill!

In doing this, it will plot us pretty accurately on a map; so even if we are totally lost and haven't a clue where we are - our followers at home will actually be able to tell!

The service will do this at least once per day, and we may configure it to do so more often. Likewise, we will be able to send SMS messages, and these too will appear on our Travel Journal, with a pinpoint to show where we were at the time we sent the message.There's lots more to it as well - and you'll see details of the functionality emerging on this site in the next couple of weeks, as we get our final preparations done.

A big thank-you to ekit for making this possible (I recommend other travellers take a look at the ekit website, they do some good quality and value SIMS and phones), and to Rowena for being so helpful. I expect our mothers in particular will be especially pleased to be able to find out where we are!

The "30 days and counting" interviews

With just 30 days until departure, let’s find out the team mates are getting on...

Have you got much left to do before leaving for Peru?

Chris: Far too much. I am still unsure what jabs etc to get, I haven't thought about what to take and my Spanish is at a level where I could just about order a beer (i.e. not up to reuesting a new clutch cable), so it'd be good to learn a few vital phrases! On the plus side, we now have the tickets, international drivers permits, passports ... and I hope a moto-taxi (though unconfirmed!)

Rich: Whenever I am asked about this or even think about it, I think “nah, not much left to do really”.  But when I list out the “couple of logistical things still to sort out” it ends up becoming a pretty big list including; buy malaria tablets, get international driving permit, work out how I’m getting to the airport, get Peruvian currency, re-learn how to ride a motorbike, learn how to speak spanish, get maps/think about a proper route, read up about the country, see if I can sort out a quick trip up Macchu Picchu before we start, raise lots of money for charity, decid if there’s room to take a tent….it goes on. So there’s a tonne of stuff to do, but in truth we could just go tomorrow and have a good stab at it, so I’m not phased by it.

Any more thoughts about the route you’re going to take?

Chris: North. Through the hilly cold bits, jungly wet bits and flat dry bits.

Rich: not really. The wet season in Peru is pretty genuinely wet, so mother nature will have the biggest say in the route we take (with roads often impassable or washed away altogether). I am eager to make sure we stay off the beaten track and take in some good jungle and mountain passes – which is convenient since there is around 3500km of jungle and forest between where we start and where we finish! One thing I’ve learned from previous travels is that there is little point planning a route (even once you’ve got a map, which I haven’t) because things change and the interesting route is the one you end up going.

Any nerves? What’s the most daunting aspect of the trip?

Chris: Nerves and sleepless nights are yet to kick in...though they are on the way. I am most daunted by the cliff top roads, the idea of being broken down stuck at the edge of a presipice at night does not fill me joy. TV airing programmes called "the Worlds most dangerous roads" won't help! On the flip side, its for experiences like these that make the whole trip so exciting!

Rich: I’d be lying if I said I had no nerves at all. It’s a new continent and I speak only a little Spanish, so communication is going to be tricky. I’ve not ridden a motorbike since I was 10 years old, so have forgotten how the controls work. I am a useless mechanic. All that is a recipe for some challenging times ahead – and now that I’m married, I feel I have an added responsibility not to get into a monumental amount of difficulty. But, in truth, aside from the basic “try to get home in one piece” thing, I am pretty much excited about it rather than daunted. The thrill of the trip is the absurdness of it, and the fact that we will need to stretch ourselves to communicate, navigate and progress

How’s the family? Are they nervous for you?

Chris: Unsure really. Dad, my brothers and sister seem fairly nonchalant about the whole thing. Sister-in-law and of course my Mum seem the most aprehensive.

Rich: The family are fine. I think for them it is the same mixture of feelings. On the one hand they’d rather I didn’t go because it’s a bit dangerous, but on the other they totally support me, are excited for me and are looking forward to me actually going so I stop wittering on about it!

What’s the most useful item you think you’ll be taking?

Chris: It's got to be a combination of Compass and Map. As long as we are heading North we can't go too far wrong. (I must remember to pack a compass!)

Rich: Perhaps a cheesy answer…but does “Chris” count as an item? Seriously though, its teamwork with these things and without Chris I would definitely be stuck. Sharing out the problem solving, conversations, driving and having someone to bounce ideas off is just vital on these trips. In terms of actual things – I think my rucksack (supplier by Outdoorkit.co.uk) and Leatherman (supplier by Whitbyandco.co.uk) will prove invaluable. We’re also in talks with a company who might provide us a mobile phone with local sim card and credit on it – which will be handy for providing text updates.

And the most useless?

Chris: Probably my running shoes. I have just signed up for the Paris marathon (in April), so need to use the opportunity to do a spot of altitude training. This is the first Rich has heard about this!

Rich: I’ll will undoubtedly end up taking a book, in the expectation that at some point I’ll be able to sit back in the mototaxi sofa seat and just read and chill. This will be utterly pointless as I will be too busy driving/looking at amazing scenery/digging mototaxi out of mudpit/flagging down help/looking at a map and trying to work out where we are.

Anything else to say?

Chris: "nos desean suerte!" (wish us luck!)

Rich: Really just to say “thanks” to everyone who has sponsored us, donated good, spread the word or helped in any way. The trip has really started to feel real since the publicity and fundraising has got going – its very apparent now that we’ve got generous support and this makes the whole experience feel much more like a shared one (rather than just me and Chris). I hope everyone finds some time in January to track our progress and share the journey with us.

¿Que? Guevara's TV debut

Last Saturday, Chris and I had the honour of treading the hallowed turf at Villa Park, taking part in a pitchside interview with AVTV, to help publicise the roadtrip we’re doing, and the charities we are raising funds for.

¿Que? Guevara interviewed at Villa Park from Richard Birch on Vimeo.


We got to the ground nice and early to meet up with Jack Woodward and his AVTV crew (Mark and Matt), and we had a great time doing the interview, where we talked about the journey, the charities and how unbelievably excited we are about it all.

Mike, Matt, Jack, Rich

We took the chance to get a few photo’s, right behind the goal.

The day just kept getting better though. Straight after the interview, Chris bumped into Villa’s mascot…we couldn’t resist a photo opportunity.

Chris, Hercules

Then onto the match, where we witnessed a 5 goal thriller, Villa coming out on top, 3-2. Brilliant day.

(N.B. credit for video goes to AVTV www.avfc.co.uk. For Villa & football fans, it is well worth a visit to the site and subscription to the service. Many thanks for providing the video, and if you've any issues me showing it here to promote the trip, then do let me know. )

Chris's mototaxi fix-it guide

One of the things that is certain on our trip is that the moto-taxi will break down. Most probably a lot.

What we really need is some kind of fix-it guide. Now, to the best of my knowledge, there isn't a Haynes Manual for the Lifan Trooper Moto-Taxi, so we’re going to have to work it out for ourselves.

If a part appears broken, follow these simple steps

Luckily however, Chris qualified as an engineer, and he has come up with a handy engineering flowchart, to use whenever a component fails on the mototaxi. We follow the simple steps, and whatever part is broken, becomes fixed. Thanks Chris – I feel much better about things now.

Whitby & Co

Yesterday was a fine day. We received an exciting looking parcel containing all sorts of useful goodies, provided to us by Whitby & Co, an wholesaler of the leading international brands of hardware (adventure type kit). In the box was a Leatherman Blast, an amazing Inova torch (tiny yet powerful), some Sunwise sunglasses and some really handy Nite Ize reflective flashy "don't run over us" type things. We can't thank Whitby & Co enough for their generosity - those items will be massively useful as we scrablle around the jungle, at night, trying to fix our ailing mototaxi!

Outdoorkit.co.uk

Exciting times at ¿Que? Guevara HQ yesterday as we took delivery of our first 'donated goods'. We are privileged to have the UK's leading online supplier of outdoor goods, Outdoorkit.co.uk on board.

They have really kindly donated a Vango Sherpa 65 rucksack and T-Shirts for the trip, which will be of great use. In return we'll be sporting their logo on our mototaxi, something of a [much needed] go-faster stripe!

As a company, they were a pleasure to deal with, turning round my request in unbelievably quick time, just 26.5hrs from my initial contact to the point when I had the rucksack in my hands. Many thanks for your support. To learn more about OutdoorKit, and our other sponsors, see the sponsors page.

Sponsors coming on board

In the last few days, we have been delighted to receive the backing of:

• A premier league football club
• A wholesaler of high quality hardware goods
• An online outdoor clothing and equipment specialist

The football club will be featuring our trip in the matchday programme and possibly even doing some recording for their club TV channel. The wholesaler and outdoor specialist will be helping us out by providing some essential kit for the trip.

We'll be naming and doing features on each of these generous companies in due course, and look out for them appearing on the sponsors page of this site.

If you are a company and want to support us then please do so via the contact page.In return for your generosity, you'll get exposure on this site, the chance to display your logo on the mototaxi, product reviews and photos of us using products on the trip.