Day Thirteen Thursday 30 September

We are up at around 6am and without much a do, we get in our vehicles and drive off for a long drive to Ankara. We all feel rather refreshed as we have had a good rest even though it was a rather wet one in the middle of a field.
2pm our 15 vehicles arrive in Ankara but the rest of the convoy is now on the road to our next destination another 6 hours drive away. Looks like we have a lot of catching up to do. We are a full day behing everyone else. We rest a couple of hours and we shall try our best to catch up. Some drivers are feeling a little sick with upset stomachs and general tiredness, but spirits are high. We will not be beaten by the circumstances we find ourselves in. We will try and make further progress and try our best to catch up with out comrades at our next destination.
We are all lined up and ready to leave Ankara at 7pm. We learn that the rest of the convoy ahead of us are heading forward to Keysari, which is around 6 to 7 hours away. After driving for about 4 hours a lot of the drivers feel extremely tired and feel that they cannot go on. Some are still suffering upset stomachs and feel rather sick. I take over the wheel from one very upset driver and give him some time to rest. Those who are on their first convoy are now feeling the pain and wonder if they can go all the way. Soon another driver almost falls asleep at the whell and i take over his vehicle and give him a rest. Everyone is pretty much shattered. Last couple of days have been very hectic with driving extremely long distances and long long hours, something that most drivers are not used to back home.
We are an hour or so away from Keysari, an area where we could get some hotel rooms for a proper rest we all come to a halt. Many drivers cannot keep their eyes open. This is now getting to a point that it could cause a dangerous accident. It is not safe to carry on. Some of the Italians get very agitated and almost come to a fist fight with one of the team leaders, i intervene just in time by getting in between them and physically seperating them. I calm everyone down and suggest that we all rest for some time at the next convenient parking place around 1km ahead. Its not perfect, as it is only a small grassy area with some woods behind them. After about 10 minutes we all feel that we can safely drive for 1 km ahead and park up. We set up our tents and crash out. Its a very noisy night as trucsk and cars ar passing by very near to us only a few metres away.