Marco Polo team completes charity ride
by Jonathan Lloyd
The Marco Polo team has successfully completed a month-long ride in
Ethiopia, aboard a fleet of BMW F 800 GS motorcycles. The trip was
arranged to deliver aid to a hospital in Wolisso, and has been
deemed a huge success by organiser and former President of the BMW
Moto Club in Padova, Michele Orlando.
It's not the first time that the Marco Polo team has taken to two
wheels for a charity-inspired ride. In 2007, the riders completed a
gruelling trans-Siberian journey from Italy to Japan in aid of the
victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Following the success of
the 20,000-km mission, the Ethiopian expedition was planned and
throughout September the team - consisting of Michele, Venetian
surgeon Carlo Mascarin, financial advisor Paolo Zancan and
businessman Marco Denicolo - set about the task with clinical
precision.
The journey began in early September in northern Ethiopia. Although
the purpose of the trip was to deliver monetary aid to the hospital
in Wolisso, the Marco Polo team wanted to see as much of the
Ethiopian landscape as possible. En route to their final destination,
the quartet visited Lake Tana, the Bale Mountains and the towns of
Gondar and Lalibela, all the while improving their off-road skills.
The notorious rains in the south of the country were expected to
make traversing the country a problem; however intense preparation
and sheer determination saw them reach their goal, much to the
delight of the staff and patients at the hospital which will
ultimately benefit from the trip.
"The Wild Africa Motoraid project was a huge success," says Michele.
"All four riders completed the trip, which is an achievement in
itself. But most importantly, the goal of the journey was realised,
and for that we are extremely thankful. We all feel proud and
satisfied with the job we have just done, but at the same time we
feel a little empty as the project, which has been with us for
months, is finally over."
Michele's modest summary hides the difficulties the group faced on
their adventure. As predicted, extreme weather conditions caused
problems. "In the north of the country we encountered some very
heavy rains," says Michele. "In the middle of the country,
particularly near the Bale Mountains, we experienced temperatures
down to just three degrees Celsius, as well as some very difficult
road conditions. This meant that often we didn't arrive at our
destinations until the middle of the night. Then in the south of
the country, the temperatures soared to around 40 degrees Celsius,
which again made riding very difficult. Despite all this, the least
enjoyable part of the journey had to be the paperwork we had to
complete to get in and out of the country!"
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Although they encountered problems - on a 5,000 km ride this was to
be expected - the Marco Polo team left Ethiopia with a glowing report
of the country, its landscape and its people. "Ethiopia is a
wonderful country where history, nature and people live together,"
comments Michele. "There's such a diverse range of historic places
and areas of natural beauty to visit, not to mention the wonder of
the Mursi and Karo people who are still living in such a primitive way."
After spending weeks aboard their F 800 GS machines, the quartet
arrived in Wolisso - their final destination - with more work to do.
They met with the staff and patients at the town's hospital before
presenting them with a donation of ?6,000. "This year, we decided to
donate funds to the Wolisso Hospital because it serves a region of
one of the poorest countries in Africa, itself one of the poorest
continents in the world," explains Michele. "The ?6,000 we donated will
make a huge difference to the hospital, as that is what it costs to
look after a child there for a year. Considering monthly salaries are
no more than a few dollars, the amount of the money we have donated
was seen as substantial.
"The staff and patients were really happy with the donation. Meeting
with the ill children was very moving and reminded us why we had made
the trip. The doctors working in the hospital in such desperate
conditions are extraordinary people," he concludes.
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Just days after arriving back in Italy, the Marco Polo team are already
planning their travels for 2009. Africa will once again be the
destination, but this time they will start in Cape Town, South Africa
and conclude at Cape North in Norway. The team will put their faith in
BMW Motorrad machinery again, putting the G 450 X to test during the
challenging trek.
The Wild Africa Motoraid journey was documented by a film crew, who
arduously followed the Marco Polo team throughout the trip, shooting 60
hours of footage overall. The film will be edited and shown on SKY
television later this year.
This feature originally appeared in October 2008 - Updated: 03/13/10
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Updated on: 03/13/10 at 19:10 CST
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