Day 11

Awaking the next morning slightly the worse for wear we made full use of the surroundings for our first ‘rugged’ toilet stop. After which we headed to the Ukrainian border via a very traffic jammed Chisinau (you would be surprised how many breakdowns there can be in the space of 3km!). After passing through the Moldova side of the border through the hands of an irate female customs officer we arrived at the Ukrainian checkpoint and were promptly asked to pay  10 for a dubious piece of paper. Thinking we were being clever we negotiated a price in Moldovan Leu (approx 100 lei) which was a great deal until we found that the only denomination we had left was 200 lei and the guard wasn’t in the mood to give change. After a seemingly pointless 1 hour wait, during which several different people tried and failed to search the ambulance, we were on our way again. After an aborted attempt to see Odessa (due to impossible alphabet and lack of any discernable signage) and Burt running a red light in front of 2 police men we set off towards Kiev. After trying out numerous suspect service stations Joe suggested we try camping on a farm track just off the road. This seemed a great idea, camping in the quiet sunflower fields would be the perfect antidote to the previous evenings revelry. This dream was shattered by a passing motorcyclist who we convinced ourselves was hell bent on killing us, cue a particularly fitful nights sleep.