BY CAR FROM BUZET TO DUBAI16.06.2022. 18:10

14.05.2022 06:02 | Author: Gordana ČALIĆ ŠVERKO

FULFILLED HIS DREAM. Vlatko Mrvoš from Buzet parked his "Abarth" near Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Here is his story

He parked his "Abarth 595 Competizione" with Pula license plates near the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, an incredible 828 meters high, which dominates Dubai. "The feeling is indescribable. I realized my great wish, my vision and dream," comments Vlatko Mrvoš from Buzet, who is still in a positive shock, and who successfully completed the great adventure. With his companion Goran Raušević, he covered more than six thousand kilometers in 18 days and arrived in Croatia by car from the United Arab Emirates. The question is whether anyone has ever embarked on such a thing.

- The whole trip was a demystification of the route which caused a lot of skepticism. They warned me of the potential dangers, and I felt I was going among people with open hearts and that it had to be good. And it was like that. The hospitality I encountered exceeded all my expectations, Mrvos, who will stay in the United Arab Emirates for another ten days, tells us his impressions. The unusual venture will last, in total, about thirty days.

They are returning home by plane, and Exspress Global will transport the car from Dubai to Rijeka. It is interesting to mention that on the entire route from Buzet to Dubai, gasoline is of equal price, except in Iran, where a liter of regular gasoline costs no less than 80 lipa!

After the start in Buzet on April 22, the ambitious duo were welcomed in Zagreb by members of the Abarth Club Croatia and made a circle together on the city streets. The next stop was Belgrade, followed by Nis, Skopje, Thessaloniki, Alexandroupoli, Istanbul, Amasya, Erzurum, Tabriz, Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, from where Vlatko and Goran flew by plane (and ferry) across the Persian Gulf. and arrived first in Dubai, and in a few days in Abu Dhabi.

The slogan of the project "We are not that far from each other as we think" / "We are not as far apart from each other as we think" stands out on the blue-gray vehicle. The vehicle is painted with the flags of the countries on the route of the road, the names of the cities are written below them. It also bears the logo of the Voice of Istria, the media sponsor of the venture. It is "decorated" with flags flying in every city it passes through, on the one hand Buzet and Croatia, and on the other hand the country in which it currently resides. The flags of Buzet and Croatia fluttered in some places where they have never been, nor may they ever be.

The whole trip, says Mrvos, was better than expected. Croatia and Turkey have the best motorways on the entire section. Highways are pretty bad everywhere.

- I was positively surprised, although I had such a premonition, the good energy that accompanied us throughout the trip where it opened and the door that was closed. Some things came together on their own so that everything went well and much better than I had planned. In Istanbul, we had the honor of being welcomed by the Consul General of the Republic of Croatia, Ivana Zerec, and the entire team. We felt like VIP guests, not normal guys going to do one lap with a car. Okay, a little bigger circle. They were very hospitable everywhere. Perhaps I would single out Iran where there is so much goodness, and sincere. They waved at us several times in the aisle, stopping us to meet. We only paid the toll once on the highway, elsewhere, when they saw where we were coming from, they just let us pass, recounts Mrvoš.

This benevolence they encountered is illustrated by one example from Dubai. We arrived in Dubai by plane, while we put the car on the ferry, which was quite late. It was supposed to arrive at 2 pm, and it arrived only at 7.30 pm. that the chance of getting it quickly is very small because the car inspection staff only works the morning shift. I felt, however, that everything would be fine. And so it was. Our T-shirts with the message, as well as the car itself painted with flags, they opened all the doors for us.Wherever we showed up they looked at us with sympathy.The same happened in the port of Sharjah near Dubai where the chief inspector stayed longer at work and called everyone possible to inspect the car and do all the procedure thus saving us one whole At the end of my trip, the message from the T-shirt made real sense, and that is that we are not as far from each other as we think. many pass by their car m in local driving ", says Mrvoš.