When it comes to mud-laden mountain roads that are impassible through the rainy seasons we tend to think of the Amazon and areas throughout South America or even Asia… but this video shot in Albania just goes to show you that there are treacherous, muddy roads throughout the world. This particular video caught our attention not just because of the amazing job this truck does of plowing through an unrecognizable excuse for a road but also because of the point of view of the camera man. Having someone sitting in the bed of the lead truck and shooting behind them really gets you close to the ground and in the middle of the action. This video had us rocking back and forth while staring at our computer screens, heck, we felt like we were right there in the middle of the action and just as surprised as the passengers in the lead truck that these vehicles weren’t getting stuck. These IFA vehicles stand as one of example of a quality, very capable, long-lasting vehicle that was able to be produced behind the East German wall in the throws of communism. And just how these East German vehicles ended up in Albania goes to show you that history and non-fiction is normally much more bizarre and interesting than fiction.
Off-Roading Is All About The Kids!
You might look at the depth of the mud on the road and the difficult time these IFA trucks are having climbing up that incline and wonder what’s so important, why are they taking on a pass this difficult. Couldn’t this excursion just be saved for after the rainy season has passed? Well, it turns out that this convoy was on a mission called Operation Christmas Child where they are delivering Christmas gifts to children in the small, remote village of Osnat. We’re sure that the difficult conditions made for a very harrowing experience for the newbies that had never taken this path before but we’re sure it was all worth it when they arrived in the village and were able to enjoy that look of excitement and appreciation on the children’s faces as they started distributing all of the gifts. Just goes to show you that there’s still some genuine kindness and humanity still going on out there in the big round world, sometimes I guess its just hard to find if you get to caught up in watching and drawing your opinions from the nightly news.
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The incredibly capable IFA trucks you see tackling the mud and winning the uphill battle are of German decent. IFA (Industrial Association for Vehicle Construction) was a East German conglomerate and a union of companies for vehicle construction. IFA was involved in manufacturing everything from bicycles and motorcycles to cars, vans and heavy-duty trucks. The particular model in this video appears to be the IFA L60. The L60 was produced beginning in 1974 and for a few years, IFA actually incorporated a Volvo cab into their design. The truck was finally unveiled to the public in 1987 after more than fifteen years of production. The IFAs were originally brought to Albania during the spread of communism and were leveraged to help transport people throughout the rural areas that suffer from undeveloped infrastructure and unpaved roads. Over the last few years, the IFAs have been leveraged more and more to assist with logging. Most of these vehicles are now clocking in at about thirty years of age and going strong… just goes to show you that incredible German engineering isn’t just applicable to Mercedes, BMWs and cuckoo clocks.
