Les Blondes du Désert sont dans la place! Team #172, Christine Aiach and Isabelle Lopez, have traveled all the way from France to join the Rebelle. From handling overseas logistics to language barriers and taking efficient packing next level, they’ve started their own rally just to get here. And now that they’re here, we can’t wait to tell you about them. Bienvenue, Les Blondes du Désert!

Christine lives near Paris, about 35 km southwest in a small city in Seine et Marne. She loves living near Paris, and usually goes once a week to shop, dine, meet friends, go to the theater, and bicycle around the city of lights. She’s a retired university professor, and when she’s home, she loves to do any type of sport (swimming, walking, jogging) as well as read and be with her family – she has a son and a daughter with her husband, who is a real estate director. Together, they travel the world, and as often as possible in US. Christine first went to the US when she was 17, and since then she’s been in love with this country and it’s “beautiful nature.”

She considers her and Isabelle the “queens of shoveling,” and are now able to do it very quickly. Christine mentioned they know even in the worst moment, they find something funny to laugh with… making their team always strong.

“We are a very friendly team, we enjoy to drink a glass of wine or champagne after a hard day of shovel sand or changing a wheel or losing ourselves in the desert or what ever could happen during a day of rally, and we will be always happy to share our experience with the other Rebelles. We are a competitor team but we will help every team that we will meet on our road!”

Isabelle lives in the south of France near Beziers. She is married with two boys and previously worked in tourism. She now enjoys traveling often to Mauritius Island because her family has is both French and Mauritian, and they live in Mauritius few months in the year.

She met Christine on a beach in Mauritius Island 15 years ago, and the rest is history! Competing in two rallies together has bonded them with a strong understanding of one another, benevolence, and cohesion of the two into one solid adventure-loving duo.

“I want to share this new adventure on Rebelle Rally, always navigator and Christine, pilot. With her, I feel, she can pilot me around the world. We want discover and compete to new horizons to share more of joy and new experiences in your great country!”