The long road north and more mechanical shennanigans
On Monday morning I waved goodbye to Virginia (who flew home from Marakech) and took my van parts to the garage.
After a tense three hour wait Lucy fired up and together we began our journey north (with me still experiencing the effects of African Man Flu (stomach variety).
It's now Wednesday evening and I'm in a fancy Hotel in Burgos about 130km south of Bilbao. We've covered almost 1300 miles and I've been on the road for more than 27 hours. Monday's drive north was pleasant enough and not too rushed. Tuesday started at 5.30am and ended around 7.30pm. It involved 2 hours through Morocco then an awful hour fighting my way through hordes of Moroccans at the border and then the peace of Spain ...............
The mountains in the north of Morocco are stunning and the views across the mediteranean were awe inspiring. The sun was still rising as I dropped down towards Ceuta (the Spanish enclave).
I had planned to stay in Granada, but the campsite was shut, so ploughed north, losing an hour in Jaen looking for a hotel before hitting the road north and eventually finding a roadside hotel that did not look like a brothel ...............
Today was going great until 130km from Bilbao (my final destination) when a clunk saw a loss of power from the engine and a 3 hour wait to be picked up by a tow truck. This is when the gods smiled. The coil which is part of the electrical system had gone .............. and who had kindly brought one with her nearly two weeks ago - but Virginia. So I smiled at the mechanic, passed him the new one and was back on the road within an hour of being picked up. Too late to go north, but mightily relieved that it was not something more serious. My nerves are frayed to pieces now. I love the Van and she's done me proud, and to be fair the coil is about the only non new part on the engine. But I'm not sure I'll be venturing so far from home in her again ........... certainly not into Africa .............
After a tense three hour wait Lucy fired up and together we began our journey north (with me still experiencing the effects of African Man Flu (stomach variety).
It's now Wednesday evening and I'm in a fancy Hotel in Burgos about 130km south of Bilbao. We've covered almost 1300 miles and I've been on the road for more than 27 hours. Monday's drive north was pleasant enough and not too rushed. Tuesday started at 5.30am and ended around 7.30pm. It involved 2 hours through Morocco then an awful hour fighting my way through hordes of Moroccans at the border and then the peace of Spain ...............
The mountains in the north of Morocco are stunning and the views across the mediteranean were awe inspiring. The sun was still rising as I dropped down towards Ceuta (the Spanish enclave).
I had planned to stay in Granada, but the campsite was shut, so ploughed north, losing an hour in Jaen looking for a hotel before hitting the road north and eventually finding a roadside hotel that did not look like a brothel ...............
Today was going great until 130km from Bilbao (my final destination) when a clunk saw a loss of power from the engine and a 3 hour wait to be picked up by a tow truck. This is when the gods smiled. The coil which is part of the electrical system had gone .............. and who had kindly brought one with her nearly two weeks ago - but Virginia. So I smiled at the mechanic, passed him the new one and was back on the road within an hour of being picked up. Too late to go north, but mightily relieved that it was not something more serious. My nerves are frayed to pieces now. I love the Van and she's done me proud, and to be fair the coil is about the only non new part on the engine. But I'm not sure I'll be venturing so far from home in her again ........... certainly not into Africa .............
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