tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55207124577638691122024-03-05T22:07:40.211-08:00Small Car, Big Adventure!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-57664812423227794312015-09-06T05:28:00.002-07:002015-09-06T05:28:25.438-07:00Covering Miles, desserts and the Pyrenees!We are in Andorra! And i'm thoroughly impressed, i was a little unsure as of what to expect. The small country, nestled high up in the Pyrenees between France and Spain, famed for having the only co-principality in the world, the Principat d'Andorra is a truly impressive place. Because of it being such a mountainous country, the majority of its buildings, towns and villages are set in the bottom of various valleys, meaning that everywhere you go, you are surrounded by mountains! Sitting in a restaurant typing this now, 400m behind me the land rises sharply to at least 1000m!<br />
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<i>Don't look down!</i></div>
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Anyway, yes we are in Andorra, but what about the last few days?! When i last wrote, we were near Valencia, that evening we ended up at a campsite in Calig, another hundred or so miles North up the East coast. That was actually the second campsite that day we visited, first headed to one in nearby Tirig, However upon arriving the place was deserted, i say deserted, but there was a few caravans there, an open restaurant and the place was clearly maintained, lights and music on in the restaurant, pool jets running... Yet there wasnt a single person around! After having a look around to see if i could find anyone, and failing, we waited for a little before leaving... It was starting to get a bit weird! We ended up at camping l'orangeraie in Calig. One of the best sites we'd stayed at.<br />
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<i>We're not afraid of the dark!</i></div>
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Next morning we were up and ready for another day of mile munching. We headed for the Ejea de los Caballeros, north of Zaragoza. Whilst it was a bit of a trek, we ended up there earlier than i'd expected. So we started exploring some local tracks, the majority of these were on loose gravel, but very smooth and flowing, it was fun to get the car sliding around a little, and if you follow our Facebook page, you'll see some evidence of that! The day before though it had rained, meaning that by the time we actually got to the campsite, Tim was filthy!<br />
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<i>Where's it go?</i></div>
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<i>Nobody knows...</i></div>
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<i>Admittedly, could do with a bath at this point...</i></div>
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The next day the plan was to spend the morning and early afternoon exploring the Banderas Reales, before heading to the Pyrenees later on. The Banderas Reales is an awesome place, and if you are in the area, it is somewhere that is well worth exploring. The Banderas reales is a semi-arid desert, and has purpose made unsurfaced routes for exploring the place. We spent a few hours driving around the place, taking in the views, and exploring some of it on Foot. Very cool.<br />
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<i>Although only at most, 50 miles from the nearest town, you could feel truly isolated.</i></div>
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<i>Could almost be Nevada...</i></div>
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<i>Geography isn't my strong point, but the examples of erosion were incredible...</i></div>
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Leaving the Banderas Reales, i made a small navigational error, meaning to be headed north-east towards Andorra, for some reason i headed north-west, and ended up in Pamplona. Bugger. As nice as Pamplona was, we were now several hours further away from where we wanted to be! We headed into the Pyrenees anyway, and stopped at a campsite just outside Broto, cool place, and i was in awe of the scenery regardless.<br />
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<i>At times hard to focus on the road, the scenery was amazing...</i></div>
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Yesterday we awoke at Camping Oto, and headed off, travelling east towards the town of Alins. Alins was our target destination for it is the start of the not-so-secret but surprisingly un-well documented 'smugglers route' into Andorra. We had a leisurely drive through the Pyrenees, stopped off for plenty of photos along the way, had some lunch and arrived in Alins just before 5. Aware of the challenges that would face us tomorrow, i spent a few hours going over Tim, raising his ride height, adjusting suspension, swapping the two front tyres for the ones with better tread on the roof, and letting a load of air out of all four to hopefully aid traction. We chilled, for the evening, made some chow, and then i got a fairly early night.<br />
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<i>Not a bad spot for lunch!</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Preparations!</i></div>
<br />
This morning i awoke, it was cold! For the first time this trip i'd actually set an alarm, not wanting to sleep in too late, and with a rough target of being in Andorra before midday. An hour after being awoke and eventually making it out of my cosey sleeping bag, we were ready to go!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPW1q-tLQhyMrs7orPcskKr99OuQMdgmN_FUWZhEVZsyrxs-S-VihN24EcNsBNw1vYsW8Cb0gD8NWv-UMJwI97lGoqp5n-yTtrLb9OKkiqzyccIeXT5pEpOT07l8blLmnUnrr6vDbdlNw/s1600/11261131_404645263078437_6376951625392075537_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPW1q-tLQhyMrs7orPcskKr99OuQMdgmN_FUWZhEVZsyrxs-S-VihN24EcNsBNw1vYsW8Cb0gD8NWv-UMJwI97lGoqp5n-yTtrLb9OKkiqzyccIeXT5pEpOT07l8blLmnUnrr6vDbdlNw/s320/11261131_404645263078437_6376951625392075537_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Compared to 30+ degree heat, this was brrrr!</i></div>
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I won't publicly list how to find the route, as part of it's charm is that its not massively overpopulated and isn't too busy. If anyone is genuinely interested though please feel free to send us an e-mail and just ask.<br />
<br />
Anyway, once on the route, tarmac turns to concrete, and the concrete quickly ends, leaving the path ahead based on mud and rocks... Once passed through a small and very remote village, the track opens up, and begins to climb quite steeply, the rocks getting bigger and the gradients getting more challenging. Tim coped remarkably well, as long as we kept moving he managed to get over some sizable rocks and gradients. Setting off on a hill was a careful balance of keeping the revs high enough to get him moving but being gentle enough with the clutch so that he didn't just wheel spin on the spot and get us nowhere! There were a few small river/stream crossings, no problems!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvJlHGalObHpxUJ3W-Y7IHRX5cdMGCHbksVyRXiTlbr2aawfJyZgMZyoqKBk_GPNFQ4K0yCMvoDlBIczqU0BGpGzGNgQq2ZfMp8v0AHZTEI54RCsO5CQMy_p49jzKtUS6yetw9bNNAig/s1600/DSC_0724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvJlHGalObHpxUJ3W-Y7IHRX5cdMGCHbksVyRXiTlbr2aawfJyZgMZyoqKBk_GPNFQ4K0yCMvoDlBIczqU0BGpGzGNgQq2ZfMp8v0AHZTEI54RCsO5CQMy_p49jzKtUS6yetw9bNNAig/s320/DSC_0724.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>And so it begins...</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUC5UrDlObUVeCDnoslt2G9AGAwq5HZ-_rzwXtk4u70TSmfeXrhTkVkRtasyigZrTQbgArXwa6jQAfX8eLT9BzfAwHFYT7ZhRUoIfeEJxToq2pczq8y90aDrqX-Ie8fV2a2i5wgbOtnaA/s1600/DSC_0726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUC5UrDlObUVeCDnoslt2G9AGAwq5HZ-_rzwXtk4u70TSmfeXrhTkVkRtasyigZrTQbgArXwa6jQAfX8eLT9BzfAwHFYT7ZhRUoIfeEJxToq2pczq8y90aDrqX-Ie8fV2a2i5wgbOtnaA/s320/DSC_0726.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Climbing slowly...</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uuUgVCmArw0HpRouiDBqKi3wjQlK5huUNh9NKT0hkrI0ObBaAxXaX3YHWbYsNxt9wpPAzWAdpLxAOtHCmDuWN07-2ea2WtL1Ew1Iob5sY7ew0XvQtKtktt_mrhp71o7u7TYGLMvtLl8/s1600/DSC_0730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uuUgVCmArw0HpRouiDBqKi3wjQlK5huUNh9NKT0hkrI0ObBaAxXaX3YHWbYsNxt9wpPAzWAdpLxAOtHCmDuWN07-2ea2WtL1Ew1Iob5sY7ew0XvQtKtktt_mrhp71o7u7TYGLMvtLl8/s320/DSC_0730.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Getting higher!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyG13JMzSXa6hNVBh-L-WLYDfl38b0DKl6RbTAJrMLph0eYdVB5xru3Pa2JxQGGeEN_4j6T7Vl1gFb5alKItts9STFClDQpPYgDOhdcu7JorgeYWGXPtcOZ0NQAD-8LzL5YdUeDYWsalk/s1600/DSC_0736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyG13JMzSXa6hNVBh-L-WLYDfl38b0DKl6RbTAJrMLph0eYdVB5xru3Pa2JxQGGeEN_4j6T7Vl1gFb5alKItts9STFClDQpPYgDOhdcu7JorgeYWGXPtcOZ0NQAD-8LzL5YdUeDYWsalk/s320/DSC_0736.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Splish, splash!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzc4hAbvkmTyELM9FwFUs_6gnyrq9Wx4oM29V1ebww-_CTS_lqetd4CWRmOdccgN0wiGPDneel1KCrQ1NhjP70cPMaQcmQpdSNmkxNIq-PQFYmbWE4mo_qZ3TA9NANHW34Gtmct6l8yMA/s1600/DSC_0739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzc4hAbvkmTyELM9FwFUs_6gnyrq9Wx4oM29V1ebww-_CTS_lqetd4CWRmOdccgN0wiGPDneel1KCrQ1NhjP70cPMaQcmQpdSNmkxNIq-PQFYmbWE4mo_qZ3TA9NANHW34Gtmct6l8yMA/s320/DSC_0739.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Encountered some traffic...</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ysznJhv2K0Rb6A8putoZuH_25pwdNbSpsPqKc3UYTDUo551_STzjo7tCMuchrCJG7Ur6AbrOqXveQ7uQ7sk8mZ-8rsqjQvmOh6RBKsf4NDr1LxZ2pluRWevCtHZurN8D3jGnxI2PpQw/s1600/DSC_0741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ysznJhv2K0Rb6A8putoZuH_25pwdNbSpsPqKc3UYTDUo551_STzjo7tCMuchrCJG7Ur6AbrOqXveQ7uQ7sk8mZ-8rsqjQvmOh6RBKsf4NDr1LxZ2pluRWevCtHZurN8D3jGnxI2PpQw/s320/DSC_0741.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Views were nothing short of incredible...</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2RqYQU8vnu2Gedpd0_8EwFLpcz_G0tJXDrr3gtoLwCSRN-Pn5vyyOuMfN7aJDQwlmrIgqqYI05d3V_4a5bcRe45WebwEdap0g-0OwZDWC9peDUZHubllnMclI7T9jzdBK0hvxmaHnew/s1600/DSC_0745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2RqYQU8vnu2Gedpd0_8EwFLpcz_G0tJXDrr3gtoLwCSRN-Pn5vyyOuMfN7aJDQwlmrIgqqYI05d3V_4a5bcRe45WebwEdap0g-0OwZDWC9peDUZHubllnMclI7T9jzdBK0hvxmaHnew/s320/DSC_0745.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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At the top of one of the peaks we were greeted by several four wheel drive tour operators, to say they were surprised to see Tim at the top would be an understatement! The greeting was more than friendly though, with one of the drivers offering us advice and asking all about Tim. Several members of the tour were even having photos taken with Tim! Basically celebrity status!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2JizMqjEoal61oq5pNShIscrwWHkcPSSoAvu2z5XFpbb12HDZ6oIQu1CvbPi5pRVM0kkVF46E1NgiG17yMrdeFOJFlTqORQcG1Z_tGVwOjNG8AKxutUu2mhe5o-fkzYNEWjni1BAoVM/s1600/DSC_0747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2JizMqjEoal61oq5pNShIscrwWHkcPSSoAvu2z5XFpbb12HDZ6oIQu1CvbPi5pRVM0kkVF46E1NgiG17yMrdeFOJFlTqORQcG1Z_tGVwOjNG8AKxutUu2mhe5o-fkzYNEWjni1BAoVM/s320/DSC_0747.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Pfffft! Who needs four wheel drive!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PsFZH4C6LxUO6QMMrpK9OtpsCxmEucYrkz9v1BoJqvdacsLIAk_DtQ8Vf6wTB24Q4aWQHnety43uErTskLawVQYrLeobFC20fxUGgCBoS8e8w8GmfaIo-EbgP7yPi9YadeG1notfRQ8/s1600/DSC_0746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PsFZH4C6LxUO6QMMrpK9OtpsCxmEucYrkz9v1BoJqvdacsLIAk_DtQ8Vf6wTB24Q4aWQHnety43uErTskLawVQYrLeobFC20fxUGgCBoS8e8w8GmfaIo-EbgP7yPi9YadeG1notfRQ8/s320/DSC_0746.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Some random dude insisted on having a photo with Tim!</i></div>
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Around 5 more miles off road continued, with some of it quite testing, before we arrived in Andorra! The border post now abandoned due to Andorra's 'relationship' with the EU, the only way to tell you've arrived is that the path turns into tarmac!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zonUyziX1bQuU8yuA_bijje2npgM-UhkztSVhEI2FXfSBXCUZX_0NgMgF3XpQ2AnnBQqxZw79BDeSQlCDBwsw9dAi8V6cx6P5iQu95BfmBoxOD_5uRJgcDxDGPwbCXpS2wkYYVGFMbc/s1600/DSC_0750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zonUyziX1bQuU8yuA_bijje2npgM-UhkztSVhEI2FXfSBXCUZX_0NgMgF3XpQ2AnnBQqxZw79BDeSQlCDBwsw9dAi8V6cx6P5iQu95BfmBoxOD_5uRJgcDxDGPwbCXpS2wkYYVGFMbc/s320/DSC_0750.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNtlNCoVI5edCmdZvTuOwR_eDqv_hruvRWnvHqc4N_U8_c6b2WBQllQ_bYhNms-7pdXHmO7vQPCIDfvGu0AfQxK5o3nSOtfrbr3sEy19iZuARS090r3xE925_g0fVgwXHrEekPbn1O8E/s1600/DSC_0752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNtlNCoVI5edCmdZvTuOwR_eDqv_hruvRWnvHqc4N_U8_c6b2WBQllQ_bYhNms-7pdXHmO7vQPCIDfvGu0AfQxK5o3nSOtfrbr3sEy19iZuARS090r3xE925_g0fVgwXHrEekPbn1O8E/s320/DSC_0752.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Don't fall down the ruts!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJE6LbbRKN4rmCWL_36LkrZgCPWF2JIRQj2L7Gngz2gxpTENu85H9MokGrQWEZPhu-SmkSLWA886pU6M2GlbZD4L-2_C3m8R_qiD733JnFNaFV-2XmDFDG4tSHLOB3uQM3RHmXWs3EIM/s1600/DSC_0755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJE6LbbRKN4rmCWL_36LkrZgCPWF2JIRQj2L7Gngz2gxpTENu85H9MokGrQWEZPhu-SmkSLWA886pU6M2GlbZD4L-2_C3m8R_qiD733JnFNaFV-2XmDFDG4tSHLOB3uQM3RHmXWs3EIM/s320/DSC_0755.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The end is near...!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlJhNzBuDSgQ8irboGZE72NCX5JeM8x7RhO_9YEFCWGA-zkjfkSFa29y3tg5IiMrp7lg6s7zn8K5Hl-KNd9SvvDq8EK1C_fbpUBJl9BHZ607cKXJ25WUyMabQFyDiPBobj-Xf2fwQuxg/s1600/DSC_0762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlJhNzBuDSgQ8irboGZE72NCX5JeM8x7RhO_9YEFCWGA-zkjfkSFa29y3tg5IiMrp7lg6s7zn8K5Hl-KNd9SvvDq8EK1C_fbpUBJl9BHZ607cKXJ25WUyMabQFyDiPBobj-Xf2fwQuxg/s320/DSC_0762.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>And we made it, back on Tarmac! Almost a shame...!</i></div>
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We continued down the CG-4, through Pal, and headed towards Andorra la Vella, Andorra's capital. Typically, as we were driving down through the mountains, it became apparent that the UCI Mountain bike world champs are happening here this week, we parked up and i tried to see if there was a way i could get in. Unfortunately it turned out it would be almost impossible to get a ticket for the day, unless you had very deep pockets! Bummer.<br />
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<i>Giant steel tea-cup... No idea what it means, but pretty cool!</i></div>
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We are currently in Andorra la Vella, planning on spending a few more hours here exploring the city, before heading North in the direction of France! Not before filling Tim up with some cheap fuel of course....<br />
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So for the last time this trip, we have left Spain behind us, goodbye for now, we will be back! Onwards North, and into France!<br />
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Peace, Joe.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-38963736988815124682015-09-02T06:26:00.000-07:002015-09-02T06:26:33.636-07:00Gibraltar, Palaces, Mountains and getting stuck in the sand...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvsOrAni_2mURSNKpVaMzAt735hioGghBqhXMriyUxuQ6U28Tp3NWLMA0v1UecS6j6JmzIHiE7PGIEkFpTSsvOTwnKjAhtGu9_hgvnvstHocTqZf3JFgVIYJp8HSGjfRs2heNXXSnai6g/s1600/DSC_0395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvsOrAni_2mURSNKpVaMzAt735hioGghBqhXMriyUxuQ6U28Tp3NWLMA0v1UecS6j6JmzIHiE7PGIEkFpTSsvOTwnKjAhtGu9_hgvnvstHocTqZf3JFgVIYJp8HSGjfRs2heNXXSnai6g/s320/DSC_0395.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yesterday alone, we travelled from around 1500m up the
Sierra Nevada, to the Tabernas dessert, from there; we headed to the Andalucian
coast. So you could say we pretty much covered most climates and conditions!
Oh, and it was all going so well, until we got stuck on a beach for over an
hour… But more of that later!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gibraltar was an odd place, not a bad kind of odd, just odd.
Being around 1500 miles away from home, and then seeing Royal Mail postboxes,
walking down the high street past Marks & Spencers and paying in pounds
sterling was rather strange. Im not writing this in a negative sense though,
far from it, I found Gibraltar very interesting, and I wouldn’t be adverse to
going back again. I only got the chance to spend a few hours in the town, and
would like too of spent at least a few hours more. The town itself is
fascinating upon how its constructed, consisting within old fort buildings,
shops and restaurants squeezed in where they can. The high street is narrow,
but wouldn’t feel out of place in London, with all major brands present, yet
when you reach the end of the street, the giant rock of Gibraltar itself looms
into view. It’s a strange attraction in itself, for around the 10 miles or so
before reaching Gibraltar, the area is completely flat, and as you draw nearer
the ‘rock’ itself looms into view, looking almost unnatural in the vicinity of
coastal towns and flatlands.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaKTlHxU6VGs3_ZVamyfaWMTXu9hfHSid11qPX_6R6dozcDCwBpEgFDPVKW40GtroyNawzOxLLtyz_fTUSc7Pu5N-0sm6cKp6fXZ_kcKf6OYDIoLZRpKmCExDX4mgszJxJRGuKT0A9uw/s1600/DSC_0414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaKTlHxU6VGs3_ZVamyfaWMTXu9hfHSid11qPX_6R6dozcDCwBpEgFDPVKW40GtroyNawzOxLLtyz_fTUSc7Pu5N-0sm6cKp6fXZ_kcKf6OYDIoLZRpKmCExDX4mgszJxJRGuKT0A9uw/s320/DSC_0414.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Weirdly it was almost like being at home!</i></div>
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<i>But cheaper, much cheaper!</i></div>
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After filling Tim’s tanks with Gibraltese petrol, and at 82p
a litre I would have filled them twice if I could! We headed back across the
frontier and into Spain, strangely, this seemed much more normal and familiar!
We headed north towards Granada, and stopped at a campsite about 30 miles from
the city.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGl-oWfQ7NWOmGQA9YteL4AjN6gS5-9-WHxTqyxEldYl-XsBapXlrMYA02cm3rqrg2Grs5F0S46_JVV1Q4b6nkCgRR5zBTjJLIw09CrrYeN8V8iUu6r0xVFUayHj54RMAuNhzSsIij2Q4/s1600/DSC_0420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGl-oWfQ7NWOmGQA9YteL4AjN6gS5-9-WHxTqyxEldYl-XsBapXlrMYA02cm3rqrg2Grs5F0S46_JVV1Q4b6nkCgRR5zBTjJLIw09CrrYeN8V8iUu6r0xVFUayHj54RMAuNhzSsIij2Q4/s320/DSC_0420.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Off road again? </i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAfPwuR29bwHYKJYL5oXRqUbHNMMHswcxtC9AmDQMiofHb0Fz1Ne0ybZ_GA9lDCGXCD_QqZddLOz4IpDchcW5-9p1uPAd-bOxKDYJBITnhMY9Ms6eKJQCwf0xPX_dc4SnY4aaxPjqXnU/s1600/DSC_0422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAfPwuR29bwHYKJYL5oXRqUbHNMMHswcxtC9AmDQMiofHb0Fz1Ne0ybZ_GA9lDCGXCD_QqZddLOz4IpDchcW5-9p1uPAd-bOxKDYJBITnhMY9Ms6eKJQCwf0xPX_dc4SnY4aaxPjqXnU/s320/DSC_0422.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<i>Nope, just Spanish road works!</i></div>
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The next day, we made our move onto the fabled Alhambra
palace, I’d heard many stories, and read many things, but little could prepare
me for what I would see with my own eyes. If you have not been then you need to
go. It is a place of outstanding beauty, and cultural differentiation that
somehow blurs all into one. And it does so with Elegance, from the Moorish
palaces to the later Roman and even more recent areas, each of which never feel
out of place from one another. Different, most definitely, and distinguishably
so, but it all just works… I find it remarkable, considering that each reigning
empire rarely saw eye to eye, that each palace and section of the Alhambra
still remains! I got talking to several people whilst walking around the
grounds, nearly all of them tourists/travellers. It was interesting to compare
differences in how we accomplished doing what we love so, travel. Anyway, for this
I will let the pictures do the talking, apologies in advance for some, parts of
the Alhambra were very dark, and slow shutter speeds and shooting handheld
rarely mix! Excuse all the photos, i could of spent days there just taking pics!</div>
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After the Alhambra, and after being stung for nearly 10
euros worth of parking! We left Granada, and followed signs for the Sierra
Nevada. It had a natural allure for me, after always being drawn to things tall
and mountainous. The Sierra Nevada is not famed for being a particularly
challenging climb or route, with its highest peak being the Mulhacen, most
people considering it a walk or a hike. I even met two Brits who had flown into
Malaga and were doing just that, camping at sites and wild where they could.
However for me it had one thing that I did want to accomplish, the Sierra Nevada
holds claim to the highest publically accessible road in all of Europe… Guess
where we headed!</div>
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The road as it leaves Granada climbs steeply, and covers
something like 2000m in 15 miles… So it’s a constant serious incline from the
beginning to the top. All was going well until about 1500m, I had noticed the
air getting thinner, and Tim had been affected also! Fourth gear became almost
unusable as he became starved of oxygen, third was most popular with second
getting a fair workout also! After 2000m it became quite hard work. Pulling
away required planning, lots of throttle and a considerable amount of planning,
my AFR gauge telling me just how rich the mixture was! By the time we got to
the top, around 2700m, his idle was barely ticking over. Alas he had made it,
and did so without much fuss, me probably making more of a deal of it than
necessary! The view from the top, would have been incredible, except, as seems
to be a theme on this trip, there was a considerable haze… We could still see a few hundred feet, so it
could have been worse!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlf4EksrfWygkZ4AimnXWVAo2bPKM5w0bbo8yPpsYr8XNxSRasTOZxXmLoA9GWoP4qkcYNFC6xRs1uhLwyXTJxDd0Q5W8PPoCWqTmlge_fKZIsOZg1brn_DktspPpfeNQMqfLEEMF504w/s1600/DSC_0620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlf4EksrfWygkZ4AimnXWVAo2bPKM5w0bbo8yPpsYr8XNxSRasTOZxXmLoA9GWoP4qkcYNFC6xRs1uhLwyXTJxDd0Q5W8PPoCWqTmlge_fKZIsOZg1brn_DktspPpfeNQMqfLEEMF504w/s320/DSC_0620.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> 2700m and some...</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPewXDGiyXOx8zP2e9UcwLXDRXfhbj4kbKjwHWmkOpTloKbliU6KsogKO8MZ-nY2Z7545KtVzWgcQnVM2mBBzWzNNPiXWz0ZrhGhUftrv8UiiExWEK2mMQFj-JbM8mHdJRxaUwjZadBE/s1600/DSC_0623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPewXDGiyXOx8zP2e9UcwLXDRXfhbj4kbKjwHWmkOpTloKbliU6KsogKO8MZ-nY2Z7545KtVzWgcQnVM2mBBzWzNNPiXWz0ZrhGhUftrv8UiiExWEK2mMQFj-JbM8mHdJRxaUwjZadBE/s320/DSC_0623.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVA9p4N5ybOzsxVQ5_jpXt5qVq3xqJ1FFA2H5KTMX4i4F_QonbVX32krE2g3JeCq2H-uWgdJVkj7OHyEZZMxTuS0W9CdPmyv92zh0x1BFTVWoLi00Qg62TrYT7WhEq8irKoLIFegs0-gw/s1600/DSC_0626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVA9p4N5ybOzsxVQ5_jpXt5qVq3xqJ1FFA2H5KTMX4i4F_QonbVX32krE2g3JeCq2H-uWgdJVkj7OHyEZZMxTuS0W9CdPmyv92zh0x1BFTVWoLi00Qg62TrYT7WhEq8irKoLIFegs0-gw/s320/DSC_0626.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After spending an hour or so at the top, experiencing the
lack of Oxygen and watching the test vehicle climb to the top and fly back down
again. There was lots of these, I noticed several Transits, some loaded, some
towing trailers with weight, and then lots of Lorries, working hard pulling up
the incline. Several vehicles that I couldn’t recognise due to their stripey
and baggy clothing also! Anyway, we headed back down, Tim ran better as the air
got thicker, and I too felt the difference, after descending a thousand feet
the air felt like soup in comparison! We headed to a campsite that we’d seen
signposted on the way up, and spent the night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before leaving I’d been intrigued by the Tabernas dessert,
and with it only a few hours away and in the right direction, that was our
first heading of the day. However, before even leaving the Sierra Nevada, there
were a few off road trails that just proved far too tempting…! Some were
rougher than others, continued down one for about 20 miles before it ended at a
road. After well over an hour spent playing and taking photos, we got back on
our heading.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtKj3yRic4-PipBOIlVxwr-1JHgZVGty6y0uJJv6W5mjfNtygvtSgRCwmGkyg0YDvwtHYClOLpUCGHR9GvXg7m7fCy6NhwuSe-qLHGneJkNPcQkjGh4ZZ7WAPaqmvmCv5wQsFA-pyqqg/s1600/IMG_0439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtKj3yRic4-PipBOIlVxwr-1JHgZVGty6y0uJJv6W5mjfNtygvtSgRCwmGkyg0YDvwtHYClOLpUCGHR9GvXg7m7fCy6NhwuSe-qLHGneJkNPcQkjGh4ZZ7WAPaqmvmCv5wQsFA-pyqqg/s320/IMG_0439.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Wheres this go...?</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRzzAnTHPNVHIIJWDBckMMUgj_E54ZiML8sxvqojgg-ln0ZFpZWs4e0X3zGGW-TMoOb2hIFDhYS3pIBDikTy6WTpGki3EiE9RCWzDf806WQf98tMPEZa-DeUBl4wtiygfrllefWDJM40/s1600/IMG_0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRzzAnTHPNVHIIJWDBckMMUgj_E54ZiML8sxvqojgg-ln0ZFpZWs4e0X3zGGW-TMoOb2hIFDhYS3pIBDikTy6WTpGki3EiE9RCWzDf806WQf98tMPEZa-DeUBl4wtiygfrllefWDJM40/s320/IMG_0442.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>One way to find out...</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4tYZQCrbS5FDhXqOU6M7hCabHcXrCuOMUYy0JkxRpFNHY5AVrAjfKMf5AznAmI2DTYpLmh0Zevad_bkuOU8TNyKzKD-HoNbbgX-9lVGrvnzbvsL9jKUlD4m3w5XyGr9ugh1i5k8Vpro/s1600/DSC_0633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4tYZQCrbS5FDhXqOU6M7hCabHcXrCuOMUYy0JkxRpFNHY5AVrAjfKMf5AznAmI2DTYpLmh0Zevad_bkuOU8TNyKzKD-HoNbbgX-9lVGrvnzbvsL9jKUlD4m3w5XyGr9ugh1i5k8Vpro/s320/DSC_0633.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnljBOWaXhdJx9vvzRwseVBSGJTDbL8VYyPtwE8vkBLGWRyxQXyjQEuXCTXFwTfSGYa_UhTQ5CW-xUXz6IpeoYQ6OUm_8o_PUTcDmy32WS5Ot5GJ5i_X903_2bomNtbPWYUqOgISLkT0/s1600/DSC_0636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnljBOWaXhdJx9vvzRwseVBSGJTDbL8VYyPtwE8vkBLGWRyxQXyjQEuXCTXFwTfSGYa_UhTQ5CW-xUXz6IpeoYQ6OUm_8o_PUTcDmy32WS5Ot5GJ5i_X903_2bomNtbPWYUqOgISLkT0/s320/DSC_0636.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Amazing views on the way back down!</i></div>
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The Tabernas dessert is famed for being the location of many
‘Spaghetti Western’ films, and when arriving here you can quickly see why! It
is one of only a few true semi-desserts in Europe, with annual rain fall below
200mm a year. We stayed a while, before moving on, as unless you wanted to go
and see the sets of the films, there’s not a great deal to see. And it was
rather warm also, try 42 degrees in the shade!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4yFNs3PktC0uiIUB24SivTWG51A4AxlPrvamTF2AtQuO71iWSMO1yOS4K5Lmpzqbh0H11TxRrO1Vay3C_k3v81lZRfAG5SPo-2zXC0JwAXorhcYee9-bhm02uxFM4wmKOZtaKliG2kE/s1600/IMG_0453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4yFNs3PktC0uiIUB24SivTWG51A4AxlPrvamTF2AtQuO71iWSMO1yOS4K5Lmpzqbh0H11TxRrO1Vay3C_k3v81lZRfAG5SPo-2zXC0JwAXorhcYee9-bhm02uxFM4wmKOZtaKliG2kE/s320/IMG_0453.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Dry enough...?</i></div>
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We headed back out to the coast, my grandparents have a
place in San Juan De Los Terreros, unfortunately they weren’t out here at the time.
Alas we found a beach and parked up for a while, took some photos...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDDowUQ7yqCeP9_IqZXhgxq8-JfRJ3J3iRTTN0coADeCriBt9OfGe-ZfMxL_BrAkcJm0A7eOtbsxVoN31GvwewFK8V34W6o3fEaLPvax9WZJaxQEONR_m1Gm9twt4jGeiP1lbP5vAU0Y/s1600/DSC_0646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDDowUQ7yqCeP9_IqZXhgxq8-JfRJ3J3iRTTN0coADeCriBt9OfGe-ZfMxL_BrAkcJm0A7eOtbsxVoN31GvwewFK8V34W6o3fEaLPvax9WZJaxQEONR_m1Gm9twt4jGeiP1lbP5vAU0Y/s320/DSC_0646.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijU581f_LyR8WvvTSiC3YZKgrjxpV6fBoZt4xlc6oq-GF9zPh1A64Kf_84hU6CyOZnPAPcg2-iJJE6Lq3lK_ty0-7NvQKjExlLcGvgl61FlhFULA35Pzm95tn9lHmnvm07utGB3XGsMWg/s1600/DSC_0647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijU581f_LyR8WvvTSiC3YZKgrjxpV6fBoZt4xlc6oq-GF9zPh1A64Kf_84hU6CyOZnPAPcg2-iJJE6Lq3lK_ty0-7NvQKjExlLcGvgl61FlhFULA35Pzm95tn9lHmnvm07utGB3XGsMWg/s320/DSC_0647.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Moving off the beach is where it all went wrong, I managed
to find some soft sand, unintentionally whilst turning round! Tims front wheels
quickly sunk in and were pulling us nowhere. He was beached down to his
sumpguard. Bummer. Sand ladders came off the rood, and I dug him out, he pulled
himself onto the ladders, made it about 6 feet, and then sunk again… Double bummer.
Long story short, this happened 5 times! After 2 hours of digging, sinking,
digging, sinking… You get the idea, we were out! Wahooo! Note to self, watch
out for soft sand next time!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0fUd_m1Yijcp03GNekhyh48I-OEkrF3O56Acs2ZQ8e3RTye9rh7_sGyjPrMMmSSJYUSERzCCZ6QpOJPTSPf6X-9h3iqsqzNuFFOenMz6-FmfsSPEaA-7bZc6iX2V9Z2qo0ZEl55mXEo/s1600/IMG_0456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0fUd_m1Yijcp03GNekhyh48I-OEkrF3O56Acs2ZQ8e3RTye9rh7_sGyjPrMMmSSJYUSERzCCZ6QpOJPTSPf6X-9h3iqsqzNuFFOenMz6-FmfsSPEaA-7bZc6iX2V9Z2qo0ZEl55mXEo/s320/IMG_0456.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Once...</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CJpnxkFVSHYHury9QcrSZ0u4VmwWWmM23TTRi9RE9PEoNXMamLYjiJfavFfe4E-sMdLqTvPgZLifdylGbjjJdxrK8-mfkRnTFNgHHxUGvxHCdgK_thgqf1cdGeGJP9So5G-x_rIM6B4/s1600/IMG_0457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CJpnxkFVSHYHury9QcrSZ0u4VmwWWmM23TTRi9RE9PEoNXMamLYjiJfavFfe4E-sMdLqTvPgZLifdylGbjjJdxrK8-mfkRnTFNgHHxUGvxHCdgK_thgqf1cdGeGJP9So5G-x_rIM6B4/s320/IMG_0457.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Twice...</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILHePz8mXZkrpZFRVVdSrbosRlSu_F8g9zxikVDMVEwlfTSHRsgAvmL7-rsgB7UBFiKRXEt-FRGJ56jfB8B9sBTfOJ5EVOFB7vDj4acEDlWdCkjcCguF_3Avvz3SIxQygmUcMv-vg2TI/s1600/IMG_0458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILHePz8mXZkrpZFRVVdSrbosRlSu_F8g9zxikVDMVEwlfTSHRsgAvmL7-rsgB7UBFiKRXEt-FRGJ56jfB8B9sBTfOJ5EVOFB7vDj4acEDlWdCkjcCguF_3Avvz3SIxQygmUcMv-vg2TI/s320/IMG_0458.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Thrice... (I got bored of taking photos after this!)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YMnNTAVbK8exqMgQCZUINhAydoxXF03CykiqaPbo8C9My8GBmjrvmq9FZJY5LhKTSs2C6mECC0EEZc-5Lc048OAjtD1LGlTPnmT5j8XP6dDKR6hQw64WZMYtMSqiIBucWhPB-pas3so/s1600/IMG_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YMnNTAVbK8exqMgQCZUINhAydoxXF03CykiqaPbo8C9My8GBmjrvmq9FZJY5LhKTSs2C6mECC0EEZc-5Lc048OAjtD1LGlTPnmT5j8XP6dDKR6hQw64WZMYtMSqiIBucWhPB-pas3so/s320/IMG_0460.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Wahooo, we made it out!</i></div>
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After clearing the sand out of most crevices, we headed into
the nearby town of Aguilas for some shopping, exciting stuff I know. Found a
campsite 20 mins away, and set up camp.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSb7wGe5TD6qU4Sd8lm3dNgAt8UYqUaeQEMwRDmcikC_CXWGgG80SeFpSTW6gl8mBLbd-rUbC32jx6myO8y7-xxKnf4mVtcfi2A0aKMZt0gDPWOpodUqrR9a6o2nbwLRkMk-ZgLe_LFYM/s1600/IMG_0462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSb7wGe5TD6qU4Sd8lm3dNgAt8UYqUaeQEMwRDmcikC_CXWGgG80SeFpSTW6gl8mBLbd-rUbC32jx6myO8y7-xxKnf4mVtcfi2A0aKMZt0gDPWOpodUqrR9a6o2nbwLRkMk-ZgLe_LFYM/s320/IMG_0462.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Last nights meal...</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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Today has been less exciting (thankfully?). Forever wary of
time and money constraints, decided to cover some miles heading north, aware missing
out on some of the East coast, but I needed to head North as in a few days I wish
to be in the Pyrenees before heading back over into France. So I’m currently
sat here writing this, near Valencia, from a fast food restaurant popular with
travellers for their free wi-fi… Hey, this is my first one this trip!</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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Peace, Joe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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P.s. All photos are downscaled so it doesnt take several days to upload them onto here, if anyone wants full resolution versions, just give me a shout!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-61872313079617204732015-08-29T13:23:00.001-07:002015-08-29T13:23:55.506-07:002'000 miles and too many beers ago...!Yup, i'm also surprised, mainly that nothings exploded or fallen off, but we have indeed covered nearly 2'000 miles since leaving Longfield 11 days ago. Awesome stuffs, Tim is still running superbly, despite the mega temperatures these past few days since we've hit the south coast... Seeing over 40 degrees during the day! And i am running almost as well... Almost!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9pnGYmI-TabEcsXjdUZmDGX1_kdEUw4v-OGOnCTgbWRnyAOr4WtbgHK1refrgmhpcnSf1s5Ax3WLfDQGPZB9ZdSLJhcuriUO18arDjVpBTcyO_xPgjuKnzR9J7GVw1Wf2LpGvk3GGI4/s1600/DSC_0273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9pnGYmI-TabEcsXjdUZmDGX1_kdEUw4v-OGOnCTgbWRnyAOr4WtbgHK1refrgmhpcnSf1s5Ax3WLfDQGPZB9ZdSLJhcuriUO18arDjVpBTcyO_xPgjuKnzR9J7GVw1Wf2LpGvk3GGI4/s320/DSC_0273.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Just chillin'</i></div>
<br />
We are currently at camping La Torrecilla, in the Sierra de Grazalema national park. Since last time i updated this we were in North Portugal, we've covered some distance these last few days! Ended up staying in Lamego for an extra day, after being invited to a music festival and then a birthday party, how could i refuse?! A brilliant night was had, far too much beer was drank and i even got to eat some traditional Portuguese food... Still not sold on the clams though! Big thankyou (if your reading this) to everyone that was there, for your hospitality and for making me feel properly welcome. I will most definitely be back to Lamego. Met some cool people at the campsite in Lamego as well, Jean and his family and there impressively prepped Nissan Patrol, Lola and her family travelling down from France, as well as others... If any of you are reading this, was great to meet you, and please get in touch!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynJ5bdydCKGnFN0ixbGB7qMZCGHkG7WQ-FpWBshdohVzAuePMzBxVJzLUFyKQoRoygyKtSClm5ooaaIFJbhW58rK8Y5m8l6uyWvbqTYZVFTlzjzS220Mgs20vMdBkY4CkfiFrLLR0a34/s1600/IMG_0368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynJ5bdydCKGnFN0ixbGB7qMZCGHkG7WQ-FpWBshdohVzAuePMzBxVJzLUFyKQoRoygyKtSClm5ooaaIFJbhW58rK8Y5m8l6uyWvbqTYZVFTlzjzS220Mgs20vMdBkY4CkfiFrLLR0a34/s320/IMG_0368.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>One very cool campsite dog!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KNpwk_86U7Xk1vUkUDK_O0CrDNVcQNF84AC2EeJnQoLCGUinKDC2Rv1DoRscMji2B2yPK3FnoUwTG9FoHJMrl7gcqlFVdtXSkV_SnBkNqxfYH13n7QdRwPuOrWTskO0Qg-gdQ4fjOYU/s1600/IMG_0370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KNpwk_86U7Xk1vUkUDK_O0CrDNVcQNF84AC2EeJnQoLCGUinKDC2Rv1DoRscMji2B2yPK3FnoUwTG9FoHJMrl7gcqlFVdtXSkV_SnBkNqxfYH13n7QdRwPuOrWTskO0Qg-gdQ4fjOYU/s320/IMG_0370.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Celebrations in Lamego! </i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
The morning after the party, predictably i awoke with a rather sore head! Also quickly learnt that getting up at 9 after getting to bed at gone 5 that same morning was less than a brilliant idea... Alas, i sucked it up, loaded Tim up and we headed South! After staying an extra night than planned (most definitely not a complaint!) we had some distance to cover. Tanks brimmed, we set the Sat Nav for Elvas, the famous walled city, right on the Portuguese/Spanish border. However, we never actually made it to Elvas, rather stopped at the town of Porto Maior, just north of Elvas. Had come here because of the campsite, it had been a long day and me and Tim needed somewhere to stay. After driving through the town, and with most of the roads being closed, it was clear something was going on, had no idea what though. With the Spanish and Portuguese seemingly taking any excuse to close a town and have a party... We weren't overly surprised!<br />
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<i>Which way to Elvas?</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Stopping for lunch.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>View from the office!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
Arriving at the campsite itself was first a bit of a challenge, with all the roads being closed due to the festival, we had to drive across disused farm tracks to get there... Okay, maybe we could of used normal roads, but that would of taken longer... And off road is more fun! Tim is hardly subtle at the best of times, but turning up at sunset covered in dirt with a dust cloud following is always going to attract attention! Fortunately it's nearly always positive! Despite the campsite being officially 'full' due to the festival they managed to squeeze us on. Wahoo!<br />
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I then found out that the commotion we had stumbled on in town was the 'Festas do povo'. My plan of an early night was quickly disappearing... The owner of the campsite offered me a very cheap ticket and i was sold. He insisted we went, and it was a heck of a fluke, The 'Festas do povo' is the largest town held festival in the whole of Portugal, next time it occurs it will be on the UNESCO world heritage list, and it only occurs every 4 years... I really couldn't say no, And as the pictures below will illustrate, i'm really glad i didn't! Truly amazing sights, with every street decorated with hand made, mostly paper, decorations, live music being performed in every square, a truly electric atmosphere, and very friendly hospitable people to top it all off... A shame that we could only spend one night, as it runs all week!<br />
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<i>My ticket in!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHE04-4o9VrAcvYl5dR7NZbiZmzz_eqYpJ6_doWPKPSIhzVwhy9hgOCzcQRLVWn8eJeVP1Dj1At62v78C5EjFw9NV9ZcQKg5brqWNok6UAiSTvO0C3QBziKNeIF2kQWglCtOKcCkyhOI/s1600/DSC_0288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHE04-4o9VrAcvYl5dR7NZbiZmzz_eqYpJ6_doWPKPSIhzVwhy9hgOCzcQRLVWn8eJeVP1Dj1At62v78C5EjFw9NV9ZcQKg5brqWNok6UAiSTvO0C3QBziKNeIF2kQWglCtOKcCkyhOI/s320/DSC_0288.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Martini bus anyone?</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Amazing to see, hard to photograph!</i></div>
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The next morning we awoke, and today we pointed ourselves in the direction of the Algarve, and what would turn out to be our last full day in Portugal. The drive there was enjoyable, with a mixture of fast moving roads, slower twisty stuffs and even some lacking tarmac as well. Oh, and we stopped off at the Portimao circuit for a look round and some photos! However, when we arrived at the Algarve, we were left wanting... People had warned us that it was one place to miss out, due to the over touristic nature of the place and just how much it had been built up. Unfortunately i can't help but agree. Admittedly we only saw a very small section, arriving in Alvor, and then onto Portimao before Ferragudo, but it was far too busy for us. We stopped at the beach in Alvor, and whilst it was a lovely beach, walking along hearing more Dutch and English voices than Portugese really took the edge off its charm! We struck camp at Camping Ferragudo, it wasn't awful, but we won't be rushing back.<br />
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<i>Warm enough?!!</i></div>
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<i>Portimao circuit was very cool!</i></div>
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<i>Life's a beach!</i></div>
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<i>Parked... Ish!</i></div>
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<i>How most evenings are spent!</i></div>
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And we have arrived at today! Wanting to get out of the Algarve, i realised that we were only 155 miles from Seville, a city that was on my 'must visit' list! We headed that way and by 1 this afternoon we were back in Spain and in the city. I spent most of the time walking around with my mouth open... I did fall a little bit in love with Seville i admit, and hopefully with the photos below, just a little bit of that will translate. Another place i definitely want to go back to and spend a few days... I was there only a few hours,.. Although i did still manage to get talked into paying a few euros for having my palm read on the steps of a Cathedral... Still not sure how that happened!<br />
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<i>Mmmmm, ice tea!</i></div>
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<i>Seville, amazing city...</i></div>
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<i>One of a few cathedrals!</i></div>
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<i>Horse!</i></div>
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<br />After Seville, we have again headed South, with the plan to visit Gibraltar tomorrow and see the Monkeys, we are at the aforementioned camping La Torrecilla. A vast improvement on our campsite last night, they've even got a pool! Something that i made use of as soon as i had the tent up... First time i've been in one since we got over here... Need to make that a more regular occurrence i think!<br />
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<i>On the road again, mountains in the distance...</i></div>
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So that is pretty much it, tomorrow morning we'll make the relatively short trip (Less than 100 miles! What a novelty!) to Gibraltar, see some monkeys and the probably follow the east coast up and out after exploring the very small British territory!<br />
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More again soon, Peace, Joe!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-86086836331329532302015-08-25T13:35:00.000-07:002015-08-25T13:35:22.964-07:00One week ago...This time one week ago i had just boarded a ferry from Portsmouth headed to Santander, struggling to believe just how quickly that time has gone! Me and Tim are now in Portugal, Lamego to be precise. Today's 'office' is much nicer than the last, instead of me writing this from inside Tim, hiding from the wind and rain, cosey to say the least! I'm outside, bathed in the slowly setting Portugese sun, with a fresh beer, can i work like this all the time please?<br />
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<i>Who'd want to be me eh?</i></div>
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We left Camping San Francisco (yes really), in Muros, and headed inland. It was still raining, and that continued to be a theme as the day went on. One of few places I had listed to see was Santiago De Compostella, i had read many things about Galicias capital. Famed for being the culmination of the 'Camino de Santiago' pilgrimage route, and is also the alleged burial site of the Apostle St. James. Ooooh, look at me with my historical facts!</div>
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When arriving in the city, if anything it is a slight dissapointment, however do not be deterred. With nearly all of the old town (the interesting bit) being pedestrianized, roads only have access to the much less interesting modern section. Park up, and head for the old town, it's much more interesting!</div>
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The old town, can only be described as beautiful. Many will say that it's one of, if not the most beautiful city in all of Spain. As i'm still early into this trip, and not actually planning on visiting too many cities, i sha'll reserve judgement. I will however say it is by far one of the most beautiful and enchanting cities that i have ever visited. It is a superb collection of narrow, twisted lanes, lined with cobbled paths, with hidden nooks and crannies, open courtyards and ancient churches.<br />
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<i>Parked underground, drying off!</i></div>
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<i>It rained more than a little!</i></div>
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Unfortunately, during my visit, the rain was relentless, and with the rain came the cold, it really was not a good day to be visiting one of Spain's most beautifully historic cities. The rain and overcast conditions made it rather hard to photograph also, so apologies in advance for that. In person though, the rain did little to dull the cities charm, in someways perhaps even adding to it, water rolling down over the cobbles, rain dripping off of gargoyles noses. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, but truly they do not do the place justice.<br />
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<i>Every street lined with cobbles, the architecture simply stunning.</i></div>
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<i>Despite the rain, the atmosphere couldn't of felt more alive!</i></div>
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<i>Lunch, not very Spanish i know, great chow though.</i></div>
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After some lunch we continued to head south, stopping in a town called Maceira. We stayed at Camping de Maceira, a nice small campsite, and if it wasn't for the weather would of been really nice. Later on that evening i sought refuge in the restaurant/bar, and in my broken spanglish spent the evening there. After a few too many 'Estrella Galicias' and a plate full of some fried fish (i'm still not too sure which) i headed back to the tent. After walking up the wrong road several times, i found it!<br />
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<i>Mystery dish!</i></div>
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<i>Wahooo, tent was found!</i></div>
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The next morning i was awoken to even more rain, by far the worse that i'd seen. Brilliant, i prepared myself for another day of rain, wipers on and missing much of the scenery. Several hours later however, the rain stopped, and the sun slowly began to appear! Wahooo! I was genuinely excited by feeling the heat of the sun on my back!</div>
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<i>Must be sunny, the Ray-Bans are on!</i></div>
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<i>The road to Portugal!</i></div>
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Yesterday, was the journey into Portugal, exciting times, as many overlander will testament, travelling into a new country is always an exciting time. As well as now officially earning the right of displaying said countries sticker on there vehicle! Now just to find one....</div>
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The drive into Portugal was fairly unexciting, however, an hour or so in. The roads became truly dramatic, turn after turn through mountains, through hill based vineyards, over narrow bridges, up steep cobbled streets... It was a lovely time to be driving. However, as lovely as the roads are, getting anywhere quickly is almost impossible! Eventually, and almost accidentally, i arrived at Lamego, driving through the town i was already struck by its quaintness, driving along the streets in the city it seemed very historical, very pretty. I was intrigued, so upon arriving at Camping Lamego, i arranged to stay two nights.</div>
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<i>Portugal!</i></div>
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<i>Portugese Vineyards, photos do not do these justice.</i></div>
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<i>Lamego, by night.</i></div>
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<i>Tim found a friend!</i></div>
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And that brings us up to today. Lamego, as i discovered, is truly a city worth visiting, seemingly unknown too most, it passes under the radar, and almost under mine. Standing in the centre of the old city you can help but notice the staircase leading up to the 'Santuria de Nossa Senhora dos Remedios'. Hopefully the photos below will show just how impressive they are. There are over 620 steps from the center up to the sanctuary, and of course, i wouldn't be doing things properly if i didn't walk up all of them!<br />
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<i>Lamego, centre.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Centre, again.</i></div>
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<i>And the steps begin...</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisr57LHh-DJUfgEeZgFLjrMletnkuRR54MbQqSRd0W_wzCV75Z7GaMf5y29iAkBYsMIFcOyz3NGltwVlj6EwV82ZbxC-rXaBFXxdj1VfMhCljChquxbli8rIZn9Wm__6lE2l6BLNTSC4M/s1600/DSC_0246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisr57LHh-DJUfgEeZgFLjrMletnkuRR54MbQqSRd0W_wzCV75Z7GaMf5y29iAkBYsMIFcOyz3NGltwVlj6EwV82ZbxC-rXaBFXxdj1VfMhCljChquxbli8rIZn9Wm__6lE2l6BLNTSC4M/s320/DSC_0246.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjW8AP3I4CTTnu3DlIwlWW-qKklPiSewHwXipNeI3Ot3anxPF1H-_gvrRpw0UqoiEiOFw4ax3N_TKKYYPaxCuAleDzMQCxpIy2FiakjeS4sUrkqHLdJ-IleKYz7HelwJ4Y1UgLuEVkPs/s1600/DSC_0248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjW8AP3I4CTTnu3DlIwlWW-qKklPiSewHwXipNeI3Ot3anxPF1H-_gvrRpw0UqoiEiOFw4ax3N_TKKYYPaxCuAleDzMQCxpIy2FiakjeS4sUrkqHLdJ-IleKYz7HelwJ4Y1UgLuEVkPs/s320/DSC_0248.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
After over an hour of walking up the ornate stone steps, admiring the wall tilings and exploring caves off to each side, i arrived at the top. And the view was more than worth the effort. Inside the sanctuary was truly stunning, although photographs were not allowed. I thought it was too impressive to not share, so below, is one of the photos that i didn't take...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLaMGQqGpaI-kNpkLIlD-tLqGN9pQAxYGsju3N4WK_R6euNkMRrzcwU2oybpInXvWmk7H-vxL3hh83xNeD6LHl8IDW4N8Sk3FFd41Fpnd-eCCXzLxvR0kmrqJLlfRs1pkOqyaMgoX_CyM/s1600/IMG_0362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLaMGQqGpaI-kNpkLIlD-tLqGN9pQAxYGsju3N4WK_R6euNkMRrzcwU2oybpInXvWmk7H-vxL3hh83xNeD6LHl8IDW4N8Sk3FFd41Fpnd-eCCXzLxvR0kmrqJLlfRs1pkOqyaMgoX_CyM/s320/IMG_0362.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<div>
After exploring the city, i headed to the campsite and i'm not ashamed to say spent a few hours chilling in the sun... Weather was beautiful and it would of been rude to not make the most of it! This afternoon, i did some work on Tim, trying to trace down the source of a knock on his front suspension. Tracked down to be a failing droop stop, it will have to continue failing as i don't carry spares...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_n3LJp8_BbfRt0QyslwPgu25mXtFdfuWV4LfQGH1HsC-fGy1pU4I0wM0kuMtImTa73VuekD8j6oYLL9SYd-Ps_zU8rqfwQd171X5qI4b_pf-WWtbzWwhKA_D4Dfif5Qg8N1uikgYpys/s1600/DSC_0249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_n3LJp8_BbfRt0QyslwPgu25mXtFdfuWV4LfQGH1HsC-fGy1pU4I0wM0kuMtImTa73VuekD8j6oYLL9SYd-Ps_zU8rqfwQd171X5qI4b_pf-WWtbzWwhKA_D4Dfif5Qg8N1uikgYpys/s320/DSC_0249.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Maintenance and spanner checks, all is mainly good.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
</div>
<div>
And that is all, it has taken me far too long to write this post, mainly because Alex the campsites bartender has kept on feeding me beers. So yeah, if your reading this Alex, im blaming you! </div>
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<div>
Tomorrow, we will most probably leave Lamego, and continue on our journey south. Perhaps back into France, perhaps back into Spain. One thing is for sure though, i will sure be returning to Lamego. Awesome place.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeURi4_QIRh6Y4ywDIvFfq9srO0DVBGyVQOJFRed6XdbTMo331ydC8fzugJilXrZqcWuy6C1pol-DJGBdPhhDVwBd1mPzgHYxvSmwALSozcVr7YH-a1FlMIhpE8APkXmFZFjjIZYrw24/s1600/IMG_0352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeURi4_QIRh6Y4ywDIvFfq9srO0DVBGyVQOJFRed6XdbTMo331ydC8fzugJilXrZqcWuy6C1pol-DJGBdPhhDVwBd1mPzgHYxvSmwALSozcVr7YH-a1FlMIhpE8APkXmFZFjjIZYrw24/s320/IMG_0352.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Lamego, i'll be back.</i></div>
</div>
<div>
Peace, Joe.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-18555641362901884662015-08-22T14:02:00.002-07:002015-08-22T14:08:14.573-07:00Sunshine and rain clouds.<div class="MsoNormal">
Today has been
eventful, the weather was forecast to be less than brilliant so I considered
that a good day to cover some miles. Whilst many miles were covered, I managed
to get far more damp (it rains in Spain, who'd of thought it?!) than I planned, climbed a mountain to be greeted with a
view of fog and not a lot else, got the Mini very stuck and required a tow, oh…
And I knocked my exhaust off. Anyway, more on today, later!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SDDJg5fsLo5_QZELPAIV-N5uZT0K47OhR6LrV5OOCWng7sqeJOji3InSmWLDOYr3QUIn89yswCqbpijfiOSjGMH9pcy8qUvX180m_yIhtR3gGnYsegBzuAwpTzfqzUX_-Nw1hq3OwcQ/s1600/DSC_0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SDDJg5fsLo5_QZELPAIV-N5uZT0K47OhR6LrV5OOCWng7sqeJOji3InSmWLDOYr3QUIn89yswCqbpijfiOSjGMH9pcy8qUvX180m_yIhtR3gGnYsegBzuAwpTzfqzUX_-Nw1hq3OwcQ/s320/DSC_0007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>Just chillin'</i></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Last post I made on here was 4? (I think?) days ago whilst
on the ferry from Portsmouth into Santander. Once in Santander I made the mad
dash out of the port town to anywhere new. It’s a strange feeling, for me
atleast, getting off a ferry in a new country… I was excited mostly, but yet
there was an element of nervousness (Is that a word?) Not necessarily over
anything major, but its more anticipation… Everyone fears the unknown, and
after a while when travelling that fear mellows into intrigue and anticipation,
however, that can take a few days!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNj3g2T4GMKa342HYll_R1iT8qijOf-mN8xtMhI5HZMSok4nptmyu8dpQWpmninzrXJWmzE7_0n5pZPP2w8kDZh8l_SEAJtrUam2omPfx3Mh8BjnrodEvgAze4onLdjbo9MCGfz-l5f8/s1600/IMG_0265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNj3g2T4GMKa342HYll_R1iT8qijOf-mN8xtMhI5HZMSok4nptmyu8dpQWpmninzrXJWmzE7_0n5pZPP2w8kDZh8l_SEAJtrUam2omPfx3Mh8BjnrodEvgAze4onLdjbo9MCGfz-l5f8/s320/IMG_0265.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Packed in like Sardines, all rearing to go!</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Out of Santander, I drove the 60 odd miles to ‘Camping de
Cabuernigas’, in a town called Sopena, just east of the Picos De Europas. After
doing the obligatory drive past whilst trying to not look lost, I turned around
and found the site. Definitely one I’d recommend, and whilst I wasn’t there
long, I wouldn’t hesitate to revisit if I should be in the area again. Smart,
friendly and quiet, with most importantly some lovely scenery surrounding. I
cooked up some chow, and got some well needed rest after not sleeping all too
good on the ferry the night before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6FXXUILXC6QISEfw0d7MAIFQ-cIMxtgRftusYKITo76NUquvE_8E5IbXmjTasQEKOO8d8l-aoogVPJ6_ZR1zSqkG4wNzMzf_708vTtI11FFpjpn2y3Yzr6Lrsns7jn6QIu4xxC1NRWc/s1600/IMG_0266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6FXXUILXC6QISEfw0d7MAIFQ-cIMxtgRftusYKITo76NUquvE_8E5IbXmjTasQEKOO8d8l-aoogVPJ6_ZR1zSqkG4wNzMzf_708vTtI11FFpjpn2y3Yzr6Lrsns7jn6QIu4xxC1NRWc/s320/IMG_0266.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Not a bad setting for the first night.</i></div>
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The next morning we were up and away fairly early, had a
shower, struck camp and headed off. The night before, whilst I was only
slightly geographically disorientated, I noticed a very cool looking road on
the sat-nav. By ‘cool’ I mean a road that climbed quite rapidly, with plenty of
twists and turns, I followed two bikers up it, one on a big BMW and another on
a Ducati Multistrada… I drooled a little as the big twin throbbed off into the
distance. They soon left as they carved up the road ahead and I settled into a
more gentile pace… It was only the second day, I didn’t want to overstress the
car too much! Or me for that matter….<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3V6oe_UgAzJaq1akvncggm13bkXxUwrJSLf-ENUUik6xCKO9OhwZboYME5ZiXNnGlfvlu4_QVmq5yXRFb77jX_mZPukSPTlDe4lPpDkbjJgibnujNtaS2F4QtrAOdfemPF92ZWxBDpw/s1600/IMG_0267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3V6oe_UgAzJaq1akvncggm13bkXxUwrJSLf-ENUUik6xCKO9OhwZboYME5ZiXNnGlfvlu4_QVmq5yXRFb77jX_mZPukSPTlDe4lPpDkbjJgibnujNtaS2F4QtrAOdfemPF92ZWxBDpw/s320/IMG_0267.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Have missed waking up to a different view each morning.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wJn2gNScCv_17l5qCuo4vxgeF-kXKfyfFDcD1S16wCACxqqbfYs6nu33OipPPaABMXFY0Dadxfe5AfwEKMphT2OqxT3CoRJ9kyg9DtQ0qWtpfbEZHJ40a6QeHDLE_dvZNOanjUJjWso/s1600/DSC_0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wJn2gNScCv_17l5qCuo4vxgeF-kXKfyfFDcD1S16wCACxqqbfYs6nu33OipPPaABMXFY0Dadxfe5AfwEKMphT2OqxT3CoRJ9kyg9DtQ0qWtpfbEZHJ40a6QeHDLE_dvZNOanjUJjWso/s320/DSC_0004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As the road crested I spotted a gravel track that
disappeared off into the distance, I drove past and turned around and headed on
down it, it twisted and turned and climbed higher and higher, getting pretty
gnarly in places. I loved it. Tim sliding about on the gravel just enough to
keep things exciting whilst I kept speeds sensible enough so that we didn’t go
toppling over the edge! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y2G4kwLr_-H9v_fgvXZ1RFJ3lM5swfdCIsk4W3YKsNEnQuu2jItc6HpjoJ1_6MqUFvsD1x24L7dl6uWoQM8-VZi0t2Nkizh3JScyA3Q1Wu0OM05D-6jNJpr6AXw4XReYK0mVYFtds3o/s1600/DSC_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y2G4kwLr_-H9v_fgvXZ1RFJ3lM5swfdCIsk4W3YKsNEnQuu2jItc6HpjoJ1_6MqUFvsD1x24L7dl6uWoQM8-VZi0t2Nkizh3JScyA3Q1Wu0OM05D-6jNJpr6AXw4XReYK0mVYFtds3o/s320/DSC_0008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>Hmmm, wheres that lead?</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSYJANrUpszYYMkHZ0wDJQLE0G-aJ7Ks8TxE0kYsUI7UD7i2mFmMysyQMrZfzgQumjqooM97VnDYW64aOtcwAf_P27OZjTZiCh2C0tLjjPz6WRU7G0Cb45fG02NSHUpY4P2g3NlQ6Hd4/s1600/DSC_0018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSYJANrUpszYYMkHZ0wDJQLE0G-aJ7Ks8TxE0kYsUI7UD7i2mFmMysyQMrZfzgQumjqooM97VnDYW64aOtcwAf_P27OZjTZiCh2C0tLjjPz6WRU7G0Cb45fG02NSHUpY4P2g3NlQ6Hd4/s320/DSC_0018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>Let's find out...</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAV255aorgBMrh1MtfU1uCxPL94QQXvgwtwz0WUhdLRlgDPHoB48iMJe7Gww5kn7qIGFh1d4_x4gK1LW4TN6K8w3Z5AtIE52BziZQLAeVVoIyQZzxmcMbEH6lNJpF0CRYQ37xXsMxcs0o/s1600/DSC_0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAV255aorgBMrh1MtfU1uCxPL94QQXvgwtwz0WUhdLRlgDPHoB48iMJe7Gww5kn7qIGFh1d4_x4gK1LW4TN6K8w3Z5AtIE52BziZQLAeVVoIyQZzxmcMbEH6lNJpF0CRYQ37xXsMxcs0o/s320/DSC_0013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SEkjIMzx1HPVj7C1uRPFd3fnZFV84gsV60gHN7ZyDseegkGLTSlx3P2orudAxfyX_7D4GN3vo5ZZHbGo0MWS-DdTloU33Aw4azgBFsv6tC6bJf9yLsUsME39a1RXKxz0VU_ym2YsaaI/s1600/DSC_0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SEkjIMzx1HPVj7C1uRPFd3fnZFV84gsV60gHN7ZyDseegkGLTSlx3P2orudAxfyX_7D4GN3vo5ZZHbGo0MWS-DdTloU33Aw4azgBFsv6tC6bJf9yLsUsME39a1RXKxz0VU_ym2YsaaI/s320/DSC_0020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Heck of a view at the top!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5ghBzrJKhw76Ecg33EtXqsh9iSnA5hd944RXFqSRjlYMZ7D4eJaJSmoFrurlF55AuBnhnJZXn8hdjwh3E84z2bsGiy_V1bpZv3GZRpzC5YtSoDeBmrfc7lYqrcivlO1V6r7Kx0MINWs/s1600/DSC_0016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5ghBzrJKhw76Ecg33EtXqsh9iSnA5hd944RXFqSRjlYMZ7D4eJaJSmoFrurlF55AuBnhnJZXn8hdjwh3E84z2bsGiy_V1bpZv3GZRpzC5YtSoDeBmrfc7lYqrcivlO1V6r7Kx0MINWs/s320/DSC_0016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6X4iMvymK5M3j2_Y79lP-gomrqIh_cTl6-rz5ZRVJtRCLKNf12muxnEdVcNOGOMi-IQhGEx341LSEfym7uqV6wQ-B4PnMmRiJxvT562_x9_EG_X3oRR87Jrv20BMENNnYmZmaMsHibp0/s1600/DSC_0024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6X4iMvymK5M3j2_Y79lP-gomrqIh_cTl6-rz5ZRVJtRCLKNf12muxnEdVcNOGOMi-IQhGEx341LSEfym7uqV6wQ-B4PnMmRiJxvT562_x9_EG_X3oRR87Jrv20BMENNnYmZmaMsHibp0/s320/DSC_0024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Grubby Mini!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkOxTBJ6VIzWSVVZDvnbIyU6WrmrZEol6YvMtnntsLlHp1k0B1_nHzf7l33ER1ZlxmNheQg8SASK6He6aG6hGtaHFhtakzAm7CHJP53RsQ2oqaqeE-NYlobAZpB7jwB1ftakAOvl01Ig/s1600/DSC_0027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkOxTBJ6VIzWSVVZDvnbIyU6WrmrZEol6YvMtnntsLlHp1k0B1_nHzf7l33ER1ZlxmNheQg8SASK6He6aG6hGtaHFhtakzAm7CHJP53RsQ2oqaqeE-NYlobAZpB7jwB1ftakAOvl01Ig/s320/DSC_0027.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Wasn't until afterwards i realized we'd effectively crossed part of the Picos de Europas, off road!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a few hours and taking plenty of photos the off
road section for the day came to an end. Due to us playing about in the dirt we
hopped onto the autovia to make up for some lost time, headed west towards Luarca.Arrived at a very pretty little site a few hours later,
right on the cliffs of Saint Martin, near Luarca, Camping de Tauran I think. If
you’re in the area, go, you won’t be disappointed. Simple set up with all you
need, but you can camp literally on the cliffs. Awesome place.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27d6vUr2RDrXw5_h-OlmycF2slnAoAYirCK1THx7ULodvsWKnBQ27HGOip49aFrGEKVfQ3SQH5EJLVO7-G2Xx0HJ2vwPCB_CnmFo26FlandBOh9142yrcIZBcpBHIRqg9-NrAwoBtHJQ/s1600/IMG_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27d6vUr2RDrXw5_h-OlmycF2slnAoAYirCK1THx7ULodvsWKnBQ27HGOip49aFrGEKVfQ3SQH5EJLVO7-G2Xx0HJ2vwPCB_CnmFo26FlandBOh9142yrcIZBcpBHIRqg9-NrAwoBtHJQ/s320/IMG_0278.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Our wee pitch.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7gtlOyZtd5ZHltre7YkZvCiBZn-xb9j4OKalmr7mD-6m1Jss38_mmdnY-zsoeKwmUzOPQu2xj5rPMxlAvmiN1cqsWmkodr7fMLFFLxmR86siQ7L4TAmA7hyfKxWkT5qqeNjtRSYxtyU/s1600/DSC_0046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7gtlOyZtd5ZHltre7YkZvCiBZn-xb9j4OKalmr7mD-6m1Jss38_mmdnY-zsoeKwmUzOPQu2xj5rPMxlAvmiN1cqsWmkodr7fMLFFLxmR86siQ7L4TAmA7hyfKxWkT5qqeNjtRSYxtyU/s320/DSC_0046.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>And the sunset view behind the hedge.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ended up spending two nights there, with yesterday spent
chilling in the sun (this is a holiday as well!), I walked into the town of
Luarca which was very pretty. Spanish fishing village, with the whole town laid
out in a horseshoe built around the cove. Very cool. There was some kind of
festival going on in the town that I didn’t really understand. Music and
atmosphere was most definitely bi-lingual though! Later found out from a
Spanish couple travelling from Barcelona that it was to do with the towns
government or something. Yeah I don’t think they really got it either! Later on
I walked down into another almost deserted cove, the path/track headed down was
very steep and pretty tough, so I was surprised to see the Nissan parked at the
bottom! Credit where its due! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRN9w2JZ-UZ2drzWATFuKriEOKbrmaGJXhaOuw2YZs0L9l31dALLfAeoA13nrmgBngkZx65HlRODFE1uK3CPxq4uX8CEoL_9mf49El8gsa76fT1Z8oKAT7jGFN-cGjaYcTbQes6GQyh8/s1600/DSC_0075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRN9w2JZ-UZ2drzWATFuKriEOKbrmaGJXhaOuw2YZs0L9l31dALLfAeoA13nrmgBngkZx65HlRODFE1uK3CPxq4uX8CEoL_9mf49El8gsa76fT1Z8oKAT7jGFN-cGjaYcTbQes6GQyh8/s320/DSC_0075.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEkMNgXx4OmB5WQvPJpP38TAPQ7HO8Mb9lqxW54Alffx8tfNVAQ2gI8Us4Occ38XQCMPL_cmWkNE_nwWkwv8QeeO0VQrb8JiIwPKhaePFPVlpROVAFsT3jPl6O_6Cqu6odYcyMu03MAc/s1600/DSC_0077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEkMNgXx4OmB5WQvPJpP38TAPQ7HO8Mb9lqxW54Alffx8tfNVAQ2gI8Us4Occ38XQCMPL_cmWkNE_nwWkwv8QeeO0VQrb8JiIwPKhaePFPVlpROVAFsT3jPl6O_6Cqu6odYcyMu03MAc/s320/DSC_0077.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Playa de Tuaran.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2BioB9jZck4XGsPYZaHDGLjmhu2DJx949u2rlTtl9kDXBkO8FgCt5x4ovX2iiQpwM24-khoBX11JQ0LJM7qUekwGvdFEEwwUSKC-MJ59E31HhGNFUWmJ8Cv91yvUAmyKMEGYUUFfhgs/s1600/DSC_0079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2BioB9jZck4XGsPYZaHDGLjmhu2DJx949u2rlTtl9kDXBkO8FgCt5x4ovX2iiQpwM24-khoBX11JQ0LJM7qUekwGvdFEEwwUSKC-MJ59E31HhGNFUWmJ8Cv91yvUAmyKMEGYUUFfhgs/s320/DSC_0079.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>These were steeep! Down into Luarca.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcTKzjpbOZ5bYafLoDMle_BN-vvGwWwWfYvbMbsEE0tHa0NwAijw1phf7HbgrRRySqWfW8F0fUH72utMrzGezsYjPSm3ZMsFcIQvfbGwpVAdH4l_GX5sXbCJIK_hlMPh6JgqycZ5EPyg/s1600/DSC_0081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcTKzjpbOZ5bYafLoDMle_BN-vvGwWwWfYvbMbsEE0tHa0NwAijw1phf7HbgrRRySqWfW8F0fUH72utMrzGezsYjPSm3ZMsFcIQvfbGwpVAdH4l_GX5sXbCJIK_hlMPh6JgqycZ5EPyg/s320/DSC_0081.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Hundreds of people in the square. Music playing, great atmosphere!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6suXj-w9aXRYymu19gO9zsoJciZWQaYm_dndC0eUdWsz11CQcoRQJ18BP5p_QNxohnvFVoyMQl8MHKGE2QXOYEVFvUXzGUDtBIs5DDDGgCw0tnY9wnPc9bZWTW9Th22bHiQYkb-0fWs/s1600/DSC_0084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6suXj-w9aXRYymu19gO9zsoJciZWQaYm_dndC0eUdWsz11CQcoRQJ18BP5p_QNxohnvFVoyMQl8MHKGE2QXOYEVFvUXzGUDtBIs5DDDGgCw0tnY9wnPc9bZWTW9Th22bHiQYkb-0fWs/s320/DSC_0084.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The harbour.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5DOaGnjWmshxC8wkJLtP2ZPIeVuzXXSzH9QoovXRvd9sJH5LE4patFFQ_vC0nBWgKCCMDI3NElg04E_TFrlIbdmPbfyUlJanUkNcdXGT1WoPstAlq-F4nUfyRzYVQATdsPHuyNMK0qgU/s1600/DSC_0086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5DOaGnjWmshxC8wkJLtP2ZPIeVuzXXSzH9QoovXRvd9sJH5LE4patFFQ_vC0nBWgKCCMDI3NElg04E_TFrlIbdmPbfyUlJanUkNcdXGT1WoPstAlq-F4nUfyRzYVQATdsPHuyNMK0qgU/s320/DSC_0086.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbGRy1pBEzcJL9E6OWgBEAxn1tUDGqBmalGHNf9o_QnKsHF27Cxzx2Ia2hAt4lkcFWGwObGs6DJvIbY1R4j-0sQZ-rK468zsAiNSVO0yB6FfjUPqFSeEkfsbISRIMGi7i3W7uBXmHAko/s1600/DSC_0088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbGRy1pBEzcJL9E6OWgBEAxn1tUDGqBmalGHNf9o_QnKsHF27Cxzx2Ia2hAt4lkcFWGwObGs6DJvIbY1R4j-0sQZ-rK468zsAiNSVO0yB6FfjUPqFSeEkfsbISRIMGi7i3W7uBXmHAko/s320/DSC_0088.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju37dbjvATg_7YnPdA8lf4Ld4przkWtnd5oVGKiPBy8syDKOimzs9nt6fqjPnfv_ZHIUqkoKqRZyd7TDk2XtJoWdCGQO17bJNcUM9ubVj8ws2CdrbyZ-MLua5NVjPHwd6j5h-H79MTlwo/s1600/DSC_0089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju37dbjvATg_7YnPdA8lf4Ld4przkWtnd5oVGKiPBy8syDKOimzs9nt6fqjPnfv_ZHIUqkoKqRZyd7TDk2XtJoWdCGQO17bJNcUM9ubVj8ws2CdrbyZ-MLua5NVjPHwd6j5h-H79MTlwo/s320/DSC_0089.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Selfie-sticks are taking over!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01uLPlvpOXgQX7dVoZZDg_r1nS_ISAq4u1I3YPo2Zo6PhO7zb_cVHkJqgBhKtje_xYliij_PCcE_rvQzSh9x46pick4uyO2ZnJfRTggguB7ZpMgqghLLLYNwCeMXK33WKp0OyYBAhV1U/s1600/DSC_0096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01uLPlvpOXgQX7dVoZZDg_r1nS_ISAq4u1I3YPo2Zo6PhO7zb_cVHkJqgBhKtje_xYliij_PCcE_rvQzSh9x46pick4uyO2ZnJfRTggguB7ZpMgqghLLLYNwCeMXK33WKp0OyYBAhV1U/s320/DSC_0096.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm8RDxvtYRLh7FoH_ULhBraoKB8JBylw2Ojo03OXUXrS-q68o4q1HXQdWfDd70DDVWs4YANeyKma6ni1yYhROntUKtk_yEycvgi93gGE2hyIjeYUI2tKkwTik6gUuZT5d82BRNA16AKU/s1600/DSC_0101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm8RDxvtYRLh7FoH_ULhBraoKB8JBylw2Ojo03OXUXrS-q68o4q1HXQdWfDd70DDVWs4YANeyKma6ni1yYhROntUKtk_yEycvgi93gGE2hyIjeYUI2tKkwTik6gUuZT5d82BRNA16AKU/s320/DSC_0101.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>I have no idea how this place was still standing.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And that brings us up to today! Weather was due to be pants,
and it’s a Saturday, (which I was blissfully unaware of until I looked at my
phone this morning. Wonderfully easy to lose track of time!) so the roads would
be quieter. Headed west on the Autovia for a few hours just to munch up some
miles. Stopped for fuel and then went in search for some more interesting
sites. Just outside Tordoia it started to rain, properly rain. So much so that
at one point I pulled over to let it ease off, Tim was doing fine, it was me
that was struggling.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPb99eBln5zU3eEmhQfGyHTHmJ-pwZoP8Gw40W6NdUdZBHj0fYAYqMlQcBR1dnq5wH_fPXrqXKAjN-pfADSqJRqUeUFBXmKlgD4I__nNjZ8hnFOhgkOXgLMjcUGj3IOBEOsnuMeAOc8E/s1600/DSC_0113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPb99eBln5zU3eEmhQfGyHTHmJ-pwZoP8Gw40W6NdUdZBHj0fYAYqMlQcBR1dnq5wH_fPXrqXKAjN-pfADSqJRqUeUFBXmKlgD4I__nNjZ8hnFOhgkOXgLMjcUGj3IOBEOsnuMeAOc8E/s320/DSC_0113.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>Set wipers to warp speed...</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rain eased up, and a few miles later I pulled off into a
side gravel track to make some lunch. Pulled down the track no problem, went to
turn around in a clearing, reversed up near to a bank and BANG! The bank was
not a bank, it was a ditch about 3 feet deep, and Tim’s rear wheels had just
fallen down it. Bugger. He was beached up to his rear subframe and his front
wheels just couldn’t quite muster the traction needed to pull himself out. Then
it started to rain. Double bugger. Sand ladders came off the roof to not much
help, I jacked the front up and placed them under his wheels and he still
couldn’t get out. Wheels started to spin
and not wanting to make a poor situation worse, I grabbed the tow rope out the
back and walked back to the main road.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
20 minutes later and I managed to flag down a Spanish Lexus
and persuaded him (in broken Spanglish) to give me a tug. I almost felt sorry
for the guy, his new shiney Lexus being brought down this rough gravel track
because of my idiocy and lapse in concentration. Tow rope was hooked up and the
big Lexus pulled us out as if we weren’t even there! Phew. Note to self, pay
more attention when reversing when off road!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazNM7FcWOyBYPUeZ5PlpH3IYPvYY43MpOJf13fDv5iyC_agxtZ0zQUzph4Ks7YJeCRA5VsZB0-CCc43lSsPvli4r89SPMjnXyPVcm1Jdscxt15WmYTtiptY2tgue__GUkCI7ZtyGMZQg/s1600/IMG_0288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazNM7FcWOyBYPUeZ5PlpH3IYPvYY43MpOJf13fDv5iyC_agxtZ0zQUzph4Ks7YJeCRA5VsZB0-CCc43lSsPvli4r89SPMjnXyPVcm1Jdscxt15WmYTtiptY2tgue__GUkCI7ZtyGMZQg/s320/IMG_0288.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Bugger.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LIRF82s57sL2EAqY426ZKvFKGv8jxq5IuYCyhLGytXlPpe5sRhkWrK4tQjoaVm0UyfcCILMec8KdDuQMcFbj9Tsm-QaAnF-qSoOFyieNILh36fshl62XLfNjISs59xFejSAescXE1hU/s1600/IMG_0292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LIRF82s57sL2EAqY426ZKvFKGv8jxq5IuYCyhLGytXlPpe5sRhkWrK4tQjoaVm0UyfcCILMec8KdDuQMcFbj9Tsm-QaAnF-qSoOFyieNILh36fshl62XLfNjISs59xFejSAescXE1hU/s320/IMG_0292.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Failed attempts. Double bugger.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdoYXYxK3_EB2Gz0UPlAQJ_27peK2LGSsn-r4VO8aH9BDof6w54-pY8b3a7fK1AtKpK2g8GJPGkNy_qlrx_Sfy2-2TSRTL0FbL1dOPUk8REC09WmcM2Pad3GjbJpZx-Ajzneel14ITXY/s1600/IMG_0293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdoYXYxK3_EB2Gz0UPlAQJ_27peK2LGSsn-r4VO8aH9BDof6w54-pY8b3a7fK1AtKpK2g8GJPGkNy_qlrx_Sfy2-2TSRTL0FbL1dOPUk8REC09WmcM2Pad3GjbJpZx-Ajzneel14ITXY/s320/IMG_0293.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Mucho Gracias Senor Lexus!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTALAJMfhk0IRW8yElvFsI3oClOjBOgODOIv8ldSlF9lPw3XICgT7SP5NyIKCJyresqRkyec_nJKVyQfg2tMZLxcYCZnWaZy6xrKCgnk-ecKQ2jgDo0IyLm-sa9CZFt3RUAWXatUOnk-4/s1600/IMG_0294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTALAJMfhk0IRW8yElvFsI3oClOjBOgODOIv8ldSlF9lPw3XICgT7SP5NyIKCJyresqRkyec_nJKVyQfg2tMZLxcYCZnWaZy6xrKCgnk-ecKQ2jgDo0IyLm-sa9CZFt3RUAWXatUOnk-4/s320/IMG_0294.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>Aaand we're out! Phew!</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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With the roof loaded back up and me now considerably soggy
we continued west until we hit the town of Carnota and then Ezaro. Had travelled
here to see the famed Cascada de Ezaro, one of the few waterfalls in the world
that empty’s themselves into the sea, I was pretty excited! We took the track
up to the Mirador, for anyone visiting, be warned, the road up to the top
features a 34% gradient! So don’t stop until you reach the top.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnxQjRj8-tZv4pv6Jo6f5tJlD1NkaRkESIKA6Zp93EEKH2ThylwZd6l6gWzY9vE-Hja-qrtQU5NWQioqunHP_XD-emV6-fgMGYY3XpPHxB3RTZfF3Lbmuf7X_ouomHbUKijoWM3XTeAk/s1600/DSC_0117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnxQjRj8-tZv4pv6Jo6f5tJlD1NkaRkESIKA6Zp93EEKH2ThylwZd6l6gWzY9vE-Hja-qrtQU5NWQioqunHP_XD-emV6-fgMGYY3XpPHxB3RTZfF3Lbmuf7X_ouomHbUKijoWM3XTeAk/s320/DSC_0117.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Ezaro itself looked pretty.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewQG0fAg5c1JeFHqQAeH5xI-6-DszYjPvrTuzZtGHZPsD83Rcn0lMxP0BOPSl_jHtdmiSghcm4xIBjwfy-Uh_EMPa2wiTPfqGwfRPr_PlcMDAfvK0CUZndgvuOK9OMUtkH7cJonl3LIk/s1600/DSC_0120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewQG0fAg5c1JeFHqQAeH5xI-6-DszYjPvrTuzZtGHZPsD83Rcn0lMxP0BOPSl_jHtdmiSghcm4xIBjwfy-Uh_EMPa2wiTPfqGwfRPr_PlcMDAfvK0CUZndgvuOK9OMUtkH7cJonl3LIk/s320/DSC_0120.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now I’m sure the view from the top is amazing on a clear
day, however, today was far from clear. 20 feet visibility was being generous.
Bit of a disappointment but alas, its somewhere to come back to next time!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYyDIYacuxW4bX7BXrIaK1t7t7pD7c2ddndRj4jhBNfCUUnT2ikKCn0ZAxDpwRuSauJNm3gY3ZVO_-14Tj8ool6ehTAQaBRpc5a26X0jvO_LdQo9hS8sJQ3SGOkGvB1kAMq3tqr8e_Zg/s1600/IMG_0299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYyDIYacuxW4bX7BXrIaK1t7t7pD7c2ddndRj4jhBNfCUUnT2ikKCn0ZAxDpwRuSauJNm3gY3ZVO_-14Tj8ool6ehTAQaBRpc5a26X0jvO_LdQo9hS8sJQ3SGOkGvB1kAMq3tqr8e_Zg/s320/IMG_0299.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Less than impressed!</i></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLqtZNkAQxLByhBufam1RE18QB5pTaQH2S-DJcLzpsIrrdW-vgB8he-E6v2xsopxSIvBzxG7Zcfy79_nMf3Nh3z6SYr7JYjbwQBLL0XZNMfWL65w_IPCci3zjOWMD5XDHSnYqCSKwqz0/s1600/DSC_0125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLqtZNkAQxLByhBufam1RE18QB5pTaQH2S-DJcLzpsIrrdW-vgB8he-E6v2xsopxSIvBzxG7Zcfy79_nMf3Nh3z6SYr7JYjbwQBLL0XZNMfWL65w_IPCci3zjOWMD5XDHSnYqCSKwqz0/s320/DSC_0125.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div>
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After that, a quick search for a campsite brought up a few in
the area, planning on heading into Santiago de Compostella tomorrow so en route
I have stopped at a convent site in Muros. Nice place, a little busy but no
complaints, plus i'm stealing there wi-fi, bonus! Tims exhaust had taken a few knocks during todays exploits, so that
was something to keep me busy when we arrived. All sorted now!<o:p></o:p></div>
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So yeah, that’s pretty much it, sorry for the lengthy post,
but thought I’d fill you in on anything vaguely interesting. Enjoy the photos,
mixture of iPhone shots and SLR goodness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For more frequent (smaller) updates, follow us on facebook
at ‘Small Car Big Adventure’ or me on Twitter ‘@theleatherneck’. Heck, do both!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peace and love, Joe.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-41692719637115104012015-08-19T02:16:00.003-07:002015-08-19T02:16:52.510-07:00From Portsmouth with love...<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJZHlKqP-cJnm65jN0XGdLysQBXKawivvWySx0eMpX68EDPvDpNbH-FlKmEFkrKko6hbWghPeFulJcLrfLMThiAtpOuYgfHAAoXKIWq8JG3KAe1OvjdhsLBIxjhf_ybwta4zg6T8-Ixo/s1600/IMG_0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJZHlKqP-cJnm65jN0XGdLysQBXKawivvWySx0eMpX68EDPvDpNbH-FlKmEFkrKko6hbWghPeFulJcLrfLMThiAtpOuYgfHAAoXKIWq8JG3KAe1OvjdhsLBIxjhf_ybwta4zg6T8-Ixo/s320/IMG_0162.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><b>To begin, begin.</b> - William Wordsworth</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Always loved that line, why? I'm not so sure, the simplicity of it and straight to the pointness (is that a word?) has always hit home hard with me. Being only 3 words makes it more powerful than most, plus it means i can remember it without writing it down umpteen times.</div>
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So, we have begun! More specifically we are now on the ferry, left Portsmouth about 15 hours ago now, and are sailing on Britanny ferries finest <i>Pont Aven! </i>Within another 8 hours, and with any luck, we should be docking in Santander, exciting stuffs! Tim's a few decks below me, i tried booking him a cabin but the ferry company wasn't having any of it... Boooo.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_t5ONPhpIe1jlGjCOMH0-zCxJRg-3-oPtnid7nFpoisIZSRptNa9_UaxvGIG5286Klz5jMEjoBANCjVqFcZlbLg6TQt_lq91MCqOm9wFuB3eMYKcXH14QoiNsMoOdFhSaZXraxdF_-A/s1600/IMG_0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_t5ONPhpIe1jlGjCOMH0-zCxJRg-3-oPtnid7nFpoisIZSRptNa9_UaxvGIG5286Klz5jMEjoBANCjVqFcZlbLg6TQt_lq91MCqOm9wFuB3eMYKcXH14QoiNsMoOdFhSaZXraxdF_-A/s320/IMG_0248.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>I don't think he gets sea sick...?</i></div>
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The run from home to Portsmouth was far from exciting, 100 miles combining the M25 with the A3 got me there from Longfield in 2 hours. Really looking forward to leaving the motorways behind. However, whilst the journey to the port was far from eventful, the last week or so has been rather busy!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwwZnWYig6czBpAG7jxqy1v13HYTDwa1Qx6ZEC_Z1xhf8OVGecBn6VZFzkK0KmDj-3yeqkeiFW2WGFlnuzIOUPfHg1KcvKI_INDQaZPd_dfp0VNzQnJpCw2bRl7iiTZ8B9jsFwVe9AAk/s1600/IMG_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwwZnWYig6czBpAG7jxqy1v13HYTDwa1Qx6ZEC_Z1xhf8OVGecBn6VZFzkK0KmDj-3yeqkeiFW2WGFlnuzIOUPfHg1KcvKI_INDQaZPd_dfp0VNzQnJpCw2bRl7iiTZ8B9jsFwVe9AAk/s320/IMG_0235.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>The first (of many!) fuel stops for Tim in his home station of Longfield!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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Me being the typically well prepared person that i am (I'm not!) most things of any importance were left to the last minute. Last night and this morning i was wiring up roof lights, changing spark plugs, fitting auxiliary power sockets, wrestling the coolbox into position between my seat and the roll cage... Plus not to mention that i didn't start packing until about midday today... So i'm pretty sure i've got everything i need, however i'm bound to of forgotten something... But then again adapting to situations is part of the fun... Right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2GVS_akm52Mk0JbUJyKRcPi-ajGpX01yK0z7xplJam8oAg0yDpWg_Klf0AikD0Cwyc0LxeuwhBo6uyqJk3XrEUlxYi33A4416qvn0vYWQ6XvyNFFP1da-4MNB5D-7OAXwEePUMgWqco/s1600/IMG_0232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2GVS_akm52Mk0JbUJyKRcPi-ajGpX01yK0z7xplJam8oAg0yDpWg_Klf0AikD0Cwyc0LxeuwhBo6uyqJk3XrEUlxYi33A4416qvn0vYWQ6XvyNFFP1da-4MNB5D-7OAXwEePUMgWqco/s320/IMG_0232.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Let there be light!</i></div>
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I'm currently typing this out in one of the ships many bars/restaurants... Bugger, laptop batterys knackered. Double bugger. Theres a power point but its an EU socket, guess what i forgot?</div>
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Anyway, people keep asking me where i'm going once i get into Santander... 'Whats your intinerary?' 'Where are you staying?' 'How long are you away for?'</div>
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Truth is i don't really have an answer to any of them questions, an itinerary is such a strange concept to me that i had to look up what it meant in the dictionary! I know i'll be camping nearly all the time, maybe with the occasional hotel if i really fancy spoiling myself, or it rains a lot. Im basically away for as long as i can afford, so depending on how lavish i fancy being, will massively dictate on how long i can keep plodding around Spain and wherever else Tim decides on taking us!</div>
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What i do know though, is that Tim is running well, I have money, I have petrol and I have beer. What more do you need??! Once in Santander i plan on heading west, travelling over the Picos de Europas, doing some climbing, venturing off the beaten track and heading all the way over to Santiago de Compostella, it's just somewhere i've always wanted to visit. After that i'll head south, down into Portgual and that is as far as my lame excuse for a plan has got! I'm open to suggestions!<br />
<br />
I'm just so happy to be away and on the way to somewhere new, to be bouncing over the continent in my Mini that i love most, to be meeting new people and to be seeing new sights... I was even smiling on the way down to Portsmouth!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAH4sybPbRHmvQToW0vllbiu2EuvsGysaaME5-UcmF5hVsDRIwXwHjywndAj0NJ01fP9a4jvXCBgsDTL3SvrB985phfgdrh6RGDB9qIR6OC-vkmilqfLdYBg4mRWBDJo8lqtcwgn8J2w/s1600/IMG_0250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAH4sybPbRHmvQToW0vllbiu2EuvsGysaaME5-UcmF5hVsDRIwXwHjywndAj0NJ01fP9a4jvXCBgsDTL3SvrB985phfgdrh6RGDB9qIR6OC-vkmilqfLdYBg4mRWBDJo8lqtcwgn8J2w/s320/IMG_0250.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Tadaa for now England!</i></div>
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<i><b>Travel as much and far as you can and for as long as you can get away with, for life is not meant to be lived in one place! - </b>Someone thats better with words than me!</i><br />
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Jheesh, i dont know whats going on with the quotes today,.. I'm going to go back to people watching, and see if i can get some travel adaptors from somewhere on board... Grrrr. Mmmm, and breakfast....<br />
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Peace, Joe.<br />
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P,s. Saw some whales this morning, that was cool.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-62577954871135685672015-08-04T13:29:00.002-07:002015-08-04T13:29:26.201-07:00We are back! And have a ferry to catch...We are back! And when i say 'we', I of course mean me and Tim. First of all, massive apologies for the massive amount of neglect this blog has received, its been a busy crazy year with far too much happening to list and bore you with on here... Secondly, an even more massive thank you to everyone thats been viewing this blog, at the time of writing this its had well over seven thousand, (SEVEN THOUSAND!!) views, which considering that i've neglected this for almost a year is pretty incredible, so thanks to everyone that's logged on, sorry for the lack of posts, but i hope you enjoyed what you read!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkjKN6cUSdYAaIAstSjLk26ND-3oPLbD098pZ8GV_L91FWeEPT702BrlIxvo73pCXpF1AdsEgeSffGFPj2AueiirGg4myc5E1XO9jDHnqiinln3uAR9gxKuv7-MOaxkRYTwAAx-JPLlQ/s1600/Brands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkjKN6cUSdYAaIAstSjLk26ND-3oPLbD098pZ8GV_L91FWeEPT702BrlIxvo73pCXpF1AdsEgeSffGFPj2AueiirGg4myc5E1XO9jDHnqiinln3uAR9gxKuv7-MOaxkRYTwAAx-JPLlQ/s320/Brands.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Cheesy grin from all the views!</i></div>
<br />
So, whats new? Stuff about me is pretty uninteresting, so lets talk about the Mini that you've all ended up on this page for! Tim has been running very well for around 6 months now, and i have had faith in him restored... Unfortunately it wasn't an easy road to get to this point. Issues with fuelling, mapping, cooling, interior, suspension and ultimately funding to sort out these issues meant that at points Tim sat motionless whilst i gathered the funds, parts and sometimes motivation to get him finished. The end result was more than worth it though, he now drives fantastically, and is more or less ready for anything.... I love my Timster.<br />
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<i>My 'office' had a bit of a freshen up!</i></div>
<br />
With this year being a busy one, up until very recently we haven't been on any, or been able to plan any adventures worthy of much mention. We have been attending and have been lucky to be on display at a few shows though, Brooklands mini day, Bromley Pageant, Brands Mini fest, Ash village day, Cambridge Mini chill... Among a few others! If your reading this as a result of seeing us at any of the shows, then Wahoooo, having Tim covered in stickers worked!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gslhHngfokOhVrHkCx5wVLztQoirsUuKMTv8jDtwhUHd39y8WhAPmW3WcQ5lDSTPNumouvPO23kfkRUwbnqTK4S3xYO1PTEuKmCR37fXgU27ZHd1KEstMG5vWs-GdL9ksMLHKihPCFU/s1600/DSC07001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gslhHngfokOhVrHkCx5wVLztQoirsUuKMTv8jDtwhUHd39y8WhAPmW3WcQ5lDSTPNumouvPO23kfkRUwbnqTK4S3xYO1PTEuKmCR37fXgU27ZHd1KEstMG5vWs-GdL9ksMLHKihPCFU/s320/DSC07001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Brooklands mini day, in the rain.... Booo!</i></div>
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<i>On display at Bromley pageant in the sunshine!</i></div>
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So yeah, about that ferry... A few weeks ago I came in from work and my feet were seriously itching (as in a need to travel, not a funky rash....)... So an hour or so later, and rather impulsively, i'd spent far too much money and booked me and Tim on a ferry from Portsmouth to Santander... Stoked.<br />
I'd always fancied touring Spain, and it just sorta happened... Currently, i have very little plan on what im going to do once over there, which is rather worrying since i leave in 2 weeks today!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlO84PaoQQnOC5rIEJAwq9KFqwDe0y_humzuM2G5cj3zhvWPfttN4eSeYNZBMqcYaGOgcv13LR3LG25z50GtwqLZ0qOaqJA0iivppnWxr_gG-QydHo4Ljac1vm3bOhE2Lm2h6Uzz7-b4/s1600/Ferry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlO84PaoQQnOC5rIEJAwq9KFqwDe0y_humzuM2G5cj3zhvWPfttN4eSeYNZBMqcYaGOgcv13LR3LG25z50GtwqLZ0qOaqJA0iivppnWxr_gG-QydHo4Ljac1vm3bOhE2Lm2h6Uzz7-b4/s320/Ferry.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Yup, i really did pay it!</i></div>
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Ferry gets me into Santander, and plan is to head west first, then south down into Portugal, all the way down to the Algarve, stop off in Gibraltar, head east towards Sierra Nevada, the Tabernas desert and of course drive up the Veleta. Thats as much of a plan as i've got, yup, it really is that vague!<br />
I keep toying with the idea of getting a ferry from Barcelona to Sardinia and then island hopping over to Corsica and then either getting the ferry from Corsica back to France or Sardina to Naples, Italy... I really like that latter idea, but really it comes down to whether i can afford the extra ferry fees, and the costs of being away longer with more mileage!<br />
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<i>Weather like this in July really makes you yearn for foreign lands.</i></div>
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I have a few must sees in Spain, which i'll explain in later posts, and the rough idea is to avoid motorways almost completely, spend a fair amount of time off tarmac completely, see these sights, go skydiving, climbing, swimming, diving, meet people, get lost and just enjoy travelling for travels sake. For we have no real destination, the adventure is in the journey.<br />
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I'll post more news as it happens, i've just had the alarming thought that i'm not overly sure where i've left my passport, and Tim may need an MOT... Hmmm, we have more to do than i thought!<br />
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Peace, and thanks for reading, Joe.<br />
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P.s. Feel free to comment on here, send us an e-mail if you like, and if you havent already, give us a like on facebook 'Small Car Big Adventure'!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-21963005544791346712014-12-10T15:32:00.003-08:002014-12-10T15:32:32.839-08:00Baltic Circle Trip - Winter 2015<b><i>One 21 year old Classic Mini...</i></b><br />
<b><i>14 Different countries...</i></b><br />
<b><i>Temperatures as low as -30 degrees...</i></b><br />
<b><i>5'500 miles...</i></b><br />
<b><i>And all in less than a month.</i></b><br />
<b><i>What could go wrong...?</i></b><br />
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Those of you that know me will know i've wanted to go too the Nordkapp for the last few years, this time last year i was even planning a trip to head there in the then new year... Unfortunately, as is often the way, life got in the way and it didn't happen. However this year, there is no excuses, i've decided that its something that i need too get out of my system, and as me and Tim have failed to go anywhere exciting for over a year now, it needs too be done!<br />
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The info at the beginning of this is pretty much all the plan i have at the moment, although i have spent most of this evening putting a very rough route together on Google Maps, which has led too me getting rather excited and also a wee scared in some ways! Originally the plan was to head up through Holland, Germany, Denmark, into Sweden and keep heading north until i hit Norway, head north some more until i literally run out of road, with any luck i'd be at the Nordkapp! Then head back down, probably following the west coast of Norway a bit more on the way back... Then i had an idea, i'm not a fan of doubling back on myself on a trip until i hit Dover, so the 'Baltic Circle' idea was born... Tadaaaa!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivp9smpJ-IXfE2_rH6N2wiyxgNuPCL9RaTi-hWA4_OLdZAH2luDaAKYwHZ_9YnOX57LDzFJ2h6_q6K6Hhcl4tbYjyrkbmOuJUv_k9R82TzJH2hCEjBijlmz0U9Ydp9eGw-IzB0NYEhKbs/s1600/Screenshot+2014-12-10+23.16.46.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivp9smpJ-IXfE2_rH6N2wiyxgNuPCL9RaTi-hWA4_OLdZAH2luDaAKYwHZ_9YnOX57LDzFJ2h6_q6K6Hhcl4tbYjyrkbmOuJUv_k9R82TzJH2hCEjBijlmz0U9Ydp9eGw-IzB0NYEhKbs/s1600/Screenshot+2014-12-10+23.16.46.png" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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This very rough route put together via google maps tells me that it comprises of around 5'300 miles. Accounting for me getting lost quite a bit i've rounded that up too 5'500, it'll probably end up more than that since for this trip i will be 'solo' and doing my own navigating as well as everything else! (Co-drivers please apply via the e-mail address on the 'Contact' page!) </div>
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Mini wise everything is fairly okay, there's quite a bit to do but then there always is, he's running well though, new engine has done around 2'000 miles now and hasn't gone bang so that's a definite good sign! More info on Tim prep as it happens and in another post.... This one was supposed too be a short one!</div>
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Weather is going too be an issue i think, i'm not too sure on just how bad it's going too be inside the Arctic Circle around February. Everyone i speak too tells me something different, so i've just came up with the 'Bugger it!' attitude and decided i'll find out for myself...! The cold i'm not too worried about, its more how quickly i'll get bored of digging Tim out of several feet of snow every morning!</div>
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So yeah, that's about all there is to say at the moment... Typing this now has made me realise just how much planning i've still got to do, but at this moment its all just about manageable! Just....! Plus planning and organizing stuffs was never my strong point...! At the moment i'm concentrating on getting the car prepped. and probably more importantly, getting myself fit and sorted... I've even joined a gym! (I know, i'm as surprised as you are!)</div>
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More updates as they happen folks, and thanks for reading!</div>
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Peace and love,</div>
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Joe,</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-86225589878630746272014-10-01T11:55:00.001-07:002014-10-01T12:02:12.723-07:00Adventure Overland Show 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So the weekend of the 27th of September was penciled in my diary as the adventure overland show.... Well if i had a diary it would of been! This a brilliant event that i've attended for the last few years now that takes place at Stratford racecourse, just outside Stratford-Upon-Avon. True one of a kind show, that combines overland travel of all nature, whether your on a pushbike, motorbike, in a car, Land Rover or in some 10 ton expedition truck, everyone is welcome!</div>
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<i>Our little set-up!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhV246eFstlHNFMK0qmyQ4RaikGpgGvpx1Sdk0dZHVN-tbTi6S-5ISSApzmlY9vPOuZxNwIFpXwKZCOmh3twxmHMtD6VVGzGb3f0mYE4VXEIvDiFL9KIWY-RfowhTuQYjo7K51Cn5aLo/s1600/DSC_0524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhV246eFstlHNFMK0qmyQ4RaikGpgGvpx1Sdk0dZHVN-tbTi6S-5ISSApzmlY9vPOuZxNwIFpXwKZCOmh3twxmHMtD6VVGzGb3f0mYE4VXEIvDiFL9KIWY-RfowhTuQYjo7K51Cn5aLo/s1600/DSC_0524.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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Me and Tim drove up on the Friday night, and after negotiating Londons biggest car park (the M25), we arrived in a little over 3 hours. Tim ran almost faultlessly all the way there and back again, i say almost because i think his alternator has finally given up. I cant blame it really, it has had a lot of use, abuse and misuse! Luckily my trusty Bosch battery out of a Peugeot diesel kept us going and the beers cold (priorities!) in the coolbox throughout the weekend!<br />
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<i>Admittedly i didn't cook for the whole weekend,</i></div>
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<i>can you blame me when there cooking pizza this</i></div>
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<i>good in the back of a Land Rover?!!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Ihmtr2zKo-Wuoojvad99jeuKU8qowdZi-UVJFz5iT5IBvg5Htw7_1XAjGrECqnPSB02ubTBNinLF4UjzhHM7WZWxonU6jF5s50rw40Pm7_92MrzUZeL7fEjxdMOQf6WTNW3eOndBQmE/s1600/DSC_0520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Ihmtr2zKo-Wuoojvad99jeuKU8qowdZi-UVJFz5iT5IBvg5Htw7_1XAjGrECqnPSB02ubTBNinLF4UjzhHM7WZWxonU6jF5s50rw40Pm7_92MrzUZeL7fEjxdMOQf6WTNW3eOndBQmE/s1600/DSC_0520.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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Main show days were on Saturday and Sunday, me and Tim set up just opposite the main events office. This meant that he got loads of attention/admiring glances/people taking photos/and little kids climbing over him.... The unfortunate part was that people had to listen too me rabble on about minis and travel and why you don't need a £50k Land Rover to go overland! If anyone is reading this that i met over the weekend then wahooo, the stickers worked! Seriously though, it was great too meet everyone, and i hope you had as good a weekend as i did!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxblQPKXasdOiE3Bgs3-o84sJLD_mYqu2RWG5voH5LGsDXWG3scRoBV4IEHJGpZGSaBfSE8heIF_1hAfnmzFYw0I7uKF-7jGmg6i7km7qlUPAFT7S5JvPXUhHS3-GH4F_ENOZ0c1S_3k/s1600/DSC_0516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxblQPKXasdOiE3Bgs3-o84sJLD_mYqu2RWG5voH5LGsDXWG3scRoBV4IEHJGpZGSaBfSE8heIF_1hAfnmzFYw0I7uKF-7jGmg6i7km7qlUPAFT7S5JvPXUhHS3-GH4F_ENOZ0c1S_3k/s1600/DSC_0516.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Thanks to Tom McGuigan for organizing yet another great show, for yet another great pitch and for the great curry/beerfest on Sunday night! To Chris and Cate from 'Ride any Road' for a hilarious and varied Saturday night, shblaaaddd! To Graham Fields for forcing Jagermeister and Sambuca down my throat. To the G4 Challenge owners club for the hospitality and allowing me to camp next too them. And to anyone else that i may of spoken too over the course of the weekend! And of course a big thanks to my sponsors, that weekend means the car has now done a thousand miles on its new engine, without the help of you guys Tim probably still wouldn't of turned a wheel!<br />
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Anyway, enough typing, my fingers are tired... Pictures!<br />
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<i>Hot air balloons were cool, although seeming</i></div>
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<i>massively uncontrollable!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-W3s5m9Ebf4852gyLa_Hu1shmEYfMOzEuiqvjsChGNlmvs6CzkIEUzV9PN2j2AUKwoza1Sn-qZs3wDHsSY33wCxEECSb_gzHW2chcDJrZiB-HKGgSG7k_g63rL7DKWGC2dFgCQSx1Z-8/s1600/DSC_0519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-W3s5m9Ebf4852gyLa_Hu1shmEYfMOzEuiqvjsChGNlmvs6CzkIEUzV9PN2j2AUKwoza1Sn-qZs3wDHsSY33wCxEECSb_gzHW2chcDJrZiB-HKGgSG7k_g63rL7DKWGC2dFgCQSx1Z-8/s1600/DSC_0519.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Will always have a soft spot for anything Land Rover</i></div>
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<i>and orange, G4 Challenge vehicles are awesome.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzGlOsU7YR8TvYhyphenhyphenGpI6wNr8iwjP26482cywyGSGxx4LL_VbF3Cfm5T1kLOUJJK2TK837e7zj7sgeOj4G-sG9304z9zGwjclLmzi7yLPc9fASgZTnGH3VJSX6EdgfsUAprfyRdEOwmlw/s1600/DSC_0527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzGlOsU7YR8TvYhyphenhyphenGpI6wNr8iwjP26482cywyGSGxx4LL_VbF3Cfm5T1kLOUJJK2TK837e7zj7sgeOj4G-sG9304z9zGwjclLmzi7yLPc9fASgZTnGH3VJSX6EdgfsUAprfyRdEOwmlw/s1600/DSC_0527.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Proper Toyota trucks are cool, plus i loved the pop</i></div>
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<i>top roof. Far too practical for me though!</i></div>
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<i>More Landy love!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QfHSqJAZ9Pgpcl2GtOxIXVNAvMYX15Rxg3yjDAuI76BT7-Snkb9TaDxYPHiW6_98ZGtpBrNS1N0nAX4sZbMR9q2mnu35CbrU4YVrw_q_6m6wPweVro4P1zMrpGjklUwQ-ZTz7V2FmGs/s1600/DSC_0532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QfHSqJAZ9Pgpcl2GtOxIXVNAvMYX15Rxg3yjDAuI76BT7-Snkb9TaDxYPHiW6_98ZGtpBrNS1N0nAX4sZbMR9q2mnu35CbrU4YVrw_q_6m6wPweVro4P1zMrpGjklUwQ-ZTz7V2FmGs/s1600/DSC_0532.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Stickers! Shout out and thanks to 'We the terrors'</i></div>
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<i>'Campervan Culture', 'Minispares', 'Ash Tyres', 'Opie Oils',</i></div>
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<i>and most imporantly of the rear window, Bruce the shark.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LkNKjNXHXe1uzrIIqP-ivXtuL00t5eAHpuCRGgXrSmRLo1qoCkN7l4omOijXUUm7O4MSNySWVwGFWuJDWMqK03pf6a1Vp7Qp434hOyFZE_k3v4bCuyaW-ErkboQHF403mSshnQ3ilJc/s1600/DSC_0517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LkNKjNXHXe1uzrIIqP-ivXtuL00t5eAHpuCRGgXrSmRLo1qoCkN7l4omOijXUUm7O4MSNySWVwGFWuJDWMqK03pf6a1Vp7Qp434hOyFZE_k3v4bCuyaW-ErkboQHF403mSshnQ3ilJc/s1600/DSC_0517.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>'Frank' the turtle, Tims long term mascot... Just chillin' in the back window.</i></div>
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Another update soon, with next trip details.<br />
Peace, Joe.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-15627037835639117302014-09-25T13:49:00.001-07:002014-09-25T13:49:44.946-07:00On the road again....Okay, so once again, apologies for the massive length of time between the last update and this one, its been a very busy few months. Once again, work and life has got in the way of travel, which has left me with very itchy feet, and due to Timmy popping his engine not long before we were sort of half-planning to go away, very empty pockets!<br />
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The last few months have been spent mainly working on Tim, giving him a thorough refresh and a brand new engine has been built and installed. I'll leave out the boring details but he now has around double the power and double the torques. As well as new shiney suspension and much more ground clearance, plus much much more. He's now covered nearly a thousand miles since being 'recommissioned' and is running better than ever!<br />
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Me and Tim will be at the Adventure Overland show this weekend, at Stratford race course. Will hopefully be leaving work early tomorrow and will be there early evening! Looking forward to the weekend and will be there until Monday, last year was a blast! If your there and see us feel free to come and say hello, always happy to chat and answer any questions you might have...!<br />
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Until then, heres some pics of Timster pretty much as he is now!<br />
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Peace, Joe.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-48140385733040315202014-05-12T14:12:00.001-07:002014-05-12T14:24:05.256-07:00It's been a while....Okay, so it's been over 7 months since i last posted on here, really didn't mean for it too be that long. But combining taking Timmy off the road for the winter, and also starting a new job in November, really haven't had the time for gallivanting off around the world in my trusty old Mini! As much as i would of liked to it just really wasn't the right time! So since last October a lot has changed, and not all of it has been good, but change is what it is, and sometimes you can't always change it... Besides, if things are meant too be then they will be, there is no point rushing them trying to make them happen!<br />
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Sooo, around a month ago, i pulled Tim out of hibernation, after leaving his battery on charge for a few hours, he started first turn of the key.... Of course he did, i never doubted him for a second, well not much anyway. I insured him for the year (Ouch!) with extended Euro travel cover and have been using him occasionally for the last couple of weeks. I'd forgotten just how ridiculous he was to drive, in a fantastic kind of way! Steering wheel position is more akin to driving a bus than a car, pedals are in the middle of the car, the noise is ridiculous, and just driving down the road results in being shaken all over the place. But it's great, and for travelling, i still don't know what i'd replace him with!<br />
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A wee bit of work has commenced, mainly repairing/fixing things that broke/wore out last time we were away, oh and i've moved the steering position into a much more sensible position. Although getting in and out of the car has been made a wee more difficult...! Basically all the suspension has been renewed now as well, i won't go into details, as its pretty boring stuff too be honest! Far more expeditiony/overlandy/adventurey type preparation is happening soon, including a new custom roof and rear rack, loads of lighting changes, and i might even finally get around to fitting my split charge system!<br />
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As for where we are going next, its all still in limbo at the moment.... I really fancy the idea of Morocco, of course going over land, so Dover to Calais, down through France, through Spain then across the Gibraltar Strait into Morocco. Massive appeal is that we'd officially be out of Europe. Other option is to head North, through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark and into Sweden, keep heading North until i run out of road. Then maybe visit Finland and Russia on the way back down.... As you may of guessed i don't really have anything that even vaguely resembles a plan.... Hopefully by the next post i'll have much more of an idea, especially considering i've booked 4 weeks off in the summer! Oh and sadly i've lost my co-driver Hannah (not actually lost), so my next trip will be just the pair of us, me and Tim. At least i wont have too put up with all the bags of shoes....<br />
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That's all for now, apologies for the mostly pointless post of ramblings, but i mainly wanted you to know that this site is not dead, and i will be updating it in much more of a regular fashion from now onwards.... Honest!<br />
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Peace and love,<br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Joe.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90hLSeICKG2hyphenhyphenP0Vn9WpAsPD5jCEkKgmp57ezguvnr9scPTzbdhyphenhyphen13pvk0iB-72D35H45CDN5CFive-dXh99r6VtPDu3DRKGWJm5njDGJISYnlrwTVnJDMZuDvn9YwAlIllJgDhiSUxU/s1600/image_1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90hLSeICKG2hyphenhyphenP0Vn9WpAsPD5jCEkKgmp57ezguvnr9scPTzbdhyphenhyphen13pvk0iB-72D35H45CDN5CFive-dXh99r6VtPDu3DRKGWJm5njDGJISYnlrwTVnJDMZuDvn9YwAlIllJgDhiSUxU/s1600/image_1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-64792699734423334122013-10-03T16:03:00.002-07:002013-10-03T16:04:51.529-07:00Adventure Overland show 2013; the M25 as a car park, Bacon Rolls and local (strong!) Cider!Apologies for the lack of updates, strangely enough, it's hard to write about adventures in distant lands when there's not much going on and your stuck at home. When i'm not working to try and improve my rather alarming bank balance, im spending most of my time researching cold weather gear, studying weather reports and looking at the likeliness of roads in the North being closed in January...<br />
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Anyway, more excitingly, me and Tim were at the Adventure Overland show last weekend, held at Stratford Racecourse, Tom McGuigan (hoping i've spelt that right!) the organizer and chief of the event has a ten year plan for the event. With it staying at Stratford racecourse, and to be held at the end of September for the next ten years! No arguments from me!<br />
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I left Friday evening, it was roughly 120 miles, nice and easy cruise round the M25, dodging the HGVs, average speed cameras and seemingly permanent roadworks, before travelling the remaining 70 odd miles up the M40 to Stratford. I thought it'd take me about 3 hours, 5 hours later i arrived at Stratford race course. All thanks to the car park that is the M25 on a Friday afternoon! Unfortunately this meant that i had to put up my tent in near darkness, luckily i've done it a few times before! Plus i saw this pretty sunset...<br />
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Saturday Morning came, and i set about sorting out some breakfast, what do you eat when your at these events? Bacon rolls of course! </div>
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Camped next to this 110, great couple from further North whose names escape me, if they offered me a mug of tea once they must of offered 100 times... Unfortunately though i had to keep denying as i'm one of them weirdos that doesn't drink Tea... Or Coffee...<br />
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Just as i was about to wander off down to the main event area, Tom who i vaguely knew from the Overland Travel forum, turned up doing his rounds and recognised wee Timmy. He offered me and the car a place on display right next to there event office, of course i didn't refuse!</div>
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I parked him up, and hastily wrote out a description of who we are, where we've been and where we're going next! The amount of attention that he got and the interest that we received, both during the event and after in the form of e-mails and blog hits i really couldn't of anticipated! So thanks again Tom!</div>
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I haven't that many photos of the event, as although i took my camera all the way to Stratford with me, when i took it out the bag, i realised that i'd left my memory card at home! Grrrrr. Plus my trusty old iPhone was failing me rapidly, having to be charged 3-4 times each day... Good news is i now have new memory cards, and have a new phone, so i sha'll have no excuses in the future!</div>
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Sunday morning sunrise!</div>
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Spotted this rather fashionable (or not?) Black and Pink Defender 90 pick-up. I love Land Rovers, but i think i'll give this one a miss. Either that or wear a paper bag over my head whilst driving it....<br />
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Shout out to Dorothy, Nathan Millwards australian 110cc postie bike, who's travelled all the way from Australia to the UK, and then from New York to San Francisco and then finally up to Alaska. I say 'finally', Nathan insists that currently the bugs outta his system, i'm not so convinced....!</div>
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Shout out to Joe and Jenette, (hoping i've spelt that right!) great couple who have spent the last year or so driving the British Isles in there ex-ambulance Land Rover, in preparation for a round the world trip! They very kindly offered me accomodation for when i make it to Norway in January as well. Plus me and Joe (the Joejoes!) made an awesome quiz team at 2 o'clock on Monday morning. Check there blog out at:</div>
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Last shout out goes to Simon, living out of his VW T4 Camper full time for the last 4 years and visiting some fantastic places such as New Zealand, Australia, Morocco as well as most of Europe, he had some great stories to tell and advice to give me, much appreciated Simon, sure we'll meet again soon.</div>
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So overall the weekend was one of the best i've had in a long time. Thanks again to everyone that came up and had a chat, and listened to me rambling on for god knows how long, send me an e-mail or comment on here if you've anything to ask or advise! Oh, and cheers to Chris for refilling my cider cup on Saturday night, James Cargo for letting us drink all your beer once we'd drank all the cider! Tom for the curry on the Sunday night, the quiz prizes handed out at 3 on Monday morning, and for the allowing me to park up right in the middle of the show!</div>
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Roll on the next one, we'll be there with a few more miles on the clock, a few more oil leaks from Tim, and some more stories to ramble on about from me!</div>
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Peace, Joe.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-39732405832552642062013-09-19T16:04:00.001-07:002013-09-19T16:04:31.215-07:00Itchy feet and making plans!So like most avid adventurers, ever since returning home from the continent, i've been having seriously itchy feet. I seriously miss being away, travelling around in Tim, having to coax him up some monster hills, and setting up camp each night before moving onto somewhere different the next day.<br />
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So i spent a lot of time deciding on where we (Me and Tim) were going to head next, i looked into Africa, but realistically, and within the timeframe i wanted to go, i don't have the money or time to sort out the logistics required. So i started looking elsewhere in Europe, i started looking North on google maps, remembering conversations with fellow travellers of them telling me how Scandinavia has some of the most beautiful scenery on this planet. I looked at how far north you can get by car, to the Nordkapp, which is over 1500 miles further north than Edinburgh in itself. Whilst this did sound exciting, the more i looked into it the more i discovered that it is a fairly well trodden route, either up through Sweden and down through Norway, or the other way round. The road network is good and whilst there's a lot of distance involved, atleast 5000 miles as a round trip, i was still left wanting for more of a challenge.<br />
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Then i had an idea, an idea that should satisfy my need for more of a challenge. What if i was to try and get there during winter? Late January for example. The more i looked into the weather reports for previous years the more i started to plan. With heavy snowfall a daily occurance and reported temperatures as low as -40 in some parts of Sweeden, i was hooked. To me this had all the makings of a proper (Mini) expedition!<br />
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<i>The North Cape, in Winter.</i></div>
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The plan so far is to catch the ferry from Harwich in Essex, to the Hook of Holland, before heading North through the Netherlands, Germany, into Denmark, and bridge hop across the 3 islands into Sweden. From there begins the long drive North, if time allows, travel through part of Finland before heading into Norway to the Nordkapp. Then following mainly the coastal road back down through Norway and then a quick drive back through Denmark, Germany and into Holland for the ferry home! All sounds so simple typing it now!<br />
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Been thinking about this for a while now, so i thought it was about time i made it public knowledge, keep checking back for updates to route planning. As well as for modifications to the car needed for this more extreme environment!<br />
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Thanks for reading, Joe.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-46388947098127153812013-09-13T07:56:00.002-07:002013-09-13T07:56:36.375-07:00Heading home...<b>This post was originally wrote and posted around 3 weeks ago, for some reason it dissapeared and needed to be re-posted!</b><br />
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So we've now been back home for a little over a week! And in many ways it is good to be home, although i'd be lying if i said that i did not miss waking up, climbing out of my sleeping bag, unzipping the tent door and being greeted by a different view, morning after morning...<br />
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Anyway, enough moping, last time i left you we were heading North to Normandy, but before we hit the road, we packed up, left the campsite and decided to have a wander around the smallish town of Fresnay-Sur-Sarthe. We were told by the slightly over-enthusiastic campsite rep that there was a market on in the town today. Well upon arrival the market was pants, selling all the sorts of clothes that were made 20 years ago, and weren't even fashionable then! Things got better though, as we stumbled into the medieval part of the town and came across a rather pretty castle, built in the 10th century under the reign of King Charles the bald (No, really!). It was built mainly for the protection of the river crossing you see in the photos.<br />
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Pretty church from the same era, else where in the town:<br />
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We then left Fresnay-sur-Sarthe and headed north, with the GPS set for Caen, it was around 200 miles and as it was getting later in the day, we splashed out on autoroutes. Nearing Caen, the GPS was re-set for Grandcamp-Maisy, having found a campsite just down the road from there. Arriving at camping Pont-du-Hable, it didn't take long for me to decide that this was one of my favourite sites of the trip. It was right on the sea, with direct access to the beach, really simple, and cheap! If you know that stretch of coastline, it's around 5 miles from Omaha beach, and a few minutes drive from Grandcamp-Maisy.</div>
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The next day we were up early and headed to Pointe Du Hoc, for those of you that don't know Pointe du Hoc is a clifftop location that looked over both Utah and Omaha beach. It was a key strategic point to both the allies and axis. On the morning of the 6th June 225 men from the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled the 100ft cliffs using only ropes and ladders. Without there success it would of been unlikely that the American, British and Canadian allied forces would of been able to land on the beaches.<br />
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We then headed to the memorial center at Omaha beach, this houses the memorial museum (Which is free and well worth a visit!) as well as acting as an entrance to the American cemetery. The museum is really interesting, with the more you read the more your left to think about. You do a lot of thinking at these places.</div>
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We then headed into the cemetery itself, with over 9'500 burials within its grounds, situated on a bluff overlooking Omaha beach, it is a picturesque and strangely pretty place to visit. The soldiers and military staff buried here took part in the invasion of Normandy and the ensuing operations to re-take Europe during 1944 and '45.<br />
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Most touching to me were the cross you see in the foreground of the photo below, they are inscribed "Here rests in honored glory, a comrade in arms, known but to god." There are 307 of them crosses within the memorial grounds.<br />
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Omaha beach, with the peace, tranquility and almost surreal beauty of the place now, it's hard to imagine the extreme difference compared to 69 years ago.<br />
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The next day we headed away from the Normandy coastline, but before we did we headed into the nearby town of Arromanches-les-Bains. Situated around 16 miles North-East of Caen, it was considered by the allies (along with Omaha beach) an ideal place to erect a harbour for supplies to be offloaded for there continued liberation of France and the rest of Europe. Thus Port Winston was born. Below is what remains of Port Winston at Arromanches, with most of it now underwater.</div>
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Arromanches is a cool town though, with plenty of reminders of what went on all them years ago littered around the town. Plus i found a Mini!</div>
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After Arromanches we headed North-East along the coast, heading to a campsite in a town called Neufchatel, a little over 200km from where we were. The route there consisted mainly of autoroutes, and since we'd left a little later than we normally would of, we were keen to make up time. After having spent a month on the continent, we were getting pretty bored of the French autoroutes, whilst very clean, fast and usually containing next to no traffic, they were pretty boring, and never cheap! Anyway, on the A29 there is an exception, the Pont de Normandie. It is a bridge that spans the river Seine, and is over 2km in length. Plus it looks pretty stunning, and is a lot steeper to drive up than it looks!<br />
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An hour or so later we arrived at Camping-Sainte-Claire, originally we had only planned to stay for the night before heading to Calais to catch the ferry the next morning. However, on arrival, i realised i'd made a wee error in planning, we'd arrived a day early, and that in fact the ferry wasn't the next morning, but the morning after. Bugger. Aaah well, the campsite was surprising nice actually, and i'd recommend it to anyone wanting a stop over for a day or two either on the way up or the way down. Only a couple of hours from Calais as well!</div>
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The next day we spent a few hours wandering around the local town and driving around the area, unfortunately neither of which was that interesting, so we headed back to the campsite and spent rest of the day chilling at the site, reading, re-packing and sorting out the car for the ferry. That afternoon we met a cyclist, Richard, who the next day was catching the ferry from Dieppe, returning home after his own adventure. He'd spent the last two months cycling around France, covering over 2000km, pretty impressive by any stretch! The three of us spent the rest of the evening chatting and sharing stories, putting the world to rights, and depleting what remained of my supply of Heineken. Take a look at Richards site for more details of his trip: www.richardsevents.co.uk</div>
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Thanks to him for the below photo of our wee Mini!:</div>
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The next day we got up leisurely, made breakfast and slowly began to pack up the car for the last time. We said our goodbyes to Richard, promising to stay in touch as ever with nearly everyone we've met before hitting the road for the last 175km to Calais.</div>
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The mood in the car that morning and indeed for the rest of the day was different to how it had been before. Han was probably looking forward to being home more than i was. And whilst i was looking forward to seeing friends and family, a bed, and having a proper garage to work on the car! I was more than a little dissapointed that it was all coming to an end. This was the final leg, and despite the fact that we'd all but run out of money, and had been away for a wee over a month, i wasn't really ready to come home yet.</div>
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We arrived at the ferry terminal early, and managed to get on an earlier ferry. Used up the last of our Euros on food and duty free and before we knew it , we were docking at Dover.</div>
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Flying (well relatively speaking!) up the M2 and A2 towards home, it dawned on me that tonight i'd be putting Timmy away in the garage and he wouldn't have to be travelling to some unknown place the day after. We wouldn't have to be bodging together broken radiator mounts or adjusting tired tie-rods. Nor would i have to be putting up a tent and inflating a bed to sleep on. And to be honest, whilst that may sound good to most people, after a week of being back. I bloody miss it.</div>
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Now just to decide where to go next...</div>
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Thanks for reading, peace.</div>
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<br />Joe.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-1600774901025385222013-08-10T01:43:00.001-07:002013-08-10T01:43:33.066-07:00Heading North...Once again its been to long since this has been updated, although i did manage to get all the photos finished for the last post the other day. Took me 2 hours of getting strange looks from the staff in a KFC near La Rochelle. A wee fact for you though, KFC wi-fi is definitely quicker than McDonalds, atleast in France anyway. Although i'm starting to get worried about how much time i'm spending in various fast food chains...<br />
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Anyway, with over a week since our last post, where have we been? What have we been up to? My uncle has a place near a town called Lezay which is about an hour from La Rochelle, so a week ago today we checked in there. My dad joined us as well, riding down from Calais on his Honda Africa Twin. With them living near Manchester at home and with us far down South, it was good to spend the 4 nights there, relaxing and catching up. As well as doing some weed killing (Has it killed them off yet?), heading into Poitiers, wandering around a lake, doing some work on the car, watching the last 3 <i>Harry Potter</i> films and swimming in there luxury pool...<br />
A big thank-you to Layne and Fran, as well as Sam, Hannah and Lucy, for having us for the 4 nights that we stayed with you and thanks for your generous hospitality.<br />
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The town hall in Poitiers...<br />
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Lucy and Layne on some giant lego block type things...<br />
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Lucy, drive <i>La Voiture!</i><br />
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Me and the Hanster...</div>
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Dad all packed up ready for the <i>'Short way home..'</i> (See what i did there...?)<br />
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I even let Han have a drive of Timster!<br />
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After 4 nights there though it was time that we were moving on, and following recommendations, we decided to head west to the coast. The satnav was set for Palais Sur Mer, which, although kinda contradicting our original plans, had us heading south again. The town was nice, and we spent a couple of hours there wandering around the town and then through the country park. Perhaps a wee too touristy for us though, everywhere we went we could hear British voices! On the way out we passed through Royan, a nice seaside resort with some great beaches.<br />
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I got a bit excited when we found a MINI garage en route...<br />
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This was cool, a train level-crossing, except there were no lights, or warnings, you had to see for yourself if a train was hurtling towards you at 80 mph!<br />
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We found a great and cheap campsite in the middle of nowhere, run by an English couple, Steve and Lindsey. Upon arrival we were only the second pitch being used, why the site isn't busier than it is i don't know. Great site, good hosts and good facilities along with very fair prices. Only an hour from La Rochelle and 20 minutes from Saintes, if your heading to the area i can definitely recommend Vacances St Jacques.<br />
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We were there two nights, and on the in between day we were up early as we planned to do both Saintes and La Rochelle in the same day. First stop was the catholic church and Roman Amphitheater in Saintes. The church was stunning, with intricately carved stone features along with amazing stained glass windows. But i'll let the pictures do the talking for this instead of overusing adjectives...!<br />
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Founds this outside...<br />
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Very erm, pink, Han liked it!<br />
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We then took a walk down to the Amphitheater, very cool to see, and almost seemed a little out of place in this quite traditionally French town. Although i'm pretty sure the remaining Roman influences were here a long time before!<br />
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I liked Saintes, it wasn't overly busy, had lots of cool little shops laid out along stone streets, with the town itself placed next to a river. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the place, looking in the shops, me looking like a proper tourist taking far too many photos...<br />
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More Roman influences...<br />
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After Saintes we headed into La Rochelle, about an hours drive away, we followed signs for the Aquarium, as well, i like aquariums and the parking next to it is cheap. We hadn't planned to go inside but the aquarium was massive and by convincing the lady that we were students, it worked out pretty good value. Inside was amazing, with fish from every region on the planet, freshwater and seawater, from the fishing at La Rochelle to the Amazon river. A few hours later we emerged, having had our moneys worth and with me confirming that doing my PADI license definitely needs to be added to the list. It's a long list...<br />
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Found these outside the aquarium, i had to hold Han back!<br />
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La Rochelle Aquarium, well worth a visit!<br />
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Apparently they're partners...<br />
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<br />Grumpy fish:<br />
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Eels...<br />
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Mmmm, Lobster...<br />
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Scary looking monster Eel things...<br />
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Very cool jellyfish...<br />
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Dory and Nemo...<br />
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Sawfish, which is actually a shark...<br />
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Jaws...<br />
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Mudfish, they can live out of water for up to 5 minutes at a time, plus i thought they looked cool...<br />
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We then headed into La Rochelle itself, passed the marina and then into the town. Now i'm about to make a bold statement here, but along with Chamonix, i'd say that these 2 could well be my favourite places in France. Well so far anyway... All seemed very chilled, with street acts that reminded me a bit of Covent Garden, and with seafood that reminded me that we were still (thankfully?) a long way from London.<br />
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These were very cool!<br />
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Yesterday we packed up, and began heading north again, with vague sights set for Le Mans, we've ended up at a town called Fresnay-sur-Sarthe. Another good campsite, although we're leaving here today, with plans to stop at the market in town before heading further north to the Normandy coastline.<br />
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Updates sooner rather than later!<br />
<br />
Peace, Joe.<br />
<br />
P.S. I've changed the settings on the comments meaning that anyone can now leave one, so if your reading this, comment away!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-75570388137322104982013-08-03T06:10:00.002-07:002013-08-08T08:12:09.426-07:00Cannes, Monaco and to Italy and back again...!<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s been a while, and although whenever I’m writing this it
does feel as if I’m starting with an excuse, really it is necessary. I know
some of you at home look at this as if it was a direct link with our wellbeing
on our travels, but please, if there’s no post for a few days, don’t despair!
I’m sure if we were ravaged by bears or abducted by aliens it’d be on the news
far faster than I could ever type it out and then get to the nearest McDonalds
for free wi-fi to upload it! No news is good news and all that!<o:p></o:p></div>
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When I last posted we were heading South, we had left
L’Argentiere and were travelling to our inbetween campsite. We left there the
very next morning, heading to Antibes, which is pretty much halfway between
Cannes, and the principality of Monaco. After setting up camp, we took a walk
down into Antibes, and saw our first beach and coastline since crossing into
Calais over 2 weeks ago! The coastline was nice but Antibes was slightly less
than amazing, we headed back to the site and bunked down for the night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Heading South again, on the road to Antibes:</div>
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2 up from Ireland anyone?:<br />
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Timmy looking pretty at 1400m:<br />
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Me and the Hanster:<br />
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Han giving Timmy some love:<br />
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2CV Garage:<br />
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The Antibes coastline, facing East:<br />
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<br />
.... and West:<br />
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More photos will have to come later, in a McDonalds again and it just took me half an hour (literally) to upload those eight!</div>
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The next morning we were up fairly early as we planned to do
both Cannes and Monaco/Monte Carlo in the same day. First up was Cannes, after
working our way through the traffic, and finally finding somewhere to park, we
set about exploring the city that has been made so famous by it’s annual film
festival and high-end high-street. So what did we find? Money. Money, money and
more money. Of course it’s not essential to live in this place without being a
billionaire, there are plenty of fast food chains and relevant work, but to
really stand out in Cannes, especially as an outsider, you need to be rolling
in it. Walking down the high street there is no cheaper branded shops than
Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Armani, Prada… You get the idea. There was a Levi’s shop though, I had a browse inside
although quickly left when I found that even a bog standard pair of 501’s was
over 120 euros!<br />
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Fancy schmancy shops:</div>
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<br />
We saw Jack Sparrow:<br />
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In case I hadn't mentioned it!:<br />
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Hanster and the red carpet:<br />
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Zorro and co.:<br />
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A very cool Fiat 500:<br />
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I became more enthusiastic when we reached the marina
though, boat after yacht after cruiser after speedboat all lined up. When not
boarded by their rightful owners they were being scrubbed clean by the
deck-hands. Literally everything was being cleaned and inspected, we saw the
underneath of staircases being scrubbed, curtains being pulled out to air and even scuba gear
being pulled out and tested. The boats were phenomenal, they had automated
sliding doors, hammocks on the back viewing platform, outside sofas and TV’s,
and even their own launching platform for diving sessions should the scuba gear
ever come into use! It almost seemed as though wealth here was not judged by
the size of your wallet, but by the length of your yacht.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Whilst we were there, a private helicopter came in to land:<br />
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The World is not Enough, evidently...:<br />
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After Cannes we jumped back onto the autoroute and headed
towards the Principality of Monaco. Seeing Monaco was something I was
particularly excited about, perhaps because of the renowned exclusivity of the
place, perhaps it was because of the stories of 20 euro bottles of water.
Either way I was interested to see what was in store.</div>
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Yes, there was yet more influence of money in Monaco, and in
some ways on an even grander scale than of what was found in Cannes, Armani was
replaced by Lamborghini, Gucci by Aston Martin. However I found no 20 euro
bottles of water, it cost me and Han 25 euros to have lunch and 6 euros to park
for four hours, whilst not cheap it was hardly worth telling my bank manager
about as some people would make you believe! Marina was again stunning, and I
could’ve stood for hours in the tunnel that ran under the casino listening to
the Maserati’s and Ferraris burble on by! One thing that stood out to me despite
all the wealth, fast cars, fast boats and fast women, was that the people of
Monaco seemed immensely proud, proud to be a part of not just France, but part
of the ‘Principaute de Monaco’, there was pictures of the prince himself
everywhere, from crepe stands to gift shops. I respected that, and could only
ever partly understand why they felt so proud to be a part of one of the few
remaining principalities in the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of many Ferraris seen, don't like it in white though:</div>
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Very cool tunnel heading into Monaco, the walls were bare stone and rock:<br />
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McLaren Garage, with one of my favourite supercars inside:</div>
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The Marina:<br />
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Ferrari and Renault F1 engines found in the automobile club d'Monaco:<br />
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458 Italia, pretty car:<br />
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The coastline from Monaco:<br />
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The next few days all happened pretty quickly, the next day we left our campsite in Antibes for our entry into Italy. The drive out of France was nice and easy, getting into Italy and things quickly changed. The Italians have a common reputation for driving erm, eratically, but this was something else. Cutting up is a regular happening, roundabouts seem to be a free for all, lorries bully you into the side of the road, seemingly, unless your the fastest thing on the road (speed limits seem to be more speed targets) your not welcome. So as you can tell, i wasn't a massive fan of the roads in Italy! Eventually though, 300 miles later, we arrived at a campsite. My satnav was playing up, so that alone was a challenge! Campsite was pretty though, and was the cheapest we could find, at 20 euros a night.</div>
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The next day wasn't the best that we had, waking up the original plan was head to/through Florence and head to Rome on the other side. Whilst doing morning 'spanner and fluids' checks on Tim though, i found that the Radiator bracket had snapped, bugger. I managed to bodge (sorry, field fix!) it back together using an oversized washer and clamping it in place. I'd noticed the day before that there was an excessive amount of engine movement when pulling away, when looking for the cause i found that a pair of engine steady bushes were knackered! They were new 2 weeks ago! Luckily i'd brought a spare set, although i'm not holding my breath on them lasting that much longer, but it should be long enough.</div>
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Broken rad bracket and my "field fix" in place:</div>
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Minispares 'competition' engine steady bushes, and how they look after 2000 miles:<br />
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Me and Han had a chat, after the few little niggles with Tim, and with Italy being much more expensive than either of us had anticipated, the latter being far more significant! Petrol out here was varying from between 1.80 a litre up to 2 euros! Nearly all campsites wanted over 40 euros a night, and basically, we just couldn't afford it. Plus our plans for driving into Florence were buggered when we discovered that you couldn't, since it's a ZTL zone. So we decided to turn around, and head back north!</div>
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I got very excited when i found a 308 GTS in Italy, my favourite Ferrari:<br />
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Plus this bridge was pretty too:<br />
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And very steep, that's Han up ahead!:<br />
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View from the top:<br />
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Me, Han and the bear:<br />
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Somewhere in Italy:<br />
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A long story short, 2 days and over 1000 miles later, and after my first time driving on through the night, we are now just outside Bordeaux, in the south-west-ish of France. We are en-route to my uncles place in Lezay about 150 miles from where we are now. The pre-made plans are all up in the air at the moment as according to them we should be in Rome! Aaah well, these things happen.<br />
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Updates when we know whats happening!</div>
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Cheers, Joe.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-82041063899819673582013-07-29T04:42:00.003-07:002013-07-30T12:44:41.493-07:00On the road again!Apologies to everyone thats missed us! Our excuse is a simple one really, for the last 4 days we have been staying at Les Ranchisses campsite in L'Argentiere. We met up with family, went swimming and went out for dinner but mostly we were busy doing nothing. For that reason it's pretty hard to do a blog post on erm... Nothing. But below is Les Ranchisses in pictures...:<br />
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Arriving at Les Ranchisses:<br />
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Seeing pretty Motorbikes:<br />
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Changing wheel bearings on the car:</div>
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Putting him back together:<br />
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Making friends and sitting out and watching storms:<br />
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Apologies for the crap photos, and the severe lack of them!</div>
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Yesterday we left Les Ranchisses, fired Timmy up and set his wheels rolling again in a Southbound direction! It was lovely being at Les Ranchisses, having the use of the pool, having time to relax and sort the car out, change the wheel bearings as well as making friends and having far too much to drink in the evenings! But at the same time, we're aiming to get atleast as far as the Amalfi coast in Italy... Which is over 1000 miles away at the moment. That number wasn't getting any smaller laying by the pool!<br />
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Last night we stayed at camping Les Olivettes just outside of Les Mees, lovely little campsite, and we met some people with a very cool VW T25 camper, the space alone that they had was pure luxury! Let alone the two double beds, 4 burner hob and grill and table and chairs... It sounds like im jealous, i'm not... Okay, maybe a wee bit. Most expensive campsite so far though, i nearly choked when she said 28 euros, especially when we only take up quarter of a pitch!<br />
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Before getting to Les Olivettes yesterday we met this Scottish guy on the A7 in a Citroen 2CV, i'm not usually a fan but this was quite cool, plus Han loves them. Apparently there's an international meeting of them in Spain next week, over 10'000 2CV's are due to turn up!<br />
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Currently we're sitting in a Maccy D's, stealing there wi-fi, and just filled up on 2 big Mac's! We are now on our way to a campsite just outside Cannes, about 100 miles away, there for 2 nights and heading into Cannes tonight and Monaco tomorrow... Well that's the plan anyway!<br />
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Post again soon, Joe.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-74113404054211901002013-07-23T11:41:00.000-07:002013-07-23T11:42:02.593-07:00I like curves....I like curves or corners or bends, whatever you prefer to call them, they are probably the main reason that i enjoy driving so much. They also probably help explain my choice of cars as well, going fast in a straight line has never held massive appeal to me, acceleration sure, but top speed? Anything over the magic 'ton' always seems to be a wee pointless to me anyway, especially in these days of speed cameras, mobile speed vans and undercover police cars everywhere. To me its always been about the corners, flowing from one into the next, feathering the throttle whilst dabbing the brake with my left foot, feeling the rear start to slide before giving it a wee more throttle and pulling the car through to the next one. Feeling the buzz just writing about it. Han's looking at me funny...<br />
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Anyway, there is a purpose to all this rambling of my love for the clipping of apexes. Simply put, the roads that i have driven here yesterday on the way to our current site, are some of the best i have ever driven. Proper mountain roads, mile after mile of smooth flowing corners, undulations, positive camber corners which you can fly into before having to scrub off major speed for the next as the camber isn't so friendly! It's a shame that there was so much weight in the car (not just referring to my passenger!) as without that they would of been even better! Anyway, here's some pictures of said roads, taken by Han strapped into the passenger seat, as well as some of us at the top of the local 'Col', around 1400m in altitude.<br />
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Curve...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlXSCaepb-KSIHyAI4WURbsG6olUltycKdu1OsSq5WMMvVBnpdPKZ-twFQLFOcI8q2zjNr6pCtQvLgzgqhAMpmJ7sw94TyCIyBUZUcbRZUXxTC0JqTUQ-m3le1BW6mpKXRc9gQwEKfvA/s1600/DSCN1445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlXSCaepb-KSIHyAI4WURbsG6olUltycKdu1OsSq5WMMvVBnpdPKZ-twFQLFOcI8q2zjNr6pCtQvLgzgqhAMpmJ7sw94TyCIyBUZUcbRZUXxTC0JqTUQ-m3le1BW6mpKXRc9gQwEKfvA/s320/DSCN1445.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After bend...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDARQ0BAfwqlnbEIAEmk18blSJhzd4-apZuIyTUh5kh6mwb8XBr3UxMH8Q-tQhj11-50L_vztOt6OgfmWdlNm_80hQEwonrFGqex0LQkUn76-CdVygpwHJAx8cHT8fVpY0EkvH3DXePPs/s1600/DSCN1449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDARQ0BAfwqlnbEIAEmk18blSJhzd4-apZuIyTUh5kh6mwb8XBr3UxMH8Q-tQhj11-50L_vztOt6OgfmWdlNm_80hQEwonrFGqex0LQkUn76-CdVygpwHJAx8cHT8fVpY0EkvH3DXePPs/s320/DSCN1449.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After corner...<br />
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Until finally, we reached the top!<br />
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Talking of bends and corners, yesterday on the way to Camping La Cascade, i got a wee excited when we drove past a big red building with 'Caterham' on the side of it, Han couldn't understand my excitement, so to explain, i drove inside...<br />
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I really wanted to get a phone of Tim in the line up, but Han wouldn't let me...<br />
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What she doesn't know is that we're due to drive back past there tomorrow... </div>
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Today we have been up to very little, we went into the town of Meyrueis this morning which was pretty with a lovely river running through the middle of the town. Stupidly i left the camera in the car, so you'll just have to picture it in your heads. We then stocked up on supplies of biscuits, jaffa cakes and water. Oh, and crisps. All essential supplies i'm sure you'll agree!</div>
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I did some work on the car, nothing major or even that exciting, just general checks, adjusted the mixture again for the change in altitude, checked fluids, general spanner checks. So far so good! Wheel bearings are starting to make a rumbling noise though, they've been becoming more and more vocal since we left so they're probably due a change by now. Luckily i brought some with me, along with a ball joint splitter and a large breaker bar. It's almost like i knew they'd need changing!</div>
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That's pretty much it for now, and apologies to the non-petrolheads among you for the rather car related post. I'll make sure the next one has barely a whiff of petrol. </div>
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Joe.</div>
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Arriving at La Cascade. The bike really wasn't necessary, he could of pointed to the pitch!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-38390959229263007172013-07-22T06:27:00.002-07:002013-07-22T06:27:47.472-07:00One week in...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hospitals, getting kicked out of hotels and off roading...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5repULvQhltOszltI250ZqVH-o0fNXbJW7LT0RsthZE3PYOL5_PSMv9arK-FDhjjIZeXMfNCpx6EVPnQGYHdD-aruICnU5kphvcks5FbX5cM1aJLNnp8PRt_1dsPLT3_cN094ecrTCaM/s1600/DSCN1394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5repULvQhltOszltI250ZqVH-o0fNXbJW7LT0RsthZE3PYOL5_PSMv9arK-FDhjjIZeXMfNCpx6EVPnQGYHdD-aruICnU5kphvcks5FbX5cM1aJLNnp8PRt_1dsPLT3_cN094ecrTCaM/s320/DSCN1394.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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So now we're officially a week in to the trip, the car ticked over a 1000 trouble free miles yesterday, and is rapidly approaching the 1500 mark! It's been a strange few days, according to our 'itinerary' that Han had laid out we should still be in Chamonix, i think. That was assuming that we had spent a couple of days in Switzerland, but as our loyal and regular readers will know, we didn't, as the campsite was crap. We are currently just outside Ales, on our way to Meyrueis.<br />
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We decided to leave Chamonix yesterday, as Han has been feeling a wee under the weather, trying to get her to see someone was fun to say the least, as it was Sunday. I was aware that most things in France closed on Sunday, but i wasn't aware that included Hospitals, Doctors, Pharmacies, and all the rest of it... Arriving at the Hospital we were told by the ER department that she couldn't be seen as it wasn't 'Trauma'. We were then given the number and private address of a local doc, apparently he worked on Sundays. I rang the number, and the answerphone message said that he was closed until Monday. Brilliant.<br />
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Leaving Chamonix, Mont Blanc in the background:<br />
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We decided to carry on all the same, and with Han drugged up we left Chamonix and headed for St. Pierre d'Argencon, about 230 odd miles away. We were heading for a campsite at which i'd stayed last year, La Source. But as we neared, the home office (Thanks Anita!) let us know that it was in fact fully booked. Due to Han not feeling her best, we tried to find a hotel, which although it was going against everything we had planned, thought it'd be a good idea. Long story short it was, and she woke this morning feeling much better. We headed to a pharmacy/medical center where they've given her more drugs as well, we're like Boots on wheels currently!<br />
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Back to the hotel quickly, last night me and Han were rather peckish, so considering that our room was on the ground floor and had a balcony/veranda, i saw no reason why i couldn't fetch my stove from the car and cook us some chow. Apparently there was an issue with this, as the very angry French man notified us by banging on the door this morning. Helpfully he spoke no English, not even a little, and my French is conversational at best, most definitely not suited to resolving issues! Anyway, i'd left the stove and frying pan out on the balcony, and now it wasn't there. Bugger. Apparently someone in the room above us had smelt cooking and instead of speaking to us or speaking to reception, called the police. The police then apparently came and took stove away to Gap, about 35 miles from where we were staying. Sound a little fishy? All this was made even weirder by the fact that apparently the police hadn't been called until about 2 hours after we'd stopped cooking. Weird, something didn't add up to me. Anyway, repetitive questioning asking where my stove was resulted in nothing, with the Frenchman insisting that the police had it.<br />
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If the police do have it, then they still do, as i had neither the inclination or determination to drive half an hour in the wrong direction to go and argue with French policeman about a bloody stove. They can keep it.<br />
<span dir="auto"><i>Bon Appétit!</i></span><br />
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Right, rant over, last night before the stove incident, we decided to go exploring some gorges down a gravel track that i'd spotted on the way to the hotel. Unexpectedly, this track went on for miles. 7 miles actually before we decided that we could be absolutely anywhere and it was a good idea to turn round. The scenery was beautiful though, and i think Timmy secretly liked being a little off road.<br />
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Left or right?<br />
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We're now heading off to the campsite, a place called Camping-la-Cascade in Meyrueis. We're set to be there for the next 2 nights, and Han tells me that they have wi-fi there, so i can do some more catching up on this!<br />
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Oh, and Timmy made a friend!<br />
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That's all for now folks!<br />
Joe.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-71012582420413939982013-07-20T08:16:00.000-07:002013-07-20T08:19:10.616-07:00To Switzerland and back again!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpat0-koE8AMKyG8LQLy59vgrLpmaWK7S4iwyg3HusfHnvI6jAP9baf0BEd2jwlKcBIzOY2QSa8S2g-qCoAl39HF2WJkkzf1trYmSXm_T1s2RqwFaMTLXcer-797CItNjS2avwnSWmfFc/s1600/DSCN1301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpat0-koE8AMKyG8LQLy59vgrLpmaWK7S4iwyg3HusfHnvI6jAP9baf0BEd2jwlKcBIzOY2QSa8S2g-qCoAl39HF2WJkkzf1trYmSXm_T1s2RqwFaMTLXcer-797CItNjS2avwnSWmfFc/s320/DSCN1301.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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So firstly we’d like to apologise for the lack of posts past
couple of days, really struggling to find the wifi out here! Now where are we?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, the plan was to leave La Bresse and head into
Switzerland, heading to a small town called Cudrefin just south of
Munchenbuchsee. So we set off, only roughly a two hour drive away. But before
we headed out of France, the Satnav led us on to what Joe would call an ‘awesome
piece of road’. I on the other hand, wasn’t so convinced, turns out the French don’t
particularly like having barriers to prevent you from falling to your death
down the side of a mountain!</div>
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The roads:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3mybur_fZ43L7xwLxaV5OgcUtnZbsfM9zvTRZJk68P7ghrHpswrVCr1uyueFjZWqKvbvMvURRwf0Yf4Ja2Cy70OdY8Nyiz4jtV7ixs_YoxM1GI9aei2YoPPaWhGzaSfkFRzcbBYqc44/s1600/DSCN1283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3mybur_fZ43L7xwLxaV5OgcUtnZbsfM9zvTRZJk68P7ghrHpswrVCr1uyueFjZWqKvbvMvURRwf0Yf4Ja2Cy70OdY8Nyiz4jtV7ixs_YoxM1GI9aei2YoPPaWhGzaSfkFRzcbBYqc44/s320/DSCN1283.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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So in we went to Switzerland, or what we thought was Switzerland, turns out we were yet to reach Switzerland and were in fact on the border of Germany, oh well another country to add to our list! Once we were finally in Switzerland then came having to get the motorway tax, and how the hell we were meant to ask for it in Swiss?! Then came the standard pointing at the display they had, works every time!</div>
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Driving through Switzerland was beautiful, the sun was out, and I looked like a typical tourist taking photos hanging out the window! Turns out the Swiss like a tunnel as much as the French dont like having barriers!</div>
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Rolex:</div>
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Catching our reflection:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0vv6QZTYkxWleLddVQd52ph_QKpB3_4FNAsRBwFWKXW1GHhrEIBIMrriUFJauXPNKbapLYzTPmh3zBpyuk8MKK_77g99cxxXkd7z_NoeJD7FMpHlXcgbupOZAM96uE2tDll3cLWHZXQ/s1600/DSCN1294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0vv6QZTYkxWleLddVQd52ph_QKpB3_4FNAsRBwFWKXW1GHhrEIBIMrriUFJauXPNKbapLYzTPmh3zBpyuk8MKK_77g99cxxXkd7z_NoeJD7FMpHlXcgbupOZAM96uE2tDll3cLWHZXQ/s320/DSCN1294.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then the rain started as we were around 2 miles away from our destination. Turning into the campsite, seeing the look of horror on Joe's face when he saw it, I knew we definitely wouldn't be staying here! The campsite was MAHOOSIVE ( we were space 720!), and to make things less appealing, you couldn't park the car onsite, and with us hardly driving the most inconspicuous car ever, it wasnt something we were keen on!</div>
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So we hastily returned to Timmy, still clutching our sign for space 720, and sped off! Driving around and with the rain still pouring, we needed a plan B. At this point Joe grabbed the satnav, claiming that we were only 140 miles from Chamonix and could make it there by 7. Now knowing how much Joe has mentioned how much he loves Chamoix from his time there the previous summer, I was pretty sure that he had set this up on purpose!</div>
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After a short stop at the local Mcdonalds, where we were thoroughly ripped off I may add, recognising that the prices were all in Francs, we asked if they took Euros, they said they did, but then gave the change back to us in Francs, how useful!</div>
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Caught in a downpour:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilsAMGBIqw3y766YorYbNRm5ew39sr1WSkDiCMgz_Pys1wRURN83BcBmq59QAwgnESUdK5Z3nWHPEtQSJfr908VBEnTGe28jIRVuOe9Y0Ys997G_NpCgTfZXvbjgFZy0w4SYa1U1Y-ss/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilsAMGBIqw3y766YorYbNRm5ew39sr1WSkDiCMgz_Pys1wRURN83BcBmq59QAwgnESUdK5Z3nWHPEtQSJfr908VBEnTGe28jIRVuOe9Y0Ys997G_NpCgTfZXvbjgFZy0w4SYa1U1Y-ss/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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So we left Switzerland as quickly as we had entered and we were on the road again to Chamonix. After how much Joe had hyped it up I was expecting big things from Chamonix! So we arrived here the night before last fairly late and ended up heading straight to bed. Yesterday we headed into the town to explore, Joe was right (but I won't let him know that), Chamonix is a really cool place! Such a great vibe in the town, surrounded by some of the best views I have ever seen! I'm sure Joe will want to tell you more when he is next on here, so I'll leave him to describe further! We plan to spend the rest of today doing some more exploring and preparing to leave for our next destination tomorrow, St Pierre D'Argencon.</div>
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Hoping to post again tomorrow, but for now thanks for reading!</div>
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Hannah</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-1990399286556370232013-07-17T08:52:00.001-07:002013-07-17T08:52:43.454-07:00La Bresse!<div class="MsoNormal">
So what has happened today? Not a massive amount, which has
been nice, as although we’ve only been away for a few days now, the busy-ness
and rushing to get everything done, the car, paperwork, the car, equipment and
the car (did I mention the car?) finally having a day to chill whilst feeling
fairly confident about the rest of the trip is nice. Really nice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Relaxing after some big hills!</div>
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I’m sitting typing this from a camp chair next to Tim where
the laptop has just been charging itself from a power inverter inside the car.
I tried turning the laptop on with it still plugged in but it started beeping
at me madly, so I unplugged it, afraid that it, the charger or the laptop would
burst into flames. Or maybe all three. Did just have a worrying moment where I
best thought I’d try and start it just incase charging the laptop was using too
much juice. Not that I’d be able to do a lot if it had drained it, being a fool
I think I’m carrying every spare apart from a pair of jump leads. Maybe I’d get
Han to push me down the hill we’re camped on whilst I bump start him? Anyway,
none of this was necessary, he started straight away, of course he did. Good
little Tim.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He’s been running great of course, went for a little drive
today up some mountain roads, he didn’t seem to be a massive fan of altitude
though, we went to just over a thousand meters. Where I’d usually be in 4<sup>th</sup>
I needed 3<sup>rd</sup>, 3<sup>rd</sup> needed 2<sup>nd</sup>, managed to stay
out of first, hills are bloody steep round here!. Good job I stayed out of
first really, considering tractors would probably be overtaking us by then!
Kinda reminds me of that scene from that pants Mr. Bean film. You know where he
goes through all the effort of stealing the Frenchman’s motorbike, only to have
the Frenchman overtake him whilst walking and then taking back his bike. Just
typing that made me realise how irrelevant that is, ah well, it’s staying in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Snapped by the 'Papz':</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFA7yMGN9B-_RqdF0cIVvJl57pXOW5014g0tV53cXam2Z9QasUisQicUUYNe-PMGGn46sXcS2T2Wc60F7fShmZWodKpHysBTQ32flbe2Jy-fzDJhXHPqJ64XmNz3YDPajoaDOqmgqk7g/s1600/DSCN1222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFA7yMGN9B-_RqdF0cIVvJl57pXOW5014g0tV53cXam2Z9QasUisQicUUYNe-PMGGn46sXcS2T2Wc60F7fShmZWodKpHysBTQ32flbe2Jy-fzDJhXHPqJ64XmNz3YDPajoaDOqmgqk7g/s320/DSCN1222.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Coming down:<br />
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Great roads round here:<br />
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Off the beaten track:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsII8faI8GCO5zypIZTFqaWHc4evrkaXkCQKKYKIRtxAh57YRN0IU6g-AlVrEgIK3pQ9LZkkBLLmHoJvzulS8vEhSfiZMXJKI-Rjn-bDBCs3ud_dLblAPIHkj4kDXMSUTLgP2Bvp34X4/s1600/DSCN1230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsII8faI8GCO5zypIZTFqaWHc4evrkaXkCQKKYKIRtxAh57YRN0IU6g-AlVrEgIK3pQ9LZkkBLLmHoJvzulS8vEhSfiZMXJKI-Rjn-bDBCs3ud_dLblAPIHkj4kDXMSUTLgP2Bvp34X4/s320/DSCN1230.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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'That' scene:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKqzMs8-AIKz5lxXGAYiBX6R2PDrpAwLBGSSwP15c6P_qnxoQtwnAmyLr9AklmMPEdUitjrjtjGyK5MDrekMwJSg1BthX4F9b6iEoKbBk2tVgLrrDtti3EokfMdbd5k8gLq3pILGNHfI/s1600/Mr.+Bean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKqzMs8-AIKz5lxXGAYiBX6R2PDrpAwLBGSSwP15c6P_qnxoQtwnAmyLr9AklmMPEdUitjrjtjGyK5MDrekMwJSg1BthX4F9b6iEoKbBk2tVgLrrDtti3EokfMdbd5k8gLq3pILGNHfI/s1600/Mr.+Bean.jpg" /></a></div>
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Anyway, we found a lake, a nice one as well, and after failing
to decipher the French warning signs but taking a gamble all the same that
there wouldn’t be any sharks or crocodiles or jellyfish in there, we decided to
go for a swim. It was bloody cold. Han dared me to try and swim across the
lake, after getting half way out and realising that the lake was perhaps bigger
than I first anticipated, I swam back. I’m a chicken I know, but it was cold.
Honest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Zee lake:</div>
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Testing the water:<br />
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Not quite Baywatch!:<br />
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Popped into La Bresse on the way back, as needed dinner for
tonight as well as something to drink as I’d drank most of the beer from last
night. After spending ages in the drinks aisle with Han marvelling at all the
different variations we couldn’t decide between a few. So we brought all of
them. Getting them in the car was fun!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Spotted our first French Mini!:</div>
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Now currently just relaxing typing this out, about to take a
wander up to reception to borrow there internet to publish this. My stove
started playing up last night, emptying half a can of Coleman’s finest gas over
the grass, bummer. Luckily I brought a spare little stove, Seven P’s and all
that!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Camp at Camping du Haut des Bluches, La Bresse:</div>
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Oooh yeah, I finished my first book of the trip. <i>The Long Ride Home </i>by Nathan Millward.
About a pretty inspiring English guy who has problems renewing his work visa in
Oz, so instead of doing what most normal people would do and book a plane
ticket home. He decided to ride 35’000 KM home through 18 countries on a Honda
110 postie bike over 9 months. Fantastic book, really well written and a great
story to boot. I met Nathan back at the MCN show in February, he even signed
the book for me, if he’s (your) reading this, sorry it took me so long to
finish it! <o:p></o:p></div>
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That all for now, heading into Switzerland tomorrow, pretty
excited about that as I’ve never been to Switzerland before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peace, Joe.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-62295062636996257322013-07-16T08:04:00.002-07:002013-07-16T08:04:10.449-07:00Life at 55 miles per hour....Firstly i'd like to apologize for the serious lacking of posts that i've made to this blog. Since setting it up several weeks ago i've barely looked at it, Hannah has of course made a stirling effort in keeping it all afloat and ensuring that we have the 500 odd page views that we currently do so! Wahoo!<br />
So here's my excuse, and i think its a fairly good one, i've been spending all the time that i should of been writing this on preparing our chosen Mini 'Timmy' for the trip. I'll give more details about him and what he went through for those that are interested on a separate page at some point, but long story short... 6 weeks ago he was a bare shell and needed a reasonable amount of work. The engine was removed, clutch replaced, as well as a load of other work before reassembling. 2 weeks ago his wee 1275 engine started for the first time in 18 months. On the evening of Thursday just gone, he went for his MOT. Due to mine and my dads meticulous preparation of him, as well as a fair amount of luck, and the good will of our MOT tester (Thanks Dave!) he passed. I managed to put around 200 miles on him before we left yesterday morning, hardly a lengthy 'shakedown' period! But that was all we had....<br />
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Waiting nervously for his MOT:<br />
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Yesterday, Monday the 15th was the day it all came together, months of planning, a little over a month of spannering and a few days of running in, this was the day that it all was put into practice. Ferry was booked for 11ish, and i was due to pick Hannah up at 9, for once i wasn't even late! Leaving Hannahs at a little after 9, we began the 60 odd mile journey down to Dover. Arrived there in plenty of time and waited to board the boat.<br />
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All ready to leave:<br />
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Waiting to board:<br />
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2 hours later we arrived in Calais. That was it, we were officially on the Continent, where we would remain for the next month or so... I can tell you at that moment in time, things were pretty daunting, but as the miles ticked by, the nerves subsided and my excitement for what was ahead began to grow. Unfortunately, the day was set to be pretty un-exciting. The plan was to cover well over 300 miles and arrive at a place called Villey-Le-Sec, getting us out of norther France, covering a fair amount of miles reducing the amount we'd have to do on the consecutive days. We arrived at the site around 8.30, and quickly set up camp as we were both pretty tired!<br />
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On the road:<br />
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Camp: (And Hannah looking scary...)<br />
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Timmy managed to catch a wasp:<br />
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Contemplating life:<br />
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Camping Villey Le Sec:<br />
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Quick note on the campsite, Camping Villey Le Sec, it was lovely, we pitched on the edge of a lake and the surroundings were great, as were the facilities as i found out as Han insisted that showers were necessary... We were there a little over 12 hours, but we would of gladly stayed for longer!<br />
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Anyway, back on the road again, and todays route was a lot more pleasant, and gratefully, a considerable amount shorter! It was around 120 miles to La Bresse, a place where i'd stayed before. Our crusing speed of 55 mph (slower if going up, faster if going down!) meant that the journey took between 2 and 3 hours. We arrived after a few stops on the way, to take photos and eat of course!<br />
Camp has been set up for a few hours now, and the pitch is massive, in fact we could probably fit another Mini and tent on it... Any takers?<br />
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On the road again:<br />
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Hannah: "An ape in its natural habitat":<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5V0Y2BAnDJr0uSxT9SLx4WblCNXG91OcNt-A-fD6FxAIZAyzdRggGAQ9FR7tDGRfyuMkIT_5xxBLAEwnR406d05Qh7lcXvuf2p_WaCRmoPOx75And63lM9yvF0VzsvtaMulwYoFo6Ifg/s1600/DSCN1180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5V0Y2BAnDJr0uSxT9SLx4WblCNXG91OcNt-A-fD6FxAIZAyzdRggGAQ9FR7tDGRfyuMkIT_5xxBLAEwnR406d05Qh7lcXvuf2p_WaCRmoPOx75And63lM9yvF0VzsvtaMulwYoFo6Ifg/s320/DSCN1180.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Timmy enjoying the sun, and cooling down after some serious hills!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuRX7xwUvPR_LUJJRCQDZLVaOy3IuA85HYwnTeADSp6lWZC4JJq8RIWOcWJD07hEnQcHjGsihTo-5DH2IQz0gxBWVKVkngVY6XMOTU_gvN9xewRzMFd4LdqZ_3nU-JYgSRt5rZ_DVLbM/s1600/DSCN1184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuRX7xwUvPR_LUJJRCQDZLVaOy3IuA85HYwnTeADSp6lWZC4JJq8RIWOcWJD07hEnQcHjGsihTo-5DH2IQz0gxBWVKVkngVY6XMOTU_gvN9xewRzMFd4LdqZ_3nU-JYgSRt5rZ_DVLbM/s320/DSCN1184.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAZnM1pR-uhAHTCyn6IhgmThcZFEd7rFlphgK5e3UL4AzT8bV8v-28yRmvcmctx-Lzd09Bbslx9bdQOnnDSWRcarG7Mj4C7hHxuuO5FPBH2HpU_Uqe1rM24BcIWYsc2E2PLA1O-dVf8Y/s1600/DSCN1185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAZnM1pR-uhAHTCyn6IhgmThcZFEd7rFlphgK5e3UL4AzT8bV8v-28yRmvcmctx-Lzd09Bbslx9bdQOnnDSWRcarG7Mj4C7hHxuuO5FPBH2HpU_Uqe1rM24BcIWYsc2E2PLA1O-dVf8Y/s320/DSCN1185.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6eDylXL-lgZtuwJ24xrEOVV4Ll4ajlWQHHlE-IN7u9bK39mu23L93qf5Tuhug56S80fOt1eROMfETClEGyjp4m7WZyb-D1IKUgE03dP87ytlaZyqs1uX06EX9wkX7-6B4bnJmhqQOiQ/s1600/DSCN1186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6eDylXL-lgZtuwJ24xrEOVV4Ll4ajlWQHHlE-IN7u9bK39mu23L93qf5Tuhug56S80fOt1eROMfETClEGyjp4m7WZyb-D1IKUgE03dP87ytlaZyqs1uX06EX9wkX7-6B4bnJmhqQOiQ/s320/DSCN1186.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Views from the road:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FFV2SAEvKxf6NK61dIw1-1DqiDf5IfvmaebJPfsVpmefVfpjOxahlTo-c62FuholLqAmBcZMamqiUvq6C4jYimwsI24XkRjLzjTIxneV8hQd5qKn9ICcHoor-1UsLiSfuCPc72lI1q0/s1600/DSCN1189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FFV2SAEvKxf6NK61dIw1-1DqiDf5IfvmaebJPfsVpmefVfpjOxahlTo-c62FuholLqAmBcZMamqiUvq6C4jYimwsI24XkRjLzjTIxneV8hQd5qKn9ICcHoor-1UsLiSfuCPc72lI1q0/s320/DSCN1189.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jGqIyRqFk9dPnDIalqv_KsPDPTo1ASW25omq5HU-O6PmW6cfyWqzoarYy-qM0dVUDC1EbVwvVQ6Bqds3GabkKDlFye6NpCSToU5_4F8ThV9eUNCAns6F0qZOYRGKUYzjfGG-ytm2dzs/s1600/DSCN1197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jGqIyRqFk9dPnDIalqv_KsPDPTo1ASW25omq5HU-O6PmW6cfyWqzoarYy-qM0dVUDC1EbVwvVQ6Bqds3GabkKDlFye6NpCSToU5_4F8ThV9eUNCAns6F0qZOYRGKUYzjfGG-ytm2dzs/s320/DSCN1197.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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A very annoying hay truck that was eventually overtaken, we were just slip streaming of course!<br />
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Anyway, that's all for today, we're off to enjoy the sun and maybe even have a beer or two, more tomorrow. Peace.</div>
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Joe and Han</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-46273029382954729702013-07-02T10:17:00.001-07:002013-07-02T10:17:16.169-07:00Progress...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
With now just under two weeks to go, its all systems go to get Timmy back on the road. We knew at the beginning that there was quite a lot of work to do, but I think even Joe underestimated the work there was to get him ready for such a big trip. With lists that just seemed to keep getting amended as more parts were thought of, it seemed to be a harder challenge then we first thought to get him ready in time. Parcel after parcel of car parts arrived as more items were needed, and after a trek round the M25 to Mini Spares, the boot was soon filled with goodies!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KHWHmlmOLY6rtQ20oKL_0L6E7ztdLlu2PxBsJdtf8Bf_SGdjH8y6H_U8I2rFDhLLVWFwJnA9xX4w2LolLu7uLAWrpqDDzaQ1Jr69wBIu0MdkqXUu_xyKqqMvQiolztmEZJm_6TuH1rQ/s800/BLXyLAuCcAEOusg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KHWHmlmOLY6rtQ20oKL_0L6E7ztdLlu2PxBsJdtf8Bf_SGdjH8y6H_U8I2rFDhLLVWFwJnA9xX4w2LolLu7uLAWrpqDDzaQ1Jr69wBIu0MdkqXUu_xyKqqMvQiolztmEZJm_6TuH1rQ/s320/BLXyLAuCcAEOusg.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Here are some pictures of Timmys' progress:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-27.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking him down to the other garage to begin work</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-28.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welding some small areas of the floor</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-32.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The engine ready to come out </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCONdlAYKDSCh-PwBo1kfUUyEpxLPwzrAliDnqKOkm27yO4LYkX7BIuP5mBI3WlWQriwJv8i4-J9h1GPDAAwPQ3Rs7x_lIoYeTNiSvwXmiwrMimdNqioJf80ClwsbcD-M5yRUM8Vhe9EE/s800/BLXxWxrCAAA2cmU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCONdlAYKDSCh-PwBo1kfUUyEpxLPwzrAliDnqKOkm27yO4LYkX7BIuP5mBI3WlWQriwJv8i4-J9h1GPDAAwPQ3Rs7x_lIoYeTNiSvwXmiwrMimdNqioJf80ClwsbcD-M5yRUM8Vhe9EE/s400/BLXxWxrCAAA2cmU.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31lCNMCiMviY9eQSUW5HurCx953AhXMPT3o6mXQABGd_lZEJWewXFST3Q1xTCTNVaPrcAkblFWUzadPHNWp4Kz9o0-DgItNImOKO4UjhOMdSs6Sx-yiRlSMK3dHDWwackCKrcXdNK0WY/s600/BLXw81CCYAAJtxk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31lCNMCiMviY9eQSUW5HurCx953AhXMPT3o6mXQABGd_lZEJWewXFST3Q1xTCTNVaPrcAkblFWUzadPHNWp4Kz9o0-DgItNImOKO4UjhOMdSs6Sx-yiRlSMK3dHDWwackCKrcXdNK0WY/s400/BLXw81CCYAAJtxk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOEkjmrV4xZFdoslawLOypN-7S9jizGDGNiYhJ8Z2gU94dJMoQM7KH1jRrY3cLuDTNRrVy7GoXa9iln7eU133QFM5qYFJLRDzLgNh6oL1x1AJABAr3B4yP8pRIUa__PKEbdt9iXwsROo/s800/BLXxhy2CQAAB62H.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOEkjmrV4xZFdoslawLOypN-7S9jizGDGNiYhJ8Z2gU94dJMoQM7KH1jRrY3cLuDTNRrVy7GoXa9iln7eU133QFM5qYFJLRDzLgNh6oL1x1AJABAr3B4yP8pRIUa__PKEbdt9iXwsROo/s320/BLXxhy2CQAAB62H.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Engine out!<br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-37.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Floor painted</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q525/TahitiJoe/null-36.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carbon fibre parcel shelf fitted</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8j6vh8FFXMfvCxbW1ag-rfPyRE6wS4GTzUoob-b5XWWBiwdqeKmbCLEZqljN3Qp9xIIa9zHWTlnzQad1XpzvQ46jeJjm3_LuzJwrCEEizsDfiVTeDezYFF-RdntiIFL3WhHKPHK1yCQ/s800/BLghfP2CMAMd5Vy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8j6vh8FFXMfvCxbW1ag-rfPyRE6wS4GTzUoob-b5XWWBiwdqeKmbCLEZqljN3Qp9xIIa9zHWTlnzQad1XpzvQ46jeJjm3_LuzJwrCEEizsDfiVTeDezYFF-RdntiIFL3WhHKPHK1yCQ/s320/BLghfP2CMAMd5Vy.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New head gasket</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdD3i-fQl3icYce324D88hyo1Lx956_1MkcDj7gTy1TCjnQ-bVNjGKQRXHn_8C16Kc3E_dY0YZ0qcgXWZIxpfc7iW-1fpPk_NBQ_X9QNpyvv1XPmFplctNSOgicZgsPbB9nI4f3Ii6M0/s600/BLgg8uzCUAAP7p5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdD3i-fQl3icYce324D88hyo1Lx956_1MkcDj7gTy1TCjnQ-bVNjGKQRXHn_8C16Kc3E_dY0YZ0qcgXWZIxpfc7iW-1fpPk_NBQ_X9QNpyvv1XPmFplctNSOgicZgsPbB9nI4f3Ii6M0/s320/BLgg8uzCUAAP7p5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cylinder head ready to be painted</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_9Y1UGliEcpJKk37_K-V4h6s4UZD9nzcxi5a_jz8rV7yWBPWqEAA3US-EUNbHYwa-YLBONRZdGGP2TelaflI_tO-_5XpmosllYPp9B832TA22AOog18-h0hpg4XZAlfr7wJnl9MwNQA/s800/BLm62D-CQAEIHBs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_9Y1UGliEcpJKk37_K-V4h6s4UZD9nzcxi5a_jz8rV7yWBPWqEAA3US-EUNbHYwa-YLBONRZdGGP2TelaflI_tO-_5XpmosllYPp9B832TA22AOog18-h0hpg4XZAlfr7wJnl9MwNQA/s320/BLm62D-CQAEIHBs.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming together!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgyZncDV1-JyYZZfVopnxi2Kq1YWmxsoeE2E-3go58-ecw378IfFwyO71SkJBXtUHwdnhDooXNfamtlgx81tCHu594NM3ZmvpcUZR6p3pNM3AC0AomTLiOQxE7yeLaOUyMUyeLesdq6k/s800/BMuuGpQCcAA8P2h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgyZncDV1-JyYZZfVopnxi2Kq1YWmxsoeE2E-3go58-ecw378IfFwyO71SkJBXtUHwdnhDooXNfamtlgx81tCHu594NM3ZmvpcUZR6p3pNM3AC0AomTLiOQxE7yeLaOUyMUyeLesdq6k/s320/BMuuGpQCcAA8P2h.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz65lFlCsCmWBTjaG2l5Y0bRNJXq4qiQBdl4xSSkt-RB892ZhW_AZ9ycFmM3Lw3hzqFTU-qK76pPMBueKsiuwwhMs2JaGmGBAADLhkORkfYSojHHL__eDmmp_wj-5oLRbuuSwxMmAFdl4/s800/BMuuT72CYAA0WkW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz65lFlCsCmWBTjaG2l5Y0bRNJXq4qiQBdl4xSSkt-RB892ZhW_AZ9ycFmM3Lw3hzqFTU-qK76pPMBueKsiuwwhMs2JaGmGBAADLhkORkfYSojHHL__eDmmp_wj-5oLRbuuSwxMmAFdl4/s320/BMuuT72CYAA0WkW.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back in!</td></tr>
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But HOORAY as I am typing this I can hear Timmy just being started up in the garage! All seems to be working and Joe is very pleased wahoo!<br />
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HannahAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520712457763869112.post-31769753855141357622013-06-29T15:30:00.001-07:002013-06-29T07:36:12.040-07:00Welcome..So the blog is in progress, as is the car...<br />
Currently we are in preparation for our summer road trip across Europe, a trip we have somehow resorted to naming 'Francoitalianoswiss'.<br />
As I am typing this, there are only 16 days until we set off on our adventures, and whilst Joe has spent most off the past few weeks reassuring me that everything will be all fine and we'll ready to go, the current lack of car parts and interior is slightly concerning me!The trip seems to have suddenly appeared just around the corner, as the ferry has been booked for Monday the 15th July, just over two weeks away now! No pressure!<br />
Our trip takes us down through France and heading into Italy, with us also stopping into Switzerland at various points of the road trip. We've planned to travel for just over four weeks, doing an estimated 4500 miles. Currently we have a general idea of the route we are going to take, and as we intend to camp (help me), we also have a list of numerous campsites available to us. The longest I have ever camped is probably only a few days at a time, so the idea of four weeks in a tent is a little daunting to say the least! Nevertheless i'm up for giving it a go! Just hoping for decent weather, unlike in Wales where it just seemed to rain all the time!<br />
After we had decided that the road trip was something that we definitely wanted to do, and that we could afford to do, then began the long deliberation over which vehicle we were going to do it in. From Landrovers to Camper vans, and Joe's current Mini One, it seemed like every vehicle Joe wanted to take, my Ford Ka at the time however was not something Joe took into much consideration, even though it appeared to be more reliable than his at the time! Then we looked into taking Timmy, Joe's 1993 Mini Tahiti. Previously used as his first car, before the idea of turning him into a rally car was formed and poor Timmy was shipped off to the garage. With the realization that this would be a lot more expensive and time consuming then originally thought, Timmy was left.<br />
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Timmy Before:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLivkbani18MbhGpzLI4ygs0vMZxiamu2nkegx_X6lZN49j8jQQ-XAdz5vV5OVyEcEIiefmTzE1nqJpPRG9tIrJrwfd9UYQ2UR8FMwT5dOoESFqasprIjVRQbBpSWEw3TJo1x5LNXhg9I/s1024/timmy+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLivkbani18MbhGpzLI4ygs0vMZxiamu2nkegx_X6lZN49j8jQQ-XAdz5vV5OVyEcEIiefmTzE1nqJpPRG9tIrJrwfd9UYQ2UR8FMwT5dOoESFqasprIjVRQbBpSWEw3TJo1x5LNXhg9I/s1024/timmy+before.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Becoming a rally car:</span><br />
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Banished to the garage :(<br />
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Now, having escaped the garage, Timmy has become the favorite choice of vehicle, resulting in the name of the blog 'Small Car, Big Adventure'. Various stickers have also been produced to promote our trip and we are currently trying to get some sign writing for the side of the car! Joe has also been doing his best to publicize our trip by making up a sign for his braces at work:<br />
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This blog will be used to throughout our trip, that fingers crossed we will be ready for! Updates should hopefully be more frequent, and there will be more posts of Timmy's progress this week.<br />
Thanks for reading!<br />
HannahAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269459783772044023noreply@blogger.com0