# Off we go :)



## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

We're loaded, packed & stuffed ready for the drive to Portsmouth late tomorrow morning, then onto the Bilbao ferry in the evening. We should be in La Manga on Thursday afternoon.

We had weeks to avoid the regular last-minute stressy rush, but did we manage it this time? Did we fiddlesticks.  My internet connection packed up at home all afternoon - typical timing. Back now though.

LM has WiFi which was flaky last year - I'm hoping it's better now. I'll be able to post a postcard here. 

Dougie.


----------



## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Good luck, Dougie, and safe travelling. Hope the weather's a bit more pleasant than it is here  

Gerald


----------



## 98452 (Apr 2, 2006)

have a good un :wink: wished I was coming :lol:


----------



## artona (Jan 19, 2006)

Hi Dougie

yes you have a good time. Lincolnshire will miss you 


stew


----------



## tokkalosh (May 25, 2006)

Have a super trip - my envy is with you :lol:


----------



## AlanVal (Aug 17, 2005)

Have alovely time we are trying to get organized .We are of on the 24th for 3 months.France/Spain down to portugal we hope . So much to see to before we go.Going by Eurotunnel.

Val


----------



## Superk (Aug 22, 2005)

The weather is great - 27 degrees - come on over.


----------



## AlanVal (Aug 17, 2005)

wow!! cant wait though we are a little apprehensive we havn`t driven in Europe before ....but looking forward to going.Only plan is booked in to Twinlakes nr Bordaux in April for 4 nights.. meeting family driving back from Spain .Then down to Portugal Porto we hope depends how we feel lol.
Just want some sun and relazation ........
Val


----------



## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

AlanVal said:


> Just want some sun and relazation ........


Yesh - chust zum shun and relazation, defit... defo.. defet... oh, chust another beer shen...

nlyamother:


----------



## annetony (May 1, 2005)

I envy you, our next trip is nearly the end of April, and in the UK, Tony won't drive abroad, oh well I live in hope, Have a great time. I wish I was ready for off, wherever it may be, Anne


----------



## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

Dead jealous - have a great time. Not sure there is a way to avoid the last minute stress thing. We are now retired and seem to have more time to worry about things before the off!

AlanVal - we're away to France for 6 - 7 weeks at the beginning of May so wave if we pass you  A couple of miles into France and you will wonder what you were worried about. 

Sue


----------



## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

Have fun Dougie, be safe.

Hope you remembered your first aid kit... :roll:


----------



## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

Finally got the WiFi sorted here at La Manga.  (Didn't try too hard though....)

This has been a most eventful trip so far (note: *trip*, not holiday...). I'll update fully when we get back, but see http://tinyurl.com/2r3k3y for starters. 

Nearly lost the trailer & car on the motorway due to ferry damage to the towbar: various other events including chasing & locking up a local ne'er-do-well who was found rifling through my car boot one evening on the site. I am now an expert on Spanish Police procedures. (Well, I say "procedures", cough cough).

Apart from all that, enjoying the sun & warmth. [reaches for the fridge]

Dougie.


----------



## 101411 (Oct 15, 2006)

Hi Dougie

Love the blog, had me rolling round the floor :lol: with your telling of the ferry trip (just tell us all again about the joys of not flying!!).

Hope the rest of your "life changing experience" is more pleasant but just as entertaining.

Keep us posted!! :wink: 

Dazzer


----------



## billym (Dec 17, 2005)

asprn
Our greatest sympathy. We were at Bilbao waiting to get on, that was bad enough. The return trip was a little less eventful although we did have a passenger airlifted to hospital. On the front page of Daisys website is a picture of all the TV crews waiting for you arrival. We saw you get off or at least assume it was you. How many points do we get ?


----------



## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

billym said:


> We saw you get off or at least assume it was you. How many points do we get ?


Do you mean you specifically saw us, or just generally saw everyone scrambling off?

The towbar grounded whilst exiting, and I was so keen to get down that road, I didn't stop to check it. I should have. 80 miles further on, we stopped to fuel, which was where I saw the trailer a-frame 1/2 inch off the ground, as the entire towbar assembly on the van had sheared 4 out of 6 mounting bolts and had swiveled forwards 45 deg. God only knows how the trailer was still connected to the ball. (The bolts were merely 10mm - crazy - neither wonder they gave up.)

One phone call to AA European Assistance (thanks, SafeGuard) and the Man arrived in 75 minutes. Mags stayed with the trailer & car whilst I followed him into Burgos (6km) to a trailer manufacturer, who drilled & fixed it nicely with 6 shiny new *12mm* bolts with Nyloc nuts, in 20 minutes.  I'd prepared myself for the bill (didn't care by this time anyway), and the chap presented me with the invoice:- EUR17.34 (£12)!! More crazy. I would have paid £50 & shaken his hand off. We stopped at La Cabrera overnight around 8:00 pm as I was cream-crackered, & drove on to La Manga the next day feeling a bit better. (Until I discovered the large 1" nut underneath the towball was working loose, presumably due to receiving some hammer the previous day - I kept nipping it up every 150 miles, bought a leccy drill for EUR15.00, drilled a hole through the bolt & fitted a split pin - perfecto.)

That was it, apart from a worked-up Belgian running through my plot on Wednesday evening, shouting. I thought he'd lost his dog, until I realised there was a bit of a hue & cry over some local miscreant who'd (I thought) been pilfering in the Belgian's car. The local was totally soaking wet (for reasons which I still haven't found out - it was a warm, dry evening) and was trying to hide behind a caravan. He saw me coming & bolted, & I thought, "[expletive deleted], I'm on holiday" but didn't wish to let the side down, & chased him over hill & down dale (well, crashed through several plots, overturned pot-plants & a couple of tables containing dinner) whilst shouting in true British Bobby-style to stop else I'd set the dog on him. :wink: I finally got hold of him (it was by now a matter of principle as he'd made me run, & I get angry if I have to run, especially during dinner) & detained him. I then found out it was MY car he'd been in, which strangely I found quite funny. I suppose I thought I'd been altruistic, but in fact it turned out to be on my own behalf - that's what tickled me. It transpired that nothing was damaged or missing from the car.

A nice lady thoughtfully came out of a van with some duct tape after I ground-pinned him, which was a reasonable substitute for handcuffs pending the arrival of the Policia Local (30 mins  ). I do love the good ol' British way - "Sorry to bother you - I wondered if you'd like some duct tape?" "Oh gosh - how thoughtful. Thank you very much" etc. Several other non-Brits were giving it twenty to the dozen whilst we had a nice conversation. No point in causing a fuss, eh. 8O

After he got taken away by the Guys in Green, I was told that if I wanted to make a complaint, I'd have to go down to the local Nick (4km) with a translator (your problemo, senor). Having raised unsuccessfully the concept of Victim of Crime, I went down and - to cut a 45-min story short - decided that No Further Action was the order of the day, as the bloke was an noodle short of a paella, was known to the local Old Bill & was harmless, lived in a house nearby with his hapless aunt & uncle, and hadn't taken his medication as usual. As it seemed that everyone was making it up as they went along by this time, I decided to administer a Caution, which was duly translated by one of the ***-smoking Policia who were by now very happy at my decision to bu**er off & stop making work for them. The bloke started crying & said, "Sank you sank you" which I took at face value & went home for my pudding.

God only knows how people can stand having a normal boring holiday. [cough]

Dougie.

Do you know, I forgot about the imploding water tank. I'll save that for another time....


----------

