Long time coming...France to Spain

Friday 4 October 2013

It was with great sadness that we left out campsite in St Topez. It has been very kind to us during our 32 days stay. It's funny how in such a short time you can become very attached to a place. Our stay was enhanced by Greta and Luc joining us and we have enjoyed their company immensely. They have been the perfect friends, hosts and companions. It was a very sad goodbye as they came to the end of the road to wave us off. We wish them well knowing it won't be long before we see them again. We hope to see them in Spain over the winter.  

As if to signal our departure the weather changed to cloudy and the wind had picked up making it a little cooler than we are used to.  Over the last couple of days we have been very busy indeed cleaning and packing Bertie ready for the off. The Tomtom set for Castellane which some 140k from St Tropez but before we started the climb into the hills we had a few jobs to do.

Firstly, we visited a garage in Ste Maxim which has LPG surprisingly, when we had finished filling the tanks up it only came to €17 (£15) for 6 weeks worth of gas. Because we are self sufficient on the electric we saved ourselves €3 per day but it did mean we had to run the fridge on gas which equates to only €3 a week. Then we checked the tyres and filled up with Diesel (€1.33). Finally, we visited the supermarket and stocked Bertie up ready for our trip.

Thankfully, as we moved further north the weather improved and we were back in lovely sunshine with the occasional cloud. The roads to Castellane were very windy indeed with hairpin bends a plenty and long climbs. We went from sea level to 1063m in about and hour and a half. The terrain became very rocky and a red colour. Steep sided rocks cut away for the road had to be shawn up with wire netting to protect the motorist from falling debris. As we climbed the views became more and more spectacular with outcrops of rocky formations and hill side villages clinging to the side of the rocky hills.

By 12.30 we arrived at Castellane and found the Aire which is in the shadow of a huge 180m high grey rock which has the Notre Dame chapel sitting right on the top. It's a really spectacular sight to see as the village comes into view. We settled Bertie into his temporary home for the day and walked into the village.

The town is lovely with its old quarter a must see. The old houses are packed in so tightly you can hardly walk down some of the streets they are so narrow. It has a wonderful charm and when we visited it was totally deserted. It was fascinating to look at the detail of the buildings some bulging so much you would have thought they would burst. Others, looked like they would fall apart with flaking paint and crumbling walls. It had the same sort if feel as Venice, rustic and lovely.

After our walk around the town square and a sit down on a metal bench cleverly made out of the sycamore leaves, we made our way back to Bertie. Petra decided she wanted to climb the rock so set off whilst I took a well deserved rest.

The path leads from the parish church upwards past the stations of the cross to the chapel  of Notre Dame at the top of the 'roc'. It's an uphill walk all the way and the views just get better and better towards the top. I was the only person there and I felt very privileged to have the chapel and the views all to myself. The chapel is rather weather-beaten and neglected on the outside and the  inside is small but quite charming. The walls are covered in plaques, pictures and other religious artefacts, there is a lovely tiled floor and pretty stained glass windows.

The views were of mountains and hills surrounding the town, the river running towards the gorge and the rooftops of the town. Birds of prey were circling above in the sunshine. Looking directly down I could see Bertie waiting for me on the Aire, a very long way down. 

Saturday 5 October 2013

Last night it rained. It was like nature had suddenly remembered what to do and let it rip. it hammered it down. Great big globules of water hammered into the van and kept us awake. The lightning flashed and the thunder crashed. There was nothing to do but grin and bear it till it passed. I drifted back to sleep not knowing when it ended.

In the morning it was quite cool and there were low clouds over the hills and the church on the top of the rock was completely obscured. There was no rush today but we were still up and ready to go by 08.30. Which as it happens was to our advantage.

The main objective was to head for Moustiers Ste Marie a mountain side village nestled between two peaks. Suspended between the peaks is a golden star which originates from the time of the crusades. However, to get there we had to drive along a winding road that climbed through the 'Gorge du Verdon' and past lake 'Lac de Saint Croix'. The journey through the gorge was to say the least exhilarating, the roads were narrow with one side of the carriageway just wide enough to take Bertie. We went under cut rocks not much higher than the van and on several occasions had to venture into the middle of the road to avoid rocks sticking out into the road. The rain in the night had taken its toll on the steep sided rocks and the road in places was strewn with fallen debris. 

It was a fantastic drive and the views were incredible. It is said that the gorge is on a smaller scale only to the Grand Canyon but nevertheless breath taking. It has peppered with spectacular view points and crevices up to 700m deep. At the bottom is a beautiful azure blue river where you can of course go rafting on and the brave can canoe down. Personally I had enough on my plate with driving, never mind white water rafting. We stopped at one view point over looking the lake drinking our tea and soaking in the views. Truly sensational.

Moustiers Ste Marie is the loveliest of the villages on the fringe of the gorge. It occupies a magnificent site near its western end. It is set high enough to command excellent views down to the lake. Running through the town is a stream which splits the town in two and plummets gown from on high and in between the two golden cliffs. High above you could see the golden star suspended between them. It is a picture perfect town and a joy to walk around.

We spent some time walking the streets and visiting the many craft shops and pottery shops. There is also a great many restaurants and cafes. We walked back down the steep climb to Bertie and before setting off again had our lunch.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving to a place called Fontvielle, not for the town itself but for the Aire. It turned out to be quite acceptable for €5 and in the evening we went for a local walk and found three windmills and a very nice Chateau.

Sunday 6 October

We had been recommended by Greta to visit two villages in the area, the first a very ancient mountain village called Les Baux-de Provence. We arrived very early, as we do, and found the car park empty except for Bertie. The village is situated near a stone quarry and is a pedestrianised cluster of churches, chapels, mansions and houses. Sadly most of the houses are now tourist shops and it seems that very few people properly live here. We were unable to visit the medieval citadel which perches above the village as it accessed only during opening hours and we were far too early. The advantage of exploring the remainder of the village before 09.00 was that there were very few other tourists to get in the way of Kevin's photography. For some reason we were followed by dogs wherever we went. We always seem to attract dogs! 

The views from the village were excellent and looking down we could see houses nestled into the rock face. Although sunny we were very high up and it was cold requiring us to wear a fleece for the first time in months.

Our next visit was to St-Remy-de-Provence, a short drive north. It is a larger town than Les Baux and was very busy with a Sunday street market. The town has two claims to fame. Van Gogh spent a year in the psychiatric hospital and produced 150 works of art there. Secondly, the astrologer Nostradamus was born here in 1503. Outside the town are remains of an ancient Roman city. The centre of the town is a compact tangle of narrow lanes and alleyways, small squares and fountains. It was a joy to explore.

Our next destination was Beziers and we took the scenic route, avoiding motorways, through the Camargue. It is a huge area of wetlands, pastures and salt flats. We saw the mountains of harvested sea salt shimmering in the sunshine. There were black bulls, white horses and of course pink flamingos. We had lunch there taking care not to allow any of the famous Camargue mosquitos into the van. 

We completed today's journey at Villeneuve de Beziers and parked alongside the Canal du Midi. It's a compact village with a boulangerie, Spar supermarket and a police station with a marvellous mural painted on its side wall. The boats have to go through a lock at this village, always entertaining for the onlooker. There is actually a British narrowboat moored up here. Hopefully we can have a chat and discover their story. Tomorrow we go to the Dethleffs dealer a few km away as we have a problem with the lock on the habitation door. 

Monday 7 October

Nothing but bad news greeted us from the Dethleffs dealer. The lock is terminal and requires a complete new mechanism. We also need a part for the forward roof hatch above the drop down bed. One of the handles that push the window up has snapped. Apparently you can't just fit a part and the the part we really need is a whole new hatch. With fitting that will be €739 for the two jobs if you please. So it needs to be done and we have bite the bullet. 30% deposit paid and a 7-10 day wait for the parts to arrive. 

On the up side we like where we are situated on the side of the Midi canal there are no mosquitos. The town will supply our needs admirably. Plus, we are having an enforced rest after rather a hectic time in St Tropez. So not a hardship at all, in fact we quite enjoy being lazy sometimes.

Tuesday 8 to Saturday 12 October

We are having a very good 'holiday' alongside the canal. Cycle rides are a pleasure, obviously no hills to negotiate. We have ventured in both directions and the more interesting excursion was to Les Neuf Ecluses at Foncerannes. A 9 lock staircase just south of Beziers. We watched a boat ascending the locks. Interestingly, the lady lock keeper didn't move the boat up one lock at a time. She flooded 3 locks to the same water level so the boat made rapid progress up the staircase. We chatted about Petra's Dad, Alan and stepmum June who travelled the length of the Canal du Midi just over 30 years ago in their 28' yacht 'Deerstalker'. The trip was quite an adventure and Alan wrote lengthy letters to us describing their time on the waterways of France and beyond. These letters are carefully preserved in Petra's family archive. (That is to say, a storage box in Portsmouth).

We have chatted to the owner of the British narrow boat, Esmerelda. He had the vessel transported to France and has lived in this place for 5 years and unsurprisingly receives plenty of visits from friends and family. He knows Burton upon Trent very well as he used to work for Nestlé in Tutbury. 

There is a campsite close to us and we got chatting to an English couple, Tony & Winnie,  staying there in a large American camper with 3 slide out pieces. We were invited to have an evening with them in their van and they made us drink a lot of French wine. They have an interesting lifestyle with their home in Minorca and a lot of time spent travelling in their camper. They are very interested in boats and sailing and knew most of the classic yachts that we saw in St Tropez. In fact Tony once owned Velsheda having purchased it when it was a bit of a wreck. It was a lovely evening and hopefully we will meet again somewhere in Europe in the future. 

It's Ashley's birthday today so many happy returns. It will be a quieter one than usual with Grace at Uni and Rosie in Mexico. Enjoy your outing with Linda and Ralph and then put your feet up. 

Sunday13 October to Friday 18 October

Beziers (as apposed to Villeneuve de Beziers) is a bit of a dump. We can confirm this as we cycled all the way there up a very steep hill through the closed down centre and on the way to the Cathedral (St-Nazaire) that from the outside looked in need of a good makeover. We couldn’t get inside as it was closed for siesta. The town is famous for Bull fighting and Rugby. Thankfully we saw neither. The best part of the trip out was the view from the top and the cycle ride down the hill back to camp.

On Wednesday 16th we took Bertie to the garage to have his habitation door lock changed over and a new roof hatch to replace the broken one. It all went without a hitch and we left with all repairs carried out and a few goodies, new chairs and two very clever stools that convert into tables with a sort of square tray that sits on top. 

After lunch we headed off towards Carcassonne. We put the co-ordinates into the satnav and made our way merrily along until we came to the city centre. We, like lemmings followed the instructions given to us and we took Bertie further and further down narrow one way streets until it dawned on us that we were clearly not heading for the camping ground. We stopped and Petra walked on to do a reconnaissance. It was confirmed we were up poo street without a paddle. In the end we managed to get ourselves out of the maze of narrow streets and back onto the main road. We took a look at the directions in the Aires book and soon found the correct location. It was miles away from the co-ordinance given in the book but we arrived relieved and ready for a drink.

Refreshed, we took a short walk to the old cite. We really loved this place. Yes it has been rebuilt but so what it was great to see a mediaeval city intact and not just a ruin two feet out of the ground. The walk around the cite was enchanting full of lovely character and charm, not to mention the souvenir shops and bars. 

The next day Petra went for an early morning walk around the cite lices before the crowds arrived, whilst I stayed with Bertie. One by one all the camper vans on the site left and we were the only one remaining. The car park is quite large and on our own we stood out like a saw thumb. Better safe than sorry.

After coffee we headed off again and with all our visits over we wanted to make our way to Spain and Calpe as soon as possible. Motorways all the way. The advantage of going on the motorway is they are empty. We have heard that because they are toll the Spanish won’t use them because of the financial straights they are in. Anyway we had them to ourselves and we put Bertie on 95kph and sat and watched the kilometres drift by. By 3pm we had arrived at our evening stop over. We stayed here last year and they offer free camping if you eat in their restaurant. Something we were more than willing to do. The site is called San Rafael del Rio and is run by a German couple but the book says they are Croatian and Spanish, I don't know. Anyway the steak was great and with a free stay over night all the sweeter.

The road journey the following day was the same as the day before. We made our way back to the motorway and headed on to Calpe. By the time we came off the motorway network we had spent €83 on tolls. Now, you might think that was a lot but when you work out how much longer it would have taken to drive the same route on the main roads it is small change and really worth the money. Not forgetting there is no stress on an empty motorway. It all made for a very pleasant journey.

Friday 18 October Sunday 17 November

We have been so busy doing jobs on Bertie that I have not had the time to do the blog. Also, and in truth as time goes by and things get more and more behind it becomes very difficult to fire up the little brain sells to start it all up again. I did however make an agreement with myself that once it rains and we have to stay in Bertie, I will sit and start the process of catch up. Guess what? its raining and when its not raining its too cold to sit out. So on with the heater and a big mug of coffee and its away we go. To those few who read the blog regularly, I apologise for the delays.

The first thing to say is we are now safely camped up at our winter location at Odissea Campsite at Calpe, Spain. We have winterised Bertie ready for the 4 month stay. When we arrived the first person to great us was Trevor. Trevor is a man we met here last year and we soon caught and exchanged news. He very kindly took us on a grand tour of Calpe including tapas bars. We also went for the climb up ‘The Rock’ with him which was quite a climb for an ageing threesome, but the views from the top were well worth it. It gave us a great perspective on the area and you can see from the photos the views are amazing. There is even a small colony of lovely coloured cats at the top who seem to make quite a good living from the tit bits people take up with them supplemented with the odd seagull. The climb however is not for the weak of heart and we see a constant supply of helicopters lifting people off the rock. Half way up there is a small tunnel where the climb changes from a sort of except able path to a full blown rocky climb. Incredibly, some people think they can do the climb in flip flops. Why?

WE are camped right in the middle of the picture just above the lake

In the opposite corner to our van was a Hymer, shall we say of aged years and full of character…..The van is owned by Ian and Elspeth and they soon became good friends. They are off to Morocco for the winter so unfortunately couldn't stay for long. We did have their company for two great weeks and again we were introduced to more tapas bars and restaurants. A real nice change for us and a breath of fresh air. We all had many pleasant evenings of drinks and chat in the warm evenings on into the night. Great memories.

Ian and Petra

Guess who

Ian and Elsbeth we miss you

Yes Trev we miss you too...

Always on the look out for cheap food Elspeth had heard of a a place set up by the Spanish in the towns community hall. They provide three course lunch including wine for €5. So off we set with Ian, Trevor and us in tow to try and find it. It was situated in the old quarter of the city and once Elspeth and Trevor (both Glaswegians) had finished arguing about which roads to go down we eventually arrived hungry and ready for our €5 worth. The best part was the wine and the least said about the food the better. Needless to say having had the plate of anaemic fish and crisps (chips) we made our way to the nearest tapas bar.

One to the highlights of our time in Calpe so far is the Moors andChristians festival. This is a week extravaganza of marches, fantastic colourful costumes, fireworks and of course drinking which given the opportunity the Spanish love to do. We went to the parade of the Moors which was quite fantastic. I hope the photos do it justice.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and all our visitors had to go. Trevor left soon after his wife Lilias made a surprise arrival for the weekend from Glasgow and Ian and Elsbeth went a few days later. Not before we had a great meal out though, it was very strange on the site following their departures and very quiet indeed. There are now only three vans from the UK on the site and the other two have huge American vans and have nothing to do with us. I doubt I would recognise them if I bumped into them on site. Still that’s the way it is and fortunately, Petra and I get on very well and are used to being on our own.

Sorry Lil my arm is defiantly browner than yours

Happy memories of a good night out

The one advantage of saying goodbye to our friends as sad as it was was is it gave us the chance to sort out Bertie. With constant use of the van things can happen and it is one of the reason that we park up for the winter.

One problem that has caused us great problems was the failure of our brand new AGM batteries. £400 worth and they are now useless. We had to pay €525 to replace them locally. Because the broken batteries were new we couldn't believe they were at fault and Premier Motorhomes kindly sent us out a replacement EBL 101 charger as a tester to see if it was that that was at fault. It is also with great relief that they are going to credit us with the amount the old batteries cost. We need to have some more work done on the van when we return the the UK so it will come in handy.

Captains Log 17 November 2013

Bertie……

When we purchased Bertie, lets face it, we were in a hurry. Campy was cold, leaked like a sieve and the windows ran with condensation. It was March, snowing and we needed a quick solution. We saw Bertie on the internet, liked it and decided sight unseen it was the one for us. We have been delighted with the van for all sorts of aspects and it suits our needs very well indeed. It is compact enough to park in most places but has plenty of room inside to spread out as we wish. Its easy to drive and is well insulated making it nice and warm. We like the layout and the quality of the fittings etc. 

However, we have learnt Bertie has a chequered history and the poor lamb has had more than his share of problems. His life started in August 2008 where he was the first I4 to come off the production line. He is left hand drive which is rather odd as upon completion it was shipped to Allen Kerr the Dealer in the South East of England. Bertie sat on his forecourt for some 18 months presumably as a demonstrator before he was eventually sold and registered on a 2010 number plate. 

We were told by Premier Motorhomes in Chichester where we bought the van, that the previous owner took the van abroad some 5000 miles away from the UK, stopped for year (living in it) and then drove the 5000 miles back again. He then returned to the UK and upgraded to a new and larger van. Bertie was back on the forecourt where it looks like it stayed for another 18 months until we came along and in our rush took him into our care.

There are advantages to the above in that the van has had very little use so mechanically it is very sound indeed. For this kind of vehicle and engine 10000 miles is nothing. I had the breaks looked at and was told ‘they are like new’. Also, for a van its age there appeared to be very little wear and tear inside. 

One thing for sure we could never have afforded to buy a van of this quality new as it would have been way above our budget and it was fitted out with all sorts of attractive add on’s such as solar panel, TV, Webasto diesel heating and Camos Satellite system, bike rack etc. Totalling a substantial amount of money. The hand over went very well and Bertie looked resplendent in the workshop where he had been placed out of the rain. All the lights were on and the heating was on it all looked perfect.

Since then and of course living in the van full time you soon get to know your van and small things seem to coming to your notice perhaps need repairing. I have to say if like me you are a perfectionist a second user van is not the way to go. We have had some major things go wrong on our travels and we have put right any number of trivial things that annoy us. Don't think mind you, if you buy new that your troubles are over because from what we have learnt new builds have just as many problems.

Any way here is a list of all the things we have done to Bertie to bring him back to how we feel he should be. Some are from the time we purchased the van some are things are beyond our control and some we have chosen to do ourselves. Yes, It has cost us a small fortune but still a lot less than having a brand new van and we do have a van we really like and feels like ours. A lot of the jobs could have been left and I dare say a lot of people will be wondering why we bothered but, thats the way we are and we love it. Another spin off, is we really know our van and feel more confident about doing some of the work ourselves saving a fortune in labour charges. We also live in a community of same minded people who are always very willing to help or give advice.

Repairs

Replace front hatch as handle had shattered plastic very brittle
Replace complete door lock mechanism as lock broken. common fault with Dethleffs
Replace two tyres as worn and old (wear not commensurate with miles done on vehicle)
Replace roof rails supports old ones corroded and paint bubbled
Re-cover the pilot seat as it has cigarette burn
Had to have middle cushion on rear bed recovered as it had mildew.
Had to have the drivers base seat dismantled and re-stitched as it came apart
April - replace habitation battery as wrong one supplied with vehicle and have fitted second battery
November - Fault with new batteries resulting in them both being replaced
Had corrosion to bodywork made good
Repaired drivers door pocket as coming adrift… twice!
Repair top glove box as pin had broken. Our fault…
Repair broken middle lockable glove box lid as lock broken. (Premier still to replace)
Thermal coupler replaced on hob after two engineers tried to repair by cleaning
Webesco heater exhaust had to be put right after falling off
Old bike rack wrong type for van type and incorrectly installed allowing water ingress metal support put in garage to give it strength
New gaslow gas system had a gas leak. Turned out it had a bit of grit under the rubber washer and had been there from installation
Driver’s and passenger seat arm rests keep coming loose. Told they could not be tightened up. I managed it but they do keep coming undone
Fly screen door had a broken string managed to dismantle and repair it ourselves
Wires hanging down at the back of the van.
Had to have the dashboard secured as coming apart at the join
Windscreen had to have a crack filled
Replaced external white door retainers x3
Replaced satellite dome on roof as original brittle cracked and broken
Replace broken corner panel including red reflector
Repaired as best as could area around control panel where surface has been ripped
Repair rear roof blind as wire has worn plastic making it stiff to open and shut
Fixed a leak from the shower to the external toilet cassette bay

Replacements

Remove useless analog arial from roof including wire, make good 
Tidy the wires behind the box above the pilot seat looked like a nest of wires
Remove the two gland boxes from roof and replace with one only, make good
Replace thin wire on new batteries connecting the two together with thicker wire
Replace two push button door catches as both faulty, sticking
Replace garage door seals on both sides of van as old scuffed and rusted
Replace sink and hob rubber seals as they had cuts and bits missing from them
Replace water and fuel caps. Water cap twice and still leaks.
Made new floor for garage cupboard as supplied woefully inadequate
Replaced bike rack as one supplied damaged
Bathroom sink stained yellow (to be done on our return to UK March)
Shower movable door cracked on bottom (to be done on our return to UK March)
The floor pan has hairline cracks around plug hole (to be done on our return to UK March)
No vehicle hand book was supplied with the van so we have no record other than receipts as to what services have been carried out. We have one now.
Replaced broken garage door handle as lock came out.
Replaced fridge control knob as cracked and broken

Cosmetics\ other

Put magnetic catches on two cupboard doors
Refill holes on bumper with sycoflex and put caps on top
Clean and secure tow eye cover (front bumper) with sycoflex
Removed unwanted lateral roof bars to save weight and as unused
Had to sort out radio as it was on demo mode and drove us mad to look at. No manual given so had to down load from internet.
Non Dethleffs rubbish bin was supplied with the van that was unsightly cost £80 to have proper bin installed
Lots of internal screw caps were missing had to order from Dethleffs
Missing blue fabric button cover on coat hook area
Supply and fit plastic caps for all rivets under body
changed all the bulbs to LED
Renovate alloy wheels as pitted with black and paint wheel nuts with aluminium paint
Replace television and hide the wiring

Things we have done to make things more comfortable

Had external gas fitting installed
Make window screens for drivers area to protect curtains from the sun
Make awning screen
Had TomTom wire installed.
Had to have a booster seat as drivers seat non adjustable.
Put hanging rail in garage for clothes
Securing rails in garage
Thetford toilet cassette freshen up kit. Old cassette full of scale and unsavoury.
Made bolster cushion and two small cushions in same blue material as seats

Still to do….

The clock above the door keeps losing time and eats batteries
Habitation table was spoilt with glue stains which will not come off and a heavy object cracking the top
Need a new front drivers area carpet

Well that’s quite a list of faults and when you look at it it is difficult to believe we have done all those things since March. But there it is, I am sure a lot of people wouldn't have bothered with half amount of the thinks we have done. Bertie is our home and he has got to last us for some time to come. We are of the view that if we were living in a house we would make sure it all worked and was in good condition. If a wind was broken you would fix it, likewise if the exhaust falls of the car you have a new one. We have both in one nice convenient little box and he has to be looked after. We are very aware of the fact that if you put your house on wheels and drive it nonstop around Europe you cannot expect the odd bit to drop off now and then. Lets hope they are all small from now on.

We have one more box of bits to come from Premier by the end of the month and that will as far as we are concerned complete the renovation process and we can do very little more. It has been a bit stressful at times not only from the faults that have materialised but financially as well. Premier did give a warranty with the van but it really isn't worth the paper its written on where anything other than a major mechanical failure is concerned. In hind site would we do anything different….you bet we would. instead of a morning hand over I would have a two day hand over and I would go over the van with a fine tooth comb. Every system nut and bolt would be checked from tip to toe. The Dealer (Premier Motorhomes) to be fair has stepped up to the plate when needed and they have been very helpful indeed in all sorts of ways. So we really don’t have a complaint against them. We signed the paper Caveat Emptor  and we took on the van warts and all. 

On the up side we now have a Motorhome in remarkably good condition with vertically no faults and cosmetically sound. So many people come to us and say it looks like new, it makes it all the effort in cleaning and polishing worthwhile. Regardless we love the life and we will continue to do it as long as we and of course Bertie can do so.

As we are now parked up for the winter we will not be posting on the Blog very regularly. We will of course keep you informed of any thing exciting that happens and post it on Facebook.

Cheers me dears!