Hello Folks,
Thought it was about time we gave you an update, on our travels – whether you want it or not.
We have now been full timing in our Burstner 747 for 20 months - 14 months of which we have been gallivanting around Europe.
We have clocked up just under 20.000 miles, and visited 8 countries.
We have gone from elated, through, gob smacked to disappointed then totally shattered, but loved every minute of it.
We have gone from being afraid of our own shadows to being seasoned travellers, and able to pass on our help, advice and experiences to loads of lovely folks we have met along the way.
We feel we chose right with our van, only three things we would change, one, the eye level oven that I defy death with each time I take anything out of it, fearing I will have my facial feature re arranged by one of my piping hot creations, two, a bigger freezer, an inch of ice around the small in fridge freezer and I can only manage to keep a small packet of peas and one fish finger in, three, electric immersion heater. Having been on hook up so often it would have been nice to use the electric we were paying for rather than our gas. Apart from that we love our Bertie beer belly (so named because poor thing is always stuffed full).
Having the scooter aboard has been a God send. Getting to all those out of the way places that Bertie would never had managed made the world of difference, also choosing a 125cc rather than a smaller model was also a clever move. We have met so many couples who had a 50cc with woeful tales of the ¨missus¨ having to jump off and walk up hills on numerous occasions.
Another clever move – from my point of view - was bringing along an ancient Electra spin dryer. We can use this off the inverter where ever we are, rain or shine I can get the washing done – even if the inside of the van looks like a Chinese laundry on those rainy days!
Clever move number...?... Oh well, whatever the number.... to have a Gaslow and Spanish bottle aboard. Anywhere but Spain we can use Gaslow , many of the petrol stations in other countries have LPG. When in Spain, a quick switch over to the (Cepsa)bottle and we are all set again.
Little foot note re Spanish gas bottles. You cannot just go to Spain and buy a bottle from a petrol station. You have to get a certificate to prove your vehicles gas system is safe, which is a lot of red tape, however *coughs* if you go to a local flea market you buy an empty gas bottle, for between €10 to €15 which you can exchange for a full bottle - no questions asked, at the corresponding garage for around about €13. You will however, have to make sure you have the right connector for that bottle, which can be easily, bought in most hardware stores.
So, do we have any regrets? Oh yes, we regret missing the below zero temperatures back in the UK during this last winter, we regret waking up to a different view through the window every few days, we regret having zero stress and having nothing more to worry about than shall we head for the mountains or the coast – by main or picturesque road – NOT!
Finally, we met up with Mr & Mrs Tubbytuba who want us to say Hi to everyone and to tell you that they are having a whale of a time.
We are coming to you, courtesy of a Spanish, Vodafone, Pay and you go, mobile modem, that here in Oliva, Spain, has the connection speed of Broadband, however, in Requena, 60 miles in land, in the mountains would not even go as fast as our Avatar!!!
That’s all folks – as the saying goes – but, if anyone is thinking of doing as we are doing, and have any doubts or questions, please feel free to PM us, and as long as we can get on line will be only too glad to reply.
Bi for now
Sandy & Graham
Thought it was about time we gave you an update, on our travels – whether you want it or not.
We have now been full timing in our Burstner 747 for 20 months - 14 months of which we have been gallivanting around Europe.
We have clocked up just under 20.000 miles, and visited 8 countries.
We have gone from elated, through, gob smacked to disappointed then totally shattered, but loved every minute of it.
We have gone from being afraid of our own shadows to being seasoned travellers, and able to pass on our help, advice and experiences to loads of lovely folks we have met along the way.
We feel we chose right with our van, only three things we would change, one, the eye level oven that I defy death with each time I take anything out of it, fearing I will have my facial feature re arranged by one of my piping hot creations, two, a bigger freezer, an inch of ice around the small in fridge freezer and I can only manage to keep a small packet of peas and one fish finger in, three, electric immersion heater. Having been on hook up so often it would have been nice to use the electric we were paying for rather than our gas. Apart from that we love our Bertie beer belly (so named because poor thing is always stuffed full).
Having the scooter aboard has been a God send. Getting to all those out of the way places that Bertie would never had managed made the world of difference, also choosing a 125cc rather than a smaller model was also a clever move. We have met so many couples who had a 50cc with woeful tales of the ¨missus¨ having to jump off and walk up hills on numerous occasions.
Another clever move – from my point of view - was bringing along an ancient Electra spin dryer. We can use this off the inverter where ever we are, rain or shine I can get the washing done – even if the inside of the van looks like a Chinese laundry on those rainy days!
Clever move number...?... Oh well, whatever the number.... to have a Gaslow and Spanish bottle aboard. Anywhere but Spain we can use Gaslow , many of the petrol stations in other countries have LPG. When in Spain, a quick switch over to the (Cepsa)bottle and we are all set again.
Little foot note re Spanish gas bottles. You cannot just go to Spain and buy a bottle from a petrol station. You have to get a certificate to prove your vehicles gas system is safe, which is a lot of red tape, however *coughs* if you go to a local flea market you buy an empty gas bottle, for between €10 to €15 which you can exchange for a full bottle - no questions asked, at the corresponding garage for around about €13. You will however, have to make sure you have the right connector for that bottle, which can be easily, bought in most hardware stores.
So, do we have any regrets? Oh yes, we regret missing the below zero temperatures back in the UK during this last winter, we regret waking up to a different view through the window every few days, we regret having zero stress and having nothing more to worry about than shall we head for the mountains or the coast – by main or picturesque road – NOT!
Finally, we met up with Mr & Mrs Tubbytuba who want us to say Hi to everyone and to tell you that they are having a whale of a time.
We are coming to you, courtesy of a Spanish, Vodafone, Pay and you go, mobile modem, that here in Oliva, Spain, has the connection speed of Broadband, however, in Requena, 60 miles in land, in the mountains would not even go as fast as our Avatar!!!
That’s all folks – as the saying goes – but, if anyone is thinking of doing as we are doing, and have any doubts or questions, please feel free to PM us, and as long as we can get on line will be only too glad to reply.
Bi for now
Sandy & Graham
