The campervan place in Vera finally got the part in that we’d been waiting for so we dropped it off one morning and continued on in the car to Mojacar for a couple of hours. It was a bit early for lunch so we just had some tapas, which were just delicious.
It was super windy and the palm trees along the promenade were almost bent in half from the force, but it wasn’t really cold. We were sheltered a bit under an awning and it was quite pleasant sitting and watching all of the little birds come around and scrounge for scraps.
The water was very blue, and the whitecaps were beautiful.
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The ‘check engine’ light came on shortly after we left the campervan place but we continued back to the house. We were planning to leave back to France the next morning but were forced to wait a day because of the extreme weather warnings for the wind. The advice was to stay home unless you had urgent business. The power went off and on several times and the wind was fierce but we came through without much damage.
Leaving a day later than planned we went to our mechanic just outside Albox to get the check engine light looked into – Colin in the campervan and myself in the black beemer. They hooked up the diagnostic tool and we were told it was ok to drive – one of the filters just hadn’t finished a ‘self-cleaning’ and the best thing to do was drive it fast for a while – alright!
We arranged to take three days of travel and meet for the first night in Teruel which shouldn’t have been too long a day. However…the spanish farmers were taking their turn at protesting and I encountered them twice. The first time was on the main motorway between Lorca and Murcia. At first I thought it might be an accident – three lanes of traffic were funneled into one, then off the motorway and onto a secondary road. We moved very slowly and there were dozens of police along the way with lights flashing directing the traffic.
Finally we passed the cause of the jam – about a mile of tractors and other equipment clogging up the motorway, and at the far end all of the drivers having a bit of a party. There was music and everything.
Once past we were led back onto the motorway and I started making good time again. My GPS turned me north at Murcia, and about 45 minutes along I came across another slow down. This time it wasn’t quite so bad, and I didn’t notice tractors, but rather just a couple hundred men blocking the road, surrounded by police holding them back. We were able to inch around them without a large detour and were once again on our way. Encountering no more protests I still made it to Teruel before dark and was even greeted by a lovely rainbow – I took that as a sign of better things to come.
It was a pretty early and quiet night accompanied by rain off and on. The morning was bright enough and we each got on our way by 9:00. The drive to the French border was fairly easy and Colin and I met for the night at the large shopping centre with no problem. Another early and quiet night, with more rain.
The drive north wasn’t bad, although the rain during the last hour or so was very heavy. It was good to get back to the house, and I quickly turned the water on, as well as the water heater and the wi-fi connection.
There had been a lot of rain here during the last several weeks, and the river just keeps getting higher and higher.
We took the campervan down to Angouleme to get the ‘check engine’ alert dealt with and had to leave it there while they ordered a part – unfortunately it wasn’t just going to fix itself by driving it.
We had a meal out at Le Breuil, not far outside the small town of Verdille. It was excellent, starting with soup (served in our own pot at the table) followed by self-serve salad bar, then the main course. I had pork with mushroom sauce, served with cauliflower in a creamy tarragon sauce – just delicious! The owner has his own vineyards and winery, as well as makes his own cheese.
The rain kept coming and the river kept rising, finally breaching the banks a little at a time. A few days later the whole area became a lake – hippodrome, campground…everything under a couple feet of water.
Everywhere we go the fields along the road have ponds in the middle because they just can’t drain anymore.
Because we couldn’t get down to the campground to walk Max we went to another park – I’m not sure why I’ve never been to it before but it was lovely.
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 