Week three - travelling around Sardinia

 After our admin was completed we headed to our stop on the beach for the night. It involved a dirt track (when does it not) but it wasn’t too bad of a drive and we got to park up parallel to the sea and look out over it as the sun when down. It was hotter now so we were able to have the window open all night and listen to the waves lapping the shore all night. The next morning we got up and surprise surprise it was run day so we headed off on a run around the coast, I prefer these runs as its usually got a nice breeze but also they tend to be flatter than many other runs. After getting back and having breakfast and a shower we packed up and hit the road again and headed south to a beach. We made it to Spiaggia Punta Molentis which is a outcrop of land. The beach was lovely and sandy and we stayed there for awhile until the sun went behind a very large ominous looking grey cloud. Given the breeze and the grey could we decided to head into the van for an hour or so and have a hot chocolate (thank you Judi) while the weather past. We then headed back out on the beach for a hour or so before the sun was going down.  We planned to stay the night in the car park of the beach so we moved the van to a flatter stop and relaxed for the evening.

 

The next morning we woke up to grey clouds and the start of some rain so we decided to get some chores done. We headed into the largest town here called Villasimus where there was a supermarket for some food and a laundrette where we could get our first wash done (as it has almost been three weeks). Once everything was washed and either dried or hanging in the van (the items that cannot be tumbled dried) we had breakfast and headed to a nearby saltwater lake as the little rain this morning has dried up. . We walked around the lake birdwatching and saw some oyster catchers and some flamingos – the first we have seen this trip.  They are very elegant and while not as pink as you might expect they have some very pink feathers below their outer feathers and they have very long swan like necks. We then headed back to the van and carried on driving this time more inland into the forests where I have found a walk and a cycle for us to do tomorrow. We headed to our planned stop for the night to find it wasn’t as nice as it had sounded on the app and most importantly it had no data or signal and I hadn’t downloaded the routes. So after a short walk (where a large dog backed and scared us) to see if we could find any signal (we couldn’t) so we jumped back into the van and retraced our drive to see where we could get data. We decided to give one of the other stops ago as it sounded nice but the drive to it could be sketchy but given how quiet the roads were we didn’t think it should be an issue. It really wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be and not long after driving up a paved road we found the stop and pulled in. This stop is surrounded by woodlands and oak cork trees which are stripped of their cork bark up to about head hight. There was only one problem with this stop, it was a little two quiet! As we were protected by the woods there was no wind, the only noise we could hear over night was the wildlife outside including the cuckoo bird and other birds. It did freak us out for a second as we could hear something outside but we realised it was out water pump  because a tap was left open a tiny fraction (this had never happened before so we had not heard the noise before). Eventually we got to sleep and there were no more unusual noises.

 

The next morning we got up and got the bikes ready for our cycle. Rich planned it (big mistake) and off we set. Little did I know it was a mountain bike route and there were several large rocky hills we had to navigate but we managed them and then we got to a section where the water/ a small river) crosses the path and so we needed to cycle up the river for a short section. Rich went first and it was not long before hit foot entered the water to stabilize himself. He then walked the rest of the way with his bike as the issue had been large rocks in the centre which he hadn’t seen. I headed off, knowing about the rocks but I to struggled at the centre point but managed to land my foot on the dry rocky side and walked the bike through the rough section and then managed to cycle through the rest, surviving with two dry(ish) feet. We continued the cycle up and down hills until we got to a very steep and rocky/sandy hill. This was a problem as it was really difficult to even push the bikes up it (especially my heavy on) and we didn’t know what the rest of the path had in store for us. I went to have a look at some of the path and it looked okay but pushing my bike up this hill just wasn’t happening so we turned around and headed back. We again navigated the many hills and both had to cross the river again, both making it with fairly dry feet this time and finally after some time made it back to the paved path and this time followed the paved road up the mountain. While this was might not have been a rugged it was a darn sight easier, albeit it was a continual up hill slog. Finally we made it to the top and then headed off onto the different paths to get across the hills, but these paths were far easier to ride. We made it to a rock shaped like a mushroom, which had great views down to the capital Caligari before cycling around and seeing some of the different view points. We then decided to head back down the hill to the van, with a stop at a Nuraghe on the way down. We managed to get to the van safely and remained on the paved roads before grabbing some food and driving a little way down the hill for a walk. We only did a short walk in the nature reserve area before deciding it was a little warm and heading back to the van and continuing our drive to Cagliari.

 

We found a park up near the sea front where a couple of Belgium vans were already parked up and while it was an okay spot it was a bit remote, especially when the other van left and we weren’t that happy to leave the van there. We decided to head to the harbour which was only a short walk into the city and park there for the night (it had better reviews and was less remote). Once there we headed out to the city and walked around many of the sights exploring in the baking sun. We walked to the Bastione Di Saint Remy which is an iconic structure which you can climb and has a large plaza with great views over the city. We then walked into the old town and around the hotchpotch of streets and found the cathedral, the two towers which were used for fortification and the town hall. We then meandered back down to the city via the Roman amphitheatre and past the botanical gardens (which were unfortunately closed already). We then headed into the main square of the town for a beer at an Irish pub and dinner at a nice Vegan restaurant (one of two in the city). We both had two courses and I had a limoncello cocktail (when in Italy!). Then we waddled back to the van and settled in for the rest of the night. However little did we know we had parked near a night club (and it was a Friday night) and while we got to sleep it all seemed to kick off at 1am as people started to leave meaning there were loads of noise and cars. After an hour it quietened back down but it did keep us awake for at least an hour. It is probably the worst night sleep we have had but it wasn’t that bad all in all. The next morning, after a lie in, we cycled back into town to see a couple more things, including the cathedral again as I hadn’t realised we had already seen it (its not as grand as many of the cathedrals we have seen in Italy -Rich wasn’t impressed by this as it was on top of a large hill which we had already walked and now cycled up), a vegan supermarket and the civic market (which is the largest covered food market in Italy) before heading back to the van.

 

Then we headed off West across the island to another little island called Sant’Antioco which is connected by a road bridge. We headed straight to Spiaggua Di Maladroxia for the afternoon/night and parked up next to the beach. We walked around the area and planned a run for the morning while admiring the sun setting and the relaxed atmosphere of the beach. The next morning we headed off for a short run around the headland, which was hillier than expected and therefore quite tiring. After some breakfast we headed the short walk to the beach and enjoyed the morning sun (when its not too hot but still around 20-23 degrees) and relaxed before we got the paddleboard out and played on the water for awhile. After a couple of hours we headed back to the van for food and to get ready to carry on our journey. We got ready and made a couple of stops on the island before we planned to leave and head up north on the West coast. The first stop was a 10 minute walk from the car park and was called Arco Dei Baci – Is Praneddas which is an archway from the land, made by the volcanic rock which is present around the area. This archway creates a protected little pool of water (although its still unsafe to swim if its rough seas). We could have tried to walk down to the pools but decided to give it a miss and headed back to the van to head to our next stop which was the Cala Grotta which is a large cave. This was again about a 10 minute walk from the car park and did have lots of young locals hanging out but this time we walked all the way down so that we could see into the cave and watched the locals jump off the sides into the deep dark sea. After taking some pictures (and not being brave enough to jump in) we headed back to the van and headed on the long drive north to another beach where we planned to park but by the time we got there it was already busy with campers and after seeing if there was somewhere we could fit in and failing we decided to go a little further north to yet another beach. This time we found space at Spiaggia Di Mansua and the thing we noticed first is how many paddleboarders there were in the car park all deflating or packing away their paddleboards. This must mean there is something good around here! We got out and firstly had to admire the views, they were stunning. We could see a stack out in the sea and research told us this was Pan di Zucchero (Sugarloaf) which is 133 meters high and the highest sea stack in the Med.  The sun was setting behind the cliffs and the colours ranged from the turquoise sea to the orange and then pink and purple skies and I could have stared at it all day.  We soon found out you could easily paddle to the sea stack and down the coast with lots to see (how much and how far was dependent on what you wanted to do) but there were also 4 hour rib tours available – showing how far you could go on this stretch of coast. However you need to be careful as the seas can get rough. We settled in the for the night and made plans for tomorrow.

 

The next morning we got up and headed straight out onto the sea as it was like glass, with barely a wave. We first paddled along the coast to Port Flavia which is an old mine built into the cliff and has a tunnel which allowed the mine to empty the mineral production straight into the ships from the mine. It was really interesting to see how it was carved out and how it linked local mines to the ships. We then paddled over to Sugarloaf and through one of the two arches around the back and through the arch the other way and headed back to the beach having completed around 4km in total. Once we were back we had breakfast and saw that it was starting to get busy making us glad we went early as we were the only ones on the sea at that point. After cleaning off we headed inland to see an old roman temple called Temple of Antas which was built in 500 BC. It still has some of the columns which measure 8 metres tall and some of the steps. While there we also saw an old Nuragic village and a 200 year old cork oak tree. It was a lovely site in the mountains and we enjoyed walking around it before heading back to the van and continued northwards, with a mandatory stop at a supermarket for some food, to a camperstop for the evening where we can service the van and where we hoped there was WIFI so we could get some admin done as we haven’t had WIFI since we left the UK.

I know I left it here somewhere - Flamingo fishing

Flamingo sleeping

More flamingos 

Mushroom Rock at the top of the forest 

Seven brothers - a range of hills that were in the forest park and could also be seen from Caligari  

The Cork oak trees - the cork is stripped every 9 years once the tree turns 25

Bastione Di Saint Remy with the large plaza at the top

The arch of Bastione Di Saint Remy

The view over Caligari from the Plaza

More views

Statues on the old buildings

The Cathedral of Caligari  

One of the old streets

Roman amphitheatre 

Bird of paradise, spotted in town 

Arco Dei Baci – Is Praneddas

The coastline and tower from Arco Dei Baci – Is Praneddas

Cala Grotta

Cala Grotta

The view to Sugarloaf from the road

Temple of Antas 

Lizards roamed around the temple

Another view of the temple

The 200 year old cork oak tree

Another old street in old town in Caligari 

An old car in Caligari

Sugarloaf at sunset

Sugarloaf from the paddleboard, the water was soo calm

Porto Flavia in the rocks

One of the two arches we paddled through on sugarloaf

Week two - We made it to Sardinia

 Sorry I was going to post this at the weekend but we have been staying at stops near the beach and in the woods which has basically meant we have had no data. 

We walked in the park a little but mostly sat in the sun enjoying the warm (over 20 degrees) and the lovely views over the sea and villages below. We enjoyed a nice dinner on our chairs outside which has been the first time this trip that its been warm enough to do it. The next morning we headed back down all the hill and jumped onto the toll road to Sestri Levante where we parked up in a residential area and headed to the beach for the morning. We lazed on the beach enjoying the sun which is now getting to 25 degrees and even had a swim the sea (well Rich swam and I paddled. It feels like a holiday now! Later we headed to the town to grab a focaccia and headed back to the van for lunch. We then headed further south to a town called Camaiore where there was a nice serviced camperstop. We parked up and jumped on the bikes and headed to the seaside. We got down there and found an ice cream shop and got ourselves one (vegan pistachio and chocolate hazelnut) before we headed across the beach. We managed to get on the beach easily but as we walked down it soon became obvious that all the lidos meant we couldn’t actually get off it. Finally we found an exit only to find it was blocked so we carried on and eventually found a bar we could sneak through and back to the town. We stopped at a shop to get a sim card so that both of us can use data which was fairly simple and means we have more than a few gigabytes for the rest of the month. Afterwards we headed back to the bikes and back to the stop as it was now 6pm and finally cooling down a little. Back at the van we met a nice British couple and chatted to them for awhile, and learnt that they were in Norway last year at the same time as us and left UK this time around the same time as us (stalkers), before we cooked some dinner and settled in

 The next day we got up and serviced the van before heading off down the toll road to Livorno. We managed to get there alright but when we stopped at the petrol station and realised they had no diesel and ended up driving round some very small and tight lanes to finally get some diesel. A quick stop at lidls as well and we were finally headed to the port. We parked up here and headed into the town only to realise its Labour day over here so most things are shut and there really isn’t much to do in Livorno. We headed back to the van for lunch and to get ready for our ferry to Sardina this evening. Its an overnight ferry (we did book a day time one but it was cancelled so they offered us an overnight one with a free cabin which we were happy to accept!).        

When it was getting closer to the time we had to head to the ferry we realised this was quite a big port and we had no idea where we needed to be. We walked to the ticket office and they told us which bay we needed but then we walked out and tried to find it, I asked security and we soon figured it out, but we still had to try and navigate the one way system to get there. Once there it was chaotic getting on the ship. There seemed no organisation to the madness and the men/boys directing traffic just picked which ever lane they wanted to go forward for some amount of time then stopped them and repicked a lane at random. I say lane but really it was just a mass of traffic all trying to go the same way but having no idea when they would be picked. We eventually squeezed our way into a lane that was going but we had already been sat like a lemon queuing the British way for 15 mins. The traffic by now was really thinned out so it was too difficult to squeeze with the other cars into their lanes. The ferry crossing was okay, not too wavy and fairly quiet meaning we both got some sleep in the cabin but we were up at 5 as we knew we would have to leave the cabin about 6 to 6-30am and we both wanted a shower. We also wanted time to have a bit of tea and pack everything up. Once we got kicked out of the cabin we waited in reception till we docked and oohed and aahed at all the dogs that came by, including the rescue greyhound that sat next to us. There were lots of dogs onboard the ship. Once it was time to get down and into the van we hastily jumped in as it appeared we were one of the first off the boat, maybe all the mayhem getting on was worth it.

 

We drove straight out of the city, as we had read that while there are parking lots they may not always be the safest, and headed to a nearby Nuragic site with tombs and a castle. Here we met another British couple who were touring Europe as well and had just come over from Spain. We chatted to them about our different plans and places we must go. We had some breakfast and fed the local dog, who looked to be a stray dog, and then climbed up to the castle and had a look around, including a bit of plane spotting for Rich as we were close to the airport, before jumping on the bikes and headed back to Olbia to have an explore. We cycled around the city and looked at the old church, the port and sat in a café in the main square for a coffee. However the café seemed a little over-run and despite going in to order and being sent back outside to sit a waitress never came over so we decided to give it a miss and head back to the van.

We pack up and headed out to the supermarket and then our planned park up for the night at Porto San Paolo. Here at the port there was a great view over to Travolara which is an island off the mainland. A storm was coming in and it was fabulous to watch it and hear the thunder as it travelled over the Travolara island and mostly miss us on the mainland, albeit it did rain when we tried to explore a little bit, twice. We managed to settle in a nice space looking out to the sea, with several other vans, when the British couple arrived and they also parked up. However they didn’t manage to stay there long as some people wanted to launch boats off the boat slipway so several vans had to move but once they launched the 4 boats, which was entertaining as it took several men and lots of gesticulating to launch the boats, most vans moved back into place and we all settled in for the evening.

The next morning we got up and went for a run around the nearby park which had a 1km loop and did some stretching before heading back to the van for breakfast. One of our potential plans for today was to get the paddleboard and paddle out to the island as it was around 5km out to sea but we decided against it as it was windy and blustery out there so instead we headed down south and stopped at a beach called Spiaggia Lu Impostu which alongside its neighbouring beach, called Cala Brandinchi, are called Little Tahiti due to their clear turquoise waters, soft white sand and stunning outlooks. We found an area which was protected from the wind and settled in to relax and enjoy the sunshine and the 25 degree weather. The beach was large but due to the wind there were only about 20 people on it so we had a whole stretch to ourselves meaning we could swim while leaving our things on the beach in safety. After a couple of hours and before we got burnt we headed back to the van and further south to a town, called Posada, built into the hilltop in the hopes that we could watch the sun go down at the castle. We got there and parked at the bottom and climbed through the town to the top of the hill to find the castle had closed an hour earlier. However the views out from the top of the town were still stunning and we could see for miles around and out to sea. After admiring the view and taking some pictures, including pictures of cats who we found on our way up, we headed back down and back to the van. We decided to head to the beach to sleep so went to Spiaggia Di Sutt’e Riu where there is a long boardwalk to reach the beach from the car park and it was lovely and peaceful with only a couple of cars/vans for the evening.

 

The next morning we got up and went to see the beach and to see the hill top town from down below before we headed back to the van and continued our drive down south to Oasi Biderosa which is a huge 860 hectare National park which spans the coast, with 5 coves, and contains several ponds for bird watching. They limit the number of cars and there are no campers allowed in the park during the summer but currently the park is closed to all vehicles so we parked up at the start and headed in on bikes. The park has great cycle routes around it and it was a really good way to get out and see the different areas. We got to one of the first coves quite quickly and stopped to have a look at it for a bit before jumping back on the bike and following the path further into the park. After awhile we found a track going up to a panoramic point and it allowed bikes, therefore it must be suitable for bikes…… We started up and it wasn’t too bad, especially for me on the E-bike. Rich had to get off and walk after a short bit and I carried on until the larger rocks and slippery gravel made it too hard. We both managed to push our bikes up to the section that started with the stairs. We then tied the bikes up and carried on walking to the top. The views out were great and we could see the just how large the park was and the different types of trees, the many ponds and coves it covered. We then walked back down, picked up the bikes and walked them past the slippery section to a section that was safer to ride down to the bottom. We then headed to a bird hide and saw a couple of birds whilst having a bite to eat (out of the sun for awhile) and then headed to another cove, which appeared to be a popular one. We settled on the beach, had a swim and relaxed in the sun for while before riding back towards the van with a couple of stops along the way. Once back at the van we showered and packed up to continue down south again. This time our plan was to get towards Cala Gonone where we could potentially get a boat trip for tomorrow. We got to the stop we planned to stay at but it wasn’t that beautiful or enticing so we continued up the hill to another one which looked nicer. However when we got there it was rammed with cars, we thought it was because there was a cave which was due to close soon so we could wait it out but an hour later and it was stilled rammed and people were still coming. We decided not to spend the night here as whatever was going on looked like it would be going on for some time. We headed back to the original park up and cooked dinner. It wasn’t a bad park up and it was quiet but we have been really spoilt with fantastic views, peaceful locations and generally lovely places to stay so anything which doesn’t fit these seems boring.

 The next morning we got up and headed down to Cala Gonone where we managed to booked onto a small boat tour of the surrounding coves and an option to go to the cave. We packed a lunch and stuff for the beach and jumped onboard off we set. We were soon jealous of everyone’s jackets as the wind was chilly but then it wasn’t too bad and we quickly stopped the boat as there were dolphins nearby giving us a show. There were three in the pod and they swam around for awhile and we watched them before heading further up the coast. On the trip we saw lots of different beaches, some of which we will be stopping at on the way back, we saw the Bue Marino cave, which again we would be stopping at, and lots of other little caves and coves, some of which we went into to get a better look. Several of the beaches can be reached by foot in several hours from the nearest car park while some can only accessed by boat which is one of the reasons this is a very beautiful stretch of natural coastline. The first beach we stopped at we relaxed at for 1 hour and got to swim and sunbathe before heading back to the boat and travelling further down the coast. We again stopped in little coves and caves and saw a beach you either walk or swim to as no boats can stop there. We then headed to another beach and again stopped for an hour so we had our lunch and enjoyed the sun before heading to the cave or final beach. Rich decided he wanted to go to the cave rather than have longer on the beach so we headed with the group to the cave. Little did we know you were supposed to buy the cave tickets before the trip but luckily they accepted our cash and in we went. We walked with the very large group for 1km (while the whole cave extends to over 70km) through 4 rooms of the cave and heard about the history including the finding of monk seals in the 1950s within the cave by fishermen and how it opened to the public in the 1980s. It was a good tour but we soon had to head back to the boat and back to the beach for our last 30 minutes of sunshine and then back to the port. It was about 6pm by the time we were back so it had been a whole day (having left at 10am) and headed into the mountains for our stop for the evening. We had to travel down some bumpy and mostly paved roads but finally got to the gorge parking lot where we paid for parking and set up for the night next to a German camper.

 The next morning we got up early and had some breakfast to prepare us for a long walk which I had planned for the day. We had a few hiccups as I soon realised the walk I had thought we were going on was the other side of the gorge but this was actually an advantage as the one of this side, while being 4km longer, was actually easier. We set off around 8.30 and headed down the 12km to the gorge where we expected to pay for tickets to get in but it turns out we were too early so we were just allowed to go in. There are three routes in the gorge, Green – easy and suitable for all, Yellow – for seasoned hikers and Red – for climbers only with a guide. The green was fairly long and got us most of the way into the gorge but then it turned to yellow and Rich wanted us to carry on so we did and to be honest it wasn’t really any more difficult but just had more boulders for us to climb over. The yellow really wasn’t long and we quickly hit the red route but again it didn’t look too complicated so we started it and got over the first section okay but then we hit the next section and this was more difficult and after trying several different ways (and watching another couple who had arrived try to get over) Rich finally gave me a leg up and the other couple helped him up and we were over it but the next section looked even more complicated and at that point we decided to turn around and head back. We climbed back down, which was a little easier but not easy by any means, and headed back through the gorge. We got to the start and saw they had started charging now as it was fully open but we headed back and past the ticket booth quickly and started the 6km back up hill to the van. We got back to Jeff at just before 1pm which given that we had walked a total of just under 18km wasn’t bad. We had some lunch and then headed to a camper stop in Nuoro to empty and fill up the tanks as we thought the grey waste tank might be full as it wasn’t draining from the kitchen very well. Once emptied and refilled (which wasn’t the easiest as we had to go to one place to empty and another place to refill with water – which was on a street that seemed to become busy every time you wanted to move). After a stop at the supermarket we headed to a park called Foresta Di Montes where there was a BBQ pit to cook on and planned to spend the night. We also found out that the sink was blocked so Rich had to sort it and siphon off the crap that came out, it wasn’t a pleasant job so I’m glad he had to do it rather than me.  It is a great little park up as there are cows, sheep, pigs, goats and donkeys who all roam around the park so you never know what you are going to see or hear. We cooked dinner on the BBQ and ate outside and had a cold beer (a little treat as we were reminded that it was actually our anniversary which we had forgotten) which was a nice way to end the night. 

The next morning we got on our bikes and headed down to Orgosolo which was a town we visited last time we were here. When I say down, I mean down, it was a 380 decent on the roads to the town which was great on the bikes and we got to around 50kms an hour at certain points. The town has hundreds of murals, and you know how much I love a mural, about many things with political messages in some while others are just beautiful pieces of work. We walked around the town for an hour or so looking at all the different art works and getting lost before stopping for a coffee and then preparing ourselves for the ride back. It was hard going and this time our speed was about 10kms an hour (with me being a little faster on the e-bike) but we made it back up the hill and had some well deserved breakfast before getting in the van and heading to some natural pools called Piscine naturali di Bau Aradulu. These natural pools are made by a river cascading down over rocks and into rock pools. It was a little cool to swim today (its only 19 degrees) and the water levels weren’t great so we instead jumped back in the van and did a long drive down south. Finally we arrived at a little town in southern Sardinia called San Vito where we finally have some good data (having had very little for the past couple of days/evenings) to actually get some admin done. We will next be getting to a stop nearby for the night and then heading out again tomorrow (place to be decided).

A view from the castle in Olbia

Another view from the castle

Me at the top of the castle

Rich plane spotting

More planes - sorry he loves it

See I told you - he loves it

The storm coming over Travolara 

More view of the storm

The rain over Travolara 

The hill side views from Posada 

Another view from Posada

One of the beautiful cats in Posada

A view of Posada from the beach

One of the beaches we cycled to in the national park 

Lizards are everywhere over here and no walk would be complete without these little guys

the view from the panoramic point we cycled/walked to in the national park, everything you can see is national park

Dolphins on our boat trip

More dolphins

I think there were three in the pod but there could have been more

He was coming for us

Bue Marino cave entrance 

Cala Luna beach - one of the many we visited on the boat

A view from one of the many caves we went through on the boat

Another beach view - there are actually climbers on the rock, you wouldn't catch me doing that!

one of two archways we saw on the boat trip

Dogs who came to visit us in the gorge car park - they weren't keen on our vegan food

The walk in the gorge

More gorge pictures

and another one

A view of the port we stayed at on the first night

Little Tahiti beach

Mostly had the beach to ourselves 

First week back on the road - for the final time!

 

Sooo week one has been interesting! Its been full of highs and lows, stress and relaxation and alcohol!

We started by leaving Redditch on Sunday and driving down to Romney near Folkstone where we planned to spend the night. Usually at this stop there are a number of campers staying over but when we arrived at around 6.30 there was no one apart from a few dog walkers (not to be confused with doggers). We went for a walk down the empty beach before settling in for the night as we have booked an early ferry. No one arrived that night which is also strange but it did mean it was easy to get in and out of the beach parking and we set off at just before 6am to get to the ferry. Arriving at the port was fairly easy but you have to go through French boarder and had to try and have an argument with the boarder guard as he wanted to stamp Rich’s passport and the EU constitution states that they shouldn’t. In the end (partially due to the lack of tea in our systems) we gave in and he stamped it but we will hopefully manage to get it changed or argue it on the way back. We have proof we are travelling together so it shouldn’t be too hard. We boarded fine and explored the ship, this time we are on Irish Ferries instead of DFDS and while its smaller and what looks to be like older ships there really isn’t much difference. The crossing was fine and we were soon ready to disembark.

 

This is where the fun always happens, the tense wait for data to navigate out of there as fast as possible, especially as we were in Calais, where stopping is not advised. We had downloaded the map and thought we were all sorted but we had made a fatal error by not only choosing to avoid tolls but motorways. This meant that google took us down side roads to get us going, these were a mix of unpaved and rough roads where many of the migrants hung out. It was very hard to see the living conditions and the sheer number of them hanging around. Once we realised our mistake (about 5 back roads too late) we renavigated and headed back towards civilisation and onto the main roads. We were heading to the champagne region which is a drive that will take several hours but we thought we may as well get there today as we only have just over a week in France. We meandered across the country which is beautiful with fields of green and gold and often you will round a bend a see either a castle, a chateau or a church standing proud in the distance.

 

We finally reached Chamery, after a couple of stops for food and to stretch our legs, and we parked up in the hills by the champagne vines and we went for a brief walk before heading back to the van for dinner. Whilst on our walk we quickly realised that this town was where we stayed on our first night in our other van, Pierre, in 2017. That time we stayed at the Aire in the town as we weren’t ready to be off grid yet but its funny that both our first and most likely our last trip started in the same town. Anyway it’s been a long day so an early night was called for.

 

The next day we headed into the two champagne towns to see where we could go look at the process of making champagne and have a little sample. First we headed into Reims and walked from the parking into town. We got there very early so we headed to the church and had a look around before heading to the tourist office to see what was on offer. Most of the tastings didn’t start till 2pm, which was sensible but we wanted to head to the next champagne town before then so after a brief walk around the town we headed south to Epernay. Here we walked down Champagne Avenue where many of the big champagne houses have their main headquarters in grand houses including Moet. The avenue was very grand and elegant at the same time and very peaceful. We walked up and down the avenue and explore the town a little before deciding to go to a vineyard outside of the town where I had booked a tasting. We parked up in a little town and got the bikes out for a 10km cycle to the vineyard where we popped in and asked if they could give us a tour which they happily obliged. We learnt lots about the process and how things have changed the over the years from when they began production. We learnt about the double fermentation, the different processes for vintage champagnes and how some are oak aged and how the workforce increases massively during harvest time. We saw inside the vats, as they had all recently been cleaned and were ready for the next harvest. We then got to taste 4 different champagnes and they were generous in the tasting portions! We tried their standard Brut, a champagne made from only chardonnay grapes, a rose champagne and finally one of their reserve champagnes which was aged in oak. They were all fabulous and while the Brut was definitely the most drinkable (and went down far too quickly) I think the reserve was my favourite.  We bought a bottle of the Brut to drink at a later day and headed of slightly tipsily on the bikes to the van where we had a snack and sobered up a little before heading to our stop for the night which was again in the vines on the hills overlooking the towns. We settled in for the evening, alone again, and knew it was going to be a cold and clear night.

 

The next morning we woke up to no heating and no gas which was worrying as the tank was about 40% full when we went to bed. We have had problems with the heating the last couple of days but we thought we had finally fixed it, obviously not. First we got up and headed into Suzette where I knew of an Aire with free electricity (so we can have a cup of tea while we figure out what is wrong). We couldn’t work it out straight away so decided to go and get some LPG from the local garage (and diesel as we were low) so that we could come back and do a few tests. After some looking at it all we found out the regulator at the back was leaking gas and appeared to have broken (speaking to the motorhome fitter he was just replacing one with the same issue). We did some googling and headed to a local caravan sales place where they had a workshop with the hope they would have the regulator and be able to fix it. It was an hours drive but they were due to be closed for siesta by the time we got there so we took it easy and parked across the street until they re-opened. They didn’t speak much English and our lack of French meant google translate came out a lot. They had a regulator but didn’t think it was exactly the same and therefore wouldn’t work. They suggested a LPG fitting place around 20 mins away so we headed out there. When we got there we spoke to the manager (again via google translate as he spoke even less English than the caravan place). He put Jeff up on the ramps and figured out that the regulator was kaputt like we told him. There didn’t appear to be any leaks which we thought was a good sign but then came the issue, he didn’t have a regulator to fit. He phoned several places and asked if they had one to be told no many times. We were getting kind of desperate, given that the day was flying by and he was trying further afield, like Lyon and Grenoble. No one had the regulator but he suggested we go to a supermarket or decathlon where they should have it as its camping one and not one they use in the cars. We flew out the door and headed for the decathlon, which was back in the same town as the caravan place, but they didn’t sell regulators, we then tried a couple of DIY stores and a couple of supermarkets but again we were not finding the right pressure ones. We were getting desperate now as it was past 5pm but we remembered that the one at the caravan shop was the right pressure. It was not the right shape but he could work around that we were sure and it was better than nothing. We headed back and bought it, even though the guy told us he couldn’t guarantee it would work, and headed back. The guy said he would start it at 6pm and this was because most people were coming to pick up their cars. It was like piccadilly circus and the door/phone didn’t stop going. The poor manager didn’t have a receptionist so was running back and forth. Once it all calmed down at 6.15 he bought Jeff back in and started the work, although he was again interrupted a couple of times by people coming to collect or drop off cars. It took him about 30 to 40 mins and it was attached and he tested for leaks but all seemed good. We turned on the hob and the heating and both worked so we were happy and we paid cash with an extra tip for him as the garage technically closed at 7 but it was already 7.20. We jumped in Jeff and headed off to a local stop for the night next to a river and a small dam to have dinner and a beer (very much needed) to relax after a stressful day.

 

The next morning we got up and headed on another long drive to catch up for all the driving we missed the day before. We are heading south through France (our route dictated by us needing to go to those garages yesterday) and we drove for 4 hours with a couple of stops to a little village called Saint-Gengoux-de-Scisse where we are on an Aire with services to ensure all our tanks are filled, fix a small drip we had found (by draining the tanks, fixing it and then refilling the tanks), cook some food and do a little washing, get a little planning done and generally get ourselves sorted and back into the rhythm of travelling.

 

The next morning we had planned a run but we woke up to the gentle hum of rain hammering down so we decided against a run in the rain and instead got the van ready for the continued drive south. We continued south, past Lyon and down to our next stop which took a few hours. We finally reached a place called Treffort where we planned to spend the rest of the day and the night. The weather had finally improved and the sun was coming out so we set out on a hike I had planned. This took us up some hills and through woods around a beautiful manmade glacial lake called Lac de Monteynard-Avignot (which we are parked next to). Finally we got to the first of two suspension bridges which cross sections on the lake. There were a few people on the walk and on the bridge but overall it was a really peaceful walk. We considered walking the next 4km to the next bridge but decided against it and continued on the 4km walk back to the van.

When we got back we saw we had neighbours, having left the van all alone, and one neighbour in particular was our favourite as they had two beautiful maine coons who were out and playing. The larger one was very friendly and soon came up for some fuss and to see if we had any food, which we didn’t. We decided to get out chairs out and enjoy the view for awhile with a nice drink and we got to watch a number of kite surfers having a go in the lake.

 

The next morning we set off on a run and actually made it this time. It was a struggle as we are still at altitude and the run had some hills on it, which I walked up while Rich enjoyed the challenge, and we managed a full 5km  run. Once we were back at the van we had some breakfast before getting the paddleboard out and inflating it. We carried it down to the lake to be told by a French fisherman something about the lake being closed or closed after the bar. We weren’t heading past the bar so we ploughed into the lake regardless. We paddled out to a pontoon which was just over halfway across the lake and it was choppy but fairly easy, however from the choppiness and the current we knew the paddle back was going to be a little harder. We relaxed on the pontoon for a bit and enjoyed the better weather before deciding we should head back as the wind was only increasing. It was a little tough going on the way back and, as usual, it did worry me that we wouldn’t get back to the right bit of the lake but we made it safely and carried the board back to jeff to have showers and warm up – that water was COLD! Once we were warm and showered we headed to our next destination and made our way south again for a couple or hours before finding a stop near a little river where we could hear the water flowing all night (and the rain coming down again).

 

The next morning it was still raining and we got up as today we planned to cross the Alps and get into Italy. The drive went up into the mountains which was beautiful and stunning with snow on the ground and white covered pines but was also getting snowy and slushy on the roads. We finally made it to 2,000 meters where the temperature was 0 degrees. It did get a little hairy at times but Rich handled it like a champ and we were soon descending back to through alpine villages and seeing less snow. At the top of the mountain we crossed from France to Italy with only one small sign and no mobile signal to tell us we had crossed the border. We continued on and headed to a little camper stop I had found but near the Italian town of Savona and when we got there we couldn’t find a spot which was unusal for this time of year. It transpired that there was an event on at the stadium and there were cars filling every spot available but eventually one became free and we jumped into it so that we could set off down to the coast. Another one then also became free so we moved as it was a much better spot and then finally we headed down the large hill to the beach. The temperature was around 20 degrees at 4.30pm so it made a really nice change from the rain and cloudy weather. We went and sat on the beach for a bit and just relaxed before exploring the beachside village and heading back up the hill for the night.

 The next morning we again got our running shoes out and went for a beach side run which was a little easier as it was one sea level and only had small inclines. Afterwards we had to climb the hill back to the van for breakfast and a shower before heading further south in Italy towards Portofino. Our journey was not without issues, like the sat nav trying to take us on roads with a 2.5t limit which meant we have to drive through the centre of Genoa (I recommend you take the toll road around the city if you are over 2.5T) and lots of little villages before we finally got to our stop on top of, another, hill overlooking the sea where we currently are. We are going to chill here for the evening, maybe take a hike in the park behind us, before continuing south tomorrow.    

A cheeky taste of champagne - It was really good. 

Lac de Monteynard from our walk

A friendly squirrel we met

Our Maine Coon neighbours

The smaller maine coon

The view our first night in the champagne vines

One of the houses on Champagne avenue

Another view on champagne avenue

And another one

A park just off champagne avenue

Jeff having his undercarriage looked at

The snowy mountains as we drove up into the Alps. 

The snow as we crossed from France to Italy

Later the same day on the beach in Italy

The suspension bridge walk at Lac de Monetynard