We still have to get onto a ferry and drive home from Dover but it's reasonable to say that we've already achieved what we set out to do. It's not earth shattering and we haven't saved lives or proved endurance above and beyond. We have managed to enjoy a great trip, extending what used to be our two week road trip holidays, into one that lasted a little over eight weeks.
As we sit just outside Boulogne in our much frequented (over the years), farm campsite, we have driven 5,839 miles, been through fifteen countries and the Landy has got us here without breakdown and with just a little trouble with noisy brakes. The one and only problem has been the leaking roof, as documented early in the trip. It is still leaking, not a lot, but water still drops down from the front corners of the headlining after we have had rain and the Landy has been stationary. It's not as bad as it was before that tube of Würth sealant was applied to the seams but it will need to be sorted urgently, as we will be in the UK tomorrow and it will be wet soon enough.
Actually it's been raining in Boulogne since yesterday evening and it's now 12:00 the next day!
The combination of a tent and the option to sleep in the Landy, has been perfect. Our tent is great, it doesn't take more than twenty minutes to fully erect, but still, there have been plenty of times when we slept in the Landy. As well as the two wild camps, we slept in the Landy for at least four nights in Albania and on the drive back, in Slovenia, Austria, and twice in Germany.
We have carried just a little too much 'stuff' to make the sleeping easy as we have to put some stuff outside. This is the Smokey Joe barbecue, charcoal, table and chairs. A shorter trip, perhaps without carrying a tent at all, or using a small roof box would mean that we could stop and sleep perfectly easily.
Many people are of course touring Europe and the Balkans and they drive a variety of vehicles. The vast majority are in motorhomes. Few people who tour by vehicle, seem to camp, especially if they are on the move, as we have been every two to four days. Would I drive a motorhome? Well yes, eventually, just not yet. One thing is for sure, I would find it hard to decide on a design and size. There are so many. Some are crazily large, yet still with only two people in them. This itself limits where you can drive and how much ad-hoc exploring you can do. There's no way you can just drive over a mountain and explore a Greek village in a large motorhome. You will get stuck and not be able to turn around or even park. A smaller vehicle is much more flexible.
Motorhomers also have to carry another form or transport, usually a couple of bicycles, but the bigger ones carry a moped or scooter, often in the compartment at the back. As I mentioned before, some tow a car or bike on a trailer.
With the Landy we needed a rain shelter at the back door and found that our tent sun shade was perfect. Most motorhomes have side access and most also have a pull-out awning/sunshade (Fiamma is the usual make). This helps shade the sun of course, but when it does rain it is a great way to keep dry too. If I were to convert a van (a possibility) an awning would be essential.
I think the biggest decision around motorhome choice is whether or not it will be used in the shoulder seasons or even winter. If so, then it needs to be tall enough to stand up and move around, plus on board drinking and waste water storage would be useful. The other defining factor is own sanitation. If you want to 'wild camp' as the motorhomers call it, ( ie at the side of the road, in a car park or on a harbour side), you really need your own loo. In the mountains or elsewhere off the beaten track you can use a trowel or shovel.
I'd now like to 'big up' the boxes we used. I like boxes and I've been looking for the right type for ages. As a result, I have a lot of not very useful boxes at home. Some I now use for work, but others are lying on the back of a shelf forgotten.
For this trip we bought a collection of Really Useful Boxes and that's exactly what they are. There is a whole range of sizes and they stack on each other (a little bit relative size dependant that one) and best of all the lid still fits when the box is full. How often have you got to the lid bit only to find that something you thought fits in, in fact won't allow the lid to close?
We've several of these 35litre, almost square footprint boxes:
Also these small ones, 3 litre size:
Here's how they stack and those handles are used to clamp the lid to the box with a firm click.
Electrical hookup has been used at many sites, often it's included or we sometimes asked for it to be. This is because we only use the cooler box and a small kettle. Most people, if they use mains electricity, connect a TV, water pump and often they have kitchen appliances like grills and microwaves, either built in to their motorhome, or as a portable appliance in their awning. So our draw on the mains is very low compared to most.
As for the cooler, as mentioned in an earlier post, it works very well, but it does drain the battery. I wired up an auxiliary battery to the Landy and the 12volt outlet at the back is used to power the cooler whenever we are travelling and whenever we don't have hook-up. The best bit of this system is that the aux battery is automatically charged whenever the alternator has enough voltage ie when the main battery is charged up. There's no way that there could be a drain on the main (starter) battery by running down the auxiliary or by the auxiliary being charged when the main should be priority.
One addition to the battery system for next time will be a solar panel to be used to top up the aux battery when the Landy isn't being used. Otherwise we seem to only get 24hours maximum from the aux battery before it dies. This is even using a top of the range Odyssey battery that cost £zillions.
The USB sockets for charging the iPad, Phones and iPod, have been great. There's one in the dashboard and one at the back. These have two outlets, with one rated at 2.1A which you need for the iPad.
We've used a TomTom GoLive satnav, loaded with all Europe's maps. Without a doubt this has been fantastically useful. We have used it everywhere, even when there was little road detail as was the case in Bosnia. In many countries the Traffic feature provides the same level of detail as it does in the UK. We had a nightmare of a journey on Sunday, trying to drive around Munich. At least we knew what the extent of the delay was and this helped us decide to park-up and camp for an extra night.
So I would without doubt, recommend a satnav with traffic services and also be sure that you know all its features. The download of the Archie's Camping Points of Interest file was particularly useful. I wish I'd looked for a download of McDonald's locations. You might laugh, but wifi is a paid for service at campsites outside the Balkans and it's very inflexible, like only one device, constantly requiring a login etc. etc. and McD's provides it for the price of a coffee.
This trip into hitherto unknown countries has changed our views of them. We felt very safe in all and in fact I rarely locked the Landy at night when we were in it and I constantly forgot to use the pedal lock on the street. That will need to change when we get back to the UK.
Our views of Albania and in fact all the Balkan countries that we visited, is that the people are incredibly friendly. They love to speak to visitors and outwardly seek to help. A young lady in an Albanian shop, where we bought a road map, then used all the postcards she had on display to show us the sights that we shouldn't miss.
We had some funny moments. It's quite common to met a herd of goats or flock of sheep on the roadside. Usually there's a shepherd not far away. Above Delphi one day we met goats and the goatherd, who was walking down the road behind them, saw us. Usually they stare, sometimes smile and possible respond with a wave. This one reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a long penny whistle or recorder and pretended to play it whilst doing a jig! Hilarious.
Which is our favourite country? Well it's still Greece. In fact our view of Greece has been reinforced with our better knowledge of the mainland. The scenery is stunning and the communities and people are delightful. It's just so sad that as I write this, there's the beginning of a disturbance in Athens; protests about the ongoing necessity for austerity to avoid a financial system collapse.
I don't know how Greece has got into this predicament. I do remember that when it was admitted to the EMU it seemed to be widely known that their deficit and consequent debt was being understated. If that is true then I've an even lower opinion of 'European financials' than I had before.
What has to happen to prevent the country from sliding down and down? I don't know, but I do hope to be able to visit again next year.
Tim Peel
15 July 2015
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