Where The Adventure Begins (Update)
Delayed Start
Like many great adventures that have gone before, ours has been many years in the making. Then, even when you think you have everything ready to go, you get hit with the waiting game! What we thought would be a quick service for the caravan—a final week to do final preparations—has turned into nearly a month. Although it’s not really a bad thing, we prefer to find these little issues now rather than when we’re on our travels in the middle of nowhere.
Caravan catch up
So if you read our first post, 'Where The Adventure Begins' you would have read about us currently staying at a friend’s house while our home on wheels is away having it’s final preparations for the travels ahead. We thought this would take around a week for it to get serviced and secure its ITV (MOT in UK…caravans over 750kg need to be ITV’d here in Spain). This week has turned into a month with no current signs of ending.
As things are taking a little longer than expected for us to begin our adventure, we thought it would be a good idea to tell you about getting your caravan or motorhome serviced in Spain and also fill you in on what’s been happening.
Caravan ITV
What we learnt from the first time of getting our caravans ITV is that the caravan needs to be COMPLETELY empty, this even includes the gas bottles. We didn’t know this at the time, which led to our car looking like this as we hastily emptied the caravan into the car:
Luckily, we had already taken out the ‘essentials’ and left them at the friends house where we’re staying. The above pictures were just the non-essential stuff that was in the caravan, which made us realize we have too many “non-essentials” for this adventure. So we’ll soon have another day ahead of us going through our belongings and deciding which to donate, sell, throw out, or keep.
Caravan Faults
So why has it taken so long to secure the caravans ITV?
The problems with our home on wheels include:
Complete re-wiring
Electronic board fault
Possible hot water boiler fault
And a possible 12 volt water pump fault...
So not ideal!
First off, the rewiring: We thought the wiring was OK. Some of it looked a little bodgey like a live wire being used on a neutral terminal, etc. But everything was working and all seemed fine. The caravan, when we brought it had a 12 volt system that worked independently of being plugged in. This meant we could park anywhere off-grid and still be able to use the caravan’s lights and water. The main problem with this was that it wasn’t technically legal. Caravans here in Europe aren’t equipped for this type of setup, so every time we were plugged into 240-volt mains electric, it was fighting against the 12-volt side, there was no communication between the two systems…well that’s the very none technical translation of things anyway.
So this little problem turned into a complete overhaul of the electrics of the caravan.
The problem that followed was that the main electric board of the caravan wasn’t working. We had lights and all 12-volt functions when we weren’t plugged in, but as soon as we plugged into the 240-volts, the lights went out. This turned out to be a fault in the main electric board.
There was a stray nut underneath the board, which made it go bang!
As for the rest of the issues, well, the water heater seems to work some days and not others, and the 12-volt water pump just didn’t seem to work too well just before handing the caravan over to the mechanic, probably due to the other electrical issues.
While We Wait
So what have we been getting up to while we’ve continued the waiting game?
Well, mainly, like most, we’ve been busy working. Between Livany and myself, we run a small business creating websites and helping small to medium-sized businesses create their brands the right way.
If you’re thinking of starting a project of your own or interested you can find us at www.LasIdeasmkt.com
We’ve also had a lovely weekend away in Denía. Denía is a lovely coastal town located on the east coast of Spain, in the province of Alicante. It's situated between Valencia and Alicante and is known for its amazing beaches, crystal-clear waters, and sunny Mediterranean climate. The town has a rich history dating back to the Roman era and has a charming old town with narrow streets, whitewashed houses, and a castle with stunning views of the sea and surrounding countryside. Denía is a great spot for foodies too, with delicious fresh seafood and rice dishes that are typical of the region. If you're into water sports, hiking, or cycling, Denía is the perfect destination for you!
We’ve also spent a couple of days at our local doggy beach in Pinedo, also known as Playa de Pinedo. It’s located just south of Valencia on the east coast of Spain. The sand is super soft and the water is calm, so it's a great place to take the family if you're looking for a relaxed vibe. If you want to lay on your towel, we suggest walking a little further down by the restaurants, unless you want a wet dog to join you. Although, we’ve found the dog side of the beach to be a lot friendlier, cleaner, and quieter than the human side!
Pinedo is a small fishing village, so there are some great seafood restaurants and bars right on the beach where you can grab a bite to eat or a cold drink. (Here it is on Google Maps if you’re interested. You’ll also find it on our ‘Caravan and Pet-Friendly’ map below.)
Our current plan
We have also had a chance to plan the first baby steps of our adventure. We’ll probably be concentrating mainly in Spain and Portugal, for the best part of this year at least. So far, our ‘steps’ only go as far as Madrid but at least it’s a beginning of an adventure (you can see our planned route with our intended stops HERE.) The stopover places are all places we’ve never been to but as far as we’ve been able to find out they ‘should’ be caravan friendly. From Madrid we’ll probably head north to Galicia and then maybe over towards Portugal.
Any Questions?
Do you have any questions about the nomad life, caravan travel, pet travel or anything travel related? Then ask away! Although our adventure is just starting, it has been a long time coming, so we feel we might have already learnt a few things a long the way.
We also want to hear from seasoned travellers. Do you have any places you recommend? Especially caravan and pet friendly places! - Put it in the MAP
The link below should show the caravan and pet-friendly places that we have personally been to. Obviously, new places will be added regularly as we continue our adventure.
Caravan and Pet-Friendly Places We've Visited Map - Bit empty at the moment - We’ll update it soon.