When we started this blog, we were thinking that only friends and family would read it, but we have realised that it is quite a good way to meet other people who are travelling or want to travel. So it was that Salima got in touch with us, when we pulled up in her home town of Bouarfa. We arranged […]
First time in Morocco for me (Francine was here in the early 90’s) and it has not disappointed. Aside from the reasonably priced fuel (75p/litre for diesel, compared to 135p/litre in the UK), food costs are not at a huge discount to Europe, and there is certainly nowhere near the choice compared to a Spanish hypermarket. Although Francine thinks there […]
The Picos de Europa was definitely the highlight of our Spanish trip for me. The weather, scenery and roads were just stunning. The plains from there to Madrid were boring in comparison. We both liked Madrid – the Xmas atmosphere was lovely. The South East coast is very competitive when it comes to finding camping spots, and wild camping is […]
We have found the perfect way to avoid being given the hard sell by carpet shop owners in the Medina. Take your own carpet in with you! Whilst having lunch just outside the Medina a mat seller wandered over and Dave bought a very nice woven mat (as we were looking for a door mat for outside). When he carried […]
It’s a comfortable 24⁰Cinside Big Bertha. Never mind that it’s cold outside, our truck has been designed by Bocklet to cope! Our defences start with a thermally insulated cabin structure – the walls are 65mm thick and are composed of GRP outer layer, then foam, then 10mm plywood and then a GRP inner layer. Along with all windows being double […]
We learnt of the Caminito del Rey from fellow campers on Sunday and immediately decided to change our plans and make a detour. We parked up nearby and bought our tickets online for Tuesday. It’s a 2.7km hike through a tunnel and forest to the start at the ‘North Access’ and then a 3km hike through the Desfiladero de los […]
Whilst Bertha was having her “surgery”, we had a chance to visit the beautiful capital of Spain. I love Madrid, with its’ wide avenues, pretty squares and numerous green spaces. We stayed in a cheap, clean hostal, chosen for location, rather than luxury. If Madrid is the centre of Spain and Plaza Sol is the centre of Madrid, then our […]
We bought Big Bertha with a known problem… the front axle wheel hubs had a small oil leak. This required David to periodically top up the front hubs with oil, but unfortunately this has disturbed a second gasket and has caused a more severe leak. Our options were to replace these outer gaskets (cheap) and continue periodic top up, or […]
We had intended to make our way from Santander across to Portugal and then over to Madrid (we were due to fly out from Madrid). But we got to the Picos and just sort of stopped. Our first port of call was Lebeña, a small hamlet on the approach to the Picos. We had the camp spot to ourselves and […]
Sometimes you just need a break from the endless grind of truck life! I’m joking of course, but this holiday was booked before we started our overlanding adventure. Honest. Really! We parked Big Bertha at the Iberican Overlanders and departed Madrid bound for West Papua in Indonesia for a cruise around Raja Ampat onboard the Ombak Putih. We had a […]