#NerdsUnite: The journey is the destination

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Ali. She and I bonded on Facebook a few years back over our love of everything Pete Cashmore. ::SIGH:: so dreamy. She is here today to talk to you all about her new adventure which included quitting her job and hitting the road. Pretty rad right?  I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ALI!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @lifeon4wheelsUK

So we’re into week 6 already!  Looking back it seems hard to think about daily life before this started.  We pack so much into most days that they feel a lot longer and 6 weeks feels like a lifetime.

We’ve seen some amazing places in Northern Spain and are now working our way South through Portugal.  We once again crossed the border into a new country without anyone looking at our passports, I can’t help thinking I’m missing out on an opportunity to be an evil international super villain!  We parked up in Spain one day and walked into Portugal to visit an old fortified town without any border control at all.  Coming from living on an island (U.K.), it’s a pretty cool feeling to so easily just walk to and from a different country and time zone – this officially makes me a time-traveller right?!  At least this time, unlike the transition from France to Spain, there was a signpost to signify the start of a new country.  And with it came a big culture shock. 

Despite news of Spain’s economic crisis, Northern Spain still seems very prosperous.  The people are very well dressed, public areas are immaculately well maintained and cafes/restaurants are bustling with custom all day long.  Portugal however, at least in the North, isn’t faring so well.  There are so many beautiful old buildings here just left to fall apart and be reclaimed by nature.  It’s such a heart-breaking shame to see these grand facades so dilapidated, I wish I could buy them all and refurbish them to their previous glory (where’s that lottery win when you need it?!).  Grassy areas are scruffy and overgrown, there’s rubbish on the beach and everything is covered in graffiti.  Don’t get me wrong, I admire well-done graffiti that shows artistic talent but this is just scrawled names, angsty slogans in bad English (‘Fuck the Police all of the days!’) and badly drawn penises (note to self: form a comedy pop punk cover band and name it Badly Drawn Penis).

Rockstar and superhero aspirations aside here are some of the things I learnt about Northern Spain*

*which may not all be entirely true.

1.       Radio stations have only 6 different modern songs to choose from, 2 of which are by Adele.

2.       Putting on your hazard lights is deemed an appropriate alterative to parking your car legally or safely.  Need to park on a roundabout?  Why not?! Just whack on the hazards and you’ll be fine!

3.       A four pack of beer costs less than a chocolate bar – no really!  Perhaps the cause of the economic crisis?!

4.       You can buy a bottle of wine for less than 1 euro - seriously, it is a wonder anyone is ever sober!

5.       Men here are a whole lot less macho than they’d be able to be in the UK.  It’s perfectly acceptable for a guy to blast cheesy euro-pop (the likes of which would make Steps cringe) at full volume on his car stereo, or walk down the street with a Paris Hilton-esque handbag dog.  In the UK that kind of stuff is just singlehandedly cock-blocking yourself.

Oooh and I forgot:

6.       Pet shops have puppies!  I don’t know if this is the same everywhere but in the UK it’s usually just lizards and budgerigars and if you’re lucky the occasional bunny.  Finding puppies I can coo at have resulted in many a shopping centre squeefest here!   

So, fingers crossed Portugal gets better as we head South.  We’ll be in the major city of Porto soon which looks to be really nice.  I’ve also heard that Portuguese cinemas subtitle as opposed to dubbing English films which I’m desperately hoping is true.  It’s killing me that I’m missing out on all the Summer blockbusters, so if we can find ourselves a cinema showing The Avengers instead of Los Vengadores I’ll be a very happy time-travelling rockstar.

#thatisall

click here to follow Ali on twitter!

#NerdsUnite: The journey is the destination

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Ali. She and I bonded on Facebook a few years back over our love of everything Pete Cashmore. ::SIGH:: so dreamy. She is here today to talk to you all about her new adventure which included quitting her job and hitting the road. Pretty rad right?  I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ALI!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @lifeon4wheelsUK

Well thankfully for us this last week has been much less eventful than the previous couple.  We found some breath-takingly beautiful spots to chill out by the sea and recharge our batteries.  We’ve driven some amazing routes, including up a mountain so high we drove through a cloud!  You can read all about our adventures over at the blog www.lifeon4wheels.co.uk   

This week also saw the anniversary of our first month on the road and <insert Carrie moment> it got me thinking about how things are going so far and how it all measures up to our expectations.  My first thought is that this whole thing has been tougher than I’d expected.  To be fair I didn’t really know what to expect, hey I hadn’t even spent 24 hours inside a campervan when we got on the road!  Driving is the biggie really and I’ve gotta say I still haven’t had the balls!  The van is massive, heavy and sluggish.  We don’t have power steering and it exhausts my weedy arms to turn the damn thing.  Plus people here drive like lunatics!  Almost all the cars you see have dents and scrapes like battle scars, hell I even saw one HELD TOGETHER WITH TAPE (I shit you not)!  The boyfriend is doing an amazing job of holding his nerve and to be honest I think he’s more frightened of me driving than I am!  I guess I sort of had this idea in my mind of us blasting out tunes and burning up the miles in the sunshine.  Whilst that is sometimes the case it’s more likely I’ll be yelling at the Sat Nav and he’s yelling at the other drivers whilst we both worry if the van is up to the job!

Finding places to stop off has gotten easier and I’m managing better than I expected with the lack of home comforts (although the things I’d do for a decent pizza don’t bear mentioning!)  It’s really odd sometimes to go about our day using public toilets and showers on the beach and sort of feeling like a homeless person and then we come back to the van, cuddle up under the duvet, crack open a beer and watch Star Wars just like we would at home!  It’s a bit surreal.

The solar panel is doing a great job of keeping us powered up but I do miss having the internet at my fingers 24/7!  Most cities we’ve come across have their own free wifi and I spend a lot of time hanging around beside McDonald’s branches using their internet.  It’s only a matter of time before the restraining order comes through! 

Most of all I miss these wonderful people, my awesome friends.  This picture was taken just before I left Nottingham at an event I labeled on Facebook as the Last Supper, so restaging the famous painting seemed a must - that’s me as Jeebus (obvs!)  I’d love to be able to pop home and go out for a pint with them all. 

All in all, it’s not exactly a walk in the park but I certainly wouldn’t change it and it *IS* getting easier.  I haven’t woken up to an alarm in over a month which is utterly blissful.  I spend my days exploring cities and or hanging out by the beach. 

There are so many annoyances, it’s easy to get frustrated sometimes.  I’d kill for a washing machine, a long hot shower and a meat feast pizza!  Whenever I get annoyed though I can just put into context what I’m doing in the simplest possible way – I’m travelling the world with the man I love – and I doubt it gets better than that.

#thatisall

click here to follow Ali on twitter!

#NerdsUnite: The journey is the destination

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Ali. She and I bonded on Facebook a few years back over our love of everything Pete Cashmore. ::SIGH:: so dreamy. She is here today to talk to you all about her new adventure which included quitting her job and hitting the road. Pretty rad right?  I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ALI!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @lifeon4wheelsUK

Wowzers, has it really only been a week?  It seems too crazy to believe that there could be this much of a rollercoaster in just one week!

After enjoying a few more long hot showers and a great night’s sleep in the hotel we headed off to pick up the van from the garage.  I can’t explain the relief at getting our beloved Van Diesel back and having a home again. 

We drove over to Santander to check out the city and have another van problem looked over.  Since France the fan has been intermittent and the van has been running very hot.  We’ve been doing what we can to take short trips and keep the temperature down but the weather here is now 34 degrees and we have to admit it’s just not safe anymore.  The garage we find is staffed by one of the grumpiest mechanics in the world.   He huffs and puffs and throws the tools around like a petulant child.  We’d hoped the issue may just be a faulty connection or grit in the van but after a while Senor Grumpy informs us we need a new part.  The part needs altering and even then doesn’t do the trick. 

The van is also now in the way of another car so Grumpypants pulls out into the street so the other car can get out.  Sadly however he also drives Van Diesel straight into a brand new shiny red car on the opposite side of the street.  The red car has two huge dints and a massive scrape and the owner is FURIOUS.  Van Diesel has only a very minor scuff on the front bumper, she’s a hardy one!   Thankfully the whole issue gets solved without our involvement and a new mechanic called Jesus has got involved.  After another couple of hours of waiting Jesus informs us via broken English, slow Spanish and Google Translate that the van cannot be fixed by them. 

‘What are the options available?’ we type into the translator. ‘Call a tow truck’ comes the reply. 

It felt like someone had shoved a stake through my chest at that point.  That’s it?  That’s how this ends?   I didn’t have the heart to call the breakdown company.  The boyfriend had to do it whilst I was busy being a complete mess.  The advisor Stephanie at the breakdown place asked to speak to Jesus and he explained what was going on.  She explained that the company had a contract with the garage and so if he was going to say the van needed to be shipped back to the UK he better be damn sure it cannot be fixed.  Minutes later the van is going up on the ramps and the mechanics are back tinkering.  Go Team Stephanie!  We get ushered off to await the phone call from the breakdown company with news.  We spend the next few hours looking for suitcases to get our stuff home, figuring out how to get to the airport and discussing what we’ll do now if it’s really all over. 

Hours later we finally hear from the breakdown people and Jesus (the mechanic) is our savior!  The van can be fixed and we can have it back tonight.  I refuse to believe it until we’re paying for the work (ouch!) and driving away.  The relief was beyond measure.  The adventure continues.  Thank you Jesus (the mechanic not the other one, I’m not a religious kinda gal!).

We’re careful with Van Diesel over the next few days and make only short trips.  Sadly we’re in Cantabria and they seem to hate campervans here.  Every possible parking spot has a no campers sign and we’re basically chased out of the region as there’s nowhere to stop.  It feels like we’re criminals on the run and after such a stressful time it’s the last thing we need.

We escape to nearby Asturias and everything is different.  Beautiful spots beside quiet beaches are the order of the day and we get chance to recharge our batteries.  We fall asleep listening to the waves and wake up to look out of the window at the beach and sea.  Some of these spots are so deserted it’s just us here to enjoy them and since we have the van it means that even just for a night we can call these spots home.  Home is wherever we put the van in neutral and that makes the whole world our garden.

#thatisall

click here to follow Ali on twitter!

#NerdsUnite: The journey is the destination

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Ali. She and I bonded on Facebook a few years back over our love of everything Pete Cashmore. ::SIGH:: so dreamy. She is here today to talk to you all about her new adventure which included quitting her job and hitting the road. Pretty rad right?  I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ALI!!! </editorsnote>

We’re in Spain!  The border change was a bit of an anti-climax.  I didn’t know what to expect but had the passports ready just in case and well…there wasn’t even a sign!  I literally looked at the Sat Nav and saw that ‘Rue’ had become ‘Calle’ and so we must be in Spain.  The weather here is so much better, the sun is almost always shining and we’re spending our days by the sea.  We’ve seen some spectacular sunsets and fallen asleep to the sounds of the ocean.  It really has given us those special moments we were looking for.

It’s not all been plain sailing though.  Today as we went to leave Bilbao, one of our favourite cities, the van wouldn’t start.  If we managed to get it to judder into life it would cut out the instant the foot left the accelerator.  We tried and we tried but no joy so we gave in and called the breakdown company.  Rain started to pour from the sky as we watched the van get towed away and I just felt heart broken.  What if this was the end?  What if the van couldn’t be fixed?  It’s old, maybe we pushed it too far.  I couldn’t help but cry.

We trekked into town with the belongings we could carry and settled down on a park bench.  The amazing thing about living in a campervan is that your home is wherever you want it to be from one day to the next.  The awful thing is that when it’s towed away you’re homeless. 

We sat in the park for hours on a rainy humid day, feeling miserable and terrified that this may signal the end of our amazing adventure.  After what seemed like an eternity the breakdown cover company confirmed it was just a broken seal in the fuel pipe and the van should be in full working order by tomorrow.  In the mean time we were to be put up in a fancy 4 star hotel.  So I sit here on a real bed, using the free wifi after a glorious shower wearing a crisp white towel with the world’s biggest grin on my face.  When life throws you lemons, grab some tequila and have yourself a party!

#thatisall

click here to follow Ali on twitter!

#NerdsUnite: The journey is the destination (bonjour from France!)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Ali. She and I bonded on Facebook a few years back over our love of everything Pete Cashmore. ::SIGH:: so dreamy. She is here today to talk to you all about her new adventure which included quitting her job and hitting the road. Pretty rad right?  I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ALI!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @lifeon4wheelsUK

It’s hard to put into words how terrified I was the night before we set sail.  It hit me almost like a brick wall that I had chosen to become an unemployed person who lives in a van!  I mean seriously WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK AM I DOING?!   I can’t believe it had never really sunk in what I was about to do.  I barely slept that evening and the alarm the next morning came all too quickly.  We were so stressed out and so determined not to miss the ferry we ended up at the port 3 hours early!  We managed to organise an earlier crossing though and off to France we went.

France is nothing short of stunning.  Sadly the weather is not!  Momentary bursts of sunshine are sandwiched between HEAVY downpours of rain which is not what we’d hoped for.  Nonetheless so far we’ve seen some stunning cathedrals, beautiful landscapes and so very typically French streets.  It seems odd to say but France is so much more…well FRENCH than I’d expected.  All the films you see are exactly what France is like.  We’ve driven through quaint little villages full of adorable houses with shuttered windows and little gardens.  I can’t get over how picturesque it is.

And as for life on the road?  Well I’d appreciate a proper warm shower but other than that we’re coping well.  The stopovers for the night have been quiet and safe and the sense of freedom is overwhelming.  Don’t get me wrong we are tied to the van and places to park it but we have no sense of time and no need to rush.  We eat when we’re hungry, sleep when we’re tired and leave when we’re done.  Home is wherever we park the van and I love it.

#thatisall

click here to follow Ali on twitter!