Adventures of Blu

Alex, Carla and I are travelling from Lisbon (pt.) to Nottingham (U.K.) and back in our electric car!
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Trip start
December 1, 2022
Adventures of Blu Traveler
The wait is over
December 1, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Bags packed, route planned, ferries and overnight lodgings booked, we’re finally ready to start a trip we’ve been planning for almost 12 months.

The plan for day 1 is to travel from Lisbon to Guarda in Portugal via Castelo Branco for lunch, it will be a short day with only 325km of driving, but a few charging stops to get us through the hilly regions of central Portugal.

Vamos embora!Read more
TravelerBon voyage and safe journey
12/1/22Reply
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Vamos embora!
December 1, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
And we are off…
Wicked can not wait to see you all. Safe trip xx [Joanne]
12/1/22Reply
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First charging stop
December 1, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
So far, so good!

Arrived to our first stop under the predicted battery %. The sun is shining and Carla snoozed the whole way 🐕😴

Now to walk around an industrial site for an hour whilst we get to 100% and leave for Castelo Branco.

But first… um café.Read more
TravelerWeather looks good. Enjoy!
12/1/22Reply
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Day 1 lunchtime
December 1, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
We pushed the car to its *limits* on this leg and arrived in Castelo Branco on 8% battery 😬.

Despite some worries from AH-D, we arrived safely and can now enjoy some food whilst the car charges.
8%?!!! Are you MAD?!!! Have you listened to nothing I’ve told you?! 😀 I have range anxiety on your behalf… [Helen P]
12/2/22Reply
TravelerAhahaha. We made some calculations whilst driving and worked out we could get to CB without another charge… we thought that we would arrive on 11% so we were 3 crucial % out! Admittedly, the decision to drive past our planned charging point was ultimately fuelled by hunger 😆
12/2/22Reply
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Castelo Branco
December 1, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
O nosso primera vez em Castelo Branco, que lindo!

Our first time in Castelo Branco, seemingly a very sleepy, beautiful city.
See translation
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End of day 1
December 1, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
We made it to Guarda!

Its cold (4c) but we got to our home for the night just in time to see the sunset over the mountains 🏔🌅.

Now to acclimatise and find somewhere to watch tonight’s football 👀.
TravelerBeautiful sunset ❤️
12/1/22Reply
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1
Delayed start day 2 - freezing fog
December 2, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C
Today we drive from Guarda to Burgos in Spain via Salamanca and Valladolid 🇪🇸. A total of 417km. Whilst we’re very excited to get going, we had to delay our start due to some freezing fog this morning in Guarda. Currently waiting for visibility to improve and temperatures to rise 🥶.

Our morning walk to see the Guarda Municipal stadium (a thing of beauty if you search for it) was cold and unsuccessful (hence my furrowed brow).Read more
TravelerHope you can get going soon xx
12/2/22Reply
Traveler safe travels x
12/2/22Reply
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Freezing charge
December 2, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
Crossing the Spanish border in freezing fog was an *experience*, it’s been a slow start to the day so far.

But I’m happy to announce that award to the most remote charging station goes to… IONITY Martín de Yeltes. Mooooo. 🐄

Next stop, Salamanca!Read more
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Lunchtime charge
December 2, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C
Our first roadside charge in Spain… with a view of the cathedral of Salamanca 😍.

Time to wander around this old university city and fill our bellies with vegan tapas 🤤.
TravelerSalamanca looks lovely. We were going to go before the pandemic x
12/2/22Reply
TravelerYes I remember you planning that! I would recommend to visit there, it was nice to wander around and lots to see 😊
12/2/22Reply
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Valladolid charge
December 2, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 6 °C
Following an unsuccessful charging attempt on the outskirts of Valladolid (charger not connecting to app or usable by fob 👎🏼) we just headed into the centre of town…

I’m gonna say it was worth it to see Valladolid in all its Christmassy glory! Realistically, the faff added an hour or so onto our already long day…Read more
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Thoughts from day 2
December 2, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 -1 °C
It’s bloody cold up ‘ere. 🥶

We made it to Burgos, tired, cold (did I mention it’s cold?!) and a little stressed from range anxiety (AH-D). The car battery is taking a bit of a beating from temperatures dancing around 0c. Something that our route planner (ABRP) seemingly can’t factor into its calculations.

Today was always going to be the most difficult day of driving - we’ve got a short, treat of a day tomorrow to take us to Bilbao so that we can enjoy more of the Basque city than those in Castile and León.

Feeling grateful for the little team of three that’s got us this far. Carla is doing her bit by sleeping through ALL THE THINGS and making timely toilet trips 🐕.Read more
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Day 3 - Burgos to Bilbao
December 3, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C
With the car back up to 100% after charging overnight in a carpark (I cannot speak about the price of the charging + parking combo 😂) we’re about to leave Burgos for Bilbao!

A relatively short journey going down from 800m to sea level. We’ll see increased temperatures and a lot of rain today, but hope to be able to explore Bilbao before getting the ferry tomorrow morning.

Adeus, Castile y León!Read more
Lovely, drive safely xx [Joanne]
12/3/22Reply
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Another freezing charge
December 3, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
There were some amazing views on the way to our charging point from Burgos, driving around and through the “Obarenes-Sierra de Cantabria”.

The continually high altitudes meant that we saw snow(!!!!!) (it was probably more like sleet) for the first time in years.

My one gripe today is that I’m struggling to get used to the Spanish cafe solo vs the Portuguese espresso. A small worry after yesterday! 😆Read more
TravelerHave a safe journey x
12/3/22Reply
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We made it!
December 3, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 7 °C
Just got to Bilbao, the weather since we descended from the hills has been very basque-esque (rain!), but it’s not freezing.

Here’s a view from the road & Carla enjoying our first food stop of the day!Read more
TravelerBrilliant, time to relax now before your trip tomorrow 👍
12/3/22Reply
TravelerThat's Great! Happy travels 😊
12/3/22Reply
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Top-up charge
December 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
And you all thought we were going to the port without one final charge in Bilbao?!

The optimum route suggests that we shouldn’t charge again until Carmarthen, Wales, so we had to make a contingency stop on our way to the port.Read more
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Lane 1
December 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
All checked-in and ready to board, just one final police check of human passports to go.
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Hereeeee we go…
December 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C
Boarded and settling in well on the boat.

We’re going to leave the trip recording our progress, let’s see how accurate it tracks our crossing!
TravelerHave a safe journey Alex, Alex and Carla x
12/4/22Reply
Traveleryou made it, fantastic x
12/4/22Reply
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Ferry day
December 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
We’re about to leave the centre of Bilbao to reach the ferry port and continue our journey by boat! ⛴

Carla’s ready with her bag packed and confidence in wearing a muzzle (we hope, it’s a requirement for doggos on the ferry).

🇪🇸—> 🇮🇪Read more
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Land ahoy!
December 5, 2022, Irish Sea ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
It’s only a lighthouse but it counts.
TravelerNot far now :)
12/5/22Reply
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Two hours on land
December 5, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
Currently in-between ferries and taking advantage of some Irish hospitality.

First Christmas tree/ pub doggo photo of our trip ❤️
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Earning the well rested token
December 6, 2022 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
Oh to sleep on dry land! 😴

Day 6 is the final day of our journey and it’s gonna be tough… we’re going to be travelling 420km using an unknown charging network, but we’re taking the route with high charging point density to mitigate any problems.

Next stop… Nottingham!Read more
Travelerwoohoo see you soon x
12/6/22Reply
TravelerHave a good journey x
12/6/22Reply
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First UK charging experience
December 6, 2022 in Wales ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C
Seamless work from InstaVolt here after a beautiful drive through Pembrokeshire.

Getting super excited for a very special visitor at our next charging stop 💕
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Cardiff charge
December 6, 2022 in Wales ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C
Mmm… turns out uk service stations might not be the most reliable source of charging!

After pulling into Cardiff East services on 12% battery, we were in a queue to use 2 (should be 3!) CCS chargers. Luckily, our very dear friend Nicole, a local to South Wales service stations 😉 helped us get to a Tesla dealership, where we had to use her phone (Portuguese App Store Tesla app doesn’t give us the option to charge a non-Tesla!!!!!!) to charge the car.

We’re back to 98% now and back on the road… but with a warning light.

After reading through the Honda e forums, it looks like this warning light is nothing to actually worry about, and can occur after using Tesla superchargers… but naturally, we are a little worried.

Next stop in an hour is Strensham services, where we will try again with Gridserve.

Strensham will be close enough to the midlands that if we need a recovery vehicle, we hope someone will be willing to help us 😂Read more
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Back on track
December 6, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
So… that error message I mentioned in my last post was a real error message.

When we got to the charging station at Strensham services, the light on the charging port on the car was flashing red when we tried to connect the CCS and Type 2 charger…

Fortunately, we were 13 miles away from a Honda garage, and managed to get there with the remaining battery we had.

After a battery reset and code refresh(!) the car now charges absolutely fine… the garage’s best guess (they’d never seen that error before) is that the Tesla Supercharger essentially ‘dislodged’ something slightly on the charging port which caused the error!

Lesson learned - never use Tesla Superchargers & always call the Honda garage for help 😁💪🏼Read more
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Nuthall, Nottingham
December 6, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
First night in the Midlands!

We were greeted with open arms and a lot of toys (Carla) and some warm pyjamas (us) on arrival in Nottingham 🥰❤️
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