Back on the Road

We were awake at 7am listening to the sound of the traffic going by. At 6am when the first lorry went past we both forgot where we were parked but knew we were in the mountains and we thought it was an avalanche.
Obviously we were in no hurry today so I don’t know how many teas and coffees we had in bed but it was a lot.
At 10am we decided to get dressed and go and explore the town. Clap is a quaint little town with very few shops but it did have a carrefour express supermarket, a bakery and a pharmacy. In the early 1900’s it was obviously a busy little town and we knew that because on all of the buildings on the Main Street there were black and white photographs on plaques showing what the building used to be and how busy the Main Street was. It looked bustling with horses and carts and there was even a picture of the garage where we were from 1919 that had the old petrol pumps still there and that’s where we were parked.
I got some vegetable soup from the supermarket and we got fresh bread and a cake each from the bakery and then we went back to Wanda and had bread and soup for lunch/breakfast. We finished the whole loaf it was lovely.
At 1pm we decided to head out for a walk. The rain that had been forecast for the day stopped around midday and then blue skies came out.
We walked past the garage entrance and down a gravel track and then into a field stopping for Ellie to cuddle a miniature horse.
We picked up a footpath following the river which was really muddy and then we came out in the centre of Clap.
We walked straight through the town square and then picked up another hiking trail and this time we had to jump over a stream and then we started going uphill through a forest. It was a beautiful walk, with lovely autumn colours on the trees and not another soul insight and it was so quiet except for the birds.
After a couple of miles Ellie was feeling light headed so we turned around and walked back into town and then down the road back to Wanda.
Back in Wanda we were just chilling out. We had both got muddy so we put our pyjamas in early and at 4pm we put the TV on and made a cup of tea. Then at 4:30pm the mechanic knocked on the door and said he was ready to do the brakes.
Now in a panic I pulled the power lead out of the tub and put the cups straight back in the cupboard. I only just remembered to turn the fire off. Then the mechanic drove Wanda to where he wanted her and Ellie and I put our coats on and jumped out.
As the mechanic was jacking Wanda up Ellie said we should leave so in our pyjamas and coats we wandered back into town looking like Hobo’s. At 5:30pm we headed back to the garage but seeing both Wandas wheels still off and laying next to her we sat under the old forecourt canopy waiting out of the way. And this is where we stayed until 7pm freezing our bits off in our Pyjamas and coats.
At 7pm the wheels were back on and the mechanic took Wanda for a test drive, came back and gave us the thumbs up.
Wanda was back on the road.
We settled the bill, told him we were eternally grateful shook his hand and then got into Wanda to drive 11 miles down the road to the town of Die.
We arrived at what was supposed to be a dedicated Motorhome area at 7:45pm in the dark and it was a nightmare. There were no motorhomes. It was a huge gravel car park and it was full of vanlifers, in beaten up vans, old coaches kitted out as makeshift houses, cars and caravans.
I reversed Wanda in between 2 vans with graffiti down each side and as soon as I turned the engine off a huge dog started barking and didn’t stop. Ellie was now starving and straight away out dinner in the oven before I’d even taken my shoes off
As Ellie sat down with a cup of tea and I was taking my shoes off the van door on to our drivers side slid open and there was all this whooping and shouting from a girl and then some laughing and then a noise like a fire roaring. I got straight up and looked out the front Window to see the van lifers next to us fireeating and blowing flames everywhere from the mouths. Then the beat box started and the dog in the van in the otherside started barking to match the big dog that hadn’t shut up since we got here. This was a nightmare stop and we couldn’t stay here.
I wanted to go straight away but Ellie wanted food first so while dinner cooked I found us three more places to go. As soon as we had dinner we just out the plates in the bowl and drive 2 miles back the way we just came to a picnic area off the main road.
There’s a little bit of traffic noise but apart from that it’s dead quiet, we’re alone and we feel safe. This is where we’ll be spending the night.Läs mer