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Wanda’s First Adventure

outubro – novembro 2021
  • Misadventures Of Wanda
This is our first road trip and test of Wanda in all weather conditions Leia mais
  • Misadventures Of Wanda

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  • 5,3kmilhas percorridas
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  • 69pegadas
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  • Misadventures Of WandaMisadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure

    Molina de Aragon - Orihuela

    17 de outubro de 2021, Espanha ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Today was a big driving day, 330 miles from Molina De Aragon with the first stretch following the route of La Vuelta through the winding country roads and passing the ruins de civica.
    These are amazing ruins, and not as old as one might think. Infact they were built by the priest and a band of locals during the 1960’s and it is a maze of secret tunnels and rooms, but now it is falling into disrepair and is closed off. However, for the braver adventurer and those that don’t mind breaking the law there is a way in through a barred window and that’s where I went.
    Inside is just as amazing as outside with arched doorways carved out of the rock, shelves and pillars carved into the rock and tunnels going deep underground, however there are also pits that seemed to be bottomless even though I shone the torch down so even I wasn’t brave enough to do the tunnels.
    From there it was just a day of driving, when it got to 150 miles to go Russ was seriously flagging but we pushed on and after searching on park4night we found a little campsite for €9 and headed for that in a village called orihuella.
    We reached camp at 5:30pm after leaving Molina de Aragon at 7:30am. We were both tired but our Dutch host, Hans, greeted us and he was super friendly. He told us where we could get water, and showed us the showers. A shower was seriously needed after a day on the road. Then, surrounded by orange,grapefruit and lemon trees we settled in for the night listening to the owls.    Leia mais

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  • Misadventures Of WandaMisadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure

    Fort Bravo & La Tortega

    18 de outubro de 2021, Espanha ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Last night was the best nights sleep we’ve had on the whole trip. It was quiet, except for the owls and we were locked in a small compound of our hosts yard and we felt completely safe so we could have the windows open.
    Diego, the kitten is still alive so are first job was to drive to pet world in torrevieja and get some kitten formula and a feeding bottle. At €22 we’re really hoping he survives.
    From pet world we drove to the pink salt lakes but unless you got the lakes at the right angle and sunlight they didn’t look that pink, hence the drone shot.
    From there it was another relatively long drive to Fort Bravo 130 miles away. This is where Texas Hollywood is and that is next on the list but we get there far to late at 5pm to start thinking about visiting that today.
    So we started operation tortoise, and tonight’s camp is in a dry river bed that was used for filming game of thrones and Indiana Jones and the last crusade. It’s quite spectacular and feels like we’re in the desert.    Leia mais

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  • Misadventures Of WandaMisadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure

    A night with old friends

    19 de outubro de 2021, Espanha ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    After spending the night in the dry river bed we got up at 7:30am, nice and early to feed Diego the kitten and sort ourselves out before taking the 5 minute drive to Texas Hollywood, an authentic film set used in the 60’s and 70’s for world famous spaghetti westerns.
    It cost 19€ each to to get in but as we were there at opening time we pretty much had the place to ourselves except for a few other motorhomers that had slept in the car park that night.
    The place really is authentic with saloons, churches and even a gallows and once the re-enactors come out it really brings the place to life. Unfortunately we only stayed for an hour because we weren’t going to be able to amuse ourselves until midday when the gunfights start. From there the original plan was to go to an abandoned film set and ghost town but it looked rubbish as we drove past, then oasis mini Hollywood but we didn’t want to pay another €19 each so we skipped that and decided to head down the coast to almeria to see what all the hype was about and maybe have a swim.
    Almeria town it turns out is a bit of a dive with somewhere of a cross between Benidorm and Great Yarmouth, with traffic lights, roundabouts and pedestrian crossings every 50 meters it was a complete nightmare to negotiate the roads so we left pretty much as soon as we got there and drive the 120 miles to competa, to see our friends who have moved there Margaret and Russell.
    We got through the winding lanes leading up to competa about 3pm and Margaret met us, showed us where to park and then we went back to there place for some drinks before later on heading out to the town square for food.
    It was nice to catch up and it was probably at that point we realised that Spain probably isn’t for us. It is beautiful in parts but it’s nothing like what you see on a place in the sun, but we have a few more miles in Spain yet so there’s still room for movement.
    Russ had way to many beers at dinner, and before dinner and then went back to Margaret and Russells for more beers after dinner and at 9pm we realised we’d had enough and had to take the long walk back to Wanda. Russ sorted out the double bed, lit the gas on the fridge and then climbed straight into the bunk and passed out.
    We were both woken up at 1am by lorries trundling past at a silly speed and rocking Wanda and that was the last bit of sleep we had tonight.    Leia mais

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  • Misadventures Of WandaMisadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure

    El Torcal del Antiquerra,

    20 de outubro de 2021, Espanha ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    After literally 3 hours sleep were both up at 6:30am and Russ was really hanging this morning after a heavy night on the beers. Unfortunately we’d already agreed to do a sunrise walk up the mountains of Competa with Margaret’s, Russell, so we had to be there for 7:45am.
    By the time we got there we both felt a little more with it and after another coffee with Russell, we set off through the town and along the side of the mountain. There were beautiful views and the whole town is typically Spanish, white houses all stacked on top of each other running up the hillside with a rabbit warren of tiny winding roads in between. What should have been a 30 minute walk turned into nearly 2 hours and after another coffee back at Margaret’s at 9:30am we said our goodbyes and we headed off to our next destination that Margaret had given us.
    El Torcal del Antiquerra, a huge formation of rocks set upon a mountainside thousands of feet up. It’s a stunning site and was completely mobbed with tourists and tour buses when we arrived so we decided to make lunch, shut the blinds and catch up on some sleep that we didn’t get last night.
    At 3:30 we went for a short wander around and a little hike into the mountains, it really is a most beautiful landscape so we have decided to try and push our luck and sleep in the car park at the top of the mountain for tonight. It’s officially on park4night and other people have done it and they all say it’s beautiful and starry skies at night so tonight we might get the star tracker out and get some Milky Way shots.    Leia mais

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  • Misadventures Of WandaMisadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure

    The journey to El Caminito Del Rey

    21 de outubro de 2021, Espanha ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today has been a really chilled and productive day. It started at the summit of El Torcal where we get up quite early at 8am, Fed Diego and had a cup of tea and then decided to head into Antiquera to get our washing done and do our first LPG fill up.
    We found a motorhome parking spot that had water and a dump station and we filled up, dumped our waste and cleaned the toilet. Just around the corner was a laundrette so we parked up and paid for the washing and from start to finish it only took 45mins.
    Then it was back on the road driving through some of the most scenic countryside and we decided that the province of Malaga was quite beautiful and probably our favourite part of Spain so far.
    Our first stop was the ancient ruins of babastro. The ruins had been left from the 9th & 10th century and although there wasn’t a lot left by the time we got to the end and saw the remains of the church carved into the rock, we were in awe of what they had achieved in that time period.
    From Babastro we took the slow drive down the mountain to find parking for the night ready for our big hike tomorrow, the El Caminito del Ray gorge walk. We didn’t particularly want to pay €20 for the night and lots of people on park4night have said they just slept in the parking bays near the entrance but they were packed at 2:30pm and just as we were coming out of town there was a few parking spaces and we managed to get Wanda in.
    Then we made lunch and fed Diego again and then we went on a beautiful walk down a footpath that led to the bottom of the gorge, the beauty was spectacular and the silence was deafening.
    2 hours later we arrived back at Wanda and then a British motorhome pulled along the front and the driver jumped out to ask if we were staying.
    After a brief chat it turns out that all the campsites were full and apparently all the tickets for the gorge walk have gone. Ellie checked online and it was true. Next available date is the 4th November. I was gutted but speaking to this other driver he said he was going to get to the ticket booth for 7am and it was about 1km from where the path starts so we agreed to do the same and hope we would get tickets.
    After a light dinner, Ellie said we should check where the ticket booth was so we know how long it would take in the morning. Great idea.
    We set off just as the sun was setting at 7:30pm, walked through the tunnel and then we were onto the mountain side in the woods as it was getting dark. Time ticked on and after 30mins it was pitch black, the ticket booth was nowhere in sight and our only source of light was our phones.
    It took us a little over 45 mins to reach the ticket booth, there was no information about tickets or anything at all about the hike but there was a security guard who told us to come back at 8am. Then we had to negotiate our way back out, but that was via a different path which led through a tunnel, however you can’t see the tunnel path in the dark as it slopes down so we ended up walking another mile through the woods, down the mountain side and then along the road back to Wanda. A little over 4 miles in total on top of the 4 miles we had already done earlier in the day.
    We were both ready for bed.    Leia mais

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  • Misadventures Of WandaMisadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure

    Walking el caminito del rey

    22 de outubro de 2021, Espanha ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    It was an early start this morning after spending the night in our parking space at the el Caminito del Rey. 6:15am we were up, just enough time for a couple of coffees, to feed Diego his bottle and get dressed before leaving at 7:15am for the long hike to the ticket booth at 8am.
    Getting there just before 8am we were surprised to see we weren’t the first there and our friendly little motorhome friend had even got there first at 6am. We then felt a little guilty thinking we didn’t get out of bed until 6:15 and he was already cueing up at that time. The bad news was the ticket booth didn’t open until 9am so we had an hour wait.
    At 9am they opened the booth, we managed to get tickets for €10, we had a very brief safety briefing and off we went.
    200ft above the gorge floor with raging water underneath us, the sun was just rising and we were now on a boardwalk 3ft across and 5km long with the wind trying to take us off at every bend in the rock. The views were beyond amazing, the light was perfect for pictures with the sun just rising and the further we walked the more the crowds dispersed and we had parts of the walk to ourselves. This really was every thing we had hoped for and more.
    At the end of the walk we managed to get a shuttle bus back to the entrance for €1:50 each, and then it was a short walk back to Wanda.    Leia mais

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  • Misadventures Of WandaMisadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure

    The ancient city of Ronda

    22 de outubro de 2021, Espanha ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    From el Caminito del Rey we took a 30 mile drive to Ronda, this was second on the photography bucket list for Russ and when we arrived it was 38.4°c....... roasting!!
    We parked in the most amazing airè with security barriers, cameras and a guard. With free water, WiFi and a dump station and for an extra 2 euros we also had electric. It was so hot that the roller blinds were burning up on the sunny side so after feeding Diego we were a little worried about leaving him but he likes the heat and he needs it, but to be safe we left him on the bathroom floor where it was a little cooler and we went off to explore the city.
    We had to walk through the whole town to get to the old part of the city which took ages and we got lost. Our first stop was the old bullring in the centre of the old city which was fascinating but a little brutal and barbaric for our liking, but the history was fascinating. Then it was off to the old walls which Russ really wanted to photograph and it was another mega hike down a hill to get to the perfect viewpoint but Russ would to tell you it was well worth it for once in a lifetime photos.
    Then it was back to Wanda, walking down the main thoroughfare stopping for a Mango ice cream and a Ferrero Rochè ice cream which we both agreed were the best ice creams we had,had. Then it was back to Diego because he needed feeding.
    Unfortunately throughout the day Diego looked as if he was going down hill, he didn’t want to eat, he’d had a funny tummy since 2 days after we had got him and he had been really quiet for 2 days and this evening was the same. He didn’t want to eat and now it looked as though he had blood in his urine. But we have done the best we could have done.
    After a feeding Diego it was back down the main thoroughfare to get some food and we chose pizza, a Mediterranean pizza and it was massive so big that we couldn’t finish it with the 2 of us.
    All evening we worried about Diego, he still wouldn’t eat and he looked like he was having a seizure at one point so we cleaned him, changed all his bedding, both gave him a kiss and made him comfortable for the night. And then we went to bed worried and upset.    Leia mais

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  • Misadventures Of WandaMisadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure

    Arriving in portugal

    23 de outubro de 2021, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    This morning we woke up early from our secure parking lot in Ronda and to our disappointment Diego had died in the night, we were both devastated and very upset. Russ took him out of his home which was a beer box and made a blanket of paper towels and then put him in a smaller box and sealed it with waterproof tape. We cleaned up his blankets that he had been sleeping on, broke down his beer box house and gave it to the binmen who were outside and then we put him on the back shelve ready for our long drive ahead and his final resting place.
    Today we were heading to Portugal and we had 230 miles to go before we met up with Ellie’s mum and dad in there holiday home in alcantarilha.
    After a quick fuel stop and some negotiating of the first toll booth on the way in to Portugal we arrived at 12:30pm Portugal time, so we had gained an hour. As soon as we arrived, Colin, Ellies dad got a shovel and dug a small hole under some trees and we put Diego inside in his box and buried him.
    We had only had him a week, but he had left a big hole in our hearts and Wanda seemed very quiet without him. But we knew we had done very thing in our power to help him and he was certainly comfortable and loved in the time that we had him. We felt happier knowing that we had loved him for that short time, he had met our friends on the road. Ben had seen him on facetime and for a little kitten he will be remembered in 3 countries, was loved by everyone that had seen him and has left a lasting legacy in all our hearts and he will always be remembered whenever anyone visits the Portugal house.
    For the rest of the day we just relaxed, had a swim in the pool had a lovely spaghetti bolognaise for dinner and went to bed at 9pm absolutely shattered.    Leia mais

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  • Misadventures Of WandaMisadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure

    The Feedback Club

    24 de outubro de 2021, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Waking up to the sprinklers in Ellies mum and dads garden at 6am was a bit of a shock wake up call as we thought there was a huge downpour going on, by the time we realised what it was we were already awake so the kettle went on. We just chilled for about an hour sitting under the covers drinking our tea and missing Diego. Wanda seemed to be missing a part, it wasn’t quite the same not having to wake him up to feed him and clean him.
    At 9am we left the house and Colin took us on a magical mystery tour of Portugal, we’re not sure if he knows where he’s going most of the time but wherever we are going we have to get there now..........and fast.
    Our first stop was a huge reservoir and damn and it looked beautiful from the dirt road winding up the top of the hill. On the way back from there we saw a sign for ancient ruins but they turned out to be standing stones along a 7km walk and it was far to hot to walk that far.
    From there we drove into Silves, which is a beautiful little town and we had some lunch before heading to feragodo and stopping at a Chinese warehouse to get a couple of electronic flyzappers to kill the mosquitoes that were invading Wanda and our legs and feet.
    At 4pm Colin took us down the road into Alcantarilla to a little bar called the feedback club. This is a bar that on Sundays has an open Mic night and we hadn’t booked so it was standing room only.
    The place was full of ex-pats and quite a few of them were your typical English in the wifebeater shirts and there chest out but the band was great, everybody was nice and the beers were flowing and at €2 euro a pint they flowed fast and a lot.
    By 7pm we had all had a skinful and we headed back to the villa for a light tea of toasted sandwiches and then we sat outside watching the sunset before Ellie and Jean took up the tennis rackets and started killing the mosquitoes with a large crack from the charge.
    Then we went back to Wanda where the mosquitoes were also waiting to be electrocuted and we watched Dexter on DVD for an hour before turning in.    Leia mais

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