.. and so we set off, on Friday evening at 6pm. We had all
our family and friends wave us off, was great to see them one last time!
We arrived at the ferry port nice and early.. about 9pm… we
arrived for a second time at 10pm.. the reason being was that we had to exit
the port to get rid of the petrol in our jerry cans at the top (luckily only
equating to £8 of fuel!), however not a mistake we will make again! It was a
quick and easy crossing, however would I do it again? Probably not, we were all
shattered and with the crossing being only a couple of hours we did not sleep.
Whilst on the ferry we realised we had no light adapters for the car (we did
have the high vis jackets, triangle and 2xbreathalisers) so were able to get
some on there.
Our first stop was in Champlost, this ended up being a very
long drive (considering we got off the ferry at 1.45am) and we arrived at about
11am. The boys did really well staying awake, I spent most of the time asleep.
We did a little hour stop at a services for a nap but that was it until
Saturday evening! We stayed with Rob’s family for the day, we were spoilt with
amazing food and company and a free camping spot in a field next door (always handy!).
On Sunday we were off again and after spending the whole day
driving we stopped off in a parking place by a lake about 7pm. We were all so
tired (and Mandy being very ill) we took our chances and slept in the car! It
is at this point I thank Charles and my Mum for making blackout and heat proof
curtains for all windows!! Monday morning (and my birthday) we woke up to do
the last 5 hours to get to Barcelona! We finally arrived early afternoon and
quickly found a bar! We managed to find wifi, Facetime-ing my brother and
parents which was great! We stayed in a camp site in El Masnou which was in a
great location; facilities were minimal but clean and useable!
Tuesday was my second birthday and I woke to find Mandy had
put up banners and balloons on the car, lovely surprise! We got ready and
headed into Barcelona on the train (€10), and then spent the day wondering
around and going on the Barcelona tour bus (amazing way to see Barcelona on a
time limit!). We had a lovely lunch and got back to the car to have dinner and
champagne – as well as a birthday cake from Mandy J.
Today another drive to an hour from Alicante, having now set
up camp and eaten dinner! Tomorrow a quick run, a visit to the beach and
another 5 hour stint to head towards Morocco!
The next time I post will probably be from Morocco! Via the face
book page you can look at our ‘Spot’ location – you need a password but message
us for it!
Mandy has also posted on her blog, again this can be reached
through the Where to Next Africa page.
Expenses through France and into Spain:
Fuel:
£80 (in England)
€249 (plus another tank to Morocco – the fuel gets a lot cheaper
the further down!)
Toll:
Approximately €150 through the whole of France and Spain.
We spent the first stint not taking the toll and regretted
it… the price of taking the toll is less than the fuel needed to go the long
back roads!
Food:
€30
