We are now back at Camping Iguelda, near San Sebastian, for one more night than planned (now our 2nd day/3rd night here) This was due to us having to change our main starter battery today (probably 1 of the things I SHOULD have done before we left UK) taking longer than expected. But at least we now have a fully functioning new BOSCH battery ready for the long road south.

And our bad luck camping in Europe is continuing with both nights so far wind and rain on the roof tent keeping us awake. Seems very strange as no wind or rain when we go to bed and wake up – but magically appears just to keep us awake during the night and early morning. (Or maybe it is just something to do with being on the coast at this time of year?) We were going to sleep in the back tonight but have put the tent up again for one more try. Surely not 3 times in a row…….? (ps yup, you guessed it! Starry clear night before we went to bed but between 3am-6am the old wind and rain came up to keep us awake – definitely must be a seasonal thing?)

So far our diary is as follows:

DAY 01, Sun 04/02: London to Portsmouth. 127kms

After a great send off from all our mates in Putney it was finally time to hit the road. Weren’t sure how long it would take but worked out perfectly, arriving at 7 pm for our 9pm ferry (with a stop for coffee) Met out ferry “Pride of Bilbao” – apparently the largest ferry operating out of the UK. Very nice ship but not a great start as half way out of the harbour we had to turn back due to problem of sorts which took 3 hours to resolve before we were once again setting sail (although by this time we were fast asleep)

DAY 02, Mon 05/02: Portsmouth to Bilbao. ? kms

Pretty uneventful crossing. Luckily calm seas and good weather (so no seasickness for Inga!) Wandered around the ferry, a bit of duty free shopping (stocked up on cheap beer), dinner, watched a DVD & bed. Must admit we were quite comfortable in our little cabin with Inga catching up on some sleep with some afternoon Z’s and Rob loading some maps onto the gps for North Africa & some weigh points for campsites in Morocco from other overlanders, (thanks Rob & Ally)

Day 03, Tues 06/02: Bilboa to San Sebastian: 181 kms. Total 308kms. Camping Igueldo N43°18.282’ W2°02.753’

Ferry docked around 10am Spanish time, which was about an hour and a half late due to delay leaving Portsmouth. Our battery problems started on leaving the ferry when Cathey wouldn’t start. Very surprised as this had never happened before. Thought I must have left something on but couldn’t think what as had definitely checked everything. Could have got going using auxillary battery but waited for ferry men to come round with their precharged battery jump start kits (as they obviously always have people leaving lights on etc) Got underway and went straight into Bilbao to check out the Guggenheim Museum. (Inga’s 1st modern art gallery) Coincidently they had a big exhibition of African artists from all over the continent! Weren’t too sure whether Cathey would start after spending 2 or 3 hours at the museum but we were quite relieved and were soon heading east up the coast to San Sebastian. Stopped just outside San Sebastian at Eroski (huge supermarket) to stock up on some food as we had brought very little with us from the UK. After this brief stop we couldn’t start the Land Rover again but managed to start using power from the auxiliary battery. (although for some reason isolator switch on split charge wouldn’t work however jump leads from one battery to the other did??) Anyway obviously by now we realized there was a problem with the battery but as it was getting late we went in search of a campsite which took a while. We somehow managed to drive past signs for the campsite once or twice without seeing them, even though Rob had been there many years ago but couldn’t remember exactly where it was. Eventually after about an hour we asked for some directions and managed to find the campsite. (Dave and Anton might remember it – the one on the way out of town, high up near the edge of the ocean, that was full and we had to camp across the road in a field of motorhomes – but I think we did manage to use their showers?) Cooked prawns and rice for dinner using Dad’s recipe of cooking prawns on layer of salt – although not as easy on a camp stove as on a cadac skottel or hot wheel.

DAY 04, Wed 07/02: San Sebastian. 0 kms. Total 308 kms. Camping Igueldo N43°18.282’ W2°02.753’

Up fairly late and after brekkie took a bus into town around midday for some sightseeing and exploring. Pretty quite with not many tourists/holidaymakers in off season and beaches empty in winter. Also many shops closed for siesta except for the bars so we went in for Inga to sample the tapas and Rob to try the beer. Bus back to campsite for dinner and early to bed. Rob did have a look at alternator and all battery wiring ect but could not spot any problems & with her still not starting decided to get it sorted in the morning.

DAY 05, Thurs 08/02: San Sebastian. 29 kms. Total 337 kms. Camping Igueldo N43°18.282’ W2°02.753’

Checked out of campsite with the intention of heading south towards Madrid after getting battery fixed. Got some directions off camp site staff for “electro mechanico” called “Jemo” who turned out to be a little gem. (N43°18.843’ W2°00.047’) Tested alternator which was fine but battery was pretty dead. As I said, something that could have been done before leaving? Got a new replacement Bosch zero maintenance (i.e. sealed/no battery fluid) in a few minutes but wasn’t quite the same size so bracket needed modification etc. Only finished just after 4pm so we had another walk along the beach and around town. As it was so late we decided to head back to the campsite in San Sebastian for a 3rd night and leave early in the morning. Aiming to get down near Malaga on the Med in 2 days which will be an average of over 500kms a day. Some going….. we will see.