Over the last few weeks, things haven’t quite worked out as planned. Leaving the Navy went to plan, but that was about it. I was supposed to visit Stace in Dubai, but those plans were scuppered due to the US-Iran situation. And while I was supposed to be away, our camper was scheduled for extensive work at the garage. However, that process didn’t go smoothly either. Fast forward a couple of weeks; Stace made it home safely, but the van was still in the garage.
The to-do list on the van included new headlights, shocks, springs, clutch, turbo, and fixing two oil leaks. As the work progressed, the list grew to include gearbox repairs, replacing loads of pipes, the diesel particulate filter, the alternator, and some other bits. The engine was also missing some mounts, which had caused serious wear on loose pipes, and the turbo was missing bolts, too, so soot was all over the back of the engine. It’s remarkable that the engine hasn’t failed by now, but it might explain why the timing belt cover was smouldering last year 😬
On top of the problems with the van, the injectors were seized in the engine, so we took a gamble and left them alone, with the risk that they might still need changing, but we wouldn’t find out until the engine was back in and the van had gone through the MOT. Did the risk pay off with the injectors? Only time will tell once we hit the road. But after exactly seven weeks in the garage, the van finally passed the MOT on Tuesday. We are fairly relaxed about the van and the cost to get it sorted (a whopping £9000!), but very thankful to the garage for keeping at it.
In the meantime, we took the opportunity to visit friends and family across the country, got Stacey on board to see the narrowboat we hope to collect in May (more on that soon), and managed a spontaneous and refreshing escape to Mallorca. Who knew Mallorca was such a beautiful place? You can see imagery from our trip in our Photos of Mallorca to Inspire Your Visit post.
Because of the uncertainty with the van, we jumped on another flight back to Spain and headed on a road trip from Malaga. We are sending this from a rooftop terrace in the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema in southern Spain. Yesterday, we drove one of the most epic roads we have ever driven, stopping to see the vultures at Presa de Montejaque before pressing on to Cortes de la Frontera for the night.
Until next time,
Joel & Stacey 😘
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