Spain

Just a quick update... As you know Cat and Charles have their blog. Obviously some of the info on theirs will be the same as ours, so please forgive me if you end up reading the same info. But ultimately this blog is for Rob and myself to forever remember our travels. I hope you can appreciate that.

With us wanting to spend the day in Barcelona to celebrate Cats birthday, we wanted to find a campsite with good access to the centre of the city. We came across an idealic campsite with a small walk to the train station. We checked into Casas Crosas S. L. campsite in El Masnou which was very pricey at €27 a night, but I suppose to be expected so close to Barcelona.

We arrived at about 4pm, set up camp and headed for the beach in search of much needed celebratory birthday drinks for Cat. We found a lovely bar on the harbour with great service, wifi and of course cold beers! After a few we headed back for an early dinner and straight to bed, ready for Barcelona in the morning.

In the morning it was time for a good hearty breakfast (porridge and coffee) before we head off to the train station ready for an awesome day in Barcelona. Not forgetting a few balloons and happy birthday signs as we couldn't really celebrate Cats birthday the day before. 

Don't we just look the part while sporting our Craghoppers gear!? Thanks Graghoppers, these clothes are perfect for the outdoors.

After about a 5min walk we were at the train station with a very cheap return ticket at €5 each. We were certainly in Spain with a Spanish man peacefully playing his guitar all the way there. Once off the train we booked ourselves into a day City Tour Bus (€27 each) so we could experience and see as much of Barcelona as we could in a day. What an amazing experience seeing the amazing architecture of Barcelona. 

One of Gaudi's greatest works also know as La Pedrera, with the stone façade suggesting the movement of the waves. He seemed to have monopolised Barcelona with more beautiful buildings such as the Sagrada familia and Casa Batlló. And not forgetting the beautiful cathedral. 

I'll post photos when I can.

What a fantastic day! We arrived back made some botched dinner to tie us over after a very filling lunch. Nothing like rice, spam and spices... Lol! I brought out a little treat for Cat for her birthday with some cake fingers with candles to finish off the day.🎂🎂

My slimming world would be horrified with our lack of greenery. Oh well... You only live once 🙊

In the morning it was time to head off and make our way to Valencia. We found an idealic spot for only €15 a night. Fantastic place (Santa Marta in Cullera www.santamartacamping.com) that looks like it would be a buzzing place in the summer/peak months, with marble counters in the ablution blocks. Luxury camping... Lol! We did our first bit of washing which dried over night. I did make a boo boo and forgot to get a washing line.... But Charles came to the rescue with some para-cord. Yay!

We made another strange concoction for dinner using pasta, chorizo, 'nice' cheese (random cheese that Robs family had which was referred to as 'nice' cheese), broccoli, and a salad on the side. I was glad to see a bit of greenery finally! 

In the morning we headed for the beach where Cat and Charles ran along the boulevard and myself and Rob went for a speedy walk (still with a headache on tow, I wasn't up for a run). What a beautiful beach! We walked in awe at the beautiful views! We enjoyed a lovely iced coffee and off on the road again it was. We were VERY SURPRISINGLY to run into Kevin and Heike (couple who are doing the same trip and who we met at the overlanders show in the uk), you can view there travels on their Facebook page Kevin Heike. What a small world. We decided to camp together in a camp site in Benidorm (Armanello for €15 a night, thanks to Kevin and Heikes discount book). We will head out to town to have a drink or two or three! Should be an awesome night! 

On another note..

I'm going to post a spreadsheet of our expenses on here for each country as this was something I wanted to read on other blogs when we were doing our research, but there was nothing up to date and specific. So watch this space and will post at a later date. 

If you wanted the password to our spot tracker, please send us a message! 😘😘

Day 1 to day 3 - The hard goodbyes

What a fantastic last day in the uk before we headed to Dover to start our adventure.

We are all so overwhelmed by the shear love we received from our friends and family. 

Rob and I set off from our home where we said goodbye to Rob's family and of course our gorgeous little pooch, Bella. Goodbyes are never easy, but it did come as a bit of a shock to the system with our emotions going wild. This trip for us just wouldn't be possible without Rob's folks, so we are forever grateful that they gave up their home for us. We will most certainly miss them and hope Bella behaves while she's with them... Lol! (Almost no chance of that 😜🐾)

We headed off to Bicester to join Cat and Charles and all congregated at the local pub where all our friends and family came to wish us safe travels. Such an awesome moment in our lives, and a great way to start of our travels. A huge thanks to everyone who came, it was so special and we will miss you guys like crazy!

We were finally on the road after just under 2years of planning.

We arrived in Dover and all went well after having to dispose of excess petrol we had on board. Charles and I were chuffed to be showing off our newly acquired British passports (a momentous occasion for us South Africans). We made our way on board and onto the deck to wish England a farewell. Watching the boat motor away from the shore, it suddenly had hit me. WE ARE DOING THIS, ITS HAPPENING, NO MORE WAITING... (Well, I'm not even shy to admit it, but the odd jumping up and down like a silly school kid with excitement had to happen)

We arrived in Calais and started making our trek to Champlost. An uneventful drive, with a few odd mistakes due to tiredness, but we made it in good time driving through the night. We arrived in Champlost where we spent the afternoon with Robs family. She fed us well and spoils us like crazy! 

Unfortunately I've come down with a very nasty headache and haven't been able to keep down any food since yesterday. Very unfortunate but I think the tiredness took over and my body is telling me I need some good comfy rest! We are making a good hearty dinner later using French sausages (Cats favourite) which is just what the doctor ordered. 

Tomorrow will be spent celebrating Cats birthday with a day out in Barcelona. Can't wait xxxx

Its all starting to come together!

Well it certainly has been an exciting past couple of weeks.

Charles and Myself had to go through the final step before receiving our British passports; attending the interview which proves our identity. They asked all sorts of unusual questions which was quite interesting and very unnerving. My interviewee wanted to know the ins and outs of my time in the UK, including the time and date I arrived... It was 7 years ago that I arrived; what makes him think I can remember the time!? Charles and myself compared our interviews and by the sound of things mine was a lovely chat and Charles' was very militant with her being very abrupt and firm. So Charles walked away feeling very unsure if he had passed the test.
But he had nothing to worry about as our passports arrived a few days later. This has been a long time coming and an event we will remember forever!!!!

We had a lovely weekend at the Adventure Overlanders Show in Stratford-upon-Avon (http://www.adventureoverlandshow.net/). We had the luxury of camping with the UK Overlanders group (http://uk-overlanders.co.uk/) which was absolutely lovely as they are a brilliant bunch! We got to meet the lovely Kevin and Heike who will be doing pretty much the same journey as us. We are a little jealous though as they are leaving before us.. tisk tisk! But we hope to meet up with them somewhere in Morocco.
We also got to meet a fantastic couple who are also planning some very awesome overland trips over the coming months in their defender called Ruby the Landy.
It was such a treat to chat to like minded people who had some great tips and pointers for our trip. The love and support we receive is so overwhelmingly awesome. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to wish us safe travels.

We arrived at the show with the sun shining and a lovely greeting from Steve from the UK Overlanders forum. It was going to be a lovely week end! :)
We set up camp and opened a cold beer. Well the cold beers didnt stop there! They flowed all through the night as the boys stayed up, talking overlanding around the fire till 4am in the morning.

Well I think its safe to say many people felt very fragile on Saturday.

And then the rugby happened! Mixed feelings for the four of us as SOUTH AFRICA WON! but sadly England lost!!

After leaving this show, it just made me want to leave NOW... YESTERDAY!! Knowing that we have a bit of a wait still is a bit of a killer. But 'D' day will soon be here!!!

During the show Charles and I had some fun and made a bit of a video to show you the vehicles aka our homes. Please apologise as we may have had one too many. lol.....
We hope you enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI0YVz4jdpM

Make sure to follow us on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/Where-to-next-Africa-301927936647306/timeline/

Cat and Charles also have their blog at
http://ditsysdisco.blogspot.co.uk/