We are wandering again in Spain and Portugal

[cruiser]

It is still nice and sunny here in Alvor. We have just arrived and found it spot to park in
Going to stay here for now
Or until the boss wants to move

 

[Wanders from Glos]

I hope you have kept in front of the weather then. There is a thumping big storm coming into the Bay of Biscay tonight from across the Atlantic. We have been getting warnings about it in the Charente Maritime for the past 24 hours. You might just have dodged a bullet there!

It was pretty lively last night to be fair, so I’m glad we have avoided anything worse.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

I’ve really enjoyed your trip so thanks for sharing it with us

I think we may end up in Portugal somewhere in the new year

Al

Thanks, enjoy Portugal if you make it there.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

It is still nice and sunny here in Alvor. We have just arrived and found it spot to park in
Going to stay here for now
Or until the boss wants to move

Sounds perfect.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Just a closing note. The ferry made up some of the delay in departing and we were only an hour late disembarking. The Bay of Biscay was quite lively but turns out I'm not as bad a sailor as many others.... yuk. I think it must be all travelling with patients in the back of ambulances. Customs went remarkably quickly too.

The drive home was pretty bad, with lots of rain and surface water. As we got closer to Gloucestershire, the surface water got worse. All routes to our house were either closed or had some flooding. The best choice was about a foot deep for maybe 20 yards, so we went for it and all was fine. Did make us think the last few wet days in Portugal weren't so bad after all.

In total we drove 2135 miles and were away for 4 weeks. Fuel cost £485 and places to stay £211 of which Porto was £75. We have the Lithium install next week so hopefully we won't need to use sites like that again. Not sure how much tolls were as haven't had the bill from Fulli yet.

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[Kilroy]

Just a closing note. The ferry made up some of the delay in departing and we were only an hour late disembarking. The Bay of Biscay was quite lively but turns out I'm not as bad a sailor as many others.... yuk. I think it must be all travelling with patients in the back of ambulances. Customs went remarkably quickly too.

The drive home was pretty bad, with lots of rain and surface water. As we got closer to Gloucestershire, the surface water got worse. All routes to our house were either closed or had some flooding. The best choice was about a foot deep for maybe 20 yards, so we went for it and all was fine. Did make us think the last few wet days in Portugal weren't so bad after all.

In total we drove 2135 miles and were away for 4 weeks. Fuel cost £485 and places to stay £211 of which Porto was £75. We have the Lithium install next week so hopefully we won't need to use sites like that again. Not sure how much tolls were as haven't had the bill from Fulli yet.

Great thread. Thanks much for posting all this

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Thanks

Great thread. Thanks much for posting all this

Thanks

 

[jumar]

Just a closing note. The ferry made up some of the delay in departing and we were only an hour late disembarking. The Bay of Biscay was quite lively but turns out I'm not as bad a sailor as many others.... yuk. I think it must be all travelling with patients in the back of ambulances. Customs went remarkably quickly too.

The drive home was pretty bad, with lots of rain and surface water. As we got closer to Gloucestershire, the surface water got worse. All routes to our house were either closed or had some flooding. The best choice was about a foot deep for maybe 20 yards, so we went for it and all was fine. Did make us think the last few wet days in Portugal weren't so bad after all.

In total we drove 2135 miles and were away for 4 weeks. Fuel cost £485 and places to stay £211 of which Porto was £75. We have the Lithium install next week so hopefully we won't need to use sites like that again. Not sure how much tolls were as haven't had the bill from Fulli yet.

Yea....go Lithium...much more flexibility...we never use campsites and whilst touring in Spain and Portugal the available solar is an absolute bonus...

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Yea....go Lithium...much more flexibility...we never use campsites and whilst touring in Spain and Portugal the available solar is an absolute bonus...

That’s what we hope

 

[cruiser]

Glad you made it home safely. My boss got fed up with Alvor. So now we are back I Armacao de pera. Had quite a storm yesterday , some very loud thunder and a bit lighting. But today a bit windy but very nice. We went to the black water dog for a roast dinner. Very nice. And then sat on the sea front watching the waves.

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[Wanders from Glos]

We could have watched the waves all day.

 

[Just smiffy]

We could have watched the waves all day.

I go regularly here in Cornwall specifically to watch the waves…

 

[pandas]

Just a closing note. The ferry made up some of the delay in departing and we were only an hour late disembarking. The Bay of Biscay was quite lively but turns out I'm not as bad a sailor as many others.... yuk. I think it must be all travelling with patients in the back of ambulances. Customs went remarkably quickly too.

The drive home was pretty bad, with lots of rain and surface water. As we got closer to Gloucestershire, the surface water got worse. All routes to our house were either closed or had some flooding. The best choice was about a foot deep for maybe 20 yards, so we went for it and all was fine. Did make us think the last few wet days in Portugal weren't so bad after all.

In total we drove 2135 miles and were away for 4 weeks. Fuel cost £485 and places to stay £211 of which Porto was £75. We have the Lithium install next week so hopefully we won't need to use sites like that again. Not sure how much tolls were as haven't had the bill from Fulli yet.

Yes thank you really enjoyed seeing some great new places as well as some we have experienced before.
This isn't a criticism just an observation; trawling through your blog it would be interesting to see the route. Have you tried/thought about, something like Polarsteps, which tracks progress and allocates photos automatically. About to try it ourselves. To date we have been using both the Apple link with photos/map and google mymaps. I find comments by others really interesting but I sort of loose my focus. Well done again, a great trip.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Yes thank you really enjoyed seeing some great new places as well as some we have experienced before.
This isn't a criticism just an observation; trawling through your blog it would be interesting to see the route. Have you tried/thought about, something like Polarsteps, which tracks progress and allocates photos automatically. About to try it ourselves. To date we have been using both the Apple link with photos/map and google mymaps. I find comments by others really interesting but I sort of loose my focus. Well done again, a great trip.

We do use polar steps, but it is a family account. I expect I could do a screen shot though.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Does that help

Yes thank you really enjoyed seeing some great new places as well as some we have experienced before.
This isn't a criticism just an observation; trawling through your blog it would be interesting to see the route. Have you tried/thought about, something like Polarsteps, which tracks progress and allocates photos automatically. About to try it ourselves. To date we have been using both the Apple link with photos/map and google mymaps. I find comments by others really interesting but I sort of loose my focus. Well done again, a great trip.

Not sure if this helps or not?

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[pandas]

Thank you yes that puts your trip into more context for me. Again when there are so many other responses to your, and other blogs, difficult to follow.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

To be honest I quite enjoy the side comments and chat around where we are and plan to go. I wouldn’t want that to stop.

 

[Dean14]

Does that help

View attachment 988026
Not sure if this helps or not?

Thank you for your posts - it's been great reading for us. We're new to MHing (purchased in July) and planning similar trip next October through to January, your posts has been a great insight for us and given us some great ideas.
On another note - can I ask what extent of lithium you are having fitted? Are you having inverter etc fitted as well as battery replacement? I considered just a straight battery swop but that doesn't look to be as simple an excercise as I first imagined. Have you asked the question of whether or not the vehicle manufacturer warranty will be invalidated?

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Thank you for those kind words.

We have replaced our lead acid with 280ah FogStar lithium. We also fitted a Victron MultiPlus inverter. I think it is possible to do a straight swap of batteries, but from everything I read it is best to fit a new MPPT, shunt and B2B to get the best out of the battery and ensure good charging. To be frank these don't cost as much as either the inverter or the battery. We went to Off Grid Power Solutions after a recommendation and are very pleased. They give a 10% discount to MHF subscribers. We believe it is going to make a significant difference to our travels.

I do think it's best to take expert advice on battery size and whether you need an inverter, as these are very dependant upon how you will be using your van and the output of your solar panel. We didn't think about warranties as we are nearly five years in.

Enjoy your travels, we love it.