Update now were home.

Well finally got yhe Landy back to normal as we have taken the roof rack and tent off andput it back on to the BFG MT's (tyres) and cleand most of the sand out of it!
Would I do it again? HELL YEAH! can i go now?
Link to Katy's phots is
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katynicolson/collections/72157608871977784/

Enjoy!
Off to play at Slab in the sand tomorrow!!!

Leaving Bilbao.

So were heading off from Bilbao to get home on saturday.
Had a fantastic trip with loads of great experiences and made some new good friends. Now we can start planning for the next trip!

Merida to Salamanca

Well we're in out last campsite of the trip, one recommended to us by an English couple at the last site in Merida

We were on our way by 1200 having had the brakes fixed (yay) and trundlled north through some pretty vile weather. We tought we might have avoided the worst but it started raining just as we finished setting up here and it looks like it'll continiue all night :-( and it's bloody freezing! I have 2 fleeces on and TJ is in long trousers for the first time in 3 weeks! Will be a very early night i think!

Tomorrow we head for bilbao and that long-awaited soak in a hot bath!

K

Braking point (ha ha)

Last night we determined that the sahara had done for our rear brake pads and we could not go further without causing damage to the whole brake system

We found a spanish halfords-type store and with some sign language we learned that they didn't have any, could not get any and we woulld be lucky to get any this side of Madrid (i joke about the last bit but it's not far off)

We'd spotted a truck tyre/brake place last night so steamed in there and with Felix's help as translator we are now waiting for parts to arrive (30 mins apparently) and they will fit them! Here's us in the truck bay... Best place to be!

Marbella to Merida

Another night woth no hot water, but this 4* hotel graciously charged only 1/3 of the rack rate...

Anyhow, we hit the road at about 0830 to head north via Cordoba, with a view to stopping at Merida for the night. The roads north are great once you get over the hills, and we eventually found our campsite after a bit of a tour round Merida and its roman ruins. Nice to still have light at 6.30pm, though it's fading fast!

Tomorrow we'll head to Salamanca and see how much further we want to go before stopping for the night. Campsites seem to be quite scarce in this part of Spain. One more night in the tent, then we're in bilbao hotel for 2 nights' R&R before we head home on 7th. Some of our group will be on that same crossing so it'll be nice to catch up again!

Can't quite believe it's almost all over, rather sad in fact!

Hey ho - time for a beer methinks.

Overnight location:
N 38.56.088
W 006.18.264

Sunday evening

All checked in at the hotel Mirador in Alhaurin el Grande outside Malaga. This is the last night we're together as a group, we're all going our seperate ways tomorrow a some though madrid and then on up through france, some due north, and we plan to trundle up the west side of spain to see some sights before we get to bilbao on the 5th.

This has been a good trip. There are things we would change, both in terms of the organisation and what we prepared, but generally it's been great fun. We've seen some astonishing scenery and driven some incredible terrain. The car held up well, i think, but it's going to take forver to get all the sand and dust out.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Moulay Bousselem to Ceuta and Algeciras

0730 again on Sunday and we're on the final 150m stretch up to Ceuta for the lunchtime ferry.

Last night there were several spectacular thunderstorms, we would have enjoyed them more were we not camping... Weather this morning not much better... Not sure if ferry will run! Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Asuming it goes, we're at a hotel in malaga tonight, then 5 days in spain before the final ferry from bilbao on 7th.

Rain

You can easily see here how so much of the road network, campsites and low-lying villages get washed away. They're just not set up for heavy rain. There are mahoosive puddles along this main coast road, parts of it have disappeared altogether and this downpour will have a major effect on the rivers running down into the desert. We saw in Erg Chebbi a villge under 3ft of water that was occupied until the waters rose. There's no drainage off the roads anywhere - Essoaria town roads were as bad as those in the countryside...

K

Essoaria to Moulay Bousselem

It's 0730 saturday morning and we're about to leave Essoaria for a 300m drive north up the coast. It's cold and pouring with rain.

Hotel Palace Desdemona was very comfortable, if a bit pricey) but we're glad to be off again.

Did a little shopping yesterday - this town is very pretty, quite mediterranean in some areas, with great souks and alleys full of stalls selling all you could want.

Both have lot a little weight, not surprising as we've hardly eaten for 4 days due to dicky tums. We did find the fish restaurants yesterday and had a great lunch of fresh sole, calamari, sardines, crevettes, gambas and scampis (ugly buggers, those). Was the most we've had in days!

Current location:
N 31.30.631, W 009.46.307
Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.