Today we leave for our trip through Spain.
The wind has died down, we take coffee at the bar and a croissant, at 9 pm we are ready to go and we accept the challenge of the Spanish roads. They appear to be so good that we decide not to take any more toll roads. That works very well and we are progressing steadily.
Unfortunately, we encounter the limitations of Milady to the full extent in the course of the afternoon. The heat, it’s definitely 45 degrees, and the speed at which we travel asks too much of her. Oil and fuel consumption is high and the cooling water level appears too low. But the worst is the partial failure of the clutch, at higher revs the clutch appears to slip. We come to the conclusion that all has to do with the temperature and the power that we ask of the engine. Anyway, first things to cool down, which means that we have a few hours at a roadside restaurant drinking (alcohol-free) beers and eating our first Spanish tapas.
Meanwhile, we have phoned Bryan we’re coming, and then we could not make it because of the whims of “the old lady”.
After Milady is cool and we are hydrated, we get on the road to an ATM and camping. I did not realize I’ve set the shortest route and we go on our way. On the terrace we have already seen the castle of Montesa which far dominates the area, the route turns us in that direction leading to the gate of the castle. Then we must make a sharp right and we reach a dirt path from (Carmen, the Garmin has decided that the shortest path leads over unpaved roads). We still have to climb several hundred meters, while Milady had trouble with the heat … Fortunately we save it in low gear and four-wheel drive.
We reach the ATM through narrow roads of the village of Enguera and even a road where we really just fit, height restriction 2.50m.
Then we go to the Camping municipal de Anna, a real Spanish campsite where we have a nice spot. Marc and me especially like the beers at the bar by the excellent (handsome) service ;-). We ordered tapas and bocadillas and drink many beers. We_all_her_Carmen is happy with our tip of a few euros.