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Our Travels!
Chapter 2
Our Travels Chapter 2, (On The Road Again ) 2007 Feb-June
We
really thought our travels had come to a halt, not for ever, but for
the time being. The job and people at Buxton were just right for us,
lovely countryside, nice people, near home and family. So we changed
the Kontiki to a slightly smaller Elddis Autoquest, it being ideal
for the two days off a week we were getting.
Our first brand new motorhome, we decided not to
have any extra’s fitted, no awning, cycle rack, extra battery, just
a plain and simple motorhome for weekend use.But then in February,
another bend in the road of life appeared.I was accused of speaking
to a customer in an offensive manner, denied it, but was not
believed. So I handed them my notice. The apology came one hour
later, but that was one hour too late. I had spoken to Elaine by
then and we had decided to move on.The owner of the site was
fantastic about it, and paid us to the end of the month.That
all happened on a Thursday, by the following Tuesday we had
confirmed work in Italy for
HappyCamp
(
www.happycamp.com ).
They asked us to be at Lake
Garda for the 2nd of March, which gave us two weeks to
get everything sorted.The new motorhome wasn’t suitable for
full-timing, it needed some warranty work and a first service, so we
tried to change it, but there wasn’t enough time.The car had to be
sold or stored and thousands of other things were going through our
minds.The last time we set off, we had been planning it for a year,
this time we didn’t have time to plan.So we set off with less than
half of the kit we had the first time, in a motorhome that is not
suitable for long term living, (or so we thought ).We
crossed on the ferry at Dover at 10pm and headed straight for the
bus/coach park at Cite Europe,
Calais
and made that our first overnight stop. The police station is next
door, so we have no worries about safety.
Next target, St. Dizier and the motorhome aire on
Lac du Der Chanteqoc, there are two there, one on the south shore
and one on the north, we stayed north. Several parking places, all
tarmac next to the yachting marina. The only problem being the
clickety clack of the yacht wires in the wind, but safe none the
less, and free again.The 2.2HDI engine in the Peugeot was doing
fine, plenty of power and cruised nicely at 65mph. The fixed bed at
night was very comfortable, the cooker/oven and fridge worked very
well, and even though the shower was a bit cramped, we managed.
We left the aire and headed
south on the A roads towards Chaumont, Langres, Dijon, Bourg-en-Bresse and turned on to the N84 which leads
to the Mont Blanc tunnel.About
18 miles
along the N84 there is the
village
of Poncin
, and there too is a designated motorhome aire for about fifteen
vehicles. And yes, free. It is also next to the cemetery, so quiet
as well.
I find the aires using the “
Camperstop” book, which costs about £13, see,
www.camperstop.com .So
already on this trip it has paid for itself.
The next morning, a Friday,
we set off for the Mont Blanc tunnel and Italy, both a
first for us both.The van’s engine performed very well
climbing up to the tunnel, the roads were clear, snow covered the
edges but driving conditions were good, and we stopped at the toll
booth for the tunnel.
€42, Elaine nearly fell off her seat, luckily it
can be claimed back from Happycamp.The tunnel
is fantastic, over
7 miles long, well lit and a smooth surface,
it must take some looking after.You emerge into
Italy and the skiing town of
Courmayeur
and keep heading downhill to the sunshine.
Once we got into open
landscape we made our first stop in Italy.
We had the parking area to ourselves.
We were making good time, it
was still only about 11am, we did not have to be in Lake Garda until tomorrow, Saturday .So
off we set, heading for the A4 via Milan, Bergamo, Brescia.The
A4 is a very extremely busy motorway, it being the main route across
northern Italy and onto Slovakia, all the East European lorry
drivers use it, and the Italian drivers are not patient, you can
indicate all you like to overtake, but no-one will let you into the
middle lane.It quickly becomes obvious that you have to bully your
way out, and when you do, no-one minds, nobody shakes a fist at you
or blasts their horn, because they are used to it.
Before we know it, we are
approaching Brescia, and a quick look
at the map reveals that we are not too far away from Lake Garda and the Campsite “ Bella Italia” where we are
to meet up with Happycamp.
In fact we arrived at about 6pm.
We completed a week long induction course and met
other couples, some slightly younger, some older,
but all with the same aim, to have a better
lifestyle.
At the end of the week, we
were all told, individually, of our place of work, ours being,
Camping Union Lido, Cavallino near
Venice, as assistant managers. We had been
asked if we wanted to be managers or assistants, we fancied
assistants for the first year, so we got what we wanted. But, yes,
there was a but, our contract would not start until the 20th
of April, leaving a month to kick our heels.
Daughter Michelle had given
birth to Ella on the Saturday we arrived in Lake Garda, so we booked a flight and went home for 3 days
to see mother and baby.
Baby Ella and me!
On our return we decided to
do a circuit of the lake in the motorhome, the Camperstop
book
showing motorhome aires at various points. We set off from Peschiera
and went clockwise.There are many tunnels along the road at
the side of the lake, and the highways department just happen to be
working on one of the and closed the road, diverting us to the left,
inland (so to speak) and into the mountains. Narrow is not the word,
twisty is not the word to describe the roads once you leave the lake
side road.
It was fabulous to see the
smaller towns and villages, if we had been in a car we could have
stopped and took photographs, we had to keep going, squeezing past
on coming traffic and through narrow low mountain tunnels, we did it
unscathed and returned to the main road about 10 miles further on, more than an hour later.
The detour had taken us past our first potential overnight stop, so
we headed for the aire at Riva del Garda at the northern point of
the lake. The aire is in the Brione area of the town, and costs 50c
per hour to max of 6€, so 12 hours. Forty
parking
spaces, a water and chemical disposal point and only 50 metres from the lake.
Coast road
Riva del Garda
Our next stop in the book is in the town of Arco,
a place called Agriturisimo Michelotti, it was closed, maybe too
early in the season, there was no-one to ask, so we went to the
Camping Municipal in Arca, at that time of the year it cost €18, a
very clean well kept site with a pool and easy walking access to the
town with it’s castle on a mountain.
Arca
View towards the lake
Next stop, the town of
Garda.
A new purpose built aire at the bus depot.At our date of
arrival it was free, but ticket machines were in place plus alittle
office, so assume by high season there will be a charge.
Garda aire entrance
Block paved pitches
On our return to Camping
Bella Italia, we are told that we can start work on the 2nd
of April, 18 days early.
Ourselves and two other couples set off for
Cavallino, they with car and caravans, we with the Autoquest, which
is proving to be adequate.
It was time to start work,
the holiday in Italy was over.
Camping Union Lido opens on
the 1st of May, so we had a month to get 22 tents
erected, cleaned and kitted out, and 70 mobile homes to clean inside
and out, plus kit out with new inventory, plus any repairs that
cropped up.
We had the 4000 pitch campsite virtually to
ourselves, everything closed of course, even the toilet blocks.
Karen and Kevin the managers allowed ourselves and Denis and Julia
the other assistants to use a mobile home each for showering and
toilet. We all got stuck in, some days harder than others, the girls
with the hardest job ( monotonous ) really, of cleaning the insides
of the mobiles from top to bottom.
Some days we had had enough and were ready to
quit, but Karen kept saying it would get better, we supported Denis
and Julia and they us on our down days.
We got there with time to spare, and was ready for
the first customers on time.
The first two weeks of the season we are allowed
to have guests visit for free as the accommodation is not full, our
families had commitments so friends Ben and Pauline from Mansfield
flew over for a week and really enjoyed themselves, and liked the
site so much that Ben wants to return in their motorhome.
Ben and Pauline
We are now 12 weeks into the
season and everything is going great, Karen was right, it did get
better, once the tents and mobiles are full, there is not a lot that
can be done, just to be prepared for any problems that arise.
Fridays and Saturdays are busy, being change over days, but the work
is shared out and the time passes quickly. We work a rota system
during the week, giving plenty of free time for swimming,
5 a
side footy, scuba diving and the many other activities available on
Union Lido.
We also enjoy a glass of wine or too, and after a
really hot day a nice pint of cold Guinness at the cocktail bar.
Denis, Kevin, Julia, Elaine, Karen
and me
Cocktail
bar
There has not been a
language problem, customers are told in the brochure that there are
only English speaking
staff
at Happycamp, we get by using universal hand signals, or we call
Dineka in the next reception, Roan Camp, as she speaks five
languages. I hope she comes back next year.Before the end of
the season we are expecting son Colin and family and daughters Karen
and Michelle with their families to visit.This campsite is too good
for them to miss, they can come and stay for free in the tent we
have purchased, the pitch we are on is big enough for two large
caravans.Our only mistake
was not to bring enough T-bags for the season, but after a SOS to
family and friends, Ben and Pauline brought some over with them,
plus bacon, son Colin sent a pack of Yorkshire T-bags and my sister
Dianne mailed a box of T-bags and some gorgeous biscuits all the way
from Adelaide, Australia.
We have July, August and September to complete, by
then we hope to have confirmed our return to Camping Union Lido in
2008, or maybe our own campsite with Happycamp at another location.If
so, our plan is to return to the UK a.s.a.p.
to
see the families, exchange the Autoquest for something more suitable
to full time motorhoming and with a few extra’s fitted.Celebrate
Christmas with the families in November and then head off south
again for the winter sun in
Portugal, where I will celebrate my
50th birthday in shorts and T shirt and maybe a dip in
the sea.
Happy travels, Mike and Elaine.
Chapter 1
Chapter 3
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