Six weeks before our adventure the automatic gear box on the 4x4 stopped working properly. It could make 5 miles an hour on a slope (down). We took it to the local Mitsubishi Garage who said it would cost 2,200 euros to replace the box!! I then took it to another garage run by an English mechanic, he said "no problem we'll get a second hand one from a breakers yard". After nearly 3 weeks none was found. Gear boxes for the 6 cylinder yes; 4 cylinder NO! Then by chance he had a part exchange come in. Same model, year etc. It was considerably less than 2,200 euros so a deal was done!! And it worked! Well! that's not quite true when put under a load it boiled like mad. New thermostat didn't help, new hoses lots of scratching heads, but by the time we had to leave for our adventure, the towing vehicle wasn't fit for purpose.

I have always been an optimist, too much of one some people say, but always with a get out plan. This time we decided to go all the way to Torre del Mar, our nearest coastal town, for a week while we sorted things out and the garage sorted out the sick Pajero. Our first serious attempt at camping. The camp seemed very nice well shaded and decent sized plots in some cases. This we found we needed for our 20foot long Caravan and 10 foot extension awning! We need a plot at least 10 meters square, so this is another point to look out for when choosing a caravan site. It took the help of two others to manoeuvre the van and 2 hours to put everything up. Exhausted by then a Vodka and Tonic was required. Two hours later than planned we met Barry and Sylvia, they were delayed too and we had a meal at the Fogon getting back to the caravan at 2am.