Day 21: Oliva (Drive)
It rained quite a lot last night .... I'm not sure it was supposed to do so!
Clearly I was not the only person experiencing vehicular issues early this morning.
The owner of this car drove into a big puddle and then asked me if I could help to extricate it from said puddle!
When I left, the car remained stranded in the puddle. Neither I, nor any of the other campers, were able to provide any meaningful assistance. As I drive away, the owner was phoning his insurance company!
Then, with much care, I slowly drove out of the car park and spotted this chap, who I assume was also phoning for help to get his motorhome back on the road; it was also immobile in a depression full of water!
My own vehicular issue was once again due to a flat vehicle battery! Fortunately, there was no delay in me recalling the necessary steps to jump-start it. So, the van was up and running without delay.
Obviously, I was disappointed the battery was again flat. Yet, clearly the more pressing issue was to determine the reason why?
Ever the optimist, I reasoned that the twenty minute, fifteen mile, drive was too short to provide enough charge. So a longer drive was required. Pessimisticly, the battery can no longer hold a charge and, as such, needs to be replaced!
Hoping it was the former rather than the latter, I took the van for an extended drive. I visited Gandia, about a 30 mile drive up the coast towards Valencia, which I extended by approximately 15 miles. On arrival I had my breakfast and then took a walk to the nearby beach.
Looking towards the port:
And in the opposite direction:
And now showing the park-up location:
The afternoon was spent route planning and listening to coverage of the football (Man U vs Man C).
Then it was drive time again. Primarily to make sure the jump-starter was fully charged; having used it twice I wasn't sure whether it held sufficient charge for another jump-start should it be required tomorrow! Hopefully it won't be required, but if it does, it probably means I'll need to buy that new battery. Secondarily, I needed to move to somewhere that continues to permit overnight parking: the place I previously stayed in Gandia has erected no parking signs for motorhomes/camper. Tonight I reside on the southside of Oliva near to the beach.
- Distance driven: 91 miles!
- Distance cycled: 0
- Weather: Some rain overnight. Overcast in the morning with some occasional light rain early on, brightening up in the afternoon.
- Location: Google Maps