Well a lots happened in the last week, including (god damn it) the first van reliability issue!!
We left Nerja last week and took the short drive to base camp in between Sotogrande & Estepona. The apartment has nice secure underground parking for the van, so that was nice
The area itself has some wonderful beaches and has avoided becoming a carbon copy of many other Anglofiedtowns on the Costas.
There are a few beach bars here but nothing else, so when the winter really kicks in, we'll have a 15 minute walk if we want a bar to drink at ( first world problems eh!)
I noticed that there was a small amount of fresh oil in our parking bay the other day, and checked under the van to look for the guilty party. Straightaway I could see clean oil weeping near the gearbox sump plug, which was a real disappointment. I had a full service in the summer, and then a new clutch in September so that'll be three gearbox oil changes in six months!
My best guess is that it's a driveshaft oil seal that's failed by I will have to leave the mechanic to see if he can sort it. Insufficient tools and motivation to try to fix it myself!
So there we are. With 153k showing and about 2.3k on the trip so far, the road trip grinds to a halt for now. It's a few weeks before we start to come home and I suspect we'll be going the long way around (Portugal, Western Spain, Western France) so if anyone's got any tips for those areas please let me know
Wanderer, signing out