Gibbs Gap Year

Valencia was a last minute decision really. Jamie and Venus had spoken about it promisingly, and we were headed in that direction. There was an issue though - there didn’t seem to be any safe parking to stay overnight in or around the city. In fact, there was barely any parking on Park4Night at all.  After struggling for hours through the heat and distinct lack of reliable 4G signal on our phones, we managed to find an outdoor parking lot which would at least suffice for a day trip. When we got there we were greeted with what looked like a huge sandpit, rammed full to the brim with cars. We could only identify one possible campervan, which was in full stealth mode. We already knew from experience that the Spanish will tend to park where they can, without forethought of access troubles for those they block in. This area of parking was no different, with access points blocked all round. There was a spot we could create in the middle, and though it wasn’t exactly cove...

We had been enjoying visiting beaches and resorts along the south coast of Spain, but the heat had started to become too much. The temperature was in the 30s, there was a lack of shaded parking places, and the van felt like an oven. We needed a break. My Aunt and Uncle own an apartment near Alicante. Some of my family have been going there for years, but I had never been. It was described to me as being on a golf resort in the middle of nowhere, which never really sparked my interest. However, we knew we were about an hour away so we sent them a text asking if they were there, thinking it was unlikely. As luck would have it, they said they were holidaying at the apartment for a few more days and that they would love to see us. We thought we would pop in, say hi, see the apartment for the first time, and maybe cheekily ask if we could use the shower. Unexpectedly, they invited us to stay for a couple of nights and to take us out for dinner. How could we say no?! As we...

As the Weather Girls would say, the mercury’s rising.  We thought that Southern Spain in June was going to be hot, we weren’t bind to the fact, but we really and truly did not expect it to be this hot. We were constantly searching for shade, and just couldn’t seem to find it.  Sticking to the coast for the chance of a sea breeze was the best we could do, but we needed to head in-land. Matt’s Aunt and Uncle have a holiday apartment near Alicante, and as luck would have it, they were on holiday at the same time as we were only a few hours drive away. The lure of a shower and some familiar faces was so great that we had to go. Unfortunately, in-land Spain wanted to make us suffer before we arrived. The drive wasn’t very long, but we didn’t trust Keith to make it through the mountainous terrain with the sun glaring down on him in one trip. We looked on our map for somewhere roughly in the middle, and Murcia seemed the best choice. Our pantry was looking a little sad, a...

Visiting The Vets in Spain Bailey, the cheeky little monkey, has been snouting around in bushes, on beaches, and by bins the entire time we've been away. Occasionally she decides to eat something from one of these areas, and it is of course a game to her where we have to chase her to retrieve the unidentified object. We took a gamble by not buying any pet insurance to cover her, so it was only a matter of time until we discovered if that was the right choice. The three of us have been struggling with the heat for a fair while now, as the south of Spain in June is an awful lot hotter than we anticipated. It was apparent that she wasn't feeling herself, but we weren't too worried, as we were regularly wetting her ears and paws to cool her down, and trying to make sure there was shade available for her to go and pant under. Then she got the poops. We weren't too worried at first, thinking it could be a result of her food changing, as we couldn't alwa...

We recently agreed that meeting other interesting people is perhaps the best part of travelling, even more so than the beautiful places we visit. With such positive experiences under our belt, we were not prepared for the day ahead... We were on an unmarked, long and windy dirt road around a cliff. It was a little slopey, and there was only shade where another car had parked, so we sat, lopsided and sweltering for the afternoon, hoping the car would move. As the sun began to set, we figured it wasn't going anywhere, so we set up the bed for the night and began making dinner. It was at this point a young chap appeared from down the cliff side, sweating profusely and taking a break in the shade. Bailey barked at him a little, but then spotted the piece of bamboo he was using as a walking stick. She wouldn't leave him alone, but he seemed ok with having a very tired play with her. Not too long afterwards, a woman and child came by and they were happy to see each other. She ...

5 Storage Solutions For A Campervan Downsizing to a van and finding a way to store everything you need to live is challenging, so every bit of space counts. Here are some of the ways that we saved space or created extra storage in our van. Hanging Tea/Coffee/Sugar Containers Save kitchen counter or cupboard space by hanging them from a high cupboard. The lid is screwed to the bottom of the cupboard so that you unscrew the bottom rather than taking the lid off. I had seen a photo of something like this when we were researching, but we struggled to find the right type of containers. We were adamant that they needed to be plastic just in case they fell, and obviously they need to be screw-top, but finding something suitable wasn't easy. Luckily, on our last day of shopping we came across these rose gold disco balls that are actually drink flasks, which is even better because they have a straw hole in the top where we put the washer and screw, p...

While we were parked up at the beautiful beach of our Huelva stopover, we encountered many interesting things. The first, a man from another camper, wearing nothing but underpants and then proceeding to undress and wash for all to see. The second, three gorgeous stray dogs who can’t have been more than 2 years old, one girl (who looked like she had been weaning) and two boys. Once we confirmed they were timid, we welcomed them with some of Baileys’ biscuits and a copious amount of water, whereas we caught captain underpants throwing huge rocks at them to keep them away from their picnic. I stared him down so that he didn't do it again! The third, was our neighbours who pulled up on the second night we stayed. They were both from Spain, had lived in London for a number of years, and were driving an Italian converted camper.  We spoke with them about their journey, and what they did for a living on the road. The man was a website technician, and as long as the places they pa...