Diary 18. Our Brush With Death in The Pyrénées

It sounds dramatic, but on at least two occasions I honestly thought we might die or have a serious accident.

This is around the same time we had made it into Spain and was experiencing lots of thunder storms and rain. Due to the weather, we were zigzagging through the mountains navigating to different stops we had decided on that day. Sometimes we would be on a smooth motorway that snaked around the foot of the mountains, and other times we would have no choice but to take a small windy road that wound up and down the steep cliffs.

The first of our heart wrenching experiences came when we had left a beautiful spot in Arija. We had been wild camping next to a lake in the mountains that I found the previous drive there to be quite enjoyable. We enjoyed a peaceful two days then left, hoping the drive to the North coast would be similar, but it was far from it.

It wasn't long until the road became thinner and we were fighting our way uphill, taking in the glorious smell of diesel that Kieth was kicking out. As it started to level out, we passed a sign informing us that we were 1100m above sea level. We thought the hard times were over, until we began the descent. 

The road wanted us down the mountain a lot quicker than we had gone up. We were on an 8% decline with lots of sharp bends. 8% doesn't sound like much, but when you're in a 3.5 tonne van that doesn't have very good brakes, it's too steep.

I had already built up some speed, and despite dropping a gear and the engine roaring unhappily, I was having to use the brakes a lot. Evidently, more than I should have been. We started to smell the burning of the red hot brakes so when I had the opportunity, I pulled into a small lay-by where we jumped out the van to discover heaps of smoke pouring from the front wheels.

We emptied our bladders that were screaming for release from the nerves, and hopped on Google to search how best to cool them down. We found an article that advised to carry on driving without using the breaks so that the air passing through would cool them down. It wasn't something we could do before we stopped, but could start doing when we set off again by taking it slowly in second gear, only breaking when we needed to, and using the bends to slow down. It finished with advice on what to do if the breaks failed (using the side barriers and the hand brake etc.) which put terrifying visions into my head. Finally, it ended by saying the brakes shouldn't be left still for too long otherwise they can warp. 

Panic! We had been sitting there for 15 minutes and were scared we may now have warped breaks that won't work. I jumped back in the drivers seat and struggled to put on my seat belt. Every now and then it decides it doesn't want to release, and in this time of urgency, this was one of them. 

After another 5 minutes attempting to fix the seat belt and finally buckling ourselves in, we began our steady roll down the mountain. Thinking of all the possible scenarios and emergency steps I might have to take, I was afraid I might have another poopcident.

J kept herself poised, ready to pull the hand break if needed, while I followed the advice we'd read online and steadily rolled down hill as fast as second gear could handle. Thankfully we made it safely to the bottom.

Two days later, we had to make our way through the mountains again, this time travelling South to Leon and with J behind the wheel. We were expecting a two hour drive, but from looking at the map, it looked like it would be on a motorway - not so bad. 

Little did we know, part of that motorway was a toll, which we had set our satnav to avoid. So, 30 minutes into the journey, the satnav directed us off the motorway and back into the windy hills. We were equipped with the knowledge and experience of the previous journey, only this time we were in the clouds. Like, actually in the clouds!

We could only see a few meters ahead of us and were climbing uphill for a long long time. Keith started to get hot and struggle, so we pulled into a lay-by again to all rest. As Jenna came to a stop, the van then started to roll backwards. The brakes weren't keeping us still! Not even the hand brake. Before we built up too much speed, we reacted quickly and put the van into first gear with the engine off. It was holding us.

Both a bit shaky, we had another toilet break and looked for a way back to the motorway, not caring if it meant paying a charge. On this occasion, in these circumstances, we didn't care what it would cost. However to get to it, we still had to finish climbing up the mountain and make our way back down. Luckily, from what we could tell on the map, it didn't look like there was much more climbing to do, and the descent didn't look as steep.

With visibility still poor, we prepared to depart. First, we had to take Keith out of first gear to turn the engine on. Jenna gave the brakes a good pump (which they sometimes need) and took it out of gear. We started rolling backwards at speed!

The hand brake still wasn't holding us and the pedal breaks were doing didly squat. I had no idea how much lay-by was left behind us and could see us hitting the barrier or flying backwards off the cliff. It all happened in about 2 seconds, but I leant over and yanked the hand brake up further and Jenna put us back into first gear. We were static again.

There wasn't much space left behind us, so we had one more shot at pulling away, both with our hearts pounding. This time we knew we had to act fast. With me still leant over holding the hand break, Jenna swiftly took it out of gear, turned the engine on, and back into first. I realeased the handbreak and Jenna, using her old boy racer style of driving, revved us into a forward motion. Few!

We continued the nail biting journey through the mountains as high as 1400m, until finally we came back down and out of the clouds where we both sighed a massive breath of relief. I thought the excitement was over but Jenna had other ideas...

It was time to exit the road and head towards the motorway. The satnav instructed the exit, which you would normally expect to bend away from the road and onto another. Only this was a European exit that guides you off to the right and within a few feet promptly bends to the left, where you stop to cross the road you just exited. Jenna was confused by the junction and, still thinking it would be a slip road, was exiting the road at about 70kpm. Having seen the junction, I shouted to slow down. Jenna tried to react but the brakes weren't working...again!

Within seconds we would be at the stop sign where the cars behind us would expect us to stop while they drove past. We quickly realised that wasn't going to happen.

J had no choice but to swerve round the bend and back on to the road we were just on, just edging back in front of the car that was behind. We were incredibly lucky that they had left a decent gap between us, there wasn't any traffic coming the other way, and the road was wide enough for us to make some sharp turns without rolling.

There may well be some things we could have done differently, but with a split second to react, we followed our instincts. I'm sure I'll be driving again for the next few days, when one of our first stops will be a mechanics to get the brakes fixed.

Matt :)