Long time no update. So here comes one. First the geographical stuff, prepare for a long list as we have been busy !
After the trip to the Gredos mountains we had some days to spend before needing to be in Portugal. We decided to go hunt for the sun, which meant heading south. This endeavor would end up being fruitless since a storm blew in over the Iberian peninsula spoiling those plans. Anyways, we went;
Gredos -> Cordoba -> Ronda -> Estepona/Marbella.
We stayed a few days to check out the area as some family members are considering moving there. Not my cup of tea to be honest, the latter part that is. Cordoba was nice !
We then continued along the coast down to Tarifa. No time to take the speedboats to Morocco but we had some very nice tuna
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Trip continued to Barbate -> Vejer -> Cadiz.
This is when we were hoping for sun, and the plan was to continue into Portugal and stay at the Algarve for a few days. But considering the weather we decided to head straight for Cascais, PT and stay with some family. This ended up being our longest stay of the trip (3 nights).
Our next appointment was due. We left for Estremoz to visit a friends Winery, and then south again to join a local hunting team. Red deer and wild boar for two days.
After this we had nothing scheduled until our visit at Black Sheep on Feb 29. We decided to head “back”, which meant towards France. After a days driving we ended up in Salamanca which was a pleasant surprise. We did zero research expect it was located on our route and fit with our 6hrs/day driving limit. A UNESCO world heritage site, and lots of quality Jamon. I do recommend a visit ! At night it’s especially beautiful.
Next day, next drive. We continued on route, with same logic which took us to San Sebastián. A walk around town and some very nice Pintxos. The town was a bit disappointing esthetically to be honest, but with quality food I can be very forgiving
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Time for our next decision; which way to take into Switzerland? We ended up going for Côte d’Azur - Piedmote- Milano and upwards. We are currently in Côte d’Azur just west of Cannes. Tomorrow we we’ll head for Monaco with short stops in Antibes and Nice. The Italian part we will figure out as we go !
So, onto the car.. which is why we are here. If anyone of you managed to get through my diary above
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I fixed the windshield in Madrid as mentioned. And the new one lasted all of ONE day !!! A bloody construction truck with open bed at the back cut me off on a highway (doing 120km/h) hit a bump and something jumped off his truck and hit my windshield. Cracked. Again !!
Luckily the crack was now more “strategically located”. Dry high in the passenger side so I don’t even see it when driving. I managed to get to Cascais without it growing further and I went to a car repair shop who put some stuff onto/into it. No idea what. Now it can barely be seen, and hasn’t grown since. 50 EUR fix vs 1600 EUR fix
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Key takeaway; the windshield will crack. Often. Just the way it is. I was recommended to put some film of sorts on it to prevent cracks in the future. On the whole screen that is. Will follow up with them and post specifically what they recommend.
Otherwise no major issues with the car. Got a call error again, but it went away after 10 seconds.
Also as the car gets heavier with every winery visit, i decided to increase the tyre pressure to 3.0 Bar. Later when I refueled I noticed that the recommendation I was going for was for 17” wheels, and I have the 18” so it actually says between 3.0-3.4 if I read it correctly. The tyres look less compressed now, so I’m happy. Haven’t noticed any difference on the ride.
Another learning; the front of the car, including the windshield, looks like a James Pollock painting after a few hours driving on the highways. The amount of bugs I am now responsible for killing makes my question if I’ll get through the pearly gates at all.
It seriously became hard to see through at one point ! Quite gross. The car is in desperate need of a deep clean now. Will try to manage that before the Blacksheep visit.
Speaking of which, I also managed to get in contact with Thomas at Black Sheep again and I have some more updates. My emails fell between chairs. He apologized. All good !
For one I was given their new product catalogue but there were some error in the prices so he asked me not to share it. He said he would send me a new one without prices and that one I was free to share so will do!
I have decided to steal the idea that I was somewhere in this forum, so I have asked Black Sheel to install two 12V sockets connected to Int 1 and Int 2, connected via DTP plugs so they can be replaced easily if I decide to do something else with the switches in the future.
I will also (most likely) pick up some other minor stuff that they have in stock. Brackets and such. More on that later.
I decided not to go for their Air compressor. It’s very nice but it protrudes 5cm which is too much for me. I use the smaller door quite often to shove in bags and stuff, don’t want them getting caught on the compressor.
So, long post ! Will end with a few pics of the car. It still looks the same though, will be more interesting next week
All the best !
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