Doñana RV Park, Andalucía, Spain, 10/2013
After a very busy time in Portugal, we needed to stop for a couple of days and catch up on some everyday chores. Not really to our surprise, all of the little things that need to be done at home still need to be done on the road and quite often they take a little longer. Cleaning house hasn’t changed nor has washing the car. One job got smaller, the other got bigger.
Maintenance of the truck is critical to the success of any long-term traveling. Things like checking the oil, lubing steering components and other grease fittings, checking filters, inspecting belts and hoses, power steering & brake fluid and a list of other little things that if neglected become big things.
Of course then there’s washing clothes and ironing, somewhat more difficult because we don’t have a washing machine in the camper. There’ll be a time soon when a lake or river will do. Life goes on and cutting fingernails, doing dishes and exercising take the same amount of time they did back home. We are home. Dumping the Porta Potti and filling the water tank are just part of the travel routine.
Spain has many modern RV campgrounds, and the Doñana RV Park near Huelva was exactly what we needed. A laundromat, a flat cement pad that facilitated rotating the tires, 220-volt power to keep our computers & cameras charged and our Odyssey deep cycle batteries topped up. (Nice shady trees meant no solar power.) Thanks to Peter, our brother-in-law in Switzerland, we have a compact transformer that converts the 220-230 volts used in most of the world to the 110-120 volt power we need.
Not driving 4 or 5 hours a day does give us some time to relax and make a plan, and even meet fellow travelers to share information. It’s sort of like having “neighbors”. We are in Spain now, and we both speak Spanish. That’s nice.
Not driving 4 or 5 hours a day does give us some time to relax and regroup.
Spain has many modern RV campgrounds, often with pools, tennis, and a restaurant.
Our compact transformer converts the 220-230 volts used in most of the world to the 110-120 volt power we need.
Washing clothes and ironing need to be done every few weeks, and it can take a little longer on the road.
Time to organize and repack for the next leg.
Careful maintenance will keep our truck running for many thousands of miles.
Power steering, oil, brake fluid, belts and hoses, filters and a list of other little things that if neglected become big things.
Our auxiliary/primary fuel filter has a clear bowl so we can check for water or contaminants before they reach the fuel pump or factory fuel filter.
Rotating five 180-lb tires and checking the torque on the wheels and the pressures are easier in the comfort of a modern RV park.
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