So off we merrily go from our ferry at Calais to Carrefour at CiteEurope to get stocked up on some bread and essentials. We noticed that the diesel price here was €0.96 per litre, we’re pleased to see that it’s cheaper than home.

After making sure that Molly is settling into the Unimog well we start the long drive South at the Unimogs comfortable speed of 65kph…

On our 3rd day in France we pulled up in a picnic area to have some lunch, I took Molly off for a quick walk while Steve had his usual walk/check round, when I got back Steve showed me that he found an oil leak on Mog. Not Good!
We decided to drive another 10km to see just how much oil it was losing and when we stopped again we found that the oil was now below the minimum level. Obviously we didn’t want to seize the engine so we stopped in the next village 2km down the road.

At first look Steve thought we may have a crack in the oil filter casing and nearly had a heart attack thinking about the cost of repair but after he had calmed down he had a better look and discovered it was a perished washer on the oil pump.

Being a Sunday we had to wait until the next day before we could anything about it. First thing Monday morning we walked into the centre of the village Vatan with the goal of finding a copper washer, it didn’t take us long to find one at a local mechanics.

Later that day Steve had fixed the leak and we were heading south again.

One thing we have noticed about France is how big they are on camping and hospitable they are to motorhomes. They have many places to stop over night, these are usually known as "Aires" and can be found on most motorways in France. We also passed several campsites but they were all closed because this time of year is out of season.As we approached the Pyrenees mountains (the frontier between France and Spain) we could see the snow capped peaks.

Excitement pushing us on in the hope of "playing" in the snow we decided to cross the mountain range heading for the Spanish town of Vielha. Steven and his brother Matthew had previously visited this part of the Pyrenees in the summer of 2002 and he remembered it to be very scenic.

Steve writes...
France for me was quite a different experience from any previous visit. Let me explain; every time I've ever been to France in the past has been to get somewhere else! Usually South Spain or Morocco to get to the warm conditions for me to kitesurf. That meant keeping the pedal flat and driving long hours on the motorways and quite simply not noticing France. This time, still heading south for Africa and driving 5 or 6 hours a day, we didn't travel many motorway miles and maintained a leisurely pace of about 42mph! That gave me plenty of time to see the scenery pass us by and I was loving it. Cutting deep through the French countryside kept a smile on my face, I found the atmosphere warming, even though it was bloody freezing outside! I saw so many old farms I'd love to buy and renovate, very unusual as I'm very fussy about where I'd like to live.

The best of the rest...

Spain...