Finally: 9999km!

After nine weeks, 66 days and 9999km, we're back home. Yes, even the longest, the most beautiful journey comes to an end. And we could both still be on the road a little longer. Time has simply flown by.

We don't make it to Gibraltar, and neither does Portugal. That's okay, these destinations are only in our minds, without stress or obligation. The real destinations of the journey are relaxation, reflection, and a little bit of self-discovery.

We see wonderful places, gather countless impressions, discover areas we didn't know before, and have countless interesting encounters.

The Bardenas Reales is the only place we visit twice during the entire tour, the nature park is definitely worth a detour.

The Normandy and Brittany we discover completely new and completely unexpected for us. Spain once again appears to us as a land of unlimited possibilities with vast and almost uninhabited, impressive landscapes and the always cheerful and loud people who come together in the evenings on the streets and enjoy life.

And France remains one of our favorite travel destinations, partly because the language has gotten so good that I can chat a bit with people here and there. Merci, chère Marie!

I gather the most intense experiences for the "Whatcomeswith" list on every tour. ONE pair of thermal underwear would have been enough, I didn't need the rain pants, I only read two out of nine books, and I could have left the crochet at home. The little lantern for the romantic evening light turned out to be useful in the last few days in Burgundy and Alsace. Until then, it was bright enough until sunset. The boat went on the trip specifically for the Pyrenees Summit, when else would there be a boat at the finish line of the Tour de France on a mountain?

Detergent is very useful. Even if Zappa's homemade washing machine doesn't offer enough space for the bed sheet. In the third week, the sardine thawing water ends up on his side of the bed, creating a new scent every day. Just like the yogurt in my cuddly blanket.

The portable washing machine is still a wonderful construction: cut a sufficiently large hole in a 5-liter water canister from the southern supermarket, put a t-shirt, panties, and socks in it, add water and detergent. Now place it in the sun, where the mixture quickly warms up very well, then attach it to the rear window wiper during the journey, where it is shaken perfectly. Et voilà! Today's big laundry is done. It works! Unfortunately, not for bedsheets and blankets.

We remember the day when almost everything broke: first Zappa's simple reading glasses, then the good reading glasses, but he always has a third one with him, the wise man foresees!

The crank of the pepper mill, which makes the chef swear more than once while cooking.

The gas cooker.

The highly esteemed historic spirit cooker, which stands near the Kangoo with boiling potatoes and is run over by a stupid mistake with the steering wheel lock, causing several days of unbearable deep mourning for the camp chef. Luckily, the problem is solved at the flea market in Alsace, where there are three new old cookers to be conquered for three euros each.

My sunglasses, here too replacement is available at the vide grenier.

A very important charger that supplies 24 volts and which we cannot do without. The journey is almost over at this point! Unfortunately, it can't be replaced on the road, but with many power cables, another 12-volt onboard battery, and daily multiple connections and disconnections, His Mastery has also solved this problem. Because 2 times 12 volts connected in series is known to result in 24 - says the Maestro.

The screws and nuts of the handle of the espresso pot are mysteriously lost in the Spanish Sierra. This repair task involves particularly adventurous experiments: from chewing gum, adhesive tape, rope and wire of various thicknesses and lengths - stolen from the bull in the pasture in front of the nose, bird feather quills, paper plugs, straws to the final solution with two thin, carved wooden plugs of the Spanish holm oak, which, after swelling for a longer time in delicious hot Iberian coffee, perfectly seal the holes that have formed in the beloved pot.

Now it's time to cope with the upcoming adventures in the world of work. And maybe some new projects will succeed as well.

We were particularly pleased that with your help, we made it into the top 10 most popular blogs on Vakantio. Thank you very much for reading, liking, and commenting. We will continue to be online in the future!

Only one question remains: where are we going next weekend?