Bye bye alternator...

We get stuck for a week at the Burgillo reservoir. We park our Hummel right by the water. Finally, we can set up our boat again, and since the temperatures are summery, the best place is on the water anyway. The doggos love canoeing and jump into the boat on land so we don't forget them. We paddle along lonely shores, swim in the crystal-clear water, and enjoy the solitude for 6 days. After visiting so many cities, this is exactly what we need. Hiking, paddling, swimming, eating, and sleeping. What more could you ask for to be happy?

On our way through the Spanish mountains, we arrive at the mountain village of Valdemaqueda, which is located at 1200 m. Suddenly, the alternator light comes on and we barely make it to the local campsite with the engine running. After a quick check, it's clear that the alternator is really broken! First, we need to open an anchor beer to calm our nerves and take a deep breath. In the evening, we find a suitable, used, and refurbished machine on eBay, and the seller is so kind that he sends it directly to us on the campsite by express mail. Lucky us! Thank you, Karl. Kilian will install it himself. In addition, our refrigerator is acting up. It keeps cooling and consuming a lot of electricity. We will now remove it and inspect it.

In the meantime, we take long walks through the magnificent mountains. We climb up to a summit. Many eagles circle above us and fly directly over our heads. We can see every single feather, they are so close. What a magical moment. It gives me goosebumps with emotion.

The landscape up here is uniquely beautiful. We hike through fragrant pine and fir forests, find a great river to swim in, and are simply amazed.

Occasionally, we take the public bus to the next mountain village. Each of us packed an alternator in our backpack and off we go. We need special tools to remove the pulleys from the old alternator and screw them onto the new one. For 1.30 euros per person and way for the bus ride and 10 euros for the car workshop to do it, we got off very cheaply and were back at the campsite in just one hour.

Eventually, everything is running smoothly again. 'Man' can fix anything, and our journey continues through Northern Castile and the beautiful mountains. Summer is here and the sun is scorching mercilessly. We search for our spots from reservoir to reservoir and occasionally by a river. The doggos need water in the heat.

From El Escorial (yes, the good brandy) to El Pardo, we look for suitable places for us. Unfortunately, it is now too hot for sightseeing, so our days are filled with a looooong siesta. Indeed, you can't do anything between 1 pm and 6 pm because it's so hot.

Since we are waiting for a spare part for the refrigerator from Germany, which is arriving at friends near Madrid, we have to stay in this area for now. Being very close to Madrid, it is not always easy to find suitable places to stay for the day. The rules for wild camping are stricter here, and accordingly, the campsites are more expensive. Once our part for the refrigerator arrives and it hopefully works perfectly again, we will continue heading towards northern Spain. We want to explore and visit the area around Andorra.