Palumbi on strike

If I were Palumbi, the headline would sound different.

I should start differently, because some readers may be surprised at our "naivety" during the trip.

Before we set off, Palumbi was given an MOT and everything, so hopefully nothing should come up. BUT I have no control over what the service was like before that, even though I had pointed out that we would be driving A LOT. I don't know whether Palumbi's brakes were actually looked at, but I did say they were. It could be that everything was running properly, but it could also be that such an old caravan is not given as much attention as a new one. (Our service partner is one of the few in the region that offers MOT and repairs for mobile homes and caravans.)

We had Palumbi check as much as we could, but what would happen to the roads or the things that you only see when they are already rotting or have happened was unforeseeable.

We knew that there would be screws again, and that the road conditions would certainly have an impact on the brakes and chassis, but we were not prepared for an accident and the brakes failing in general. After all, Palumbi is now a good 50 years old, and it is difficult to find spare parts.

I can't say whether it's material fatigue or whether Palumbi is signalling that he has been towed 50,000 km with Christian and me over the last 17 years. A normal caravan owner drives to Bibione or wherever, stands there for 2 weeks and then drives home again. In Great Britain, Palumbi has been to the Scottish Highlands, the Outer Hebrides, and he has been with us to France, Norway and so many other great places and countries, so you can understand if a screw is loose or the chassis needs a little welding. The fact that most of the things are happening now during the sabbatical year is because we drove around 20,000 km with a trailer. I can understand it, but of course I would prefer if Palumbi had just carried on driving as it was, if it hadn't destroyed the brake drum. This is something that is keeping us somewhat static near the kite surfing stronghold of Tarifa, because Christian has been busy making phone calls and doing research, and now, with the help of his brother and a friend, things will hopefully start to move forward, as AL-KO as a manufacturer could no longer offer anything.

I hope that everything works out, that the post office delivers the package here and then everything is fine, fingers crossed!

It's hard for me to say that we don't know if everything will work out, because Palumbi was always part of the plan, and to be honest I didn't expect our second home, the 12 square meters, to go on strike. I would like to end the trip with Palumbi, we have just under 5 months left to go, but our jet is now the hub of everything.

I am incredibly grateful to our old-timer for the time we can spend in it, because it is always funny, reliable and always gives the dogs a nice home where they obviously feel comfortable. Hopefully it stays that way for a while, because I really like Palumbi!