11th february
If we thought the weather was bad yesterday, it is amazing today. Heavy, pouring rain and dark grey skies all around. It is also cold and we off in search of shops for warm jumpers.
Yesterday, I checked the domestic battery levels as I do periodically and was suprised to see they were down to 11.5. I guess we had used the electric roof a few times but otherwise nothing, and the battery shoukd be being charged by the alternator. So I checked it again today and it is down to 11.1, so now very low. ok, lets see what happens after a longer drive today.
I remember Tavira from our last trip. A very attractive river that straddles the river. So we drive to the road where we managed to park last time but the whole place is deserted, and as it is raining so hard there is no point in getting out of the van.
We decide to to visit the new Shopping Centre on the outskirts. Of course the underground car park entrance isn't high enough for motorhomes, so we all park on very wet scrubland nearby and run across the busy roads getting very wet. After a mooch around here and a good shop in the supermarket we go home. The roads are like rivers.
The domestic battery is now below 11volts and I am thinking back. Because the charger is noisy at
times, i turned it off when we were in the last campsite. Thinking there would not be any electricity
used during the night but of course that was wrong. The fridge was on. Groan. I have inadvertently run the batteries right down and suspect they won't recover. Luckily there is an electric point in the garage next to where we park the van, so plugged it in and will leave that for a while with all fingers and toes crossed.
It is Sunday, and our eating habits have changed out here. We seem to be getting fuller, quicker. All good news to me though as it means I don't want 3 meals a day but JC could just fade away. In the tavira Continente supermarket i have bought a Seabass for €1.90! Looks fresh, a good size and a great price. Jc has the other half of his sirloin in the freezer, so we will swim home and have a lovely late lunch in the house with the fire on.
Before settling down i plugged the van into the garage electric point for the night. It was now reading 10.9 with a warning saying Dangerously Low. Ugh, i think i need to start looking for campervan garages locally.
All going well, fish and chips being baked in the oven, and JC puts his steak in the frying pan. Then the gas runs out! Ahhh. The gas bottle sits in the room next to the kitchen. Would be completely illegal in England (and possibly is in Portugal). There is no ventilation into this room other than around door from the kitchen, so any escaping gases would come into the main living area. Anyway, there is another bottle there but the fitting on top of the existing bottle is a real bugger to get off. We turn to the information book which says the gas may need to be changed and if a real problem to call them out to do it. Um, but who?
As my baked fish is now overbaked and the chips are soggy, we slow up and and phone Adele. Luckily she answers. She explains how to get the fitting off and we finally succeed but getting it onto the new one is also not easy. After 15 mins of wrestling it is installed ad working. Thank God for alcohol.
If we thought the weather was bad yesterday, it is amazing today. Heavy, pouring rain and dark grey skies all around. It is also cold and we off in search of shops for warm jumpers.
Yesterday, I checked the domestic battery levels as I do periodically and was suprised to see they were down to 11.5. I guess we had used the electric roof a few times but otherwise nothing, and the battery shoukd be being charged by the alternator. So I checked it again today and it is down to 11.1, so now very low. ok, lets see what happens after a longer drive today.
I remember Tavira from our last trip. A very attractive river that straddles the river. So we drive to the road where we managed to park last time but the whole place is deserted, and as it is raining so hard there is no point in getting out of the van.
We decide to to visit the new Shopping Centre on the outskirts. Of course the underground car park entrance isn't high enough for motorhomes, so we all park on very wet scrubland nearby and run across the busy roads getting very wet. After a mooch around here and a good shop in the supermarket we go home. The roads are like rivers.
The domestic battery is now below 11volts and I am thinking back. Because the charger is noisy at
times, i turned it off when we were in the last campsite. Thinking there would not be any electricity
used during the night but of course that was wrong. The fridge was on. Groan. I have inadvertently run the batteries right down and suspect they won't recover. Luckily there is an electric point in the garage next to where we park the van, so plugged it in and will leave that for a while with all fingers and toes crossed.
It is Sunday, and our eating habits have changed out here. We seem to be getting fuller, quicker. All good news to me though as it means I don't want 3 meals a day but JC could just fade away. In the tavira Continente supermarket i have bought a Seabass for €1.90! Looks fresh, a good size and a great price. Jc has the other half of his sirloin in the freezer, so we will swim home and have a lovely late lunch in the house with the fire on.
Before settling down i plugged the van into the garage electric point for the night. It was now reading 10.9 with a warning saying Dangerously Low. Ugh, i think i need to start looking for campervan garages locally.
All going well, fish and chips being baked in the oven, and JC puts his steak in the frying pan. Then the gas runs out! Ahhh. The gas bottle sits in the room next to the kitchen. Would be completely illegal in England (and possibly is in Portugal). There is no ventilation into this room other than around door from the kitchen, so any escaping gases would come into the main living area. Anyway, there is another bottle there but the fitting on top of the existing bottle is a real bugger to get off. We turn to the information book which says the gas may need to be changed and if a real problem to call them out to do it. Um, but who?
As my baked fish is now overbaked and the chips are soggy, we slow up and and phone Adele. Luckily she answers. She explains how to get the fitting off and we finally succeed but getting it onto the new one is also not easy. After 15 mins of wrestling it is installed ad working. Thank God for alcohol.
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