Conclusions

22nd June 2000

It may seem premature to start writing conclusions when we are still in Sicily, some 30 days and a couple of thousand miles from home, but we suspect that when we do get back we will be overwhelmed with the cares of life and may not get to do it until some of the experience fades.  On the last leg, however, we may well find things to add.

Our travels have dispelled some of our prejudices but reinforced others.  A lot of old learning and experience has been put into perspective.  We now know that Sicily is not an irrelevant island off the south coast of Italy but a vibrant place that was once at the heart of European development.  We now have a much better understanding of how Spain rose and fell so swiftly and the part religion has played in shaping our world. Would we do it again?  Yes, but with better preparation and of course to new and exciting places.

And where is the best place we have seen so far?   Well, we are little Englanders after all.

Planning

We tried hard to plan and a lot of it paid off.  No matter how much you plan, something you had not thought of will go wrong.  We originally thought that we could tour on and off for two years and, when we found perfect tenants who wanted the house for that time, decided to do it for two years without break.  This we have found impracticable for many reasons and even a full year we have found difficult. It is obvious, but worth making the point, that a year is eighteen times as long as we had toured before and we must expect eighteen times as much trouble.  We had catered for this by carrying lots of tools and spares.  Largely this is a waste of space and, more importantly, weight as you never guess right.  That said, certain tools are essential and we shall try to make up a check list for these and other things.

The only spare truly worth taking is money.  As we shall say later, we mean money not cash which is too easily stolen.  Whenever we go on holiday we always take too many clothes, usually by a factor of at least two.  This trip is no exception.   Particularly when it gets hot, we stick to a very small selection of clothes.   Even in the winter we scarcely used a quarter of our winter wardrobe.   Probably, extra warm full length underwear and good waterproofs are all that are essential.   For the most part, clothes were not particularly expensive to buy if we had forgotten them.

The next thing to say is that if you plan to tour and write a journal you won't have time for much recreation.  The guitar, keyboard and language courses we had such firm intentions to study have been stowed for most of the time.    The same can be said of bicycles.   Unless you are a really dedicated cyclist, the effort of loading and unloading bikes onto the rack for transport is not justified by their use.   We have had some truly memorable bike rides but don't feel that our experience would have been devalued that much had we not brought ours.    In most places where you would want to ride, they can be rented.

Sad to say, the solar panel was another unnecessary item, both in cost and weight.   We have not been on a single site that did not have adequate electricity and in many sites the shading - which in summer we crave - renders a fixed installation ineffective.   If you want to have a TV, electric kettle, hairdryer and other luxuries, like a portable computer, you pretty much have to have an electric hook-up.   We had to run the fridge on electricity as opposed to gas because its vent, being next to the door, puts exhaust gas into the awning, which is not particularly pleasant. 

The mains inverter, on the other hand, which is fairly light, has been pressed into service a couple of times when sites chose to do refurbishment of their electrics at the same time as we wanted to watch certain TV programmes or use the computer.   A better answer to this, however, is to ensure that all your electronics are 12 volt capable.

Car

We now have some pretty firm views about the choice of tow-car.    It always makes sense to choose a major and strong manufacturer, but one should also be sure that the model you have is popular within their range.   In our case, although it had recently been their most luxurious, top of the range model, it had been dropped like a hot potato.   In such circumstances, the dealers show little interest in it, should you have any problems - and we had a belly-full.

We took out European breakdown cover and, to be fair, the company put in great effort, despite the dealers' disinterest, to help us.   Next time, however, we might consider buying a car with a combined European breakdown and warranty cover, which is offered on some cars, both new and used.   When Geoffrey and Patricia had their trouble, we were most impressed not only with the recovery but the prompt and free repair.   We had particularly wanted a rear-wheel drive, as it certainly results in a more stable tow.   That said, the overwhelming majority of tow-cars are now front-wheel drive.

We also were determined to have air-conditioning and would not be without it at any price.   It exacts, however, a heavy cooling load in the high temperatures of southern Europe, particularly when towing.  On one long hot hill climb with the caravan, where it would have impossible or at least very dangerous to stop, we had to turn the air-conditioning off to stop the engine over-heating.   It has two effects - first it places a considerable load - 5 to 10 h.p. on the engine - which on its own increases the heat under the bonnet.   Worse, however, it heats up the air going to cool the engine and, as we found, there is a limit involving ambient temperature, gradient and speed.  Without the ram effect of forward speed, the electric fans cannot deliver enough air.   Our friends, towing the big caravan with the little Golf, managed to over-heat enough to get a warning light on one hill, without having air-conditioning fitted.

In choosing our car, we broke a self-imposed rule to only take white cars to southern Europe.   The difference between pure white and almost any colour is dramatic if you have to leave the car in the open with windows closed for security.   We have also made a note to acquire reflective window liners to reduce the amount of heat getting into the car when parked.   Though having an automatic makes towing somewhat easier, it costs in fuel and also adds another significant heat source at the front of the car.   We met caravanners towing a bigger caravan with a smaller automatic car than ours.   They said it had proved marginal on some hills and indeed on one hill we had a bit of a struggle in terms of pure pulling power.   They did not have an oil cooler and we wonder how the rest of their trip went.   We would not dream of having an automatic without an oil cooler, after gearbox failures on uncooled gearboxes, not even towing.

We were pleased with the Brink detachable tow bar we fitted, which though heavy to take on and off is reasonably simple.   We have enough difficulty parking our car without a protruding tow-ball.   When originally fitted, an electronic relay had been supplied which, on the face of it, seemed an excellent idea as only a single power feed needs to be taken to the back of the car.    It hunted, however, and would never have survived our trip, so we replaced it with a traditional relay.  The electric sockets for the caravan are fitted a little far forward and the auxiliary cable is a bit short.  On a couple of occasions it popped out and dragged on the road.  This is a difficult compromise as if too long the cable will touch the road anyway.   We have fitted a catch string to hold the plug if it does fall out, but then we will have no fridge.   As these cables can only pull out as a result of extreme manoeuvres, usually getting out of camp sites, the answer we now try is to stop as soon as possible to check that everything is all right.   This is sometimes not easy as we frequently find no safe place to stop.

Car security is a major issue.   Unfortunately, the registration plates turn us into targets and, after one successful and one unsuccessful attack by snatch thieves, we are now trained at locking the doors as soon as we get into the car.   If an automatic lock is available, it is worth having, as are deadlocks.  Having a boot which cannot be accessed from inside the car (when the security locks are operated) has also been a comfort when we have had to leave valuables.    This also raises the more general point of not carrying so much clobber - as we have - that you cannot store it all in the boot.   Also, in the event of a breakdown, as we became too familiar with, you really want to leave the car empty to go to the garage.

Caravan

The Swift Challenger is only our second caravan, so we cannot claim to have much experience, but from seeing other vans we can draw a few conclusions.    Plastic is the problem and all caravans make extensive use of it.    Over time, and particularly, with sunlight or heat it ages and becomes brittle.   There are high-tech plastics used for special applications that perform well in heat, but these are usually too expensive for caravans.   We - and most caravanners - have problems with plastic fittings.  The worst problem is the water heater used on most British caravans, which uses plastic couplings between the pipes and the heater and, in time, will all fail.   Our van is nine years old and two of the unions failed, one flooding the caravan.   Next time, we will replace all critical plastic fittings.  Welded plastic fasteners in our roof vents failed with potentially serious consequences.   As you drive along, the air flow sucks at the vents and, had all the welds failed, we would have lost the vents.  The mixer tap on the sink wears and will eventually leak.

The fridge is a particular problem.   First of all, in our caravan it is poorly sited next to the door and, worse, the door opens and covers its vents.   The next van we buy will have its fridge away from the door side so one can use gas with a full awning.   As it is, the awning fills with exhaust fumes, when using gas.   If the full awning is used and it gets hot, while we are away, the fridge does not get enough cooling air.  Fridge installation in caravans leaves much to be desired and we noticed that many of the static vans have external, compressor driven fridges.   The temperature range over which they operate is marginal for southern Europe and in most installations the heat from the back of the fridge is inadequately disposed of.   In most cases, the air gaps above and alongside the fridge are filled with hot air from the coils on the back.   We found a dramatic improvement by fitting a 12 volt computer fan to draw the air out of the back of the fridge.  Even on almost new caravans, we found people with fridges that were ineffective in the 30º C ambient of Sicily.  Even if new, we may well have the voids filled on our next caravan.   The next problem with fridges is the door which, if you are unwise enough to travel loaded, may come off its hinges with unpleasant results.  We now travel with the door supported underneath and wedged shut.

Cooking inside the caravan turns out to be a bit of a pain.    In the winter, it causes terrible condensation as well as unpleasant smells and in the summer it leaves the van too hot to sleep in.  Our best buy of the trip was a £15 twin-burner gas cooker which runs on our Camping Gaz.   We got it in Palermo and could not have survived Sicily without it.   Clearly the ideal is to have a demountable cooker as it seems a bit daft to carry two.   We still use the inside one to keep plates warm for breakfast in particular - you cannot eat egg and bacon off a cold plate!   For our next trip, we shall find or make some sort of plate warmer, as the grill is an inefficient solution.

Condensation in winter was a major problem and caused mildew on the curtains.   The shower curtain, which we never use anyway, we took down and stowed and the other curtains we dry-cleaned when it got warmer.   Newer caravans have tackled this problem and, for instance, use blown hot air rather than the gas convector heater of ours.   In fact, they simply fit a fan and tubes to the back of a heater similar to ours.   We bought an electric fan heater as it made sense to use electricity when we were paying for it anyway.   Newer caravans have electric options on their gas heaters.   For some reason, we found certain plastic trims to cause water to condense and we have noticed that newer caravans have dispensed with plastic trim strips.

In summer, the problem is staying cool and next time we may well consider fitting one of the fan assisted extractor vents that have recently become available.   Keeping the bugs out and the caravan cool appear to be mutually exclusive, so we must pay more attention to the quality of fly screens.  The problem seems to be that, if you get the mesh small enough to stop the mosquitoes it impedes the air flow.   Good stocks of mosquito repellent, candles, electric and spray-on, are pre-requisites.   Surprisingly, we have not felt under siege by ants quite as much as earlier trips.   Not carrying any sugar or sweet foods seems to be the solution.  Where we did find large numbers of ants, we found that zapping their nests was the most efficient solution.

An awning is an essential, we feel, though plenty tour without.    Through the winter, it gave us more space on wet days and in the summer a shaded open area where, hopefully, the breeze would cool us.  Since leaving Tuscany, we have not used the side panels so it has been, in effect, a sun-shade only.  Some awnings do not have all their side panels removable and are impractical in the high temperatures.  Even our awning is less than ideal because its eaves come down quite low and trap a lot of hot air.   It might even be worth carrying a separate sun shade for the very hot weather.

Space and weight are always a concern and we have noticed that some continental caravans use regular motorcar wheels, which might save carrying a spare for both the car and the van.  At any rate, storing the spare wheel under the caravan, as some do, is a great help in releasing space in the front locker and would, in our case, help with the balance.

We would not want to be without our cassette loo, but we have never used the shower and really question whether two sinks and their associated plumbing are worth having.   What we would really like is a made-up bed and envy those we have seen.   This usually makes the caravan quite a bit bigger, however.   Everything is light-weight in caravans and this presents problems in the bed area.   In our case, the design is such that it was bound to break at some stage and, when looking at caravans for long-term use, one should look critically at the bed design.    Ours is still quite comfortable, after almost a year's continuous use, but we would welcome a more rigid cover over the seats to prevent the joints between sections becoming uncomfortable.  The chore of making and un-making the bed is probably the one we will be most pleased to do away with.   In our case, because for balance reasons we stow the bedding forward, the inelegant design of the drawer/table unit mounting makes removing and refitting the cushions a fiddle.   The task would be made much easier if all the large cushions had grab handles as they are difficult to grip.

We have been surprised by the range of temperatures in which we had to sleep.  On several nights in the winter, it was below zero and now it is up to 30º C.  A single set of bedding will not suffice and one needs a warm duvet for the worst winter nights and possibly nothing for the hottest summer nights.  In between, we have used sheets, blankets and sleeping bags.

We had fitted a friction-damped coupling in place of the traditional greasy ball and external damper and had been very pleased with it.   We bought spare friction pads but have not required them so far.  We learned early on in our caravanning the benefit of a stabiliser and were therefore surprised that our friends with the Golf had none and never gave nose-weight a thought.  Other things we shall be looking for on any new caravan would include external mains, 12 volt and gas sockets.

Entertainment

It might be thought that the tour would be enough entertainment, but after a long day and a satisfying evening meal, washed down well with red wine, we sometimes feel the need to be entertained.  After a few weeks away from home, we also developed 'news withdrawal symptoms'.  The long wave peters out half way down France and, except in Malaga, there is no local English language news service on local radio.   The only solution, like it or not, is a satellite system and most long-term tourists seem to have them.  We bought our TV in France and a satellite system in Spain.  Another time, we would choose better.  European TV standards differ from the UK.  France encodes the picture differently and the rest the sound.  In Italy they also use a lower frequency band.  Small TV's with all European standards and Teletext, which we do not have, are now available.  Teletext is vital to know what's on and prevent the hubby from channel hopping. 

The Astra satellite system does not have complete coverage of Europe and we were persuaded to have a big dish for the marginal areas.  It is probably not worthwhile, as the marginal areas quickly become no-signal areas and the big dish is a nuisance to carry and to erect.  We bought a floor-standing mount that is meant to be bolted to a roof-top and is a real pain to secure with pegs to the ground.  A better idea is to get a tripod such as the one sold by Maxview in the UK.  A spare length of satellite cable, a compass and a 'satellite finder' are also needed.  The 'satellite finder' is a little meter that connects to the dish so that you can see that you have found the satellite without having to watch the TV.  A long cable is needed because you may well find that you want your caravan in the shade, but your dish has to point up in the air at roughly 45º and near due south without being obstructed by trees or anything else.

It also helps to have a separate amplifier to play the decoder sound as one of the benefits from the satellite system is having all the UK radio channels and it would be better not to have the TV on just to listen to the sound.  For any Formula 1 junkies, the separate sound means you can watch the local French, Spanish or Italian TV coverage and listen to Radio 5 Live.

In addition to the TV, we have a car radio with CD fitted in the caravan that gives very good sound.  It does not, however, have an input for the decoder, which is something we will have sorted for next time.  In our first caravan we took a CD 'Wogbox' which would have taken the decoder output and also had a tape mechanism and the big advantage that we could take it outside.  Another solution is an external speaker socket and retain the fully fitted arrangement we have.

We took our CD's out of their jewel cases and brought them in soft carrying cases, but only brought their sleeve notes as an afterthought.  We really need more capacity in our carrying cases to keep the two together.

Communications

We started off with our UK contract-based cellphone, but soon found the costs uncontrollable as we also paid for incoming calls.  We eventually learned that, for GSM phones, we can buy SIM cards in most - if not all - European countries.   It is still very much cheaper, however, to get phone cards to phone home.   Hopefully, next time we do this, e-mail over cellphones will be a reality at a sensible price and we will be spared the chore of looking for Internet cafés.  We doubt, though, that it will ever be cheap enough to update our web-site on the move.

Snail-mail communications are a much bigger problem.  First of all, despite all our efforts, far too much junk mail goes to our home and filtering it is a big burden to place on a friend and not one we thought should go to a family member.   Getting essential mail means staying still long enough for it to arrive and we have heard tales of it taking weeks.  Courier services can guarantee a maximum of two working days, but cost up to ten times as much as regular post.  In time, we are sure, this problem will be solved by e-mail which will, on cost alone, see off most 'snail-mail'.

Beaurocracy

To remain out of the UK on tour beyond 12 months, whilst still being nominally a UK resident, presents various problems beyond the need to get back for a major overhaul of the van and car.  The folk show we saw near Perpignan had a real truth in it.  We are woken from our dreams of being able to wander free as the gypsies by the realities of modern life, for which the metaphor of 'his medicines and his house' was used in the show.  One real, unavoidable issue is the car MOT, which makes us feel like Joseph and Mary, making the annual trip to Bethlehem.  Whether enforceable or not, it is a term in our insurance and, while we might stretch it for a week or two, one would need it eventually to tax the car.  While the tax itself is a technicality, it would be one the local law might choose to use.  We also need to file tax returns and sort out other matters that are difficult to deal with at a distance.

EUROPEAN UNION

The bureaucracy issue leads on to our general conclusions about the EU.   We find ourselves in the strange position of being more passionately European while more strongly Eurosceptic in the accepted political sense.  We find that in all but language the peoples of Europe are pretty well united now and show great kindness, tolerance and courtesy to each other.  For the bureaucratic union of Europe we have found little or no evidence of popular support.  We find it hard to comprehend how a series of directives backed by legal penalties can unite peoples with such disparate cultural attitudes to laws and rules.  It would be hard to imagine a United Europe in which in one country rules were enforced and in another they were not.   It is also hard to imagine a United Europe with up to 25 different languages.   While we think that in the very long term a single language will be spoken by most Europeans, in the short term more languages are being brought into the Union and long forgotten ones are being resurrected.

We think that the EU should concentrate more on genuinely liberating the single market, which is not so much a matter of more Pan European Legislation as cajoling individual countries to enforce the existing ones.  It should also concentrate more upon the individual rights and freedoms of its citizens and embark on a serious campaign to remove bureaucracy.  In this respect the UK is not perfect and has a few sacred cows like ID cards to face up to.  The UK also needs to make real efforts to get more of us bi-lingual or tri-lingual.  It may well be that English becomes even more universal and our experience is that more people want to speak it as a second language, but our poor language capability is a clear irritant to those speaking the major languages of Europe and contributes to the resistance against the spread of English.

Last updated: 18/03/01