From Camping Bouscarel, Oye-Plage, near Calais back to Wineham, West Sussex. U.K.

Calais

Leaving the campsite at around 10.40, we had plenty of time to have a supermarket stop on the way to the ferry port. We had already shopped yesterday, but I thought we needed more wine and I hoped to find cherries. Cherries were not available, but I did find several other yummy things to take back with us. Hoping that Customs don’t stop and search us, as there is still a ridiculous ruling about not taking meat or dairy into the U.K. from Europe, because of foot and mouth disease. We have a fridge full of cheeses, yogurt, cream and milk, Last time we came back we obeyed the rules and didn’t get stopped. This time we probably will!

Ferry Crossing

We were at the port nice and early. As there are now new border regulations for the EU which require finger prints and photos at immigration, it is much slower. In fact France has abandoned this system for Channel crossings because it is so slow it produces chaos. Even so there are two lots of immigration on the French side. First French immigration then British Passport Control. When we checked in, we were told we could go on an earlier ferry at 12.50. We were booked at 14,20. However, once the check-in lady had processed our reservation, she advised we would not make the 12.50 ferry as the immigration queues were too slow.

Luckily another booth opened up and we were able to move forward and were ushered onto the 12.50 ferry by the skin of a cat’s whisker. It was a very smooth crossing and in no time at all, the white cliffs of Dover were in sight.

It looks very dull and overcast, but it’s actually very hot, in the 30’s.

As we had gone on the earlier ferry, we hadn’t had time for lunch. I had brought French bread to eat with our cheeses. We were lucky with Customs, we drove straight through. Soon after leaving Dover, we found a parking spot and had lunch. A traffic jam on the M23, due to a car fire held us up for about 20 minutes, but we were back in Wineham by 16.30.

Poki back home at our lodge in Wineham

Summary

Just over 7 weeks on the road and 8,607 miles covered. Poki was brilliant. An issue with in idler, which Dennis resolved as we had the necessary parts and nearly an issue with the broken immobiliser fob, but again Dennis managed to keep it functioning. It’s all down to Dennis being very thorough with Poki’s maintenance and excellent driving skills.

How was the trip? Was it enjoyable? Should we have done it differently?

Yes, we enjoyed it and achieved what we set out to do, which was to visit Moldova, Georgia and Armenia. Dennis was disappointed we didn’t visit Azerbaijan as well. We had always known the Azerbaijan land borders were closed, but should we have made more of an effort to park Poki somewhere and catch a train, bus, plane into Azerbaijan? We can always fly to the capital, Baku for a long weekend 🙂

I had done quite a bit of research for our outward journey, planning stops in Wroclaw, visiting the main sights in Romania and our side trip into Moldova. However, no thought had been given to the return journey. We basically just drove everyday taking the fastest route back. With hindsight this was not a good idea. It became tiring, partly because we drove longer hours than we should have and in Serbia and Croatia it was very hot.

When we first arrived in the U.K., the situation in Iran had just started and we were unsure what was going to happen. I think this stopped me doing as much research as I should have, as I thought we may not be able to do this trip. I had also booked a short break to Italy leaving on 1st September, so there was pressure to get back in time for this. Last year we did a four day trip to Rome, which was a great success, so I thought we could do a similar thing to Naples this year.

Back in Wineham

Now we’re home the hard work begins. Laundry hasn’t been done since Bulgaria, so just about every item of cloth in we possess needs washing. All the bedding towels etc too. Dennis has to order spare parts and attend to maintenance issues and everything in Poki has to be cleaned and left ready for our next journey, wherever that may be!

Living in Poki has become almost second nature. Our set up with the Caranex attached to the rear, cooking and living, has stood the test of time and it works brilliantly.

Where to next? We have covered nearly the whole of Europe either by bike or in Poki and would welcome any suggestions for next year. I know Dennis would love to ship Poki to Australia. Is he too old for that?

Update!!

Friday 14th August. Wineham. 36deg C.

Since returning to our UK home, we have been attending to a number of things. Jen on girl things, and me on Poki things.

I have replaced the brake pads all round. The rear pads, as mentioned earlier, were replaced in Brazil, but they have been troublesome. They are impregnated with metal and when the brakes get hot, they scream like a banshee!

Original pads have been installed to replace them. The front pads, while still OK, were wearing, like everything else…:) so they have been replaced too. But the BIG news is, the faulty immobiliser has been replaced. I ordered two new fobs online on E-Bay and they arrived within a couple of days. The big issue is, programming them! I called several Auto locksmiths/audio technicians with little response or care. So I took the step of writing to the supplier who immediately wrote back with the programming procedure. Almost unprecedented here in the UK! Brilliant. I managed to follow his instructions and we now have a couple of new immobilisers that work and the “repaired” one can be consigned to the bin. I am sooo happy..:)

We are flying to Naples in a couple of weeks. Till then, enjoy the summer/winter and be good boys and girls..:)

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