APRIL 29TH – MAY 15THSVEN HEDIN
On Wednesday the 29th it was back to work as per normal, although we were a little later than we usually are (still earlier than anyone Irish). After work we went out to Ennis as Dirk and Tina were packing up their house. We had some take aways, and looked after the kids for a while so the packing could continue uninterrupted. At about 10pm after saying goodbyes we left, bringing Sven Hedin, our new van, and our first home we have ever owned, back to our place. It was great to pick it up. I drove it home, which was hard work, because it is left hand drive, so had to concentrate a lot with changing gears and road position. I made it home safely with Em following behind in the car. The rest of the week was all about getting through to Friday so we could rest up in the weekend.
The van is shaped like a big white fridge. It has two double beds (one above the drivers), a shower, a sink, a 2-burner stove, a table, awning, and lots of storage nooks and crannies. It is 3m tall, 5m long, and weighs three tons!
On Saturday, the 2nd of May, after having a bit of a sleep-in we took Sven on our first outing. First of all we had to get some pots to cook in, so we went to the hardware shop and managed to find and nice little three pot set. After finally getting on the road our first stop was Cork to pick up Alannah, a friend from New Zealand. We had a good trip down, and I was starting to feel a little more comfortable about driving Sven. After picking up Alannah we headed East, to County Waterford, to a small town called Lismore. It was beautiful countryside down that way, lush green paddocks, blossoms all around and a big river winding through the countryside. After driving around for a while looking for a suitable site to park up at, we thought we had found one. However after closer inspection is looked a little dodgy so we shifted 200m down the road to an amazing site right next to the river. Unfortunately when we hopped out of the van, we discovered a carcass of a dead sheep a few metres away, so we quickly moved on from there! Eventually we settled on the carpark of a rugby club, because it was well sheltered. We had a fun evening. We were planning on having pasta and pasta sauce for dinner, but the gas stove was not working for some reason, so after trying lots of different things we settled for peanut butter sandwiches.
On Sunday, we woke initially to rain and then a relatively sunny day. We were pretty happy because we had all managed to get a pretty good first nights' sleep in the van. After breakfast we got back on the road, and went to Cork via a small town market. Em found a small grater to add to the van utensils. We also bought our first rhubarb in ages. Once we got back to Cork, to Alannah's flat, we cooked up our pasta from the night before, and had that for lunch instead. After spending the afternoon with Alannah we got on the road and came home to Limerick. We'd had a good outing in the van, despite the gas not working. We still need more practise to get used to working things and driving Sven.
Monday the 3rd was a public holiday, for the May bank holiday weekend. It was a rainy day so we had a much welcomed day at home doing nothing much.
On Tuesday it was back to work as normal. We had recovered from our Turkey trip. We both had busy days at work. That evening we booked a ferry from Ireland across to Wales for the 13th of July, the start of our Europe trip.
After work on Wednesday we went out to the van to try and sort out the gas problem. I started disconnecting the gas line at all the joins, starting at the gas tank and working my way towards the stove. I did about 5 joints then it was dinner time, so finished there for the time being, finding no blockages.
On Friday, Em went to Galway for work to sit on an interview panel for a speech therapy job up there, which was a good experience for her. She did not get home until after 8pm, as the panel didn't finish interviewing and selecting a candiate until 6:30pm.
Saturday, the 9th of May started relatively early. We had decided to stay home for the weekend and get the van sorted. After an early visit to the hair dressers for me, and then breakfast, Em and I went grocery shopping. Initially it was raining, but the sun soon came out and it turned into a great day. After getting home, we got stuck into the van. The initial job was cleaning the inside. It was pretty tidy, but we took everything out, wiped it all down, and rearranged items in the cupboards. This ended up taking most of the day in the end. I also finally finished pulling the gas line to bits, and managed to find the reason why the gas was not working. It was not the gas line, but us unfortunately. We were turning one of the the in-line taps the wrong way basically, haha! Anyway, at least that is one thing less that we had to worry about, and we'll know how to dismantle the pipes if we ever need to in the future! That finished off our day in the van. We still have a few bits and bobs to purchase, but will probably wait until we get our journey underway, and see how we get on. Things are cheaper in the UK than in Ireland.
On Sunday the 10th of May, we had a lazy morning around the house, not doing much at all. Fortunately the good weather we had enjoyed the day before stuck around, so we drove out to the Ardnacrusha hydro-electric dam, and went for a walk along the banks which was great.
The start of our working week was also great weather. On Tuesday night after work we went to Eva (Em works with Eva) and Shane's house after dinner and did the oil and filter change on Murphy. It was long overdue, and Murphy seemed to run better after it was done.
The rest of the working week was normal for us. Rain, busy days at work, and still the days are getting longer. When we hop into bed at around 10pm, it is still not dark outside. With still five weeks to go until the summer solstice, I think we are really going to enjoy the light, after such a dark, cold winter.
