Tag No. 95 - Old Spice? No, Old Shit

There are days that you just want to cross off the calendar. It would be so easy on the blog if I hadn't decided to report on good and bad times.

Even our start was much earlier than planned. At 5:00 a.m., it wasn't Spaniards who woke us up, but drunk Portuguese who thought they had to rally at night. They actually got quite far, but they dug their car in even deeper.

Afterwards, they had nothing better to do than discuss at the top of their voices right next to our vehicle. As I don't speak Portuguese, I can only guess that it was about who could help them. But to be honest, at this time of day we had no idea.

That's why they knocked on our neighbors' doors one by one. One or two curses could be heard before dawn. Around 6:30 a.m., it got quieter again and we at least tried to catch up on some sleep.

Our solar panel more or less covered our current consumption. As our Swiss neighbor still needed a reason to fire up his power generator, we also got an unexpected energy boost from there. So it wasn't a lack of energy but a lack of water that prompted us to drive back to Rafael's campsite (Sky's guesthouse) today.

On the way, we did a quick shop at Aldi delicatessen. Over the last few days, I, the carnivorous plant, have given up sausage and meat for once. My resolution to stick it out until Christmas almost faltered in front of the sausage shelf.

As a boy I always liked Old Spice, my dad used to wear this fragrance too. But when I spot the packaging in the photo at Aldi, I'm sure Old Spice isn't what it used to be either.

As planned, I try my hand at our back seat as soon as we arrive at Rafael's. All the bikes unpacked, ISO mat, mattresses, storage boxes and so on and so forth. Now I can at least reach the back seat from behind. Then sweep out the sand from the last few days. Now I climb under the bench from behind for the first time. As I feared, I can't find any screws to undo the paneling. There are two Torx screws under each of the belts. Thank goodness I'm equipped accordingly. So I loosen them first. Then I find four plastic screws that are supposed to be unscrewed with an Allen key. But unfortunately only supposedly, they unscrew immediately. Our neighbor Tom comes to the rescue (thanks Tom). After a lot of back and forth, we manage to get them out. Nevertheless, the cover cannot be removed.

In a VW forum, I find a description and a corresponding illustration. So I drill an inspection opening in the back of the rear seat. The illustration is perfect. I immediately find the tow hook. But unfortunately there seems to be more jammed than I thought. We can't get any further here.

Torgit and I come up with a new packing system together. By the end of the evening, everything is stowed away in the van again. But it's already getting dark. Our plan to be back on the beach in the afternoon has come to nothing.

I'm pretty frustrated, Torgit tries to cheer me up with a delicious dinner. I'd better take a shower now. A long, hot, long one.

The only positive thing about today is the puppy Alma at the campsite. Perhaps a somewhat unusual name for a male dog, you think. It's short for Almancil, the place where he was born - he would be cuddly if it weren't for the fleas.