Our adventure: a final overview

- 59 days, 38 different sleeping places (plus the ferry), 19 nights free (the rest a mixture of Aires and campsites).

- 4015 miles driven in 112 hours (all except 15 minutes by Kevin). And we never got overtaken by another motorhome...

- £632 on diesel (it's c.35% cheaper), 22.6mpg, and an average speed of 35mph.

- c 60GB of data used; 3 series of Deadwood, 1 series of the Office, and 3 series of Sons of Anarchy watched (plus 4 Octonauts and 2 Bing DVDs, repeatedly).

- 1 safari, 2 aquaria, 2 cathedrals, 4 museums, 5 monuments, and many beaches, Old Towns, and menus del dia.  Plus more bread and ham than you can imagine.

Things I won't miss:

- mosquitos and mossie bites;

- Jemima screaming blue murder while I try to wash her.

Things I am looking forward to:

- seeing friends and family (of course);

- yoga classes;

- cooking in a full size kitchen (roast chicken here I come!);

- Radio 2 and Strictly;

- my bath.

Things I will miss:

- the sense of shared purpose that we have had: Kevin and I worked well as a team with our various tasks, and it was wonderful exploring and wandering together;

- yoga outside, especially when it was warmer and my toes weren't frozen;

- the possibility for adventure and discovery: every day (or as often as you want), something new! But comfort and convenience while you're doing it. The joy of a motorhome;

- and of course, the sunshine. And all the things you can do in the sunshine (eat outside, play on the beach, swim in the sea). Lovely.

The blog is both something I will miss, and not miss. It's been really fun to do, the most creative thing I've done in years, and has also provided a filter through which I have viewed our experiences, which has been interesting. But it has taken up a lot of my (limited) free time in the evenings (sorry I haven't always been good at responding to comments, I can only plead lack of time...) However, it will be a fantastic record for us in the future. And for those that have come on our journey with us, I hope you've enjoyed it. We have.

Journey's end

I spent today in a daze. The seasickness tablets did work, but they also made me into a zombie. But we had a nice morning in our cabin - breakfast brought to us as part of our room package, then Kevin and Jemima doing lots of playing while I looked vacantly out of the window, then went for a manicure Kevin had booked for me as a present (it was farcical how long it took me to choose a colour in that state). I don't think the night helped: Jemima slept the sleep of the dead, while Kevin and I were kept awake by the pitching and tossing - for a big boat, it didn't half roll around. 

Then lunch, a trip to the play area for Jemima and Kevin while I did some more vacant staring, extra playing back in the room, then it was time to disembark - all fairly painless, and definitely better once the seasickness pills started to wear off and I could function again. 

Then the final drive. All ok, Kevin doing a brilliant job of the driving as usual. After a quick dinner stop, we headed off on the final leg. Jemima asked, "Mummy, are we really going to Horringer?". And the answer was YES! We finally got home at about 8pm, and it was great. Jemima ran around the house, thoroughly excited by the space and seeing her toys again. And I felt a bit like that too. It's been a brilliant adventure, definitely to be repeated, but there's no place like home.

One final post to come: our adventure overview. But before then, some thank yous: to my parents for looking after our dog Rocky; and Dawn, Trevor and Richard for looking after our house. Sorry the leaks always happen when we're away... Thank you all, we couldn't have gone away without your help!

Morning from our window:

Breakfast in our cabin:

England!:

Portsmouth to Bury St Edmunds:

Accidents

No post last night - first time I've missed one the whole trip. And here's why...

Kevin realised something was wrong when we went to refill my wine glass at dinner and I hadn't drunk anything. I had been so blase about seasickness - I've sailed around the Caribbean in a tall ship blah blah - but actually, I had started to feel really quite unwell. (He was fine, having taken the seasickness tablets I'd bought him - which I had spurned.) And I wasn't the only one. Jemima started complaining of a sore tummy, then went white as a sheet. The added factor was we were in our ferry's posh dining room, having decided to splash out on the four course, fairly expensive French meal, plus a nice bottle of Bordeaux - most of which was wasted. Towards the end of the main course, just as we'd agreed to give up and I'd take Jemima back to the room, it happened: a projectile vomit over me, as I was holding her (the first one), and then the second one I managed to catch in a sick bag I'd secreted earlier. So Jemima and I retired to change and lie down, leaving Kevin to finish his meal (and the wine) in solitary splendour. And they charged us full price for me, the buggers, even though I'd only had two courses.

This wasn't the first accident of the day. We'd had an easy morning: a little drive into Santander, a stop to get more gas on our way to the port, then a gentle amble around Santander's shopping area while waiting to board. (We also found a final, amazing deal: a sandwich chain we've seen other places where the Monday deal is a pint and a sandwich for €2. Bargain.) Then on our return to the port we stopped in their cafe/ shop for a coffee and for me to (belatedly) buy some olive oil, ham, cheese and wine to take home. Unfortunately Jemima got so distracted by her Bing game (and me by the ham) that, before any of us realised what was going on, Jemima had a little accident. "I'm weeing in my chair!" she shouted in horror, as the puddle spread... Anyway, a strip off (only one pair of clean trousers left for Jemima - I can't afford another accident!); a clean up with napkins, and a quick exit back to Beatrix where boarding was beginning. But we made it, and after only an hour or so of loading, we were on board.

The ferry seems very nice - I'm not very ferry-experienced; and our cabin is lovely, and feels huge after Beatrix - and a good shower, in a heated room, with endless hot water, just for us. Bliss. And it was lovely to have a nice place to which to retire, when Jemima and I were stricken. More time to enjoy it tomorrow morning, before the final leg of our journey home.

Morning over the lake:

Walking back to the port, to where our boat is waiting:

On board:

Bye bye Spain!:

Santander park to the ferry port: