On The Road Again.

As we were heading towards La Chiappa's reception Paul got a call from VW - our car was ready for collection.  After checking out at reception Paul called for a taxi to pick us up and take us to the VW garage.  It was good to see the car again but not the bill - over €2,000!

After last week's disaster we decided on a different route to Bastia's ferry port; driving northwards along the east coast then across the neck of the narrowest point of the island to the west coast.  We then headed northerly along the west side for a while before crossing back over and heading to the ferry.  Some roads narrow with hair-raisingly steep drop.  Many twists and turns, enough to make one feel sick.  On a funny note we saw a sheep parked in someone's garage as we neared Bastia.

Checking-in at the ferry port was a breeze again.  Someone comes around with a small hand held computer, you confirm your details which is then logged on the computer and your car gets a checked-in sticker.  We found a place to settle near a window alongside a french woman and her dogs.  Unfortunately, later on, someone asked us to move because we were in the reception area.  I don't understand why we were asked to move because later we saw people sleeping where we had originally been!  Anyway, we found a place near the stairs on the next floor.  As soon as we had settled down dog and its owners came walking down the stairs.  The dog promptly peed on carpet and its owners did nothing.  I was gobsmacked 😡.  I was going to call the owners back but I was too shocked at what I had seen so it was a bit too late.  I ended up going to reception to get someone to clean the carpet. The receptionist was not impressed.  There are specific areas on the ferry for pets to pee and poo!  Thankfully 2 friendly stewards came later with a carpet cleaner and cleaned up the mess.

Time to try and get some zzzzz.

Our route.  Driving a bit slower we took a bit longer than what google maps predicted but we still made it to the ferry with a good hour to spare.

Breakdown!

Today has been a day I'd rather forget.  It started off well enough with packing up the remainder of our things before taking the tent down and packing it up. We checked out at reception and then, with the use of a paper map, plotted a nice route around the island towards the ferry port at Bastia.  Our route would take us southwards towards Bonifacio and then up the west coast before crossing over to Bastia at the 'neck' of the island, just after Saint-Florent, or continuing up to the north tip of the island and down to Bastia.  We had quite a few hours to kill before our ferry departure at 10pm.

Disaster struck..

As we drove southwards towards Bonifacio and then started our journey up the west coast the car started to have a few problems changing gears.  It got worse, more so whilst starting to climb up hills.  Something was not right.  Paul decided it would be best to turn around and head back towards Porto Vecchio to look for a garage.  During the journey back Paul had to pull over and stop the car because it wouldn't change gears.  He got out and had a look under the bonnet.  It wasn't good at all.  Everything was covered in oil, inside and outside on the grill.  Something was very wrong.  Paul got the car started and she managed to grab a gear, so we crossed our fingers and carried on down the road at a slow pace with our hazards on, just hoping we didn't have to go up too steep a hill or have to slow down.  Occasionally the car wouldn't get into a gear and we would glide along until it could get a gear.  We finally got to Porto Vecchio with the car gears becoming less responsive.  On the ring road we caught sight of a VW garage when the gears stopped working.  Fortunately we were going downhill a bit so had only just enough speed to glide into its carpark.

Paul, with his limited French, managed to explain to a very patient receptionist that we had a problem and that we needed it looked at and fixing today, if possible, because we have a ferry to catch at 10pm.  The garage was fully booked with appointments however they would try their best to fit her in today for a look, but no promises were made.  Otherwise they will take a look at her tomorrow.  We understood.  We packed a small rucksack with clothes for an overnight stay and took a walk into Porto Vecchio and its harbour to wait out the rest of the day before making any decisions.

I had a sense of humour failure, being hot and bothered/angry/frustrated/disappointed and footsore.  Paul took the brunt of my anger, poor chap.  After having a smoothie and pancake I decided to get my hair cut short - we had the afternoon on our hands with nothing to do so we might as well do something.  We walked up the hill to the old town and found a hairdresser there but it was extremely pricey.  So we headed back towards the VW garage where there is a shopping centre nearby.  In the end we found a hairdresser whose prices were reasonable and she could fit me in.  After a few minutes wait my hair went under the scissors and I felt better for it.  By now we were thirsty and went into a supermarket to get something to drink.

The afternoon was well along and we still hadn't heard from the garage - it was now after 5pm.  Paul wanted to go back to the garage to find out what was happening.  I almost went into meltdown - it meant another walk and I was very very tired and footsore.  I had also assumed that if we hadn't heard from the garage - that they had not been able to look at the car and that we would have to find a place stay overnight and that is why we took a change of clothes with us.  So why had we taken our clothes with us and spent the day carrying a heavy rucksack?!  I threatened to stay put and wait for him but in the end I ended up going with him to the garage.

The garage HAD been able to look at the car and showed us the damage.  It was not good.  There was a hole in the gearbox oil cooling radiator and all the oil had leaked out - so no gears.  A previous garage who had put the radiator in had put in a screw where it shouldn't have been and it punctured the radiator.  The previous garage also did not secure the radiator properly so the radiator moved around causing the hole in the soft aluminium of the radiator to get bigger and so we lost the gear oil.  We knew who had put in the radiator a few weeks ago - Kwikfit in the Netherlands.  Paul has got video footage of the rocky radiator and a few pics of the screw piercing it.

Unfortunately VW didn't have the Taureg's part in stock so it has to be ordered in from the mainland.  The earliest they can get it in is, hopefully, next Wednesday morning.  Depending on when it arrives, we will either get the car back next Wednesday afternoon or next Thursday afternoon.  We were not happy.  Paul had taken an extra 2 weeks leave so that we could attend friends' wedding vow renewals in Italy (this Tuesday!) and we would now have to miss it, all because of someone's mistake at Kwikfit.  And it is a very costly mistake - over €2000 for parts and labour.

What to do?!  Porto Vecchia is expensive for accommodation so Paul rang the campsite from where we had checked out this morning to see if the had any bungalows available.  Yes, a basic one. Getting a taxi was like 'pulling hens' teeth.  Paul made a few calls but with no success.  Eventually took our suitcases and walked to Porto Vecchio's harbour in the hope of finding something there.  There was an information office at the harbour and they helped us with some numbers for a taxi and eventually we got through to a chap who was able to take us to La Chiappa.

We arrived at La Chiappa (http://www.chiappa.com/en/) just 3 minutes before reception closed (8pm).  The receptionist was just about to go home, gave us the key to our chalet and simply asked us to come back in the morning to pay our bill.  Campsite policy is to pay the bill upfront so it was nice that there was an element of trust.  Well she knew we wouldn't get very far without a car and she had our previous stay's details, address, etc.  We had to walk to our chalet with our luggage because staff had gone home, except for security, so we couldn't get a lift in an electric buggy.  In the dark it seemed an awfully long way but we found our chalet in the end.  It was dinner time and we were hungry, and with the campsite shop closed, we had no option but to go the the campsite's restaurant.  Before we left for dinner though, Paul tried to cancel the ferry/change ferry booking but it was too late.  Paul couldn't get our money back and we will have to make a fresh booking closer to the time when we know when the car will be ready.

Dinner was a simple affair.  We went got a pizza and split it.  It was so big that I'm glad we only got one!

After all of today's saga - I'm emotionally drained.  Time for bed.

Feeling lighter & a wee bit better.

Our car in bits

  

A Bit of This & That, and Final Scuba Dive

Paul relaxing

Over the last 2 days or so we have been either relaxing or I've been attending my diving course which I have thoroughly enjoyed.  Thanks to Paul who encouraged me to do the course.  I have always enjoyed swimming and being under water.  I remember holding my breath under water with my sister, and seeing who could hold our breath the longest.  Underwater swimming was our forté at school too.  Scuba diving allows me to spend time under water and being able to breathe at the same time.  Being weightless, the silence (apart from hearing myself breath with the tank) and seeing life beneath the waves just adds to the wonderful feeling.

This morning we drove to Porto Vecchio and had a wander around the old town, meandering through narrow cobbled streets.  We also visited a church, the inside of which was beautiful.  A nondescript-looking chapel opposite was also lovely inside. By midday the streets had got a lot busier and eventually the town was almost heaving.  It was time to leave.  Also I had to get back to La Chiappa and the Hippocampe Dive Centre for my final training dive.

I have finally completed my course and have now gained my open water divers' licence. It is exciting but caution will not be thrown into the wind each time I dive.  It has associated risks and things to constantly bear in mind and look out for.  Having said that though, I look forward to further dives.

PHOTOGRAPHS

The church

Inside the chapel.

 

With today's dive buddy and her husband

I forgot my sunhat!

 

Getting out of the water and gravity hits  - I can hardly get up!

Scuba Diving Course - Dives 2 & 3

A dive day for me and I was excited, looking forward to the next instruction session despite an early start.  The antihistamines I took last night have left me feeling a bit tired but caffeine in a Red Bull soon perked me up again.  After breakfast Paul and I made our way to Hippocampe Dive School for the 8:45am start.  A group of divers were already heading out to the rubber ducks, having met at 8:30am and prepared for their dive.  There was only me for the morning's diving instruction; 2 or 3 other people had cancelled due to illness so I ended up having a one to one session with Wolf, one of the instructors.

Getting a helping hand over the rocks

After put my diving gear together and got suited up, Wolfe and I headed to the water's edge where the rubber ducks had been anchored earlier.  Paul left us to it and went snorkelling in the water nearby.  Once in the water I was taught the basics such as clearing mask underneath the water, emergency breathing from a spare regulator, hand-signals, looking at depth gauge and air pressure gauge console, 'neutral buoyancy' and more.  Along with the instruction there was time to see different fish species and explore the nearby rocky underwater coastline, making learning a pleasurable experience.

I suppose my very first dive on Monday should have been done in shallower waters rather than from the rubber duck in deeper waters but with a group of mixed-ability divers, including those doing 'taster' dives, it made it difficult for in-depth beginners' tuition that day so I had dives 1 & 2 in reverse!  I suppose, in a way, it also gave Wolfe some sort of idea of my swimming capabilities and water confidence so my training could be tailored accordingly as well; bearing in mind that there is a course to follow though!

Paul finished snorkelling around about the time that I emerged from the water and was there to give me a helping hand so that I didn't slip and fall on the rocks.  It's amazing how HEAVY all the equipment is as soon as gravity takes hold and the weight made me feel very unsteady.  I insisted, though, that I carried my load back to the dive school but let him carry my somewhat much lighter flippers and hand 😉.  Paul had to help me get my wetsuit off - I simply didn't have the strength to pull it off, but he kept to the sidelines while I dismantled the equipment because I need to be able to do so myself apart from when I couldn't disengage the octopus/regulator from the air tank.  The coupling had tightened from the sea water and I couldn't unscrew it.  Paul loosened it for me and I was on my own again.

 For this afternoon's diving session I was asked to go through a section of the theory book.  This I managed to do over the next 2 to 2½ hours - a nice long lunch break.

Paul and I made our way back to the diving school for my afternoon dive.  Once again I had to go through the usual process of putting the equipment together, putting the tight wetsuit on and heading fully loaded to the waiting rubber duck.  I found willing hands to help me down the rocks into the water so that I didn't slip; took my diving gear off in the water and handed it to one of the diving instructors before getting into the rubber duck with a group of divers.

Once again the divers were a mixed bunch and I was asked to go with Lou-Lou, an older diving instructor.  He was a kindly-looking chap and took everything in his stride with those who he took under his wing - that being me and 2 others who had not dived for a while and were doing a bit of a refresher dive.  It was a nice dive, seeing a variety of fish - barracuda, wrasse, bream, salema and many others.  It also gave me the opportunity to put into practice what I had learned this morning - more so practicing an 'emergency' when Lou-Lou had 'run out of air' and needed a spare regulator.  This was something that he did with all 3 of us and he seemed pleased that we had accomplished the exercise swiftly and successfully.

Back on the rubber duck the wind whipped through our hair as the 2 rubber ducks sped back to shore, the mood was jolly; the divers seemed in high spirits from their dive.  Paul was waiting for me on the shore and gave me a firm hand as I left the water and walked over the rocks.  I was grateful that he took my goggles and flippers.  I was bent almost double from the weight of the air tank combined with a weighted belt as I staggered the short distance to the diving school  To others, it may have looked a funny sight, but boy did my knees suffer!  As soon as the equipment came off - I felt as if I was walking on air.  What a 'weighty' difference.  Once the equipment was washed and stored away and I joined other divers at a table to fill in my log book.

I look silly with a sun hat but I didn't want get a sunburnt face

Wolfe later took me and 3 youngsters to one side, sitting us at a table for a tutorial session as well as asking us questions, probing our learned knowledge as well as our yet to learn' knowledge to see if common sense and our thoughts would give us the correct answer.  2 youngsters were doing their junior divers' licence, another lass had done a course before but her previous diving school had not given her a log book or any paperwork even though she had been told that she had passed.  So she had had to start all over again this year to get her paperwork.  She had certainly not forgotten what she had learned last year though, and it stood her in good stead.  During the theory time Paul sat quietly with me and listened patiently, using the time to refresh his own diving knowledge.

On reflection, I perhaps looked a bit silly wearing a sunhat in the rubber duck but it was a vital way of keeping the sun off my face until I went into the water.  I also found the peak of the hat kept the spray off my face a bit.

After 2 diving sessions in one day I'm a bit tired.  Fortunately I've got a day's break between diving again so I can recuperate.  It will also give me time to go through some diving theory too.