Day 27 – Saturday 20 August – at Rörbäcks

Back in April, I spent a memorable couple of night in the van on the Falzarego Pass. Memorable because it snowed heavily shortly after I arrived, and I was in effect, trapped there for a couple of days and nights, or until the snow plough came through, blasting his horn at me to indicate it was all clear. Foolishly, I started the wipers with snow on the windscreen. My wipers are temperamental at the best of times, but they instantly packed in. I sort the help of a mechanic in a village not far away, who repaired them pretty quickly, just for the cash for a couple of beers. It was a simple mechanical problem, but beyond my limited knowledge.

On arrival here, I nudged the wiper stick by accident, and had shoes drying on the windscreen, and the same thing happened. My cursing was heard by the nearest camper fifty metres away. This morning i went to reception to ask about a mechanic, aware that as it is Saturday, it would be Monday until I could do anything. The owner, Martin, offered to have a look later on. He’s not a mechanic, in his own words, but prefers to fix things rather than pay money to have them done. There’s a lesson in that. This afternoon he called past, repaired them, and showed me the problem. It’s just a loose plastic cap, a poor design as he says. He happily took a couple of Adams Broadsides by way of thanks.

In conversation, he told me he was the only campsite around that would stay open until the snow came properly in December. Then he must close, as he won’t plough the roads around the place. He is a really helpful guy, and though I a, not a campsite person, I would recommend his place highly. Especially if you need a minor repair to your vehicle.

He recommended me a track across the peninsula to a local village also on the Gulf, which the dog and I took this morning. It was fine, and enabled the dog to swim repeatedly, and a good couple of hours of exercise. It was a showery morning and very humid, though in the afternoon a breeze knocked the humidity down a few grams per cubic metre. It’s a rainy day forecast tomorrow, so I expect I will just stay here until the visa arrives by post from the south.

It’s a Saturday without much sport also, largely thanks to the Lords Test finishing early, so I attended to my virtual bookshelves and collection, chatted with the Germans camping in a tent close by, and retired at mosquito hour for The Hundred.

And finally, credit to residents of this property who have a cardboard silhouette of a cat outside their property, I guess to slow the traffic down. It certainly fooled Roja, who immediately ran over to give it a hard time…