Bongo's last chance
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Bournemouth,
England,
United Kingdom
Friday, May 16, 2008
We bought our Bongo 5 years ago in May. It had previously been a camper van, but the previous owner had converted it back into a people carrier. This was fine by us because we had a clear idea of how we wanted it to be, and none of the conversion companies were building Bongos that way. If you're interested, there are some pics here: You know when you've been Bongo'd
After a manic summer it was just about ready to put on the ferry in early September. That first night we stayed on a farm near Sables d'Alonne. Next morning Bongo started reluctantly and belched out a cloud of black smoke, but it was fine after that. The rest of the holiday went well and we made it through France and down to the Costa Brava.
2 years ago, again on the first day out, the automatic gearbox wouldn't engage first thing in the morning. Ralph is not one to let this kind of thing spoil his holiday so we continued south. We made it all the way to Castell de Ferro in southern Spain before the gearbox failed. Bongo went home on a pick-up truck and we finished our holiday in a local hotel.
Last year - first day again - halfway down France - a strange squeaking/scraping sound started under the bonnet. We ignored it and managed a reasonable holiday around the Ebro delta, in Tarragona. It wasn't until our return journey that we broke down - big time - and travelled home separately from Bongo.
Ralph thinks we have breakdown cover, so why worry? It's not that simple though.- you waste at least one day organising the breakdown and communicating in limited French or Spanish with mechanics who have never seen a Bongo. The breakdown company doesn't get this and you make endless calls, telling countless people that the garage won't have the parts until at least 2 days after you have to leave for the ferry After you've sent Bongo on its way, you have to get home. You decide what to take and what to leave in the van, then you buy a bag or two to get the rest home.
2 years ago, the zip on the new bag broke at the airport and we had to get it wrapped in plastic before it was boarded. Then someone stole my camera from my hand luggage at Bournemouth airport. Last year, the breakdown company made a complete hash of getting us home. It took 2 days for them to get a plan together and we missed a convenient flight from Girona to Bournemouth. It meant spending an extra night in a hotel, followed by a taxi journey of 50 kilometres, a hire car to Zaragoza, a flight to Stansted, and another hire car to Bournemouth. We got home at 3am the day before we went back to work, and needed another holiday to recover. Bongo got back 3 weeks later.
This year the breakdown company don't want our business - no surprise there. We've managed to find another outfit though. We'd never travel without breakdown recovery, especially with a Bongo (because of parts availability), and we always get it serviced and checked before we go. Despite this, a vague sense of worry is gnawing away at me, and if we don't have a smooth holiday this year, Bongo is toast. We're booked into the national Bongo bash 2 weeks after we get back and if we have to camp in our mates' awning it will be the utter pits.
That's the bad side. I'll try and fit in a few posts about the highlights of our holidays in the next couple of days
