Time to find somewhere to stay….
My partner and friend set off to Spain for 2 nights and 3 days to view a selection of properties put together by Lisa at movetomalaga.com. As we suspected it was not as easy to find somewhere that could accommodate 4 adults and all the animals.
They view a number of places – some at the end of steep tracks that are pretty inaccessible, bearing in mind we will probably be there in the winter. One place was great in terms of size and location, but was filthy as well as a mess. Another place had the owners dogs in kennel cages in the garden that we would be expected to look after – what planet are these landlords on?
They settled on a place in Competa – not ideal, but the best of a bad bunch, and within budget.
Rent had to be paid from the 15th November which was a bit of a bummer, and 3 months deposit in case of damage from the animals, but it was doable.
The sale or our house was proceeding. As it was a self-build there was lots of original paperwork to find from when we completed it and had it signed off in 2013, but luckily I am fairly organised and could sort everything.
The buyers solicitors were absolutely useless – I am tempted to name and shame them here but will resist – lets just say they are a big firm in Liverpool city centre. They would not commit to a date which was causing me stress, stress and more stress. We had removal men to sort, pet removals, jobs to give notice on and all the usual stuff that comes with moving house multiplied threefold because we were going abroad. There is a tell tale sign of the pressure I was under every time I look at the photo I had done for my international driving licence a few weeks before we left – I look 20 years older. But I am made of stern stuff and we got through it all.
We all worried about the use of a pet transport company. It wasn’t that we thought they would not look after the animals, it was more because the doberman is very needy and we found out the journey was going to take 3-4 days. With them using 2 drivers and sleeping in the van, even with dog walking stops we could not fathom it.
Eventually, I decided to find a way to transport them ourselves. We looked at a few motorhomes – one was ideal and was a lovely farmers wife selling up her baby, but the second one we viewed was enormous and stank of fish. It was a mess inside and tatty outside so it was a no go. By the time we decided to buy the first one, it had sold 🙁
Plan B – see if we could rent one. Hours spent trawling the internet to find one we could take from Liverpool to Competa without much luck, until I cam across a company called anywhere campers. They are based in Prague and do one-way camper van hire across Europe. They were quick to respond, admitedly it was not the cheapest option, but insurance except the excess is all included.
They were fabulous…but more about the journey later.
Finally, the idiot solicitors agreed a date – with less than a weeks notice – fabulous. The removals company were told, the motorhome booked, formal notice given at work, post redirected and as much as possible made online. The completion date was set for 3rd December 2020 – a Thursday. The plan was to load the motorhome in Liverpool and then drive to Warrington to pick up my friend. Her husband could not come over as they had not sold their house so he needed to stay and work. My partner was driving with us in his big F150 thingy.
I took that week of work to finish the packing (I thought) and get final bits sorted. Finish ended up as starting and doing – a story for another time nearly ending up in separation! Luckily my dear friend – the same one who went to the vets with me – came round to help and saved the day and kept my sanity which was teetering on the edge.
And then the day came …