Staying: Camping Nube D’Argento – Sorrento, Italy
Distance Travelled: 0 Miles
Song of the day: Strict Machine - Goldfrapp
Task number one for the day: Take the van to the garage. Cam remembered a bit of advice we received from a gent that we met way back at Mont St Michel in the campground there. He had owned a Talbot (as our van is) back in the day, and told us “If you want anything fixed, find yourself an old-school mechanic in a little town somewhere”. Would our Italian-speaking mechanic from Sorrento turn out to be this elusive gem?
After angling the van into the garage (have you ever seen an Italian garage? Don’t imagine huge forecourts, they usually have 16 cars tucked into 10 square feet), Cam and I entrusted our house and all our belongings to the mechanics, promised to return at five and went off to explore Sorrento.
The weather had been torrential for the last few days, but the rain held off until the late afternoon for us. Sorrento is largely on the top of a cliff, but has two strips of waterfront marinas (and pay beaches), where ferries depart for Capri. We started off with a breakfast in town (nutella and banana waffles, anyone?), then meandered through the Sorrento streets. Large sections are pedestrian only, and there were huge quantities of ceramics for sale as well as anything involving lemons (limoncello, tea towels with lemons, tea towels with lemons telling you how to make limoncello, and so on). We actually had quite a successful day of shopping, picking up gifts for family and friends (none involving lemons though). Lunch was had at a restaurant hanging perilously over the edge of the cliff.
So, five o’clock. We go back to collect the van. Is it finished? It is! How is it? In my limited Italian we were able to establish that it was “Non perfetto, ma medio” – in other words, not perfect, but average. Enlisting the English-Italian translation skills of the receptionist she explained that it could be perfect if they pulled it all out, but had thought it best just to adjust it. The problem was the clutch engaging in the wrong place – it was new when we bought the van, so it was just badly installed methinks. But, did it work? Oh yes. Our little van has never been so easy to drive. And reverse? (“Retro” in Italian, we have deduced) Perfetto. Our Italian mechanic gets full marks. Total cost for a house call and fix? €30. Brilliant.
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