We try to avoid driving at night, but as the Ferry from Barcelona to Civitavecchia was almost two hours late docking gone 9pm, we didn’t have a choice.  As you may remember we have a him and a hers Tom Tom; his is a Tom Tom Camper designed for programming in vehicles towing caravans, positioned to face the driver from under the rear view mirror, and mine is basic positioned right in front of me, so we each get a view of where we want to be. I am so grateful for today’s technology as navigating by map balanced on my knees whilst holding a torch, as we don’t have a passenger courtesy light in our 1984 Defender, would have been most difficult not to mention stressful for the both of us.

We don’t mind getting lost in the daytime, although we try very hard not to, because we can see where we are and, if we need to (remember we are a 5.5m car towing a 8.5m caravan), can unhook the caravan and make an about turn.  We’ve only had to do that a couple of times when we’ve been concentrating so hard on our sat savs that we’ve forgotten to read road signage but, thankfully, our super duper Tom Tom Camper navigates us on suitable roads to avoid getting stuck a narrow roads or under low bridges or indeed dead ends.  The reason we travel in our 37 year old Defender is that Steve tells me if it breaks down, he can fix it.  I tell him repeatedly I’d rather be in a modern car that doesn’t break down.  Then he follows that up with, we’re probably travelling through Eastern Europe and there might be difficult to access a main dealership.  Not knowing very much about cars, that’s the point at which I concede.

Having arrived in one piece near midnight on Tuesday evening 16th March at Happy Village & Camping – Happy Village, Villaggio Roma, Campeggio Lazio, Vacanze (happycamping.net) – got through the barrier, been shown our area from which to choose a pitch we decided, as there were no other campers, to abandon our caravan right where it was and sort ourselves out the next morning.

I loved this campsite the minute I met and was given a traditional warm welcome by its Italian owners. As wifi is included, unlimited, unshared and constant I’m in heaven.

Checking we were happy where we were, we decided to set up the caravan properly. When I say ‘we’ I stayed in bed, considerately out of the way with a cuppa, whilst Steve used the remote controlled motor mover to get the caravan into place with me as a passenger.  Despite the jolting movements from him working the remote control, not a drop of tea was spilt from my hand held mug.  I’m sure being a big boys’ toy, there may have a few more manoeuvres than necessary, but those added to the fun of the ride. I continued to be helpful by remaining in bed with a second cuppa whilst he set about connecting us to services. 

The campsite is set in a forest with mature trees, hedge growths and the uninterrupted bird song is delightful, especially the dawn chorus.  Steve spotted his first live Hoopoe, which flew by so quickly he couldn’t believe what he saw and didn’t have time to take a picture. He enjoys his walks twitching with camera and binoculars, with Stella by his side. As there are no other campers, Stella doesn’t need to be on the lead but we still wear face masks. How weird is that!  The campsite has a restaurant, bar, seating areas and swimming pools – unfortunately all closed in line with current Italy Red Zone Covid restrictions.  The campsite shuttle bus with its return route to the centre of Rome is teasingly parked up close to us.  So much for throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain many years ago whilst Princess Anne got married for the first time – yep 14 November 1973.  Ah well, at least we are in Italy, able to safely enjoy the site which we have all to ourselves and closer to arriving in Croatia.

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Staying here through lock down, emphasis how lucky we were to be on coastal campsites with walks to the beaches, the odd open beach bar and of course the community and on site bar at Cabopino. We enjoy all, and take nothing for granted.

We’re due to go to a Lab for our covid tests Thursday morning to be within 48 hours of arriving in Split. We’re booked into a campsite called The Garden of Elves that evening. More to follow shortly.