At the end of the day, none of us are indispensable. Life goes on. Work continues. Projects get completed. With or without us. The world keeps on spinning. Regardless.
More than on any other trip we have come to rely on Scoot as our main man to ferry us wherever we’ve needed. No bikes; no taxis; no buses; no trains. A two night stop at River Camping is unplanned. Scoot is sick. Hope lies with Carol Nash Insurance and our scooter EU breakdown cover. They came up trumps once before in Spain. The best they offer is to get Scoot towed in. With no promises. The local Yamaha garage unable to perform a quick fix. Three to four days quoted as earliest. We decline. With two weeks to go, time management is of the essence. So Scoot is destined to stay cooped up, like a clipped chicken. His work accomplished. For now. He’s earned a rest. It’s onwards and upwards for us. A new and different modus operandi required.
As it turns out, River Camping is a treat. Camping as it should be. Real grass. Two fabulous swimming pools. Table tennis table. Clean and proper facilities. Plenty of hot water. No barking dogs. No weird neighbours yacking after midnight. Lots of fun for the kids. Joy-o-joy.
Day 53. It’s 6pm. We’re currently sitting out a thunderstorm. A stone’s throw from Lake Garda at Camping Ca. Our earlier blowy walk, lakeside, a portent of things to come. Back at camp, Mr S gets foiled at the last minute. The pool clears as thunder rolls. Dip time. Two lengths down and it’s a thumbs down. Another main man has come to turf me out. He’s not willing for me to take the risk. Impersonates the effects of a lightening strike on the water. An elaborate mime of what Albert Einstein’s hair would look like after being plugged into the mains. Quite what difference that would make to me a mystery.
On route to Garda, our lunchtime stop throws up an all time first. A thirty minute work-out is in place. We reckon this lorry driver could earn a mint of followers, if he created a YouTube channel.
He is relentless. Rest periods of a few seconds only. Combines many non-yoga strength building exercises – press-ups; sit-ups; squats; et al. All muscle groups tested to the max. We look on – impressed.
Such a shame about Scoot. Hope you can get sorted at another garage?
We’ve decided to let Scoot have the rest of the trip off and will sort him out on return, although it could have saved us a bob or two getting him repaired on the insurance cover