At some stage once the structure of the internal build was done things started to move on at a better pace, or perhaps it was just that my muscles were better attuned and I was better skilled.

There was the seating area, finishing the internal structure of the kitchen cabinet, installing the sink and water bottles, the secure storage areas and not to exclude the book shelves. Slowly I added some colour with plastic sticker tiles, my Africa map, the quotes and sayings that I like to have around, curtains were cut and sewn, cushion covers made and suddenly it started to look like a tiny home on wheels.
I cannot express the pride and joy I felt that so many months of waiting, planning and working had seemingly suddenly turned into this home ... and I loved it. I just loved everything about it and I started moving everything into the van but as I was on the street with so many prying eyes I needed to get it all in as quickly and securely as possible. The first night in my completed new home was on the street outside the workshop as I wasn’t taking any chances with goodies as BlueBelle had already been broken into once and I wasn’t having it happen again.

Once I was packed I realised I needed to head out and test her out. It was April now and spring should have been coming but it was still cold and raining. I headed out to wild camp at a ruin that I knew would be safe in the hills and the perfect way to not only test BlueBelle’s new added features but to see how I would manage with gas and limited water supplies.

I can say that I really HATE cold showers but without the sun to heat my solar bag and after too many days without a shower it ended up being a cold one. I also learnt that I can manage a shower with just 5-6 litres of water, washing dishes can be done with a litre but washing clothes, now that really sucked up a lot of water. None of this included water for tea/coffee and general drinking. When you have to carry the water that you use you become acutely aware of how much you use and how little you have left.

Gratefully BlueBelle did great along the winding, rough and rocky, weather worn roads that took me up into the hills and the inside (with some 300 screws) was tight and secure with nothing falling apart. Not bad for a novice carpenter.

It did take a couple of weeks to take everything that had been hastily stashed on the road in Barcelona, sort it out and find the right place to put things so that the most used things were readily available and the other things were ordered and stowed away. At first it was quite frustrating with many rainy days meaning that the cluttered space inside was becoming annoying and so the need to trim down on things even further was a necessity.

After testing it became clear that the toilet access wasn’t working as well as anticipated and it would be best to pull out the toilet into the passage for use and use the available space under the counter top for an additional draw. These were the only real adjustments I felt were necessary to my PERFECT build and my new Home Sweet Home.

Lesson learned – never take water for granted! And Home is where I am!