Two Nights Away In The Bongo

We finally did some camping in our campervan

We have now had our Bongo for 4 months, and in that time we have spent the princely sum of about £6,000 on repairs. We wanted a project, but quite frankly, if we had known how much of a project it was going to be, we might have thought twice. But we are here now, and we have come this far, and with every thing we get mended, the more we love it that bit more. I’ll tell you all about the repairs we have had done in a future post.

We’ve had a total of two nights away in her at our local campsite.

The first time we went with no dog, no bed, inadequate sleeping bags, and a -1C night outside, which was a little chilly. At least it was chilly for him, since I have a fancy sleeping bag* that’s toasty and has extra legroom for my late-night restless leg syndrome.

The toilet* I insisted on buying before we even brought the van home was very handy that night, as the campsite had not yet opened for the season and therefore shut the loos at 11 pm. Any woman of a middle-aged variety knows that getting up for wee-wees in the middle of the night is unavoidable, and women with adenomyosis know even more firmly that a toilet is a necessity and not a luxury. Luckily, my partner is very forgiving at 3 am and giggled himself back to sleep as I perched carefully at the end of the cabin with the bag, trying to tie it up without spilling it. I’m told cat litter is the best solution to this problem in future, and so I will be stocking the van with some.

By the time our second night away rolled around, we had been gifted a back-seat bench that folds flat and slides forward on rails towards the front seats. I treated the Snug Bug to a gorgeous throw*, and my partner bought her some cushions so she looks super cosy. The front seats also fold flat, creating a nice surface for us to sleep on. We took Twyla the Springador with us this time, and she thought it was great, snuggled up with us in our bed. Eventually, we want to buy a big ottoman for storage that doubles as part of the bed, so we can sleep farther back in the van.

Next, we need to get the MOT done, which is rather scary, and then we are looking forward to a summer of van-based adventures in our Snug Bug.