The Ham Nomads

8 Jan 2015. <FR> Jans, & Mouzillon, Loire-Atlantique —

Woke up in Jans. A coolish morning, grey and threatening to rain. Had breakfast, then went down to the garage we had seen — Jans Automobiles — walkable distance from the aire, but of course we had to take the van! We got there, and they immediately recognised the problem by the sound of the exhaust. The front end of the exhaust had parted company with the back end, where the mufflers are. Raw exhaust was coming out beneath the vehicle. They took on the job, estimating that it would take about 10 minutes, once they could put their hands on the appropriate joining part. Turns out that they didn't have quite the right diameter in stock, so had to order it in. Due in at about 14:30, just after lunch.

The sun came out, so Warren wandered into the village to take a few pictures during the daylight. While she was waiting, Suzie saw her first red squirrel going into the tree over the road. Suzie then went for a walk of her own!

 

The part arrived at about 14:45, and work started straight away. It wasn't as simple as they had expected, as the exhaust pipe had been welded at some time, and they had to cut away the thickened section and grind what was left down to fit the new sleeve — but it all finally went together to the satisfaction of the mechanic — who was a bit of a perfectionist, so he did a really good job.

We got away at about 16:05 (we've switched to the French 24-hour clock!) and set off, quietly!, to the village of Mouzillon, calling in on a McDonald's on the outskirts of Nantes on the way for a couple of hours. In Mouzillon, there is a lovely quiet Aire just behind the church and the Mairie, and we got there at about 20:00, watched a couple of episodes of Elementary and then turned in for the night.

Distance driven — today, 51 miles ( 82 km ); to date, 10,430 miles ( 16,786 km )