Day 21 - Ne pas toucher ! ⚠️

DO NOT TOUCH! ⚠️ - The day started ok. It was a bit damp and a bit cloudy with mixed weather reports depending on which web site you looked on. Once we had had breakfast we started packing up, moving things temporary stored at the front of the van when parked up, to the back. "Why is the little light flashing?"

      The little light is a multicolored LED voltage indicator I fitted to show how much was left in the 2x leisure batteries (each the size of a car battery) under the bed, that power the lights, tv and water pump when we don't have electric hook up; only the solar panel on the roof. On hook up, both those batteries and the van battery should be 'on charge' from the control box under the bed. 

     "It shouldn't be, we are on hook up. Wonder if the site power tripped during the night?"

Checking the power to the van and the actual voltage of the leisure batteries, everything seemed to be ok. "Strange 🤔, maybe the light unit it self is faulty, we have had it since we got the van, I'll keep an eye on it". Off we went, heading for Millau and the 'big bridge'.

      The Millau Viaduct (bridge to you and me) is very impressive. Opened in 2004 it spans across the gorge valley of the river Tarn near Millau in the Aveyron region of France. It was built to handle the increased traffic from Paris into Spain.

 In September 2020 it was the tallest bridge in the world 😮, having a structural height of 1104 feet. It took 3 years to build and has 4 lanes of the A75 motorway running over it. The bridge has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest engineering achievements of modern times. The 7 pylons that support the bridge each sit on concrete footings that are 16 feet across and go down into the rock 49ft. 

        Unfortunately, it no longer holds its record. Since opening in 2004, the deck height  has been surpassed by several suspension bridges in China , mainly over the Beipan River . In 2012, Mexico's Baluarte Bridge  surpassed Millau as the world's highest cable-stayed bridge. The Royal Gorge suspension bridge in Colorado in the USA is also higher 🥺.

        Our plan was to get to the visitors and  exhibition centre which is at one end of the bridge, have a look around, go to the observation platform and take pictures, then drive over. Our route was simple, follow the valley then past the big pencil 😆

That was the plan 🤨. The A75 motorway that runs over the bridge is a toll road with pay booths at one end. Doesn't matter which way you get onto the A75 and the bridge, your going to have to pay the toll at some point. Visitors center was programmed into both the sat nav and my phone and off we went; the sky was getting darker.

Approaching from the south we hit the toll booths first. 3 of our 4 credit cards wouldnt work but eventuall we paid the €15 (£13) and carried on as the rain drifted in and the thunder and lightning started 🫨

Now, you would think that the VISITORS center to the BRIDGE that you were going to cross would be sign posted. Oh no. All we saw was the sign for the  aire  (overnight caravan/camper) parking and that was it 🤨.

With embankments on one side and just the view of the valley on the other we couldnt even see were the aire was in relation to the motorway let alone anything else. Both the sat nav and google maps on my phone said carry on, drive over, then turn back! 😮

The thing with driving over bridges like this, unfortunately, is that once your on them, sometimes you can't really see much other than the road in front. This one had particularly high barriers on the sides, angled to deflect the wind, so you saw even less ☹️.

   So, we trundled over, in the rain and the thunder, but where was the ****** visitors center. It was a few miles before a junction appeared allowing us to come off then try and find a layby to park up and suss out what was going on. As the thunder clapped overhead, all became clear 🫣

We hadn't really zoomed in far enough on Google maps or hadn't realized. We thought that no matter which direction you came from, you would be able to get to the visitors center then get back on the motorway, maybe even be able to get back on and go back the way you came. Because the visitors center isn't, actually, on either of the slip roads off the motorway, but in the middle with paths, the sat navs got confused and wanted us to approach from the other direction. This ment, we would have to go back over to get to the visitors center then go back thru the tolls, AGAIN, to carry on to our campsite. We turned round, went past the pencil, again, then got back on the motorway and went over the bridge, again, looking for the visitors center, again 😮‍💨

THIS time, from the opposite direction, the visitors center was signposted !. We pulled off, crawled round the carpark and found the campervan stop. We started to sort the van out so we could lock it up and leave it while we walked up to the observation platform and then check out the visitors center. "Why is the little light showing RED!" .... "I've never seen it show red?" said Jill. Getting down on my knees to open the small cupboard under the bed that holds the control box, and behind it one of the lesuire batteries, I was immediately aware of a LOT of heat.🥵

       "I need to have a look at something, try and sort it out. You go and take some pictures, I need to take the cushions off and put stuff at the front of the van."..."You sure? You dont need a hand with anything?". "no babe, you go, I'll be alright"...."Ok"...

With Jill (safely) out of the way, things became apparent. The battery was almost too hot to touch 😱!!! Having never seeing a vent pipe or pressure relief valve of any kind I didnt know if it was going to explode or blow out one of the filler caps and spray hot acid everwhere. With Jills 'marigold' washing up gloves on and my waterproof jacket, armed with a 10mm spanner, I set about getting it disconnected and gently took it over to the campervan service point and tucked it behind to stop anybody messing with it.

There was no way we were having it in the van. Measuring the voltage it was down to 5 volts! It must have collapsed internally and shorted out. So, had it damaged the other one and/or the control box?

Out with the tools, it was time to have a good poke around. Everything checked out and I managed to get the second battery squeezed into the place the original one lived and it was charging both on the solar panel and with the engine running and had a healthy voltage (12.85v). But what to do with the other one.            Talking (pigeon fashion) to an old french guy he explained about the recycle/rubbish center (déchetterie) in town but it would be closed as it was bank holiday monday. We decided we would just stay on the carpark for the night next to the motorway and sort it out in the morning. With the van on its ramps we set up for the night. I fiddled on my phone while Jill continued with Le Sock, till about 10 o'clock when she suddenly decided she wanted to go and see the bridge at night all lit up! 

       By torch light we trooped up the hill to the observation platform, trying not to stand on the army of snails that were taking their nightly 'midnight stroll' across the path only to find the bridge in darkness 😔. Typical. As we made our way back to our, deserted, carpark, I couldn't help notice the other 4 campervans parked up on the other carpark. Safety in numbers? One more beer then locked up and settled down for the night.