First post...

At long last here is the first update. We are still in Spain and have been extremely busy since we arrived here on Thursday, 1st.

The night on the ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Bilbao was a pleasant interlude and chance to catch up on sleep.

There have been lots of jobs for Chris to do on the vehicle before we leave 'civilisation' including a fuel leak and problems with starting, fixing the big winch to the front and the wiring to it underneath the Enterprise and lots more besides. He even managed to find a weighbridge at a local cement works to get the whole lot weighed - well under our maximum weight thankfully and pretty well balanced.

I have been properly sorting and packing our 'supplies' and doing quite a lot more shopping for things we did not have time to get at home. In spite of planning this trip for a long time and in ernest since we returned home from our last foray into Africa to the Senegal border and back in February, it's surprising how much we still had left to do. Deciding to sell the business at the last minute did cause some delays and set our departure back, but hopefully once we are finally on our way tomorrow we can relax and enjoy our adventures.

We have also been able to spend time with Rebeca and were trusted enough to care for her while Charles and Montse spent a night away in Granada and a bit of baby sitting in between. It is lovely to see how much she has progressed. She can say 'grandad' or something that sounds very like it and is very chatty in her own way. There is still a big worry over the development of her lungs and her need to be on oxygen. She is growing fast and finds her way around the room along the walls and furniture.

Finally for now, an explanation on the title. A neighbour passing by at home, asked Chris where we were going. When he heard we were off to Africa he said 'Ah, that's a place where you need to pack more pants than socks'.

The Enterprise is what we have named the vehicle because it is a large aircraft carrier. We have now managed to pack the entire small balloon and equipment into the box on the back, apart from the third gas tank, which is fixed to the internal step, and the burner frame and that fits very nicely to the rear of the passenger seat without nuisance.

I wonder where we will get our first flight on this trip. Next stop Rabat, Morocco to get visas for Mauritania and Mali.

We will try and keep this updated on a regular basis via sat phone once we leave here. As this is my first post I won't know how it's going to look on the blog!

Sue