Pont Séjourné viaduct, Fontpédrouse, Pyrénées-Orientales, France

We woke up in our pine-nestled campsite next to Spain's border with Andorra, after the long push north from Pulpí through Valencia, Barcelona and Lleida in the Pyrenees, to the sound of mountain silence, which is to say: the occasional bird call, a rustle of wind through pine needles, and Chetak squeaking every time Odyssean Journey rolled over in their rooftop tent. The air was crisp, almost alpine-sharp, and it smelled faintly of woodsmoke and damp moss. Shehzadi, our ever-stoic Toyota Tundra, had a light coat of dew. It was the kind of morning that feels borrowed from a postcard.

Coffee was brewed, stretches were stretched, and sleepy grins passed between our two overlanding couples. The Vagabond Couple and the Odyssean Journey were back on the road. Today's mission: leave Spain behind (temporarily), enter the fairytale micronation of Andorra, fuel up, caffeinate, and then keep pushing toward France. Because that's what you do on the Silk Road—follow the stories wherever they lead.

Pyrenees foothills at La Farga de Moles, Lleida, Spain - Andorra Border

After crossing from Morocco to Algeciras and driving back through southern Spain, we paused at Mar de Pulpí before turning north again. The rest was brief. Shehzadi had apparently mistaken our driveway for a fuel stop.

In June 2025, we joined the Odyssean Journey and their Toyota Hilux, Chetak, for a run through Valencia, Tarragona, Barcelona, Reus, and Lleida. Mediterranean highways gave way to the C-13, the N-260, and the N-145 as we climbed toward La Farga de Moles at the Andorra border.

Ksar es-Seghir

Fresh off the blue-drenched high of Chefchaouen, the Vagabond Couple and Shehzadi found ourselves chasing a different rhythm. Gone were the dreamlike alleyways and chilled-out cats of the mountain town. The road (here's a map) pulled us westward, toward the sea, into lands that had seen too much and still stood proud: Tetouan, elegant and stubborn and Ksar es-Seghir, tiny but heavy with centuries.

The Rock of Gibraltar rising above the strait between Spain and Morocco

This Spain to Morocco overland leg carried us from Mar de Pulpí in Almería to Tangier, with Shehzadi, our Toyota Tundra, doing the usual diplomatic work of making border officials stare at Georgian plates as if we had arrived from a cartographic prank.

The map, because we enjoy making geography look mildly accused, is here: MAP. It followed directly from our Greece to Spain via Italy ferry crossing. This time the route ran across southern Spain, down to Algeciras, over the Strait of Gibraltar, into Tanger Med, and finally to Tangier. Three continents had now become a practical driving problem.

Igoumenitsa Ferry Terminal, Greece, where Shehzadi waited for the overnight ferry to Italy

After our Skopje loop, we pointed Shehzadi back into Greece and toward Igoumenitsa, because the Silk Road had apparently decided it needed a maritime intermission. This leg carried us from Greece to Spain by way of two ferries, one cross-Italy drive, and several vehicle decks designed by people who clearly enjoy suspense.

We had just come from Skopje and North Macedonia, and the road now turned west again: Igoumenitsa to Ancona by ferry, Ancona to Civitavecchia by road, Civitavecchia to Barcelona by ferry, then south through Spain to Mar de Pulpí in Almería (MAP). Three countries. Two ferries. One American pickup. Europe, bless it, had become a very large board game with fuel receipts.

Passive Multiplexer in European Apartment

Inside the "telecommunications cabinet" of our new Spanish apartment at Mar de Pulpi, we found a wifi router that is also a ONT for fiber-optic internet service, and this "Multiplexador pasivo" 1 in 8 out RJ45 UTP Cat 6 thing with 8 ethernet cables connected to its outputs and nothing connected to its input.

Optical Fiber ONT and WiFi Router in European Apartment

All rooms in the apartment have at least one RJ45 wall socket (the place for the TV has two). We had our own gaming wifi router that we wanted to daisy-chain to the main router. So we connected one of the RJ45 outputs of the ONT/Wifi router (Uplink GP542Z GPON / EPON ONT terminal 4x GE 1x USB SC/APC WiFi AC1200) to the input of the "passive multiplexer" and the gaming router to a wall RJ45 plug. As expected, it did not work. We were wondering how in the world would a "passive multiplexer" route data packets.

It turns out this "passive multiplexer" is a telephone device and is used for connecting landline telephones all over the apartment, using RJ45 to RJ11 cables. Indeed there was a RJ45-RJ11 cable lying around inside the telecommunications cabinet as well.

However, the ethernet cables that run from the passive multiplexer to all over the apartment are indeed CAT6 network cables. Therefore, all it takes to distribute the computer network to the RJ45 wall sockets is a network switch. We unplugged the network cables from the passive multiplexer and plugged them into a 8-port network switch along with a network cable connected from one of the ports on the switch to the existing ONT/WiFi router. We were then able to daisy-chain a second WiFi router from another RJ45 wall socket as well as have copper ethernet connections to laptops and other devices from other RJ45 wall sockets.

We found the relevant manuals online for the Passive Multiplexer and ONT/Wifi Router.

Who uses landline telephones in multiple rooms in 2024?

Mar de Pulpi

When we decided to make the move to Mar de Pulpí in San Juan de los Terreros, we were not just looking for a new apartment; we were searching for a lifestyle. Nestled along the sun-drenched Costa de Almería in southern Spain, Mar de Pulpí offers a harmonious blend of tranquility, natural beauty, and vibrant community living. Here’s a glimpse into what it’s like to call this gem of a place home.