Before getting straight to the content of this blog, let me express my gratitude to our rescuers, emabarra2_4x4_extremadura (Instagram) and SOS4x4Extremadura (Telegram), Pedro Calero from Transiberiana4x4, as well as to all the other Telegram and WhatsApp groups and to all those people in this small family that we call 4x4 who were there in one way or another. Let this also be an expression of my pride in being one of you and in being able to share with all of you this way of life. 

The rescuer rescued. What I am about to tell you happened on March 24th, a Thursday. It was the last day of the route that we did from Montalegre (Portugal) to San Esteban del Valle (Avila, Spain). 

The three last "Extremaos" that remained did the route (until someone else joins us in the near future). It was supposed to be a six-day, easy-going route, although it became a bit complicated due to the bad weather, we had all week. Except for the first day, it heavily rained every day. Almost all winter without rain, and the week with the most rain coincided with our trip. That´s how it is, at least all that rain helped to alleviate the drought situation a little bit. 

The thing is, on that last day, Pierre and I went by road to San Esteban del Valle. Pierre had run out of rear brakes, the pads and discs completely worn out, so when he hit the brakes, metal crashed against metal. He could have made the trip alone, I think it was 116 km, but I thought it would be safer if we both went, just in case. 

Rafa, on the other hand, decided to finish the route alone. Although the weather was very bad, it rained almost all the time, the paths we passed through were not very difficult due to the mud, they were quite passable despite being so wet, and he had already passed through the areas he was going to pass through and knew, in principle, the paths. In any case, we would be in permanent contact. 

Pierre and I arrived without incident in San Esteban del Valle, we went slowly, practically on a walk, and we were there just before lunchtime. We immediately set up so that Pierre could change the discs and pads in Angel´s garage. Angel had brought them from Madrid. Due to a small setback, we could not make the repair until Friday morning, so Pierre´s Defender was out of action on Thursday and Friday. 

But just before lunchtime, I received a call from Rafa, who had gone off the road, fallen to one side of the road, and half of his car was submerged in water from a large puddle. He asked me to come to his rescue. He was near Navalmoral de la Mata, an hour and a half from San Esteban. At that moment, we decided to go to his rescue. 

Initially, we thought it would be a simple matter, so we took only my car and Angel and I went quickly to him. As I said, Rafa was an hour and a half away from where we were, on a road a few kilometers from Navalmoral on the cemetery road forward. 

When we reached the road where Rafa was, we took a turn between two farms, less than a kilometer and a half from where Rafa was stranded. As soon as we entered the road, we saw a large puddle of water, a first pool. We thought it was a simple puddle like the many we had crossed that week and that we would cross it without any major problems, so we entered without excessive speed but also without any special precautions. 

As soon as we entered the puddle, the car suddenly sank more than a meter, plunging straight into a hole over a meter deep. Upon impact, due to the surprise, the Defender stalled on and Angel and I looked at each other in disbelief, wondering what had just happened. 

After recovering from our initial shock, I started the car without any major problems and tried to get out of the puddle, but without success. We were stuck, sunk in the middle of a not very big but incredibly deep puddle. There was no way to get out of there with just the engine. We tried everything we could think of, including activating the central lock, using the low gear, and turning the steering wheel, but the car wouldn´t budge. On the contrary, it seemed like our efforts were only making it sink deeper. Eventually, Angel had to climb out of the passenger window, and we got ready to use the winch. In two attempts with the winch, even though there wasn´t a reliable anchoring spot, we managed to get out of trouble. 

Rafa was still stuck ahead of us, so we decided to continue our search for him. Also, it was out of the question to turn back and pass through the puddle a second time. For both reasons, the only viable alternative at that moment was to keep going forward. 

A few meters ahead, there was another pothole, slightly larger than the previous one. We were more cautious this time due to our previous experience, although we didn´t study it thoroughly enough, I must admit. I didn´t get out of the car to inspect the terrain. We simply saw that the right side seemed to be drier and believed that we could pass through there. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. As we attempted to cross, we got stuck again, this time sideways, in a pothole even deeper than the previous one. Not the entire car was stuck this time, only the left side. As before, we quickly pulled out the winch. At first, the car began to move, but since we didn´t have a suitable anchoring point, the cable was too short and there was no more room to pull. We decided to release the anchor and try to anchor the cable a little further away to have more distance and be able to get out more easily. We tried several points, but it was impossible as none offered enough resistance and failed due to the push of the winch. 

It was at that moment when we realized that we were both stuck, Rafa for almost two hours and Angel and I from that moment on. We quickly thought of rescue alternatives. Pierre was in San Esteban but without a car, with the rear wheels and brake discs dismantled, impossible for him to come to our rescue. He could take Angel´s car, but no, Angel had brought his keys with him. The situation looked complicated.

As a first alternative, although without any hope, we called RACE (Royal Automobile Club of Spain), they took our details and started their rescue mechanism. After a while, the tow truck driver called me and explained that he had already spoken to Rafa and that he had told him not to come, that he would stay stuck long before we did, and that we needed something more adapted, let´s say, than a simple roadside tow truck.

In any case, I mention RACE here because I would like to mention that the tow truck driver was very involved from the first moment with our rescue. I don´t know his name to be able to mention him here. He even offered to find a tractor or someone who could rescue us, even though we didn´t ask him to. He really went above and beyond what I understand was his duty. In the end, his intervention was not necessary, but despite that, he gave me his mobile phone number and told me that if we couldn´t get out, he would try to find alternatives. As I said, a very involved guy. Finding people like him gives a lot of tranquility and, what can I say, confidence in people. There are a lot of people out there who are worth it, as you will see below.

In any case, while we were calling RACE, we also alerted the rescue chat on WhatsApp of the Club Land Rover Todo Terreno de España (Spain´s All-Terrain Land Rover Club), of which we are members, as well as the SOS 4x4 groups throughout Spain, specifically the one in Extremadura, where I put my mobile phone number. We also spoke on the phone with friends and acquaintances in the area, especially Pedro Calero from Trasiberiana 4x4, and an impressive and highly efficient rescue machinery was set in motion.

Please, let me make a note here in the text of this blog to inform you that in each Autonomous Community, Region, here in Spain, there is a Telegram group of 4x4 enthusiasts, off-road enthusiasts, who are voluntarily willing to rescue people who have problems with their cars away from the asphalt. They lend a helping hand there where the rescue services of insurance companies do not reach. If you come to Spain to do overlanding or off-roading, it would be useful for you to join one of these groups. We are volunteer overlanders and offroaders like you, ready to lend a hand among ourselves, so we also count on you. Look for an SOS4x4España group on Telegram. Now, I will continue with the story."

After a while, I received a phone call from José Antonio Gómez from @embarra2_4x4_Extremadura (Instagram) telling me that he was coming over, that he already knew the terrain, that they had pulled several cars out of those pools on previous occasions, and that we shouldn´t worry because they would pull us out, and if they couldn´t, they would find a tractor. He told me that he had tried to speak to the owner of the adjacent estate to the road to see if he could come with a tractor, but he was out. He also said that he was working at that moment, that he had to organize something at work, but that he would be there in about half an hour.

This is how, in less time than we were told, Jose Antonio showed up with his super prepared Nissan GR for these tasks and Jacinto with his Jeep. As you will see in the videos, Jose Antonio passed through those puddles with those wheels as if it was nothing and rescued Rafa and me. In the video, I show you what we had time to record. The truth is that in those circumstances, the last thing you think about is recording videos, although later one would have liked to have had the presence of mind to do so to remember everything that happened more clearly.

I will not tell you in words what you can see in the video, although, as I said, it may not be much, because the images speak for themselves and in this case, they describe the situation better than any words that I could write here.

I am writing this blog, as I have already mentioned at the beginning, with the main intention of thanking everyone involved, first Jose Antonio, Jacinto for coming and rescuing us, Pedro Calero for being there and pulling the strings behind the scenes, putting all the resources at our disposal. I want to thank everyone who was involved in the rescue, I know were many. Thank you to all of you, those strangers, who are part, who we are part of this 4x4 and overland family so willing to leave what they are doing and come to the rescue of those who need it, simply out of the pride of being able to lend a hand.

On the other hand, I don´t want to finish this blog without asking all of us who are part of this 4x4 family, that if at any time we have the opportunity to lend a hand to a fellow member, please do not hesitate to do so, because when you need it, be sure that there is always someone out there who is willing to do it.

Therefore, let this blog entry serve as a great thank you and a demonstration of pride in belonging to this great family that we all form. Each one in their own way, extreme 4x4, overlanders, off-road enthusiasts, or simply Sunday drivers, as we want to qualify ourselves, we are all members of the same spirit. So, with the pride of being one of you, I show you here my gratitude to all of you who, when it matters, are there!"