Why we are travelling France now
What is it that we love about travelling in a van?
Ever since I’ve known my husband, he’s always talked about his love of travel. That was in 1984 when we met and even way back then, his idea of a blissful life was to take off and go live in nature, generally as far away from other people as possible. While he loves meeting new and interesting people, as do I, we both generally avoid crowds and large cities.
Today, he’s much the same. For him, the best part about travel is seeing beautiful countryside, amazing architecture and immersing himself in the history of a place even if only for a short time.
I’m similar in that I love to see beautiful views, architecture and culture, but I’m also really attracted to local arts and crafts, foods, and shops. Even if I can’t afford to buy anything in them, even just the visual attraction of a well curated shop is a delight for me. It feeds my creativity.
How and why did you decide to go on a long van trip?
When my husband officially retired in July of 2022, we both decided that it was now or never. With Covid 19 putting our travel plans on hold for several years, my priority in 2021 was to my parents in Canada.
Now that my husband’s retired, we were able to leave home for months at a time. We both felt that it was important to travel now, while we are still young and healthy enough to do so. My parents did the same thing.
Who is my travel inspiration?
When dad retired, he and mom bought a VW Westfalia, drove across the US to Georgia and boarded a boat with their van heading for Europe. They arrived in Rotterdam and spent 9 months travelling around Europe. They also visited family in the Czech Republic and even went to Turkey.
I didn’t realize it at the time but their intrepid ways have always inspired me and I’m thrilled to say I am finally able to leave on an extended journey with my husband.
What kind of van do you have?
We have what my husband calls a “truck” or “camion” in French. It’s a 2001 Iveco panel van that he entirely converted into a camper van. It has a two burner gas stove, sink, gas/electric powered fridge, water tank, two bunk beds and a table and bench chairs that fold down to create a double bed. He originally installed the bunk beds when he travelled with a few other people.
We have a heater and a water heater so we can take hot showers, though it uses up water really fast. Last year we even bought ourselves a small chemical toilet, which has been a game changer. Even knowing it’s there if we need it makes me relax. Nothing is worse than the anxiety of needing to go to the toilet knowing that you have nowhere to go. It makes you want to go even worse.
Because I work online, teaching English and freelance writing, I needed a way to charge my computer and electronic devices in the van without draining the leisure battery. Just before leaving we invested in a solar panel for the van, he and his brother hooked it up and it works like a hot damn. It is a 175 W panel by a company called Vitron and it serves to keep the leisure battery charged. It works amazingly well and my husband has a bluetooth monitor on his phone that shows how many Watts the panel is pulling in at any given time.
Is there anything you’d change about the van?
I’m a light sleeper at the best of times but the fold down bed has been a nightmare for me. I used to spend ages trying to pad my side with towels and blankets only to wake up with a sore hip, shoulder and usually a hand or arm that had fallen asleep. Enough was enough.
I decided that if we were to travel longer term, it was absolutely indispensable for us to have a better mattress, or, actually, any mattress. I ended up buying three pieces of 7 cm, high density foam that I made slipcovers for. They lay across the bed once it’s folded down, we put out sleeping bags that we joined together on top and add pillows. The bed is now amazing to sleep on and it takes much less time than before to break down the bed in the morning. The foam pieces end up being stacked on the lower bunk bed and all of our bedding is now tucked neatly at the food of the bunk bed. It’s the perfect solution for now as refitting the van for a permanent bed would require too much work.
Both of us agree on the fact that if the front seats swivelled around, we could easily have a shorter van and build a permanent bed so we wouldn’t have to constantly set up the bed and take it down every single morning. For now, we have what we have and most importantly, it’s paid for.
I think the only other thing that might be good to have is a 4X4 should we ever want to travel over more difficult terrain and also, we will really need to see about getting a wifi extender as the van acts as a faraday cage, making internet connection a bit spotty.
Where are you going on your trip and how long will you be away
We officially left our town in Normandy on September 20th, 2022 and it’s now October 31st, 2022. We’ve travelled down through the middle of France and onto the French Riviera, stopping along the way to visit friends.
We are currently in the Camargue, where there are rice fields, wild horse, bulls, and mosquitos.
After that, we will visit friends and then likely head to Spain. We really don’t know how long we will be away. We may travel around Spain and Portugal for a few months and then decide to go home, or we may very well keep going and take a boat to Morocco and even travel to Senegal.
Who knows what will happen? Life can change in a heartbeat as we all know, so we may as well take advantage of the time we have, and see what we can of Europe and beyond.
Why did you decide to write a blog?
I love telling stories and this is a massive adventure for us both. I’ve been posting the odd photo on Facebook but wanted to write somewhat longer posts in a blog. The other reason is that I don’t earn a lot of money on the road. Yes, I teach the odd class online but it’s a logistical challenge to find a good internet connection. So far, I have been using my telephone’s hotspot but without a wifi extender, it’s going to be difficult to do more.
I am waiting for some writing contracts to come in, but it could be a while and there is no guarantee of anything coming in from the company for whom I’ve done some freelance work over the past year. I may eventually try my hand at some affiliate marketing but I prefer to write like this for now and see where it leads. For now, we live off my husband’s adequate, but certainly not a generous pension.
What will your blog posts cover?
I write about what inspires me or annoys me. It could be places I’ve visited or things that catch my attention. What I’ve learned. Reflections about life on the road and what it means to live with another human being in a 6-metre-long tin can. I may write about cheese, too. I will also certainly write about my stupid ego and how it tends to see things its own way when a more rounded, gentle approach may be warranted.
For now, I hear frogs croaking, horses neighing and the clang of bells around bulls’ necks as they forage in tranquillity. We have a safe, comfortable spot to sleep for the night, we had toast with avocado and tomatoes for dinner and I’m ready for bed.
P.S. I need to watch where I pee outside during the night. I will either get my butt bitten by mosquitos or there may be a randy bull ready to prick me with something a little more dangerous. Ahem.
Until next time, from the south of France.
Bisous.
Dana
