‘We walked straight to the beach from the van’

Image: private

For four months, Rachel traveled in a van through southern Europe with Moze (5), Rumi (2), husband Karim and dog Reva. She learned to embrace discomfort and get into a flow.

“I thought beforehand: this trip will be a dream. Because I thought we would have plenty of time, I packed my yoga mat, and a lot of books. Our kids would love it too, I expected, because they had their parents around all the time along the way. But the first two weeks turned out to be tougher than I expected.

To be in a van full-time with two children and a dog, while it was still quite cold, was just intense. Moze also felt homesick, something I hadn’t expected. She already went to school, missed her friends and our neighbors; we live at home in a community, she has her own social life there. The first fight with Karim was about who could do the dishes, because that was a moment for yourself, then you were finally alone.

Letting go

I soon learned: life goes on in the bus, but in miniature. It just feels big, because you can’t leave. In ordinary life you can flee, get out for a while, but not here. So if something is difficult, you have to solve it there.

“Slowly but surely the journey became more and more the dream I hoped for”

After a week or two, on the beach in southern Spain, we consciously switched the switch. We let go, learned to accept bumps and embrace discomfort. This way we got more into a flow, and Moze became calmer. The trip became more and more the dream I hoped for.

Get used to

What also helped is that we are slowly getting used to the van. Because although we have been building it for seven weeks at home, we still had no feeling for it. You always had to put ten things aside to be able to reach something and we cooked on two burners, while I prefer to make a five-course dinner, so to speak.

But as our resistance decreased, we also got used to the bus and I cooked everything step by step. And it got warmer, we could go outside more often. We still had to shift ten things to get to something, but we knew that now, and it wasn’t bad anymore.

Final destination

It is good that we learned to let go, because on the way it became increasingly clear that we were not going to make it to our final destination Morocco due to tightened corona rules and a conflict between Spain and Morocco. In the kitesurfing town of Tarifa we even saw the land from the beach, but it was in lockdown, it really wasn’t going to happen again.

wild camping

Camping in nature also helped us to get into a good flow. You are actually not allowed to camp in the wild in Spain and Portugal and we have sometimes been sent away. But because it was low season, it was not strictly controlled.

At a regular campsite, the first thing you see is a sign with rules, but here there was just space. It gave me an ultimate feeling of freedom, but also intimacy, together with our family. We opened our door and walked straight onto the beach to take a naked dip.

“From the van we walked straight onto the beach to take a dip”

On a mountain in Spain I felt it was right. The children were covered in dust and earth while they were making kites, further on, some music was on, wine was served, to the left of us was a town, in front of us the beach, behind us the mountains where we walked very nicely. There I also noticed how little the children actually need.

Also read – Expat mothers say: ‘We hardly ever go back to the Netherlands’ >

Passionate

When we had to wash or do the shopping, we moved on. Then we went to a nature campsite or to a city. For example, we had wonderful days in Barcelona; I fell completely in love with Spain. I like the noise there, the people in the street, the music, the paella and the tapas; it is a passionate country, it is bustling.

In Granada we were eating delicious food while those old men played a guitar and sang beautifully. It was nine o’clock in the evening, it is quite normal if you are still there with your family. They just like it when you hang around while your kids tear down the tent.

Still, I noticed that cities cost me more effort. You can’t just throw open the door and let your kids run. That’s why we always went back to nature.

A place to ground

We also encountered other traveling families along the way. It struck me that they were often looking for a place where they were happy, to ground. We didn’t have that feeling, and that made us feel all the happier with our community in Oosterwold, which we call Bolderburen. When we got back home, we felt that very clearly. But it also meant we were back racing to daycare, forgetting the paperwork, what time do we eat?

Our trip was a simplified version of life, it was so peaceful. And really a dream come true. It has also been a valuable lesson: to take a step back every now and then, to sink down for a while, and to allow myself that simplicity again – also in this life.”

To do

Idyll

We sailed by boat from Barcelona to Ibiza, where you can walk very nicely, for example at Sant Joan de Labritja. Then you arrive at a bay where you can swim.

animal here

I have never seen such a well kept zoo as Bioparc Fuengirola, south of Malaga.

bioparcfuengirola.es

Free Friday

On Friday evening there is Fridaynight Happiness Pizza Party near the Portuguese Monchique. Here you can stand with your van all night, dance and eat unlimited pizza. Kind of like a mini festival.

fridayhappiness.org

beach life

I thought the town of Aljezur in the Algarve was a very nice place. Nearby are a few nice surfing beaches, such as Monte Clerigo.

To eat

Octopus

At Bar El Frances in Tarifa I ate delicious pulpo.

Add wine

Another must in Tarifa: restaurant Raizes. Slightly more luxurious food, but delicious, with super tasty wines.

instagram.com/RAIZESTARIFA/

top spot

The best paella I ate at El Carmen in Ibiza. An ideal spot on the beach: we had a nice meal while the children played in the sand.

elcarmencaladhort.com

To sleep

Between the trees

With the Park4Night app we searched for suitable camping spots in nature. Users can indicate where it is good to be or where you stand among the partying people.

park4night.com

Like-minded people

In Spain we stayed at a nice eco-campsite in Almonte, Global Tribe Ecovillage, near the Portuguese border. It is also a community where many nice people live. You can register every day to join the meal and they grow their own vegetables.

global-tribe.org

This article can be found in Kek Mama 06-2022.

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