Some people collect stamps, We collect roads
It starts in the 1970s, when our annual holiday means squeezing camping gear into the car and pointing it south – toward France. Brittany’s briny mussels, the snow-dusted Pyrenees, the dense forests of the Vosges, and the shimmering Mediterranean coast. We don’t just visit France; we map it, mile by mile, summer after summer. And we love every kilometre of it.
But France is never enough. A tight budget never stops us from chasing mountain trails or booking a winter escape to Tunisia. If anything, those early adventures only sharpen our appetite for more.
Tent, boat, and open water
Then comes the sailboat, and everything changes. With a tent in the car and the boat on the trailer, we discover a new kind of freedom. The Netherlands, it turns out, has far more to offer water sports enthusiasts than most people realise.
But the horizon keeps pulling us further. We island-hop through the Netherlands Antilles, make multiple journeys deep into Southern Africa – Botswana, Zambia – and spend three full months living in South Africa. Every trip leaves its mark.
In 2006, we sail our beloved boat, the NOMAS, all the way to Portugal, dropping anchor in Portimão. From that sun-drenched base, we explore the coasts of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
We find a second harbour in Sant Carles de la Ràpita in northern Spain and stay long enough to stumble upon a rice festival, wander into the village of Beceite, and eat what we still swear are the finest hot dogs of our lives.
Four wheels and an open road
We always say, “If we can’t sail anymore, we’ll buy a campervan.” In autumn 2019, we stop waiting. The moment the NOMAS is safely in winter storage, we fire up our brand-new campervan and head straight for Spain.
Then COVID-19 hits. As restrictions tighten and Spain locks down, we turn north and drive home. We sell the van. We wait. We plan.
Two years later, we are back. A new campervan, a fresh itinerary, and the same old hunger for the road. Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal and back again. Then straight south a second time. In just ten months, we cover nearly twenty thousand kilometres.
Spain gets under our skin. In 2023, we make it official: we are moving to Southern Europe for good. We find an apartment in San Rafael del Río, a village of just over 500 souls, and move in that September.
The search for a new campervan begins almost immediately. Our faithful Chausson has to stay behind; importing a nearly twenty-year-old vehicle through Spain’s legendary bureaucracy is simply not an option.
A new home, Pego
San Rafael del Río is a beginning. But then we find the apartment — the one we haven’t even known we were looking for. We don’t think twice. We are moving to Pego, a town tucked between Valencia and Alicante, in a region we already know well from our campervan days. And the van? Once we are settled, we will let it go.
Does that mean the end of our adventures? Not even close. Living somewhere beautiful simply means our road trips start from a better place. And if the wanderlust gets too strong – well, that’s what rental campervans are for. We still have plenty of plans.
Always moving
“You’re always travelling. Do you ever just go on holiday,” We hear that a lot. And yes, we enjoy a quiet moment as much as anyone. But the truth is, we are always chasing something – a new road, a new taste, a new story to bring home.
That’s exactly what this blog is about. Our travel journals are where we share the discoveries, the detours, and the moments that make it all worthwhile. Because, as the old saying goes, he who travels a lot has a lot of stories to tell.
