Surfing Waves

Swapping the rat race for the slow lane: Adventurous couple tour Europe in a van with their dogs Tommie and Olaf

Jeroen Bosman, 33, and Hedwig Wiebes, 31, sold their Amsterdam apartment to buy a VW Westfalia van
Travelling with their dogs Tommie and Olaf, the pair of creatives work on the road as digital 'nomads.'
They have driven through Amsterdam, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco where they are now

It’s a dream that many people share but few are actually brave enough to follow. A Dutch couple has swapped the rat race for a life in the slow lane touring the world in a motorhome with their pet dogs Tommie and Olaf. Jeroen Bosman, 33, and Hedwig Wiebes, 31, sold their Amsterdam apartment and everything they owned to purchase a 32-year-old Volkswagen van – designed for chasing adventures.

The intrepid duo, restless with everyday life, came up with the idea last June, but it took them until October to set off on the trip.
Mr Bosman told MailOnline Travel: ‘We felt we were in need of something new, something different. Something challenging too: a series of events that would shake us wide awake.

‘We also felt that it needed to be something that wouldn’t confine us living to one spot anymore. An idea was born: why not take your home with you? So we decided to buy a van and travel Europe.’

Their van, a 1985 Volkswagen Westfalia Joker with a pop top tent, nicknamed Chewie, was originally built as a camper van. This means they haven’t had to do much to adapt the 80ft mobile home to their lifestyle as ‘working nomads’.

They explained: ‘We equipped Chewie with two larger household batteries instead of one small one and added a big solar panel on the roof so we can generate our own electricity, wherever we are.'

Despite its diminutive size they say compact living, even with two pets, is easily done. They admitted: ‘We sometimes get astonished looks when people see us getting out, as well as two dogs. ‘The dogs get to take huge walks and are very much tired the rest of the day, so they won’t do much more than sleep anyways.’

Fortunately, the pair of creatives were able to take their work with them on the road. Mr Bosman runs a creative agency and Ms Wiebes is a freelance journalist.

Mr Bosman explained the impetus behind the trip: ‘We both love travelling and discovering new places and cultures. But we never had enough time to travel as much as we would love to.

‘Now we can travel as much as we want and still earn the money to pay for it. So far we love this life, the freedom to roam is something we never thought would be so valuable. ‘

Their journey has taken them from Amsterdam, across Belgium and France. They have driven through Spain and then spent two months in Portugal. Here, they praised the ‘deserted beaches’, ‘cliffs’ and ‘kind people’. The adventurous pair are now in Morocco, which they say has surprised them due to its beauty and diversity of landscapes. Mr Bosman said: ‘It’s not only sand and rocks, but also lakes and beautiful green hills. Also, life is less expensive here and the food is great – as are the people.’

Honing in on some of the simple pleasures that have been the highlights of their travels, they shared: ‘We’ve already spent countless nights under a sky filled with stars and woken up to the sound of the ocean.
‘We’ve seen more sunsets in the past few months than in our lifetime before.’

After Morocco, they intend to head to the UK and spend the summer travelling along the coast.
The duo have no plans to end their odyssey soon. Instead, they hope to inspire others tempted by the nomadic lifestyle and as such share their adventures on Instagram account Liveslowdriveslower.

Mr Bosman said: ‘If anyone wants to do this our advice would be to just do it. Don’t think about the consequences for too long, because in the end they will hold you back. ‘We actually learned that everything works itself out, always. So just go for it - and if your plan fails you can always go back to the life you lead now and appreciate it even more.’

See more photos (story sourced): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/trave ... z4ZfLmT1QJ

Yes but what if you hate traveling? I used to have a VW camper van but on the tiny island I live on there isn't much traveling to do. I did on one occasion camp a break to try to be the first one out only to find that even when it was still dark there were 6 guys out.......but there was only us for a couple hours. One of the guys reportedly paddles out at 4:30 am every morning. But it was cool had my girlfriend and her daughter and surfed for a few hours then came in for a warm breakfast over a fire. Mostly I like the van because there was netting over the backseat/bed where I could store my surfboard and thus I was ready to surf at a moments notice

On Oahu, it used to be illegal to sleep in your car. Now new legislation is being made to allow people to sleep / camp in their vehicles in driveways, to help with the homeless / lack of low budget housing on the island. I bet VW camper vans would come in handy.

I think on Kauai they made it illegal to camp on the beach without a permit. Some beaches have camping areas and if you apply for a permit 2 weeks in advance you can camp there. But us guys here on Kauai , we stay smart, we figga one way for stay on the beach with no permit. We take on old fishing pole with a reel and line , old enough so that no one will want to steal it. Tie one rock on the end of the sugi and trow em out den go sleep in da car. If the police man come just say "I'm fishing officer" Fishing all night is allowed.

Absolutely living the dream.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/trave ... s-van.html

"An adventure-thirsty couple have told how they're fulfilling their wildest dreams after buying a $1,500 minivan and hitting the road.

Emily and Jason Landis, both 26, from Louisville, Kentucky, purchased their trusty home on four wheels shortly after tying the knot in a forest during a camping trip.

Now the lovebirds are touring the U.S. instead of worrying about household bills and long days in the office."

My wife is begging me to do this. We're 59, five years from retirement, but she says if we just sold the house in San Francisco, we'd have enough to live on forever if we bought a camper van and lived in for the rest of our lives.

Which would be, I tell her, about two months - before we strangled each other living in such close quarters 24/7.

Still tempting as a 3-week vacation, though.

(Rethinking. What would Belushi do?)

Some 'Belushi magic' would probably help surviving living together in a van. The green plant variety of his magic