Buying all the stuff!

The first few days of van life were dominated by searching for things we needed to buy (things that were stolen on the boat, things we weren’t allowed to ship in the van, and a seemingly endless list of other essentials). At home, we are very spoilt by one-click Amazon orders that arrive the same day, and here we have spent days on end wandering around towns, checking every Ferreteria (hardware shop), supermarket, gas outlet etc. We eventually found a gas bottle, the right regulator and gas pipe, affordable bedding, affordable kitchenware, affordable camping chairs, and a fire extinguisher. With all this stuff to think about, it’s easy to get distracted, but a few days into the road trip, we had a realisation that we are doing the thing we have wanted to do for years!

The heat!

Pedro is very comfortable to drive but the one thing we’re missing is air conditioning and when the sun is shining into the cab, it becomes an absolute sweat box. We just keep applying sun cream and sitting in weird positions to try and avoid getting burnt through the windscreen. Our ceiling fan is about the size of a digestive biscuit (useless) and we’ve had to get creative with ways to try and stay cool. So far, we’ve been using gel packs from the fridge, dousing ourselves with wet flannels, fanning ourselves with plastic plates, being nude, sleeping with the van doors open and having cold showers. We’ve also had an ongoing war with mosquitos. Our white ceiling has become a graveyard for squashed mosquitos. We’ve fashioned Velcro mosquito nets for the side and back doors, but they get into every little gap and terrorise us with their high-pitched buzzing all night, munching on our naked flesh. We’re in a race against the sun setting to get all our outdoor jobs done before dark when they become hungry and desperate for light!

Water (and water closets)!

We have a constant search for resources, mainly water. We have a main water tank under the sink with a 25L capacity, another 25L jerry can and a large funnel. We would like to say we’ve become experts in decanting water into the tank but most days it goes everywhere and the carpet floor remains saturated for the rest of the day. On an average day, we use about 7.5L on drinking, cooking, washing pots, the odd flannel wash. If we use our Joolca shower, we can both shower with about 6L if we’re careful, but we’ve been allowing ourselves luxuriously long, hot showers by throwing the filter into a natural water source like a lake or river! 

The best wild camping spots are those with a natural water source (and ideally no one else around so you can have a proper wash, out in nature!). We have a shower/toilet tent that pops up in about 30 seconds but we much prefer to be outside if it’s hot enough. We’ve also enjoyed some outdoor toilet time. We opted for a separating toilet, rather than a chemical or compostable one. It’s working well, but the only thing that doesn’t get any less disgusting the more times you do it, is taking a see-through bag of poo to often a see-through bin upon leaving our camp spot. Don’t ask why we have see-through poo bags but we have over 100 of them so ‘waste not, want not’! There have also been some times where we’ve been desperate and had to put the toilet inside the main living area of the van.

Sleeping, and the legend that is iOverlander

We have a modular bed that is very quick to sort out, but Justin doesn’t quite fit lengthways. We take it in turns sleeping on the ‘outside edge’ where you have a bit more room. Otherwise, we either sleep in a little ball or diagonally. Temperature wise, it’s gone from one extreme to the other. Some nights it’s still been 22 degrees by midnight, and we’ve been in our pants, with cool packs on and no bedding, and absolutely not touching each other. Other nights, it’s been 3 degrees overnight, we’ve had all our clothes and a woolly hat on, 2 blankets, a thick duvet, stuffed cushions into any gaps where air might come through the doors or windows, put the diesel heater on, and been holding each other close for extra warmth. We’ve also got constant back ache from not being able to stand up straight in the van or lie down stretched out in bed but it’s worth it. 

We’ve been using an app called iOverlander to find camp spots. It has established campgrounds and wild camp spots that other overlanders have recommended. All the data is user-entered but it is very helpful not only for sleeping spots, but also water taps, petrol stations, gas refill stations, parking, height restrictions, warnings etc. We are adding spots as we find them. There are also some free municipal campgrounds that have facilities like showers and toilets, but our favourite spots are when we’re parked on a beach or in front of a lake somewhere with the whole place to ourselves. We have solar power, 50L of water, a bed, a stove, a toilet, a shower, spare parts and tools. So, so long as we have a tank of fuel and stock up on food, we can go anywhere and not worry about being far from civilisation, which is a great freedom to have. We have learnt to try and get to camp spots by mid-afternoon to allow time to cook, wash up, shower and relax before it gets dark. Our first few nights, we were starting to cook at 10pm!

Everything takes forever!

We are getting slicker, but everything takes twice as long as you think it will. We have to do only one thing at once. The van is a very small space for us both to be moving around and we are constantly banging our heads. From getting up to setting off, we take about 2 hours. This is to put the modular bed away, make breakfast, wash up, use the loo, put the shower tent down, have a flannel wash, get dressed, fill the water tanks up, empty the grey water, take the cab blinds down and all the locks off, empty the toilet and bin then hold your breath holding said bin bag until you find the nearest lucky bin!

When everything goes wrong!

Something else we’ve learnt is that everything will go wrong at the same time, and you won’t know why. On one day, our check engine light came on, the side lock and the back lock got jammed, the portable gas hob stopped working, the fridge fuse kept blowing, our aux cable broke, and we couldn’t get the shower pump to work. At times, it’s felt like we could have a little cry, but it’s also clear that when faced with the prospect of not being able to carry on due to mechanical issues, none of the other stuff matters. The actual thing that did make Em cry (happy tears) was when the 17th mechanic (no exaggeration) we tried was able to fix Pedro, and for only £25! It ended up being a simple fix – a loose wire connection in our fuel vapouriser system, but it took a few days to figure out, in which time we had catastrophised the whole situation. We did expect things to go wrong, just not all at once and in the first week. Everything is now fixed and we’re back on the road!

We are very big, very blue, and very foreign!

The other thing that’s been very noticeable from the first few weeks of van life is how foreign we are. We are two Brits in a big blue van with a strange yellow reg plate, and everyone stops to ask where we’re from and what we’re doing or to just give us a perplexed look. Even though most people we have met don’t speak a word of English, they have been very welcoming! One day we pulled up at a service station, and a paramedic from an ambulance that passed us an hour back came over to say hello!

There are two other psychological phenomenon we have experienced. The first is the feeling that you shouldn’t be somewhere and you’re doing something wrong all the time. This feeling is apparently common, luckily brief, and is a huge relief when you relax and realise you are meant to be there and it’s all ok. The second is that you become incredibly protective of your van. We like to park where we can see Pedro and there was an instance where we were sat in a coffee shop on the opposite side of the road and two men (probably tour guides as they were outside the tourist information) were walking round Pedro, pointing at things and taking photos. Em quickly finished her coffee and hurried across to road to make sure they knew we were there. It was all harmless and it turns out they were amazed by this UK homemade motorhome and wanted to ask us loads of questions, but it’s mad how quick you become so attached to your home on wheels!

Oh, the mistakes…

We have made a lot of mistakes already and now they’re in the past, they’re funny so here’s a few of them:

We spilt a whole bottle of cooking oil inside the cupboard whilst driving.

Em forgot to take the lid off the wee bottle inside the toilet and weed all over everything.

We didn’t pay for some tolls we owe in Uruguay before we left the country and can’t pay them online.

We left the invertor on for 4 days while we were parked up and ran the battery flat.

Justin’s crashed the drone into the van.

Em locked both sets of keys in the back of the van and had to use her Mr Tickle arms to retrieve them through the serving hatch.

We drove 40km down a gravel road in high winds to have an ice cream.