Why is a family of Romanians traveling the world in a caravan. Two adults, one child and two dogs in 8 sqm, with infinite freedom
Dan, Sandra, Zelda, Zuka and Zazi are found on deserted beaches in the mornings. PHOTO: Facebook Overlanders
10 years ago, Dan and Sandra (47 and 46 years old respectively) locked the door of their house in the Capital and set off across the wide world. They returned for short periods of time, but for them “home” is not the apartment in Bucharest, but the motorhome that takes them all over the world. For 6 years, since they became parents, Zelda, their little girl, has joined their adventure, for whom the whole world is a great place to play and learn. And in their house on wheels of only 8 square metersan ex-Swiss Army car, there are two more family members: Zuka and Zazi, two german shepherds.
Dan and Sandra, who are media and marketing professionals, work remotely. Earn enough to afford this lifestyle and spend as much as you can. There is no room for unnecessary purchases, they cannot afford to waste, and luxury – in their case – means being able to stay on a secluded beach for eight days, with electricity and hot water at their disposal in their mobile home.
From a distance, their life seems like a never-ending vacation. It's not like that, Dan tells us, but rather a routine built around the idea of freedom, with simple rules and a lot of adaptation. The three are now in Puglia, Italy. They spent the summer in Norway and Denmark, and before arriving there they spent four months in Morocco. They keep an online journal on the Overlanders Facebook page where they chronicle their adventures step by step.
Freedom doesn't start with an RV, it starts with a story
Dan wanted to travel from a young age. When he read Jules Verne, he dreamed of leaving, seeing the world, living exploring. Later, when he became an adult, he and Sandra did what many young people do before they can afford an RV: they went camping. Then they got a car trailer. They worked from Monday to Friday and traveled on weekends with their two dogs.
The next step was the construction of a “home on wheels”, homologated and designed for autonomy. At that time, what they dreamed of was not very common in Romania, so they had to get inspiration from forums abroad. In countries like Spain, Italy, Germany, France this was already a way of life, and the transformation of cars into houses on wheels – something common.
“When the baby comes, everything will change.” It has changed, but not as people think
All parents say: “Leave it, because you see freedom when the child comes!”. Even Dan and Sandra did not escape these “threats” from those around them. They had emotions, they didn't know how their lives would change with the birth of Zelda, but they faced the challenges step by step. When the little girl was a month old, they were already away and celebrated in a camper, at the sea. For them the idea was simple: if they have the necessary comfort and a minimum of organization, why should it be impossible to travel the world with a child?
Zelda took her first steps on the beach, learned to swim at age 3 without an instructor, and grew up with the feeling that the whole world is a place where you can try things, test your limits, adapt. Dan is convinced that, for a small child, the most important thing is to have his parents close. “Children adapt very easily. We are more scared than they are. They just want to stay with you, to be with their mother, with their father, not to hurt anything, to be well taken care of.”
Read the rest of the article HERE.
