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We are off again. On to Scandinavia. But then the unusual route via Poland and the Baltic States. In this blog our first experiences in Poland. What can we actually expect from this country? Is it really as unsafe as we have heard? Do we still see something of the typical Eastern Bloc influences? Plan changed In Morocco we had planned a route in advance. Now we want to be more surprised and go where the wind takes us that day. We know that Scandinavia is ideal for this, but what about Poland and the Baltic States? In Poland we had the intention to drive straight to Warsaw. TomTom, however, had a different proposal by avoiding the toll roads. What do we think of a visit to the Giant Mountains just across the Czech border? After a quick Google search, this appears to be one of the most beautiful hiking areas in Poland. So we let Globus 2 follow TomTom's instructions. Adr š pach rotsen in Tsjechië Giant Mountains And what a surprise! This is indeed a beautiful area with fabulous rock formations. We were able to take several walks there and enjoyed it immensely. For the rest of the journey we took a look at the map. Auschwitz and Krakow now automatically come on our path. At the impressive Auschwitz we were surprised that many of the buildings are replicas of the original. In the nice Krakow we were surprised by the legend of the dragon and the origin of the city. If you also want to be surprised, read the collapsible legend below. King Krak and the Dragon "In a cave at the foot of Wawel Hill once lived a terrible fire-breathing dragon... This dragon roamed the countryside and did whatever it pleased: it ate the sheep and cattle and frightened the peasants so much that they never let their animals graze in the fields next to the river, the Vistula. What was even worse, the dragon loved to eat young girls! Many brave knights had tried to kill the monster, but before they could get close enough to strike, the dragon breathed fire and all that was left of the men was a pile of ashes. King Krak wanted this dragon to be destroyed as soon as possible, he always feared that his daughter Wanda would be the dragon's next meal. He invited knights and noblemen to come to his country and conquer the dragon, he promised them that whoever could kill the dragon, would marry his beautiful daughter and become king when he died. Many tried. But the dragon was too big and too dangerous. The people became even more afraid, they hardly dared to leave their homes and the country became poorer and poorer. One day the young apprentice shoemaker Skuba Dratewka came to visit King Krak. He asked him if he could also try to kill the dragon. The king said that he certainly could, but noted that it would be difficult because Skuba had no armor, or a horse, or a sword. But Skuba did not listen, he had thought of a clever plan. After Skuba had obtained permission, he bought a dead sheep from the butcher and from a miner he bought some sulphur, which is a powder that they also use to make matches. He went home and there he cut the sheep open with his sharp shoemaker's knife, filled its belly with sulphur powder and sewed the sheep up again with his shoemaker's thread. He put the sheep in front of the dragon's cave and waited behind a rock until the dragon came out. After a while the greedy dragon came out. He saw the dead animal and ate it up with relish. But the sulphur caught fire, just like a match, and the dragon felt his belly burning. He ran as fast as he could to the river to put out the fire and drank and drank and drank... But he drank so much that he became as fat as a balloon. He fell down and felt very ill. Skuba left his place behind the rock and started throwing stones at the dragon. The dragon tried to spit fire, but because of all the water, only hot steam escaped from his mouth. He blew harder and harder, but suddenly... KABOOM! His fat water belly exploded! Finally the people were free! More and more people came to live around the hill and a city arose. The city was called Krakau, after King Krak, who had given the order to kill the dragon." Source: https://www.polen.travel/en Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website. Warsaw On to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Here too we were surprised. The entire 'old' city centre there is however nothing old. After all, everything was bombed flat during WWII. The city centre has been completely reconstructed based on old photos. Behind the old-looking facades are completely new buildings. We were also surprised that it was relatively quiet there, even on a Saturday afternoon, and we completely missed the bustle of a capital. Gdansk Are we also going to Gdansk.....? Not at all on the route to Scandinavia, but on our previous blog we got the response that this is a really nice city. So why not? After all, we have the time to ourselves. And here too we are surprised again. What a hugely surprising hip city this is! The entire city is full of Dutch-looking mansions. We drink coffee in a Harry Potter café and enjoy local dishes such as: pączki (a kind of filled doughnuts) and the national dish of Poland: pierogi (potato dumplings) Russian border What not everyone knows is that Poland also borders a piece of Russia. A piece, enclosed between Poland and Lithuania, that is of great strategic importance to Russia, because it is located on the Baltic Sea. We were curious to see what such a border with Russia would look like. For example, the border runs right through a large forest here. Would there really be a fence there? Or could we cross the border unnoticed for a moment and also tick Russia off? We were very surprised to discover that there were indeed barriers, large rolls of barbed wire and a high fence running right through the forest. What surprised us even more was that the high rolls of barbed wire were laid by Poland and not by the Russians. "If everything goes according to the book, you have no say." A little naughty Despite the prohibition signs we enjoyed taking a few selfies just behind the barriers at the barbed wire. And in the middle of the forest, no one in sight, that can't hurt...? If we had been more alert we would have seen that there were cameras all along the border and we wouldn't have been surprised by the border police when we returned to Globus 2. After an extensive check of all our papers we were fortunately left alone again. Het drielandenpunt van Polen, Litouwen en Rusland Finally Finally, we are very struck by how clean it is everywhere here. You don't see any plastic or cigarette butts lying on the ground. How do they manage that? Is it upbringing/culture? Now we have to be honest, not everything in Poland is only surprisingly positive. Apart from the Giant Mountains, all the way in the south, we mainly drove through very flat, boring rapeseed landscape. I often tell Kelly that I would like to get to my beloved Scandinavia a bit faster. But luckily Kelly convinces me to give these countries the chance to surprise me as well. Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we place a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

Two months in the Netherlands feels like an eternity to us. Of course it is wonderful to see family and friends in person again and to be able to do all the chores on Globus 2 at our leisure, but we are also itching again. We want to leave again, but where to? Olie verversen Globus 2 No surprise Our destination will not come as a surprise to many people. We are 'finally' going back to our beloved Scandinavia. Actually, we had wanted to go there earlier, but we did not find the winter months suitable to start the "travel without end time" adventure. With the summer months approaching, we are going to take our time for that. Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website. Baltic States The plan is not to take the fastest route to Norway. Now that we have much more time at our disposal, we want to take the route via Poland, the Baltic States and Finland. These countries are, for us, so unknown. Who goes to Latvia on holiday? What does nature look like there? What are the people like? This route has been on my wish list for a long time, but it was always simply too far to drive for three to four weeks of holiday. Poland certainly does not have the best image, but we know from experience that an image and reality are often quite far apart. Six months on the road After two times three months on the road, we now dare to be away from home a bit longer. We are taking six months for this trip. This not only gives us time to discover the Baltic States, but we also really take our time for the north of Scandinavia. Stay there until we have seen the Northern Lights? Globus 2 has at least been prepared for colder temperatures in recent weeks, so that the water pipes do not freeze again. "Happiness is, planning a trip to somewhere new, with someone you love" Sami We would really like to immerse ourselves in the Sami culture. I always feel like I am at home there. Could I have lived there in a previous life? I think it would be great to spend a week in a Sami village or make a traditional Sami drum together. Of course with all the rituals that come with it. So if anyone has tips for that, I would love to hear them. Walking Of course, there are also various walks on the program. The best-known three are the walks to: Trolltunga Kjeragbolten Preikestolen Besides these three well-known walks, we obviously want to do many more. But perhaps also other activities such as rafting, a zipline, canoeing etc. Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we place a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

Two months of driving through Morocco and not once was I afraid that something would happen to Globus 2. In the big tourist cities of Spain and in the big parking lots in France that safe feeling quickly disappeared. Finding a safe place to leave Globus 2 is not always easy. The reviews in Park4Night about break-ins often make you even more afraid than you already were. At such moments you have to trust the security that is built into the bus. Is dit een veilige parkeerplaats om even boodschappen te doen? Security This week I was talking to our temporary neighbour at the campsite. He told me that his camper with everything on it was stolen in Italy last year. In addition to your camper, all your possessions are gone in one go and in our case our entire house. There you are, what do you do? You probably can't prevent this completely, but I'm glad we built a number of security measures into Globus 2. Then you can walk through a big city or during a long hike just a little more relaxed. "Safety doesn't happen by accident" Burglary What we have seen regularly in the past 6 months is that campers are broken into by a big jerk on the mostly plastic windows. At the beginning of this year, we installed the E-Switch on our windows and the roof hatch. As soon as a window or roof hatch is broken open, I immediately receive a notification on my phone and I can take action. So you are really quick when there is a break-in. A handy extra functionality of this E-Switch is that if you forget to close the roof hatch before leaving, for example, you also receive a warning when you start driving. This works so well that we also installed an E-Switch on the cupboard door of the top cupboards. We sometimes forgot to close these properly before driving. If they did get in The second security we have built in is for when the thieves do get in. A motion sensor, the E-Movement , which is attached to the ceiling with double-sided tape. This is also from the company E-Trailer and works with the same app and therefore also gives a notification as soon as movement is detected. It is a small wireless box that is easy to install. I like wireless equipment. Pulling wires is simply not that easy when the camper is already completely ready. Camper stolen Then your worst nightmare, they not only got in, they stole the entire camper. All your belongings are gone. What now? I really don't want to think about this ever happening to us. If it does happen, the third layer of security comes into effect. The two previously mentioned modules connect to the E-Trailer basic module Plus . This basic module Plus already has a built-in GPS as standard. Now you can always see where your camper is on your phone using E-Track&Trace. You do need to take out a subscription for this, so that the E-Trailer modules remain connected to the internet. Alarm center To make the security complete, you can also take out a recovery subscription, which connects your E-Trailer system to the NVD security group. If the camper is stolen, a message is sent to this center with one push of a button, including the exact location of the camper. They then take immediate action and the chance that we will ever see our Globus 2 again is much greater. This works in a very large part of the world ! A nice side effect is that if you have camper insurance with Aveco, you can get a cashback discount of 50% on the first year of your Recovery subscription costs until December 31, 2025. Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website. Future developments You read it right, I am very pleased with the stuff that the company E-Trailer makes. The young company, which was set up by two students from the TU in Delft, continues to innovate constantly and they come up with new modules on the market almost every year. This way the system becomes more and more complete. And everything is wireless and can be controlled within one app. I have heard that new functionalities will be added to the system at the end of this year. I can't wait to see that. Module Price Starter package Plus (incl. E-level, E-Volt, E-Track&Trace and remote reading option) €349.95 E-Switch (2 pieces) € 90,- E-Movement € 110,- E-Trailer subscription (for a duration of 1 year) € 100,- per year Additional cost for subscription to E-Trailer Recovery subscription €60 per year Accountability When you read this blog you might think what an advertisement, but we did not receive any financial compensation from E-trailer for this blog. We did receive the discussed modules from E-trailer to test them. They do not make any demands on the content of this blog and we are therefore completely free to express our own real objective experience. It should be clear that I am very enthusiastic. Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we place a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

In the previous blog I wrote that we have decided to continue making short videos. We get a lot of positive reactions and we also really enjoy making them. We were often asked if they could also be found on YouTube, something that was not the case until now. But... with due pride we have now launched our own YouTube channel . Ons YouTube kanaal Back to the Netherlands Now that we are back in the Netherlands for a while and have enough data, we have uploaded all the videos we made in the past period to YouTube. We have added some extra images to several videos that you have not seen before. Of course, we will also place all future videos there. Uploading was quite a hassle, because we had to replace the music in several videos. Of course, everything on YouTube has to be royalty-free. Such a shame because we were quite happy with the music we chose. And because we do not talk during the videos, the music is of extra importance. Subscribe Now we are of course very curious how many views we will get and how many subscribers. It would be great if you would subscribe to our channel. That way we will get higher in the rankings on YouTube and the videos will also be suggested to other people. So do us a big favor and click here to subscribe. Starlink mini Because uploading videos to YouTube costs quite a bit of data and mobile subscriptions abroad can be quite expensive, we also bought a Starlink mini. Now, if all goes well, we have fast internet everywhere. Very handy also when we are off-grid in places where there is no mobile coverage at all. It is unbelievable that such a small device connects to so many satellites that orbit the earth and therefore you are always assured of fast internet. You would not have thought that possible a few years ago. Connecting and installing the Starlink was really a piece of cake. After opening the box we were online within 5 minutes. En route The advantage of the Starlink mini, besides being so small, is that it also works on the household battery and not just on 220V. For this I have placed a small transformer between the battery and the Starlink that converts max 12V 20A to max 48V 5A. Exactly what the Starlink needs. As a result, it ultimately consumes less power. You can even take the mini, which is not much bigger than an A4 sheet, on a hike and supply it with power with a power bank. While driving, the Starlink is attached to the roof window with suction cups. In this position we already have more than enough speed. If we are going to send really heavy videos, we can put it outside and use the Starlink app to put it in exactly the right position for an even better range. "Hey, wasn't that technological progress meant to reduce the need for hard work?" Costs and coverage The purchase of the Starlink mini is at the time of writing € 299, - In addition, you need a subscription. You have the choice for a maximum of 50Gb per month for € 40, - or unlimited for € 72, - If during our next trip it turns out that everything works well, then we will say the data only subscription that is now in Globus 2 is of course on and that saves about €36,- per month. With the Roam subscription of Starlink you have coverage in a very large part of the world. As you can see on the map below, Morocco is not (yet) included. However, during our last trip we saw it working for many people, also in Morocco. So the fact that Starlink is not yet for sale in those countries does not mean that it does not work. Experience A major disadvantage of the Starlink subscriptions is that you have to be in the country of registration again after two months. So in our case the Netherlands. If you don't do that, the connection would be lost until you have been back in the Netherlands again. They did this because the subscriptions are not equally expensive in every country. Otherwise, you could purchase and activate the Starlink in a 'cheap' country and then use it in an 'expensive' country. For us, this would be really annoying and unworkable. However, I read different stories on the internet. Very carefully, I now conclude that for people who stay in one place for months (for example, winterers in Spain) the connection has indeed been lost and for people who regularly cross borders it simply continues to work. Are there people who have experience with this? Is my analysis correct? We would like to hear it! Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website. Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we place a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

Well, home, when you live in a van you are of course always home. Like a kind of snail we always carry our little house with us wherever we go. We have to go back to the Netherlands! You can read why in this blog. Also in this blog a video with tourist cities that we visited and the last walks that we made. Back to the Netherlands As a Dutch citizen, you must be in the Netherlands for at least four months per year. If you are in the Netherlands for less than four months, you are required to deregister from the Personal Records Database (BRP). When you deregister, you will also lose all your social security and AOW accrual. We want to prevent that, so that means that we are in the Netherlands for four months per year. This year, those are the months of April and May, and at the end of the year we plan November and December to be in the Netherlands again. De arena voor stierenvechten in Alicante At home Being home still means to me just living in Globus 2 and standing on a camping or camper place. In that sense, not much changes. We are now not between the mountains, but in our own flat little country. Yet the city where I was born and raised still feels like home. "The art of living is to be at home as if one were on a journey." Family The months that we are forced to be in the Netherlands certainly do not feel like a punishment. It is nice to hug the children again, visit family and meet up with friends. All things that we have to miss while traveling and can now catch up. There are also a few jobs on Globus 2 on the program. Every trip I think of a few small things to make the bus even better match our wishes. Separated Because Kelly's family lives in the Twente region and my family in the Hague region, that also means that we will be apart for the next few weeks. That takes some getting used to after being inseparable for 90 days. On the other hand, it's also quite nice. Not having to take the other into account for a while, doing your own thing and just being in your own space for a while. It's great to really miss each other again and really look forward to seeing each other again. Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website. Video You will have noticed that we have started making videos since the beginning of this trip. We have received a lot of positive feedback on this, so we have decided to continue doing so. We will start again when we travel again in May/June. So for now, here is the last video for now. The last two weeks The past two weeks we have visited several tourist cities. Such as Alicante, Benidorm and Valencia. We especially liked Benidorm much more than we expected. There is a lot to do, directly on a large beach and many cozy shopping streets. Fortunately we were also able to take two nice walks: Cerrada del Rio Castril A very short (2.3 km) walk, but very nice. Over a bridge, along steep walls and through a tunnel. At the end of the walk you can still visit the local castle. Entrance fee was €2.50. Pasarelas de Montfalcó via Camí de Mont-Rebei For those who are not afraid of heights. What a beautiful spectacular walk this was. Be sure to watch the video for the images! At the end of the walk you are treated to a load of stairs down a steep wall. The week after the walks we mainly spent on the bus on our way to the Netherlands. Our second 'journey without end time' has come to an end. In a next blog we will explain what our follow-up plans are. Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we place a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

In the photos and videos we make, you usually see us with radiant smiles. But in all honesty, we are not always that cheerful. Living together in a van of 8m2 has its challenges. Donkere wolken boven Globus2 General In general, we enjoy ourselves on our journey, we rarely get in each other's way and are often completely in harmony with each other. The photos where we are radiant are not faked. However, this is not always the mood. El Saltillo Hike  Living together Kelly and I met almost two years ago at camping Buitenland in Drenthe. Kelly lived in Enschede and I lived in Zoetermeer. That meant that we could only see each other on weekends. In September last year, our 'traveling without end time' started and we also started living together. When we are active by driving, walking and doing things, things go really well between us. Unfortunately, it has rained a lot in the past few weeks and we are sitting together on that 8m2 all day waiting for the weather to get better. That is not good for our mood and does not always bring out the best in us. Tabernas woestijn in Spanje Agreements Of course we have a lot in common: we both love driving, nature, walking, self-development, spirituality and much more, but on rainy days the differences also come to the surface. And where you could experience enormous personal growth because of the differences, the irritations can also quickly arise. For example, I am very structured and Kelly is a bit messy. I prefer to be together all the time and Kelly also needs 'me-time'. Kelly is very well versed in politics, which does not interest me that much. Constellations And then we also have star signs* that don't exactly match. I am a sensitive Cancer and I prefer to keep my partner close to me with my pincers and take loving care of her. I am domestic, loving, protective and emotional. Kelly on the other hand is an Aquarius: eccentric, open-minded, capricious, reserved and far ahead of the crowd. Now try to keep that water with you with your pincers. It's a hopeless task! " Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it" Learning potential Yet we believe that we did not just meet each other. People do not just meet each other. What do we have to learn from each other in this life? You could say: what one has too much of, the other has too little of. There is an enormous learning potential in this. Is our love strong enough to bridge the valleys. Because we certainly have enough peaks too. We can endlessly enjoy the adventure that we have embarked on together. We would also like to share this adventure with you. In fact, the time when things are going well makes up a much larger part of the time than the moments when things are not going so well. And yet those lesser moments take up a disproportionate amount of space in our heads. Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website. Growing old together If we both love personal development so much, then we can only be very grateful for the valleys in our relationship. Your partner is always, by definition, your biggest mirror. If the other person affects you, makes you angry or sad, that actually says nothing about the other person but only something about yourself. The bottom line is that we have a great time together, we enjoy everything we get to do enormously and we are already planning our next trip. Every day I choose to be with this woman, maybe for the rest of my life. FILM Walking When it rains so much we mainly entertain ourselves with reading, playing games, washing and cleaning the bus a bit. Fortunately we were also able to take several walks. You can see the images of these in the video above. We took the following walks: Harvest Fountain – Sultana Arch tour from El Borge Not spectacular, but nice views of the sea and extremely steep passages in between El Saltillo Hike For those who are not afraid of heights Cahorros de Monachil Walking, slipping, crawling, we can't make it any more fun Tabernas Watercourse - Lanujar Watercourse - Las Salinas Ravine , Hike in the largest Western European desert *) Astrology By the way, are you interested in learning more about your character traits, talents and soul mission explained by astrology? Kelly's sister is an Astrologer and here you can find her site for more information. Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we place a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

Our second travel period (January to April) is not over yet, but we have already left Morocco. This seems like a good time to look back and share our experiences about this special country with our Globus 2 with you. What did we really like and what did we not like. And we share some tips. General Let's start with the conclusion: Morocco is a real camper country. You hardly see any caravans or tents or the like. It is really ideal for a camper trip. The roads are generally very good and there are many campsites where you can spend the night for between € 5 and € 10. Do not expect too much luxury. It often looks a bit run down and hot water is not always standard. We had heard in advance that you really always have to stay on a campsite in Morocco for safety reasons. However, we have 'wild camped' several times and we always liked it. We did not feel unsafe anywhere, while we sometimes do feel that way in large cities in Spain, for example. Route Most camper tour operators such as NKC , Endless on Wheels or ANWB all make approximately the same round trip. And that is also a good decision. You pass all the important sights and cross beautiful areas. We would always do the round trip counterclockwise, because the surroundings become more and more beautiful. We would also skip the west coast next time. We are not water sports enthusiasts and nature is simply much more beautiful in the mountain areas. We really enjoyed the period January/February. Even though it was often only between 17 and 20 degrees. As soon as the sun comes out, the perceived temperature is immediately a lot higher. In the High Atlas we deviated from the standard routes a number of times. That gave us a number of beautiful, but also very challenging roads such as driving in the snow and muddy roads with deep abysses. To get used to Our experience is also that you really have to take some time to get used to the culture. As soon as you enter the country, everything seems different. Not only the Arabic texts on the traffic signs, but also the enormous piles of plastic (especially in the north and near the big cities) that lie along the road. In addition, the chaos, there seem to be no traffic rules. Everyone walks and drives criss-cross through each other and once you get used to that, it works surprisingly well. The donkeys that are still used here as working animals, the clothes that people wear, the shops, etc. Everything is so different from what we are used to. Practical matters Some practical matters that may be useful to know before you start your Morocco trip; Near almost every city you will come across a police post. Approach them very calmly and really wait until you get the signal that you can drive on. We, as foreigners, have never had to stop. Stick to the speed limit! There are many speed checks, especially in the north of Morocco. And they are often on 60km roads where you are just driving down a mountain. Despite the fact that we were so aware of it, we unfortunately still got two fines that had to be paid in cash. For 150 MAD (€15,-) you can drive on and you also get the apologies from the officer on duty that they find it so annoying. Speaking of money. Despite the fact that the dirham (MAD) conversion rate is so simple (10 MAD is €1,-), we just couldn't get used to it and a mistake is easily made. Is something really expensive or really cheap. In addition, everything has to be paid for in cash, including diesel (€1.16)! So you pay for a night at the campsite with a 100MAD note. " Happiness is only real when shared." At the market (souk) you can buy vegetables very cheaply. You can get a whole bag full for just a few euros. Bread is also for sale everywhere and costs about € 0.20. There are small supermarkets everywhere where you can get most other groceries. In the larger towns there are sometimes supermarket chains such as Marjane or Carrefour. We mainly bought meat there. However, these supermarkets are very expensive and you pay more than in the Netherlands. Because we drink from the tap in the camper, we decided to always fill the water tank of Globus 2 with 5L barrels that you can buy everywhere here. The people are so incredibly friendly and helpful that it really stands out. It has really positively adjusted our image of Moroccans. People who actively approach you, you have to know that they want something from you. They want to sell you something or show you the way, but then ask for money afterwards. They can be quite persistent and you often have the feeling that it is difficult to get rid of them. Keep smiling friendly and clearly indicate that you are not interested works best. If we have to name something that is really a negative point of Morocco, it is these 'salesmen'. We have had good experiences with the internet coverage of Inwi. For €20,- we had unlimited internet for a month. With the hotspot of your phone we had enough with one sim card. Note: when you get off the boat you can buy the same sim card there, but you pay the main price of €50,- Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website. Poverty In many areas (outside the big cities) people are, by our standards, a lot poorer than we are. They sometimes live in mud houses without furniture or any luxury whatsoever. We also experienced these people as very hospitable and before you know it you are invited for a cup of tea. Children have learned that if they see a camper, there is something to be had. We also brought balloons, markers and sweets. Once you have given something, there is often no thank you but a request for more. It also spreads like wildfire through the village and in no time there is a whole group of children around your bus. If you do not give anything, these children can become quite annoying. From swearing, a middle finger to throwing stones. That is why we have completely stopped giving things to children. We do not want to participate in the conditioning camper = gift. It is much more grateful if you are invited for tea at someone's house and leave a pack of markers for the children in the family. Or donate a bag of pencils to a local school. Clothing Especially for women this can be a thing. The locals do not wear shorts and especially in the countryside many women wear a hijab. In the big tourist cities you see many tourists wearing shorts and sleeves. Despite the fact that we believe that we are guests and therefore have the right to adapt to local customs, we have also regularly worn short clothing and have never been looked at. Videos During our route through Morocco we published a video almost every week. Below are the seven videos in order of the route, a link to the corresponding blog and some negative and positive points about the region. Blog week 1 and week 2 - lots of plastic along the roads - getting used to new surroundings - nature not spectacular - lots of people hanging around + Hassan II mosque in Casablanca + ideal for water sports enthusiasts + visit coastal town Essaouira Blog week 3 - roads bad due to bad weather in 2024 + here the natural beauty begins + viewpoint Ait Mansour Canyon Blog week 4 + highlight of the trip!? + buy a tagelmust, nicer than you think + book an overnight stay in the desert, our preference: from M'Hamid (+/- €150,- pp) Blog week 5 - on google it is not clear which roads are paved and which are not. So pay attention! + really beautiful nature + Todgha and Dades gorge + Aïd-Ben-Haddou Blog week 6 Marrakech visit to Djemaa el-Fna square: - vendors that are difficult to get rid of + many nice souks + Ouzoud waterfalls + driving through the snow Blog week 7 + beautiful nature again! + lots of monkeys at Azrou + love lakes Isli and Tislit Blog week 8 - eastern Morocco somewhat more monotonous in terms of nature - also in Fez persistent sellers + Fez very nice medina and don't forget the tannery. + north/east Morocco hardly any tourists + green again after all that sand :-) + Chefchaouen (blue city) super nice Conclusion We can be brief, Morocco with a camper: DO IT! Give yourself time at the beginning to let all the impressions sink in, you can't prepare for it at home. It's a big country, so take a lot of time for it. Although we were really saturated after two months. Below is a short list of lesser-known gems. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them below in a comment. Hidden gems Grand canyon view point, here The cave of Akhiam, here Love lakes Isli and Tislit, here Rose Valley, here Jafaar canyon, here Road N12 and R704, here Road N23, R307 and N210, here Road R302 from Azilal to Agouti, here Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we post a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

Our last week in Morocco. This weekend we sail back to Spain. How we loved Morocco! And yet... suddenly we both feel like we want to go back to Europe, we seem to be a bit done with it. De medina in Fez Psychological effect It's all so overwhelming. As Kelly wrote in the previous blog , we had to get used to everything here for the first two weeks. And after those two weeks we were completely converted and could intensely enjoy everything around us. Now there seems to be a turning point again. Is this just the psychological effect, because we know that we will leave the African continent again next weekend? Do you know that feeling? That you are really looking forward to the holiday. The last working week you are so looking forward to it. While if your holiday had been planned a month later you would be really looking forward to it. Or are we just saturated for a while? The contrasts, the landscape, the helpful people and life in an environment that is so different from what we are used to. When the chaos and the packed donkeys are no longer noticeable, it might be time to leave. Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website. Tired In addition, we are also quite tired. We may travel without end time (for many people a kind of endless vacation), but traveling is also quite tiring. We travel a lot further almost every day and then drive through beautiful pieces of landscape that we all get to absorb. Daily ritual We are often asked what our days look like. Many days look like this: At 8:30 the alarm goes off and we have a cup of tea in bed. Then follows a lesson from 'The Course in Miracles'. Then we get out of bed, get dressed and do our morning exercises outside. Most days we leave between 10 and 10:30. We then drive for about 1.5 hours to have breakfast/lunch around 12. After dinner we drive on and look for a place to spend the night. Of course, this is much easier on some days than on others. The aim is to have found one between 15 and 16. After arrival we install Globus 2 and take a rest. Then we start eating again. In the evening we discuss the route for the next day. Read something or watch something on TV. When we stay somewhere for two nights, the day is often spent on long walks, sightseeing and of course washing clothes and bedding and cleaning the bus. "The road is made along the way" Complain Now don't think I'm complaining a bit. We still feel very privileged to be able to live this life now. Out of the standard system of working every day between four concrete walls. Working mostly to be able to pay the mortgage, the car and all the fixed costs and before you know it you're a few years further. We feel like we're really living now and doing what our hearts tell us at this moment. De bekende leerlooierij in Fez Slow down What we haven't managed to do yet after almost half a year of travelling is to slow down. We still have the hectic feeling that we have to do something every day, we have to drive further, take a walk, clean the bus, write a blog, edit another film etc. What will happen to our intentions to meditate daily, read more and develop ourselves spiritually? This is perhaps the biggest challenge for our next trip. Because in March we really 'have to' walk a lot in Spain, because we didn't do enough of that in Morocco... Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we post a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

A good month in Morocco and we continue to be amazed. Amazed by the beauty of nature, the friendliness of the people, the number of campers you see here etc. etc. We are also amazed by many other things about which more in this blog. In Merzouga rij je met je bus zo de Sahara in River Draa Take the Draa River, for example. This forms the border between Morocco and Algeria for a large part. This river has been dry for years. But nothing is what it seems! The river still flows underground. Water is pumped up in several places to irrigate the dry land. The problem, however, is that the water is extremely salty and therefore has to be desalinated first. SIM card When we entered Morocco, there were large billboards just across the border with the following Inwi advertisement (mobile phone provider): one month unlimited internet for €50. A great offer! But nothing is what it seems... We used the card to our full satisfaction and now that the month was over we needed a new SIM card. You can top up your credit on every street corner, but you can't buy an unlimited SIM card anywhere. In some cities there are real Inwi shops. And if the SIM cards aren't sold out there, the computer isn't broken and the employee understands what you mean, you can buy the same card here. And what a surprise... We now only have to pay 200 dirham (€20). Access road Most roads here are well maintained, despite all the damage from the floods of last year. Of course, there are still parts that are not paved and they are also challenging. But regularly you drive into a city and the two-lane road suddenly becomes four times as wide and has sidewalks with neat street lighting along the sides. We now know that these 'access roads' to the center are paid for by King Mohamed VI. The roads within the city have to be paid for by the residents themselves. This often gives a stark contrast. So upon arrival you think what a rich city, but nothing is what it seems... Hoge Atlas Arabic Morocco is of course an Arabic country so we were a bit nervous beforehand. Can we find our way and make clear what we want? But nothing is what it seems... From 1912 to 1956 a large part of Morocco was a colony of France. Many Moroccans speak good French in addition to Arabic. The road signs to the larger cities are also all indicated in two languages. And did you think it was special to go all the way here with your camper? Nothing is what it seems... Morocco is a real camper holiday country. You see a lot of French, German and Dutch campers driving around. Everyone who comes here gets sick We hear from many people that they get a little sick within a few days of arriving. We didn't have any problems. Maybe that's because we only use bottled water (5L) that we bought. We even fill our camper water tank with it. Maybe it's a shame that we also use that water for washing up, but it's so easy. We also don't eat out very often and when we do, we check very carefully whether the meat is really cooked properly. That's not superfluous, because the first time we ate out, we were served partly raw chicken. We hebben deze week teveel gedaan, dus daarom twee filmpjes. Cold in February When you look at the thermometer, it shows 12 degrees at the time of writing this blog. Quite chilly you could say. But nothing is what it seems in Morocco. I am sitting outside in a t-shirt and shorts and I am already nice and warm. As soon as the sun shines it is immediately warm here, which is also what the thermometer indicates. When the sun has set it also immediately becomes quite chilly. Sitting outside in the evening is not an option. How warm must it feel here when it is above 40 degrees? "As long as you judge another, you do not see the other but mainly yourself." Sahara As soon as you drive into the tourist village of Merzouga, you see the dunes looming before you. There is no other place in Morocco where you can drive your own camper straight into the desert sand, which is of course not recommended. However, we found M'Hamid more interesting. After all, the Sahara is not just made up of sand. In fact, 75% of the largest sand desert does not consist of sand at all. From M'Hamid it was a two-hour drive through the rocky desert to the first sand dunes. But once you are there, they also stretch as far as the eye can see. If you take the trouble to climb the highest dune in Merzouga, you can see the outer edges of the dunes. By the way, you should set aside an afternoon for this. With every step up, you slide back down at least 1/3. It is a tough undertaking. Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com. A small % of the purchase goes to financing this website. Frame of reference We often think we know how things are. Our opinions are of course formed by our own experiences. Our upbringing, our culture, our school days and our life experiences. Someone else can have a completely different history and therefore also have formed different opinions. Despite the fact that I am very aware of this, I still find it difficult to always and everywhere look at things with an open mind and without judgement. A nice challenge for me: nothing is what it seems! Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we post a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

Our journey through Morocco is almost over. Things that we were surprised about at first, we are now getting used to. We first experienced a kind of culture shock when we first entered the country. In this blog we will examine the culture shock and talk about being stuck in assumptions and habits. Culture shock Before we went to Morocco we had done some research into the country and the social customs here. In various vlogs we heard about culture shock and that you need a few days to get used to the country. Well, that's absolutely true! To be honest, I didn't find the first few days in Morocco that great. I found it chaotic, felt like I was being watched and constantly asked myself whether I met the cultural norms and values. “Words are a source of misunderstanding. The heart understands without speaking.” Blowing hair The first street scene in the coastal city of Asilah showed me mainly women with hijabs, I also saw no couples walking hand in hand and I certainly saw no bare arms or legs. There I was, walking in my T-shirt and blowing hair in a foreign country where you hear the call to prayer from the minaret every few hours. What am I doing here? I asked myself a few times in passing. Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website. The Little Prince All of this reminded me of the timeless classic The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In the book, a little prince visits different planets and meets strange characters, such as the king who wants to rule everything, the vain man who only wants to be seen and the businessman who counts stars as if they were money. Each of these characters looks at the world with a limited view, stuck in their own beliefs. This reminds me of how we are sometimes stuck in our cultural habits and assumptions. Open look In another culture it is essential to look at the other with an open mind. When we think that our way of doing things is the only right way, we limit ourselves and our relationships with others. A nice quote from the book is: "You can only understand things if you tame them first." This means that we have to invest time to really get to know a culture. For me it was a matter of switching and especially not getting in your own way. Now that we are a few weeks further, my image of this country has completely changed. To adjust We believe that we are guests here and that we may adapt to the cultural customs of this country. Where possible, we do so and that helps us to understand the local culture better. It was quite a shock when we suddenly realized that we had been walking around with a Jumbo shopping bag with a greasy pork sausage on it for two months. How to adapt, we had a good laugh about it. Two months on the road By traveling through Morocco for almost two months now, I experience the country so much differently than in the beginning. I no longer notice the hijabs, I get used to the chaotic traffic and I notice that tourists are more than welcome. I also get the impression that they don't care whether or not they wear a hijab, eat with their left hand or drink alcohol occasionally. I don't think they expect this from non-Muslims at all. Liefdesmeren Isli (bruidegom) en Tislit (bruid) Learning to see with the heart One of the most famous quotes from the book is: "Only with the heart can you see well. The essential is invisible to the eyes." This is a beautiful lesson for me while traveling through Morocco. It is not just about understanding words and social customs, but about seeing the person behind the culture. Empathy and curiosity are the keys to real connection. Conversely, I often see curious eyes looking at us, I quickly saw a judgmental look in it at first, but now I know better. They are often people who want to practice a word of English, react enthusiastically when you say you are from Hulanda and want to know what you think of their country. The Berbers have often invited us for sweet 'berber whiskey' by the fire. They laugh at the worries of the western world, comparable to the king who meets the little prince, who thinks he rules over everything, while he only gives orders to what is already happening. Vuurtje met 'berber whiskey’ Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we post a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

We don't really know where to start in this blog. The past few days we were in the Sahara and we are speechless. The grandeur with only sand. You can't comprehend it and we are speechless. If you click on the photos they will appear larger. Kelly op weg naar stilte The Sahara From the coastal area we have now arrived in the Sahara via the Anti-Atlas Mountains. The Sahara is the largest desert in the world with 9.2 million square kilometers. Or actually Antarctica is the largest desert. There too, less than 200 mm of rain falls per year and is therefore officially the largest desert we know. But the Sahara (literally desert in Arabic) is by far the largest 'hot dessert' sand desert. Vegetation In the village of M'Hamid the paved road ends and we have to leave Globus 2 behind and exchange it for a 4x4. From the village to the sand dunes it is another two hours drive through arid, rocky terrain. Just before we arrive at the high sand dunes, which you can see looming from afar, we drive through an extremely green strip. In the previous blog we already wrote about the enormous amount of rain that fell in Morocco last September. This has ensured that an entire strip is now overgrown. The contrast between the light green bushes and the vast, dead sand dunes could hardly be greater. A photo with the sand dunes and strip of fresh green is therefore quite unique. There will probably be nothing left of this next summer. Then to think that the desert once consisted of grassland. Once every 41,000 years the area alternates between desert and savannah grassland. To live By the way, that deathly is not so bad, there is more life in the desert than you might think. In addition to the well-known goats and camels (actually dromedaries) you can also find desert tortoises, beetles, ostriches, rattlesnakes, kangaroo rats and desert owls. And what about the fast gazelles with their fast feet, the elusive cheetah and the small fennec fox. The desert is teeming with life. Quieten We spent one night in the desert. On top of the highest dune with sand dunes as far as we could see. We saw the sun set and the sun rise. You sit there, watch and then..... nothing. Silence. No other people, no airplane trails in the sky, no sound at all. Only sand. Oh, and of course the wind. The wind that sandblasts you and later you find sand in your underwear and your camera 😬. "Where are the people?" asked the little prince. "It's a bit lonely in the desert. It's also lonely when you're among people," said the snake. Tagelmust By the way, for anyone who ever goes to this region, we can heartily recommend a tagelmust (turban), which everyone here wears. It takes some practice to wrap it exactly, but what a pleasure. It fits wonderfully and you are much less bothered by sun, wind and sand in your hair. At first we may have had a prejudice against people with such face coverings because they would be unapproachable and distant, but now we find it beautiful as well as very practical. Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com. A small % of the purchase goes to financing this website. Speaking silence in the Sahara Sitting on top of such a sand dune does something to me. It is as if the silence in the Sahara has a story to tell, a message to share. How insignificant and small am I in this world? Who am I really? What is my role in this life? All the time to let thoughts pass by. Last week a dear friend/colleague of mine passed away. In the prime of his life, too young and vital. For me he will live on forever, because what the heart has seen is forever. But how difficult it is, especially for the survivors, to have to miss his physical presence here on earth. Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we place a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .

Although we were a bit skeptical about Morocco at first, we are now completely converted. We will not visit the west coast again soon, but the route we drove last week through the Anti-Atlas Mountains is truly fantastic. In addition to the beautiful things we see, we also meet many beautiful people. One even more special than the other. Grand Canyon Of course, this is all due to our poor preparation, but did you know that Morocco also has a real Grand Canyon? At Tafraout we drive to the Aït Mansour Oasis and then take a challenging road to the Grand Canyon viewpoint. After enjoying the beautiful view, we continue. The road here quickly becomes so bad that at a certain point we decide to turn back. We drive backwards for a few km before we reach a place where we can turn around again. Later we learn that this region suffered a lot of flooding last September and that many roads were completely or partially swept away as a result. We can clearly notice this in many places. Really beautiful Even though the roads are sometimes quite damaged and challenging we really enjoy the surroundings to the fullest. It is indescribably beautiful so just look at the pictures and the movie. Encounters One of the nice things about travelling is that you meet many other people. Other travellers with whom you can exchange experiences or local people who give an insight into their everyday life. For example, visiting a local market ( souk ) is quite an experience and local people come to the camper place 'door by door' to sell all sorts of things. For example, we could have our bus painted at a camper place or put the washing outside or just buy bread from a 'bicycle baker'. Wim and Liesbeth At the campsite in Tata we meet Wim and Liesbeth Wessels. At first glance just a travelling couple like so many others. They appear to have been to Morocco many times and know all the beautiful places on the map. Also which roads are currently passable and which are not. "Hey, I don't know you from anywhere!" Glasses Wim and Liesbeth have a mission besides just being on holiday. They collect glasses in the Netherlands. Glasses of various strengths. They check them completely, replace screws and clean them meticulously. With no less than 600 glasses they then travel to Morocco in their small car. They then personally ensure that the glasses end up here in the right place. Neither of them are opticians so it is a matter of trying until a big broad smile appears on the face of the new owner. They keep track of exactly how many glasses have been given out where on their website . So here is a call: if you have any unused, good glasses lying around, make sure they end up with Wim and Liesbeth. Advertisement: Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com. A small % of the purchase goes to financing this website. Route changed Besides being impressed by Wim and Liesbeth's mission, I also gratefully make use of their knowledge of Morocco. They know exactly what the beautiful areas are. I tell them where our interests lie and this creates a completely new route. Now I just have to inform Kelly that it will take us a little longer. Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we place a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .