The life we have chosen

Ivan and Jane have chosen to give up their home and their jobs and travel Europe full time in their motorhome Daphne. Over 12 weeks on the road and this blog reviews the journey so far.

Jane and Ivan at the Alvor estuary, Portugal

We love living a nomadic lifestyle and having new places to explore. Camping and the outdoors has always been part of our lives together and we enjoy nature so we are revelling in this new lifestyle and soaking it up with energy and enthusiasm. It’s been wonderful to have so many supporters to help us on our way with words of friendship and encouragement. As we encroach on this new lifestyle we realise it’s not the norm. Most people our age are saving for their pensions, enjoying holidays and working hard. We have chosen this life on the road and have no regrets.

Jane and Daphne

We left the UK in January and spent two weeks heading south to warmer climates. We endured heavy rain, wind and snow and eventually made it to Portugal where the sun always shines (well almost)! Our method of travel is to Coddiwomple, or in other words, head towards a yet unknown destination.  Our first time in Portugal and we were determined to spend our time getting to know it, try and learn the language, understand the culture and see as much as we could.

 Keeping warm en route to Portugal

We soon learnt to slow down, listen and learn. We realised that in order to really see and hear we had to “be” in Portugal. Be ourselves, take our time and enjoy it. Time and money more often than not go together and in some ways this was the same for us. Rent from our UK house gives us an allowance each month and in order for it to last we need to travel less and spend more time in places. Saving money on fuel means we get to know places really well. We spend time exploring areas in much more depth than originally intended. This has become our way of life. We get up early and see the sun rise if we want to, we see as many sunsets as we can. We will never take this life for granted, we are always grateful.

We are so pleased we brought our cycles along

Last nights sunset 💖

We enjoy fresh air, exercise and a wholesome vegetarian diet. We have both lost weight and feel more healthy in mind, body and soul. Our relationship has got better and better and we love spending time together, sharing the adventure: the journey. We talk a lot, we share dreams and ideas. We encourage and support each other. We are conscious of our environment and are careful with water. We use solar whenever possible to recharge Daphne’s batteries and try to leave no trace wherever we camp. Our environmental footprint has significantly decreased. In this climate this feels right and good.

 Ivan at Olhao fresh food market

Locally sourced fresh food (and cake!)

Thank you to everyone following for your friendship and support. It means a lot to us both. After 75 days exploring the beautiful country of Portugal we are now in southern Spain and looking forward to a new country to explore.  We realise life in a small home on wheels is not everyone’s thing. We have chosen this lifestyle. We feel life is not only for breathing, it’s also to experience the things that take your breath away. We recommend it. Life is good 😄.

The Miradouro

Hello from the sunny Algarve. A few miles inland from the coast and the hills and valleys of southern Portugal are worth a visit. Today is Easter Friday and Ivan and Jane have left their motorhome Daphne at the campsite, put on their walking boots, packed a rucksack and gone for a walk.

We did reach the top of the hill after clambering over more rocky boulders than Jane would have liked. This vlog is called “ The Miradouro” and Ivan explains what it means in the vid.

You can see all the way to the sea at Fuseta around 10k away.

We made it to the top!

Ivan trying to climb as high as he can.

Yay!

We love this life.

Too many boulders!

Looking back at the Miradouro.

We made it back to Daphne before the rain. Unfortunately we did not see any wild boar, although lots of evidence of snuffling!

Thank you for reading. Happy Easter everyone 🐥. 

The sand, the sea and the goats

The southern Algarve has earnt a good reputation for amazing beaches. Ivan and Jane have been exploring the sand and the sea in their motorhome Daphne. This blog is a brief update of their journey so far and we hope you enjoy the photos of the amazing beaches: the sand; the sea and the goats!

Jane and Ivan at Armacao de Pera.

The beach sign at Sao Rafael

Wild camping on the cliff tops of the Algarve has been an incredible adventure. Every day we have found what feels to be hidden coves that no one else knows about, caves and beautiful sandy beaches. We love exploring and the beaches don’t disappoint. Adventures are easy when you are based in an amazing place, we don’t go back to a house at the end of the day, we are sleeping right here, waking up to a new dawn in our motorhome Daphne. We are here at the beginning of the day and when everyone has gone home at the end of the day, our favourite times to explore.

Daphne camping on the cliffs at Praia dos Arrifes.

The view towards Albufeira.

Ivan on a cliff top walk.

Jane living dangerously!

Beautiful empty cove.

Looking into the cave from the sandy beach.

Jane on a walk through the rocks.

Some of coves are only accessible if you get your feet wet.

Early morning coffee on the beach.

Ivan living dangerously!

The boardwalk from the beach at Sao Rafael.

Life on the road is not without its difficulties though, the weather so far in April has been a steady 19-20 degrees c and colder in the evening, however we have had some showers and heavy down pours. At times the wind has also picked up, at one point blowing our roof light off its hinges completely and shattering the rim leaving us with a big hole in the roof of Daphne. A temporary fix with tape and glue allowed us to get it back on and water tight for the time being. We were thankful the roof light had not blown down over the cliff we were parked on top of.

Rainy day pancakes.

Late afternoon between showers.

The rocks and the rainbow.

No roof light here, thankfully.

Portugal is a good mix of old and new and we like it here. We love seeing the modern twist and the old traditions. One day we were cycling back to Daphne after a trip to Vilamoura and stopped at Praia dos Tomates (Tomato beach), we think named that due to colour of the sand. We saw a Shepherd and his herd. He and his dog, and his crook were herding goats over the beach car park, it was a wonderful sight.

Goats having a feed.

The tomato cliffs remind us of the Isle of Wight.

We have come into Faro for some services and to explore this ancient town and beaches. We aim to be in Portugal until at least Easter and then Spain here we come.

Goodbye from Daphne and us. Thank you for reading.