A handful of the wonderful folks we've met along the way.
OVERLANDERS:
Though we were Instagram friends while working on our motor swap, we first met Miles and Aaron (friends for 12 years) in person at Descend on Bend in the Fall. In January 2016 we spent 10 days traveling down Baja with them and Travel Amateurs. You can follow their South American trek on IG @totorothevan or over at Head First Diaries.
15 years! That is how long Pablo and Anna have been exploring the world in their 4x4 Mitsubishi Delica, La Cucaracha. They have a new book which we're excited to read; if you're fluent in Spanish you can read more on their blog or check out the English section.
This awesome party of 5 has been on the road since 2008, living, working and road-schooling their young family. You can follow their blog or stay up-to-date via their (one of many) Instagram feeds.
Josh contacted us while we were sipping coffee in Cuernavaca, Mexico as he and his wife Jenna planned for their own Pan-American adventure. Happily we were able to meet in person at the always fun Descend On Bend gathering. They'll be crossing the border south in December, 2015 - click here to follow along as they advance from amateurs to road-hardened experts!
Kerri has been working and traveling all over the US since 2011 in Calypso, her Airstream, with her dog, Byron. We got a chance to meet her as she is no longer "solo"; she is traveling with Cameron's uncle, Tim (AKA Van-Tramp). You can follow her on Instagram.
With the kids grown and out of the house, Mike and Geneva packed their three dogs into their van, Alta, and hit the road in October 2014. Vanagon owner's gotta love appropriately-named blog!
Regis and Emma departed the Bay Area on their dirtbikes in early 2014. Although our paths never crossed on the road they recently surprised us with a "hello" in San Francisco. Click here to read about their two-wheeled adventures!
Jeff and Jahliele left Canada in their Westfalia Charlie hoping to get a chance to explore South America. We were super excited to see another couple rocking an aircooled Vanagon and you can follow their blog here!
Emma and Ben are a brave couple. They flew into Alaska from New Zealand, pickup up a trusty Toyota 4Runner and started their journey. Their goal is to do the entire Pan-american from Alaska right down to the tip of Argentina. However, like us, they're directionally challenged. Looking at a map of their journey is far from a straight line, which just adds to the fun of their adventure. Follow them here!
This multi-talented duo, Steven and Diana of Digital Nomadz, have been working and traveling in their '72 Westy (Nina) since 2011. They trade projects for rent, have a remote business coaching others how to live and work remotely, teach English, do web-design, host workshops...oh, and are training for triathlons along way! What a team!
Martin was our friendly neighbor for our stay in San Cristobal. We didn't get a chance to meet his wife Claudia as she was back in Oaxaca studying Spanish. Cameron really admired their Syncho, formerly a police van, from Switzerland. Martin and Claudia built out the interior entirely themselves and are also traveling south. Find them at Viaje.ch.
We met Andy and Sabine from Off-The-Maps while staying at Overlander Oasis, compact travel but it's a Toyota (Land Cruiser)!
Petra and Udo, from Germany, are traveling in an Iveco RV north from Montevideo. You can follow their adventure here. They cooked yummy burgers one night and Petra baked bread and other treats in her Omnia Stove Top Oven. I now own one myself, yum!
Gregor, Janice and their Westy Lucky are traveling the Americas from Canada and have been our neighbors both in Oaxaca and San Cristobal thus far. They've got a great blog for you to follow along on their adventures and you can also find them on Instagram @live.travel.play
We "met" George and Jenine (and their Sportsmobile "Titus") of Traveling the Americas via Instagram long before we met them face-to-face at Overlander Oasis. They are also from the San Francisco area and George also kites and Jenine is learning to along the way. Check out their blog or their Instagram (@TravelingTheAmericas) to hear of their awesome journey: surfing, kiting, yoga, a home-stay and volunteering along the way!
Adam and Karen are another couple from Bay Area, Santa Cruz, we've also seen both in Oaxaca and San Cristobal.They've owned their Weekender Van, Chinook, for 20 years and one of their goals for the trip is to travel minimally. No roof box, swing arm or pop top. You can follow along on their journey here.
Our first day in Oaxaca, we spotted this Sportsmobile parked on the street and knew it was for overlandering. We left our card and a note and speculated on the traveler-owners. Turns out it was this family of four, also from the Bay Area! Karie, Simon, Ty and Jamie are all headed south and you can follow them at OurRoadLife. See, you CAN overland with kids!
We only met Meryl and Dave one night, but they told us fascinating stories about their travels and got our minds switched onto thinking of exploring Africa. They've been all over in their custom,built-out Pinzgauer. It's a tiny foot print, but has go-go-Gadget everything. Sadly, no blog to follow.
We met Lionel, Nelly, Anna and Nils while camped at Overlander Oasis. From France, they've been traveling north in their Iveco RV. The kids are becoming tri-lingual and little Anna loved running around in a cape pretending she was Queen Elsa from Frozen. Love it. They'll be on the road through summer 2015, before school starts. You can follow them here.
You can check out Grant and Ell's motorcycle journey on their Facebook page. We met them the one night they stayed at Overlander Oasis in Oaxaca.
Paula and John are also from the Bay Area, up in Marin County. They've been dreaming of an adventure like this for twenty years and planned for about a decade! They've earned it. You can follow them here as they explore, play and travel in their Toyota Tundra + Cabover combo.
We met Gorm and Elisabeth from Bee-Individual while staying at an RV park in Patzcuaro, Mexico. They're from Germany and are traveling around the Americas in their beautiful blue bus.
We met Doran on the side of the road in Mazatlan, and had some chats regarding the possible life-span of his leaf springs. Looks like they held up. Check out his blog and awesome photography here.
Photo credit: Doran Hannes
We met Claudia and (I forget his name!) while boondocking in Guererro Negro, Baja. They're taking the off-the-beaten-path as they go and shared good advice, "Money can last a long time when you're eating avocados and beans." Truth. Follow this link to follow their journey.
We learned about the BodesWell family when Jacqui sold her BBQ grill to their current tenant in our shared hometown of Alameda, CA!
Since then, our paths have crossed twice and we look forward to following in their footsteps: for this family, what started out as a one year trip has turned into six years and counting!
OUR FAMILY MEMBERS LIVING ON THE ROAD:
Cameron's uncle Tim (Aka Van Tramp) has been on the road traveling more than five years while maintaining his online business. As of mid-2015 he's been to 65 separate National Parks on his slow journey through all the beauty the United States has to offer with his trusty companion, Moose. Despite the much shorter time that Moose has been traveling on the road, it's generally accepted that he is the far more famous traveler.
Jacqui's Mom and Step-dad (Deborah and Butch) are new to the open road. As of June 2015 they've officially sold their house, purged their belongings and are embracing life on the open road with no deadlines in sight. They travel with two trusty companions, Willie and Bailey, their two corgis.
HITCHHIKERS:
On our way out of La Ventana, before a big stretch of desert, we picked up Carlos and Sofia carrying their belongings and gallons of water! We gave them a lift and learned he is from Columbia and she from Chile, the two South American countries we want to visit the most! We were on our way to pick up our favorite garlic bread in El Triunfo so they came along. We shared some bread before we dropped them off at a friend's house and they gave us each a bracelet they make and sell to partially fund their travels. Hopefully we reconnect in SA someday!
We met Fabio + Marriette as we were about to descend into Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala. You can read about our adventures together here. Fabio is from Italy and said he came to Lago de Atitlan for two weeks, ten years ago. When we met Marriette, she was finishing up her thesis and traveling for several weeks throughout Central America.
We'd seen pictures of the LT40 floating around social media then ran into them while staying in Loreto. Hard not to run into them while they're stuck working on their van for 3 weeks ;)
This family of four is full timing all the way from the UK and have a wonderful outlook on the perks of traveling with their children. You can follow their journey here!