Eva Serra and Ana Vega
A Eva Serra and Ana Vega , the two friends behind ** 2 Femmes in 2CV **, with the crisis of the 30s they decided to travel. Or more than traveling to decide between settling down in complaint and hiding behind comfort and fear, or joining together and building something together. That building something together was to travel the world in a sky blue 1983 Citroën 2CV 6 Special , the last member of this curious trio.
“The 2CV is a magical car that raises smiles wherever it goes” Ana explains to Traveler.es. "It is a convertible SUV, capable of crossing rivers and mountains." And yes, like you and me, he has preferences: its character is Mediterranean, although it also responds in the coldest latitudes. “It starts without problems up to -20º”.
What if we dare?
“Always faithful, he never stops talking to you. Complains when something hurts he laughs as we take him along his favorite roads. It is much more than a car, it is the best companion for adventures”, Ana describes this peculiar traveler.
It was on the back of these two horses that they left Mallorca behind in the summer 2015. “In an initial phase we toured France, Monaco, Italy, all the Balkan countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, and Bulgaria) all the way to istanbul ”, Lists Ana.
The second stage starred Ana alone. “It took me to tour the entire Turkish territory, Kurdistan, Iran, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Georgia for nine months” . In the third phase Eva rejoined: "We crossed Russia and Eastern and Central Europe."
Total, 20 months of travel. It is said soon and it is lived slowly, in the purest slow travel style, enjoying everything that happens, throwing himself into the brave task of constantly embracing the unknown and improvisation and giving up those comforts that make life easier for us.
“We never knew where we were going to sleep. Our tent was our home for most nights, even in the frigid winters of Eastern and Northern Europe. Also, many families welcomed us in countries outside the European Union (especially in Turkey, Iran and Nagorno-Karabakh)”, explains Ana.
The curious trio in Tuscany
“Our travel philosophy fits perfectly with slow travel, always adapting to the environment, enjoying the local gastronomy, the ways of relating in each country. And, above all, spending a lot of time in each place, tasting it, living it more than visiting it”. Amen.
Twenty months go a long way, to many experiences. “We had no savings. The idea was to spend little and try to get a small income during the trip” she recounts. Thus, Ana and Eva immersed themselves in the sharing economy to get room and board in exchange for a few hours of work. They were also dedicated to the grape harvest or the olive harvest and kept some freelance jobs thanks to the Internet and its ability to connect the world.
They also had time to cross paths with many people. “Syrian refugees hold a special place in our hearts. We were collaborating as volunteers in the **Presevo refugee camp (Serbia)** in one of the most critical moments of the migration crisis. Thousands of refugees huddled together on the mud and rubbish in order to continue their terrible journey. Many of them wanted to go back to Syria, to go back to the war, where they at least felt human,” they say.
They are twenty months, we insist, to let go of ballast and take charge of his life; to leave behind a fear that vanished at the very moment of starting the trip.
Smile! You are in Uzès
“We discovered that the fear of the unknown is a social imposition, especially for women. When there is nothing better than discovering places, people and emotions that we would never have experienced if we had not left our fears behind”. Leaving our comfort zone behind.
“We have realized that the idea we have of comfort is relative. Now for us comfort is the freedom to do what we want to do at all times , giving us permission to explore places and ourselves. Comfort for us is not on the sofa at home, nor in the security of having a stable income. Comfort lies in taking charge of our own lives,” she says.
And, along the way, not only countries are traveled, life is traveled and learning is accumulated. Much. “We have learned to listen to each other. To be more aware of the space and time in which we find ourselves and to savor it. We have learned to say no, to accept our emotions, also the negative ones, and to share them”, says Ana and then continues: “we have learned to fix the car, to sleep anywhere, to share, to cook, to work the field , to make wine, to plant, to survive in the snow. We have learned everything and we still have everything to learn”.
For this reason, they already caress the idea of a second great trip. Destiny? Probably Central Asia , although, for the time being, he will have to wait for them to digest what they have experienced and the result of all this: the publication of the book Two goats at 80 km/h: The peculiar journey of two women on the back of a 2CV to the Middle East.
Camping in front of the Aegean in Greece