"I live in a camper van": the inspiring story of Marta (and Julieta)

Marta's nomadic home has a name ( juliet ) and four wheels. Outside is a Citroën Relay blue but inside is a cozy house where she dreams, cooks, sleeps, reads or teleworks her (when she decided, she made her work more flexible as a management secretary, which allows her to work remotely six months a year). She and she does it in this order. Because traveling is already incorporated.

"I live in a camper van": the inspiring story of Marta (and Julieta)

"If you want to do it, you can." And she is one of those people who does not say it to say: Martha Zaforteza she wanted… and she did. She was living in London for ten years, but she got tired of it. “At five she already noticed that she needed a change: she wanted a more relaxed life in contact with nature . But how do you leave a good job that assures you a good salary and contacts that allow you to have a social life full of plans almost for free? She sometimes fantasized about going back to Mallorca (where she is from), while she consoled herself with dalliances outside of Europe (she lived four months in Cape Town).

But in 2019 she reached her turning point: at the wedding of one of her best friends, in Asturias, she met a boy who showed her the north... and the van world.

"That summer we rented quite a few... and I was hooked." But September arrived and, as always happens, the inevitable syndrome of "I leave everything" arrived: that's when she decided that she wanted to buy one. “I started to investigate and in England everything was more advanced than in Spain. My idea was to buy an empty van, camperize it and use it to travel and to rent it. It was clear to me that I wanted to be able to stand up in it or for it to have an oven, but living in it never crossed my mind.” And in the end, she has ended up fulfilling the dream of half the world. A year later, they are no longer together: that boy lives in a mobile home and she, in a van. Everything happens for something.

But let's go back to the process, the one in which the daydream becomes something tangible... and that not everyone talks about. “Six months have passed since I started looking at vans until they camperized me ”. And she gives us her first piece of advice: “The more you can spend on the vehicle, the better. It is what takes you. It is not logical to spend a little on the vehicle and a lot to camperize it ”. In her case, after much searching (“the good ones sold quickly”), she bought a Citroën Relay for about 6,000 euros, with 65,000 kilometers . “I had no idea about an engine, so I spent my nights watching YouTube videos to learn how to choose. It is important, for example, to know what it has been previously used for”.

And she left it in the hands of some British people, who took three months to camperize it. "To be able to do it yourself you have to know a lot about DIY, have the tools to do it, which are very expensive, and a garage where you can have the van in the meantime." She caught him in full confinement, so she couldn't go see her every three weeks, as they had arranged. “ It was difficult and frustrating . Especially because while it was being camperized I decided that I would live in it, so we made many changes that were not planned at first, how to put fairly large solar panels or an inverter from 12V to 220V to be able to work with the laptop on it . But when I saw it finished, I fell in love”.

And then comes the million dollar question: How much does it cost to camperize a van? "It depends on what you want to have inside the van (bathroom, full kitchen...), the materials you choose, the finishes...". Marta tells us that camping hers "Julieta" of hers has cost between 15,000 and 18,000 euros, regardless of decoration. “Since I started I haven't saved anything. There are always things to improve." Some will be throwing their hands to their heads, but it is that it is her house. and what house.

But we also asked about the worst because, of course, she not everything is idyllic : “I had never slept alone in a van. I had never even lived alone! She knew that it was the biggest fear that I had to face. But she also knew that if she got over that, she would already be capable of anything.” And the contingencies related to mechanical or electrical subjects : “Once I charged the solar panel and it leaked, which is one of the worst things that can happen to you. I was lucky, because the groups I have on WhatsApp are like my family: they offered me the garages of their house , they recommended free underground car parks to be able to park it for a few hours... I know this is not for everyone . A lot of people really like to see it but it scares them. It is beautiful and worthwhile but it is not easy. Once a week, for example, you have to change the gray water and refill the water tank”.

And on that path, what Marta tells us is a constant learning: “ It has been a discovery for me to know that 100 liters of water, which is what I have in my tank, can last me a week. , while when we shower at home, we can waste up to 200 liters of water if we don't turn off the tap when we lather up”: His shower, by the way, is outside, so he only uses it when he is in remote places ( and always with organic products ). But to take a shower there are other solutions: "I know people who have a bathroom inside the van or who join a gym that has showers, for example."

Life on wheels is what it has: “ I wake up very early to see the sunrise , which gives you incredible energy to face the day. I practice sports (in summer, paddle surfing, swimming or cycling) and at 8 I start work ”. Marta has been paving the way as she shaped her dream: she is a management secretary and she works remotely six months a year , which she will use to move wherever she wants. This summer, for example, instead of taking a whole month of vacation, she has worked part-time. The other six months she will live in London but in her van and go to the office every morning, although she will not give up traveling every weekend in her mobile home.

“Leading a nomadic life makes you more humble, but also better understand how the world works ”. Marta speaks to us about freedom, tranquility, peace, luck. And she resonates with us that need that we all have (increasingly) to feel free and for everything to change more often. What if it was this?

"I live in a camper van": the inspiring story of Marta (and Julieta)

"I live in a camper van": the inspiring story of Marta (and Julieta)

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