Connor, Not lost, not forgotten, not past Cruising forever by the coast Wind whistling, sea shining
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018
Praia do Amado
Algarve
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019
Algarve
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Alentejo
066
Praia da Galé-Fontaínhas
The blue water flashes violet here and turquoise there. Dunes stretch for miles, their sandcastles the only buildings in sight
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067
Alentejo
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S
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Southern Galicia is a useful region for beginners: the waves are smaller here than in ÂNorthern Galicia.
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Some surf spots, including Patos and Lanzada, barely pick up swell in the summer and so offer only mini waves.
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242
Cudillero
Asturias
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243
Asturias
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Basque Country
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288
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Basque Country
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San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
Step into an episode of Game of Thrones as you visit the real-life flight of steps across the sea to Dragonstone
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epilogue
Is van life always great? Does it live up to your dreams? Mostly it does, but not always. Instagram and Facebook only show the good life: the adventures and the ocean views. Things can go wrong: there might be a tale of woe hidden behind that Pinterest-perfect image. I drove Connor under a bridge in Lisbon and got stuck. There I was, in a foreign country, under concrete, with the roof smashed to bits. I cried and I panicked – but this was nothing compared with some of the situations to come. In Sagres, the gale was so strong I had to ask Google how much wind it takes to blow a campervan away. Magicseaweed.com predicted squalls of up to 60 mph, and through my windshield I could see chairs flying off a terrace. Connor rocked like a boat in a storm and I had to stuff toilet paper in my ears to protect against the wind’s howl.
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I had a stalker at Playa de Razo. A man kept hanging around the campervan, taking photos and knocking on the door. I thought of driving off, but what if he followed me? The guy harassed me for three days straight until a neighbour distracted him so I could escape. Barely two weeks later, while I was working inside, Connor was broken into. All the curtains were closed, so the burglars must have thought there was nobody home. I heard them fiddling with the lock, and all of a sudden they were inside. This was when the real panic set in. What was I supposed to do? I picked up the baseball bat a friend had given me, I grabbed the pepper spray disguised as lipstick (from the same protective friend), I put on my best evil face and I went for it. The movement in the campervan was
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epilogue
enough to scare them away. It seems funny now, but it wasn’t at the time. In Northern Galicia, Connor’s skylight blew off during a storm, leaving a seven-foot hole in my home. Of course, it had to rain that night. Thank you, Facebook, for this imaginative tip: shelter under a bridge. Replacing the skylight wasn’t an option because Connor was too old and the right windows were no longer in production (Not for under €1,500, anyway). How to fix something like that? One: go to the local DIY store, start crying and ask if you can borrow a drill and a ladder. Two: drill and fix a sheet of PVC to the campervan. Three: finish it off with plastic and duct tape. From then on, I had to replace the rain-soaked tape every three to four days. It wasn’t exactly in the most accessible part of the campervan: I had to dangle from the roof to get to the window. When there’s someone with you, these awful moments are cushioned, the frustration shared. If you’re alone, that frustration trickles through in tears. One day, the brakes failed as I was going down a hill. That was Panic with a capital P. Reflex: haaaandbraaaake! Connor came to a stop, spinning on his axis. He was towed away five times on this trip and taken to the garage doctor eighteen times. I now know the engine inside out and I even learnt to stick spare parts together with wetsuit glue. A broken cylinder head gasket was the biggest expense. I'd bought Connor for €11,000 and in the end the repair costs came to €6,000. An old beast is not made for such an intense trip. After a few months the lights didn’t work in the evenings and the leisure battery could no longer power the laptop, so charging was only possible when driving. To make plans for the days ahead, I had to either drive for a bit or run the motor – very environmentally friendly. Towards the end of the trip, the tyres lost their tread and could no longer cope with shingle or gravel going uphill. I put my foot down, but we didn’t move. The tyres started smoking and smelled of burning rubber. The only thing I could do was reverse back down and check the map for
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a way to circumvent the hill. Just imagine how much fun that is when you’re on a single-track road with five cars behind you. Connor was too old for this trip; by the end, he was doing everything he could to signal that enough was enough. Things broke one after the other: the steering wheel, gas, fridge, electricity, water. The bumper was disintegrating and almost scraping the ground. Connor was tired and fed up. In the intro to this book, I said I wanted challenges. I got them. Those setbacks are now water under the bridge. Would I do it again? Tomorrow! I am SUPER proud of myself. I shook off a stalker, scared off burglars and brought Connor home safely. Sometimes you sink your teeth into something so hard – you invest so much time, love and energy into it – that you just can’t turn back. Survival mode kicks in, even though you know that the effort you’re having to put in is bordering on the absurd. Dreams are like surf wax: they won’t let go. I also wrote in the intro that the words ‘salt and wonder’ sum up my journey. No pain, no gain. Adversity intensifies experiences. There’ll always be barriers if you want to live your dream. I found myself on this trip. Overcame my fears. Put things into perspective. Campervan life gets down to the nitty-gritty. The negative experiences I listed above fit on a single page. The unforgettable moments stretch over three hundred. Today, months after my adventure and just before this book gets published, I gave up my job. Fixing my van with duct tape versus getting stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work: it’s a no brainer for me. Returning to a ‘normal’ life isn’t an option. Staring up at an inky black, starlit sky is something we don’t do often enough. Embracing inertia. Sauntering, getting lost. I hope for a lot more salt and wonder in the future.
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colophon
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Author Veerle Helsen Editing Veerle Helsen Image editing Veerle Helsen Graphic design Elke Treunen, MAFF Translation Angie Sullivan Editing Martyn Jones Lay-out Asterisk*, Amsterdam
MARKED is an initiative by Lannoo Publishers. www.marked-books.com Join the MARKED COMMUNITY on @booksbymarked Or sign up for our MARKED newsletter with news about new and forthcoming publications on art, interior design, food & travel, photography and fashion as well as exclusive offers and MARKED events on www.marked-books.com.
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Photograpy Credits surf photographers: see p. 12-13. Alamar Surf House p. 247; Ana Paula Carvalho p. 39, 60; Cabanas no Rio/Casas na Areia/Nelson Garrido p. 63, 64, 65; Casa Mãe p. 24, 25, 32; Casa Pedra p. 246; Casa do Pego p. 61; Chicks on Waves p. 28; Costa das Ondas/Eloy Taboada map, p. 176, 200, 202, 204, 205, 201; Denisa Langrová p. 163; FG+SG/EDP Foundation p. 79; Elena Grib p. 106; El Capricho de Gaudí p. 270; Shutterstock p. 38, 51, 54, 56, 67, 77, 88, 216, 242, 291, 295; Happy River p. 290; Jeong Hee-ran/@rans1209 p. 232; Julia Wardenberg p. 233; Kyle Rodriguez/ Enjoy the Algarve magazine p. 116; Lieven Bulckens p. 00, 08; Lizzy p. 115, 174; Loxe Mareiro p. 189; Luis Niza p. 61; Magic Quiver p. 110; Mar Dentro/João Sousa p. 150, 168, 169; Maria Bia Franco p. 141; Mattias Landuyt p. 98, 283, 300; Maxim Westermann p. 262, 265; Mikel Casal p. 294; Moderner Steintraum/ Gloria Alvaro p. 271; Mónica
R. Goya p. 247; Monte da Vilarinha p. 29; Moritz Reulein p. 290, 293; Ninho d’águia p. 136; Ondina/ Riemkje Poortinga & Renée Joppe of R-time Collective p. 112; O’ fragón p. 219; Os Lambráns p. 193; Petra Bredewold p. 217; Quinta do Ameal p. 155; Romain Cordier p. 191; Sidrisima/ Laura Bañuelos p. 272; Sílvia Astride Cardoso p. 53; Stéphane Lutier Photography p. 188; Thiris p. 209, 212, 248, 249; Tomas Madou p. 184; Turismo A sturias/ Noe Baranda p. 241; Turismo de Galicia p. 214; Veerle Helsen p. 3, 4, 22, 26, 28, 35, 48, 62, 76, 78, 80, 84, 86, 90, 91, 107, 111, 113, 126, 129, 137, 142, 152, 154, 156, 157, 158, 159, 162, 165, 178, 181, 182, 183, 186, 187, 190, 192, 194, 206, 208, 211, 218, 233, 234, 238, 244, 245, 258, 260, 261, 264, 268, 269, 286, 287, 288.
If you have any questions or comments about the material in this book, please do not hesitate to contact our editorial team: markedteam@lannoo.com. © Veerle Helsen © Lannoo Publishers, 2018 D/2018/45/17 – NUR 450/500/653 ISBN: 978 94 014 4906 9 www.lannoo.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. #AREYOUMARKED
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