In December of 2012, Isa and Rafa from DayTrippers left their apartment in Rio de Janeiro, sold all their furniture, bought a Land Rover Defender, got married and went on a long honeymoon around the world – without a returning date!
“On the trip we have visited 54 countries in 4 continents, drove 138 thousand Km and took over 80 thousand photos. Everything living inside a car with a roof-top tent, fridge, cupboards and stove. A small and cozy moving house that has taken us to see the world from close”, tell the couple of travellers.
Now, 3 years and a half later, the DayTrippers are finishing their journey. Right at the time when ours of Local Planet is beginning.
So we took advantage of this moment to exchange information and take some tips with them. The interview was done by e-mail and they answered from Carrusca, Moçambique, which is the last destination of the trip. Check out the interview!
Hello Rafa and Isa! During the trip, how is a “common” day in your lives?
We don’t have time to wake up, but a powerful breakfast is part of our routine. So is deciding where to go, but not always where to stay. There isn’t anyone responsible for this matter, it depends on the mood a each one’s wish. Rafa is usually responsible for the things that are outside the car: check on the oil and water from the car engine everyday, takes down the ten after I organize the things inside it, put the chairs away, gets water, etc. And I organize it inside the car: dishes, food, clothes…I put everything away before we hit the road. The dinner is also part of our routine, it is time to sit down together and prepare a meal without hurry. The midday is very opened to the situations and there isn’t a routine.
From the items of the car/house, which of them has been essential for you?
Battery charger, we’ve had many problems with batteries during the trip. And this charger helped us make the useful life of the battery longer. We also added a battery measurer on the car panel that allows us to check on the two batteries usage, one from the car and other from the “house”.
The roof-top tent is our bed and we love it, we just can’t live without it.
Inverter that transforms 12V energy into 220v battery, since we have a lot of free campings it is essential to have an inverter to charge the photograph equipments and computers.
In the house we have a mixer that sounded to be just another unnecessary item at the beginning, but we use it every day to prepare juices and smoothies. No doubt it is an essential item in our house.
And what items you took thinking they were gonna be important, but ended up not using that much?
We left home with an extra spare tire on the rooftop, it was possible we needed two extra tires in the same situation, but it has never happened so far and we found it unnecessary to carry so much weight since we also needed a lot of other, as well, important items. We left it halfway, we chose to take the risk, since it’s impossible to predict everything. Tomorrow the car can break down in the middle of nowhere and maybe we don’t have the extra item, but it is part of the life in the road dealing with unexpected situations, it’s almost a daily exercise.
We enjoy very much to exchange music, so we wanna know what have you been listening on the road!
- Raul Seixas, we love the good vibes of Raul, especially the song Super Heróis
- Velvet Underground, Perfect Day (song of Trainspotting)
- Chico Buarque, a variety of them
- Beatles and Rolling Stones are always present
- Elis Regina and Milton Nascimento too!
A long time in the past, before leaving home, what were the feelings?
Happiness and sadness at the same time. It was hard to say goodbye to family and friends without knowing when we would get to see them again, but at the same time we were extremely happy and anxious with this dream coming true.
And what are the feelings on the last period, getting to the end of this long journey?
It is difficult to say goodbye to a lifestyle we’ve adopted for 3 years and a half of our lives. But it’s a cycle we decided to bury, we are ready to get back, recharge, work and plan the next trips.
We from Local Planet are beginning a trip by car/house around the South America. From the places you met here, which would you advice for your friends?
- Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine in the Chilean patagonia
- El Chaltén in Argentina
- Cordillera Blanca in Peru
- Deserto do Atacama in Chile
- Our beautiful Brazilian Amazônia, especially Alter do Chão, in Pará
And if you could give tips to yourselves 3 years and a half ago, before going on a trip around the world, what would them be?
- Learn a bit about the car engine so you can do yourself the maintenance of your car, it minimizes the hurdles and the possibility of being tricked
- You will be able to travel with less money than you planned
Crowdfunding of the book Daytrippers
The trip around the world of the couple is coming to an end and they are organizing a project at Catarse, so the people can help them fund the launching of their book and in return get some rewards.
“DayTrippers – 1300 dias pelo mundo” (“DayTrippers – 1300 days around the world”, in English) is a book that tells in writings and photos the story of this journey by car around the world. Telling the daily life on the road, the people they met, the hurdles, the wonderful experiences, the cultural diversity and a bit of the history of the countries they’ve met, they say.
Take a look on the project on Catarse: http://www.catarse.me/pt/daytrippers
