Enjoy the trip

enjoytripbr

Discovering the Americas

(First published in Issue 2, October 2020) We are Diego, Roana, and our dog Zed. We left Blumenau in Santa Catarina, Brazil, in January 2017 on board our classic '90s VW Bus, which we transformed into our home, with the objective of getting to know the Americas. So far we passed through 17 countries and covered a distance of 56,000 kilometers. The countries were Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, and the United States.


A smiling woman wearing a blue jacket and a beanie sits on the front tire of a vintage cream-colored Volkswagen van, holding a small Yorkshire Terrier. A man with a beard, also smiling, sits on the ground leaning against the van, wearing a black beanie and jacket. They seem to be enjoying a chilly day with a scenic backdrop of mountains and a cloudy sky. The van has a roof rack with assorted gear, suggesting an adventurous road trip.
Roana, Diego & Zed - @enjoytripbr 10/2020


There are many challenges for those who live on the road, but with a lot of work and joy dedicated to embracing this life, we are able to face them daily. We have already made many dreams come true by living this lifestyle. We are heading for another one right now: arriving in Alaska and getting to experience the Aurora Borealis. Little by little, we travel day by day to experience it all. The road teaches us a lot every day: It is very intense with a lot of emotions; you meet many people, cultures, and customs that leave their marks, you experience rich foods and charming places. A lot has changed within us. We have learned a new language. We communicate very well in Spanish, but English is still a very big challenge. Each day we learn new words, and we can manage with the language... at least we are not starving!


A classic Volkswagen van with luggage on the roof rack drives on a scenic highway away from a majestic, snow-capped mountain. The road curves gently in the foreground, framed by rugged terrain and clear blue skies, invoking a sense of adventure and travel in the great outdoors.
The road teaches us a lot every day - @enjoytripbr 10/2020

We live looking for a balance between our mind and our body. We have more time to take care of ourselves, we do physical activities, we eat well and healthy, and we learn many new things every day. All this has made our life much lighter, without the exaggerated stress of everyday life. Now, life at our pace is much more peaceful. Of course, we don’t live in a bed of roses every day, but we learn to be calm in the storm when the world has turned upside-down.


We like to get to know the essence of each country, talk to the locals, and learn more about their stories. Nature is also impressive. We can’t even believe that we get to visit so many incredible places. We live a crazy mixture of feelings every day. There were tons of new experiences along the way. We have already walked through glaciers, climbed snowy mountains, and seen ruins of all kinds. We got to visit two of the 7 wonders of the world. We have walked to Machu Picchu, climbed volcanoes, and walked 32 km in just 1 day on the trail. We have seen an active volcano erupting and throwing lava.


Two vintage Volkswagen vans parked on a paved road, with their drivers reaching out for a handshake between the vehicles. One van is cream-colored with a large artistic face painting on the spare tire cover, while the other is blue with a collection of travel stickers and a surfboard on the roof. In the background, there's a hilly landscape with a lighthouse, under an overcast sky, suggesting a spirit of camaraderie and travel adventure.
New friends & new experiences - @enjoytripbr 10/2020


We also saw condors, whales, guanacos, llamas, foxes, and many other animals. We got to reach the Pacific Ocean and also the Caribbean, and we embraced countless sunsets along the way. We crossed from Colombia to Panama with our van in a container. We entered caves, swam in Mexican cenotes, and swam with bioluminescent phytoplankton. We crossed the Andes mountain range, traveled along the Carretera Austral, and went down the road of death. We walked infinite kilometers through the largest salt flats in the world and crossed deserts and many other things.


A person joyfully extends their arms out of the passenger window of a vintage Volkswagen van traveling on a desert road. The van, adorned with stickers and a front spare tire cover featuring a wolf design, conveys a sense of adventure against a backdrop of distant mountains under a clear blue sky.
A great time on the road - @enjoytripbr 10/2020


We are happy to share our story with you! We're sure you'll like it.


About Diego & Roana
Diego, Roana, and their dog Zed, from Brazil, have traveled the Americas in a VW T2 Bus since 2017, covering 17 countries. They've since returned to Brazil where they're living vanlife in a VW T3.
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