We’ve been planning our adult gap year for a few months now, with another 6 weeks or so to go before departure date. Our preparation for the trip fluctuates from sudden bursts of sensible organisation, through moments of panic about getting everything ready in time, and on to random tangents about what we’ll see and where we’ll go. A big part of the ‘waiting stage’ has been browsing through other people’s van travel blogs, getting ideas, tips and food for thought. Julie and Jason’s Our Tour blog is one of my current favourites. Not least because they’ve got a Hymer (surely the best campers in the world), and a dog!
Having sourced their Hymer Dave, via eBay, Julie and Jason set off at the back end of 2012, with a plan to meander through Europe for a year or more. And Charlie the dog is along for the ride too! I guess they’d been on the road for about a month when I first found their blog, and I’ve been gratuitously following them since then, through Spain and Portugal, and on to Morocco, where they are now. It’s fascinating to watch their journey unfold – seeing the countries they pass through but also watching as they become more and more at ease with their life on the road. Whether you’re a die-hard armchair-only traveller, a ‘soon to set off’ type like us, or a ‘maybe one day’, blogs like Our Tour’s are a real insight into extended trips. They’re also a lesson in how quickly time is passing – looking back through their blog, I find myself asking ‘is it really almost a month since they were at the villa in Portugal?’. I’ll remind myself of that thought when I’m next feeling impatient about how far off our April set-off date is.
So, go take a look at OurTour.co.uk, for a fun, open and enthusiastic account of Julie’s and Jason’s (and Charlie’s) gap year through Europe. You’ll be planning your own long-stay trip before you know it.
