5 Reasons We Decided to Take Up Overlanding
A lot has changed since we moved to southern Spain back in 2004, I remember researching cave houses on the internet and planning the finer details of the move from the UK, a huge decision to up sticks and start a new life.
Bursting with motivation we spent three months living in a caravan on site while we renovated our cave house, after completion life settled down and it was time to get back into the swing of things ie: earning a living.
What followed was 12 years of building an online business [ecommerce Spanish food] until we decided to close in 2017 and pursue other avenues. As anyone who is self employed will know, the responsibility of running a business is always there and there is little opportunity for a ‘real’ time out. Our change in direction eased the pressure and freed up more time but what to do with it?
We’ looked at full time van life, more out of necessity than choice at one point [life can throw you a curve ball from time to time] but as things settled down we made the decision that overlanding was going to get us out the rut that we had found ourselves.
Reason 1 – Getting Outdoors
Rural Spain can be quite stunning and there are some real treasures to be discovered away from tourist hotspots, areas like this we wanted to see, to get out of the ‘working from home’ environment and have a change of scenery. Back the 90’s we loved camping and the bug never really went away so taking up overlanding would be a fix, although very different to what we were used to.
Reason 2 – A Project
People take up overlanding for a variety of reasons and one of ours was to take on a project, from the import of a 4×4 from the UK to Spain and making all the mods to setting up the whole experience we were looking for something to get our teeth stuck into, something dynamic that would involve photography, driving and be long term but with something new to experience each time we planned a trip.
Reason 3 – Health
It goes without saying that being outdoors is healthy and the Andalucian air 3000ft up is fantastic, we also wanted to hike and eventually get on the water. When it comes to youngsters and electronic devices part of our overlanding ethos was to create some down time of the phone and the tablet for our 11 year old too.
Update: See how overlanding has played an important role in stroke recovery >
Reason 4 – Adventure/Exploration
Jumping in the 4×4 and heading off…. all work and no play leaves leaves little opportunity for adventure but with more free time and a whole country at hand we wanted to explore Spain and beyond. The not knowing what is around the corner is a big attraction, going places you’ve never been, witnessing different cultures, food etc plus taking on rough terrain to get there was like a magnet to us.
Reason 5 – Stuck in a Rut…
As much as we like were we live, it is very rural and traditional, change is not easily accepted and as such progress is painfully slow, we often put it as being 50 years behind the UK. Stay in a place too long and you become that place, we felt this beginning to happen so it was time to do something about it.
Taking up overlanding has added a dynamic element to our quiet corner of Andalucia, it blasted away the cobwebs and made weekends fresh again, providing something to look forward to and plan instead of the ‘same old, same old’. Overlanding has got us back to nature, out of our comfort zone, thrown up opportunities to meet and assist others, it created this website and puts a smile on everyone’s face when it’s Friday.
Leave a Reply