E01// The beginning | Bruce Meets World

The beginning
Bart & Semora share their story...

Facts (on March 14 - 2019)

On the road since: January 19, 2019
Number of days on the road: 64
Ride: Buenos Aires - Ushuaia
Number of km driven: 6597 km
Litre of diesel consumed: 1338 L

Bart

Can you give a brief summary of how you have experienced the journey so far?

I will start with how I feel about it. – It is fantastic!!!!! And I think it is the best and coolest thing I could and should do in my life right now. I feel like we're only at the start and there is so much more to it. I AM SO EXCITED!

In the beginning, we mainly hung out in the beautiful city of Buenos Aires and I endured the tension of the bus arrival (unharmed). At the same time, a lot had to be arranged at the home front - finalizing financial matters and renting out our house. This was not a smooth process, so we had to manage Airbnb guests remotely. It was not enjoyable because even though it worked out fine and there was plenty of help, you could not get away from the Amsterdam/Dutch life.

On the other hand, usually, it takes me about 3 / 4 weeks to unwind, so being in and exploring Buenos Aires was a good thing. And let's be honest – we do not have anything to complain about at all, what a luxury!

Besides, Sem became 34 years old on December 16, it was super special, cosy and we went out of the city for a while (La Plata).

After an exciting day in Zarate, where we picked up the bus from the harbour, things slowly became less hectic. The bus was in one piece and Graz came from Aruba to celebrate Christmas and New Year with us. That was a lot of fun but it also felt a little crazy not to be at home during the holidays. Currently, our house in Amsterdam has been rented out and all the unfinished things on Bruce have been finished. We have been touring and discovering for two months now and every day it is getting better and better.

Living in Bruce is so fucking chill, it feels like a house! We have a kick-ass beautiful decor, everything is close at hand, there is plenty of space and we can find our rhythm.

After a trip in Chile, where we surprised Mirla for her birthday and stayed for 2 weeks (including party-time with friends from The Netherlands). Now we are in Ushuaia, at the 'end of the world', and we are going to fulfil a lifelong wish. After some research, waiting and negotiating, we found a great deal for a trip to Antarctica! Holy shit, it is going to happen!

In short: I am incredibly happy and feel privileged that we can and may do this. I’m lost for words to describe how I feel! Joyful with a smile from ear to ear!

How do you like living on 8m2 with Sem constantly around you?
Quite frankly - it is all right for me! I thought it would be harder because you are 24/7 together and there is not much space, but it feels bigger inside than I thought and we are a lot outside. We do a lot together and we both have our role. Of course, you also must give each other some space, to get the irritation level down and the tolerance level up, but I feel like this happened naturally. We still often tell each other how cool living in the bus is and how lucky we are with this model and this format. Super fortunate, everything works and looks super tight, thanks to Sjoerd - our motorhome builder hero! Another very nice thing is our independence. We need almost no power and we manage days/weeks without external facilities. That provides such a mega good feeling!

And last but not least - Sem is awesome! I would not want anyone else with me <3

Most extraordinary moments so far (max 3)?

When Bruce touched ground
It is so bizarre to see a project, where we worked on for 6 months, being unloaded from the ship on the other side of the world (11000 km). Unharmed and just as beautiful, a very special moment.
Spotting killer whales
To see these beautiful animals in the wild, and I think it was a family of 3, was just breathtaking. Especially after 20 hours driving on unpaved roads and 3 days of waiting and getting up early. Very nice and wonderful!

What would you do different on the continuation of the journey, and why?

Because of our trip to Chile (which we didn't want to miss) and we found out that we had to visit Antarctica before the end of March AND because we still had to visit the garage, we had to push the last 3 weeks, too much driving and not so much discovering and relaxing. We are going to change this after our Antarctic trip. Living in (and enjoying) the moment!

Besides that, my commitment to exercise. It is difficult to find the motivation to roll out your mat or to put on your running shoes at the different locations where you wake up (from beautiful scenery to the hot concrete at the petrol pump), but I have to get into the groove.

The most embarrassing moment so far?

After 2 days 'Washboard' driving for 8 hours with Bruce, I had a negligent moment and bumped (fortunately gently) against the roof of the petrol station. Luckily nothing broke, only some plastic damage, but it felt shitty, especially when you are exhausted :(

What do you miss the most from the Netherlands?

(apart from family & friends, obviously)

Quite honestly - apart from a sports routine- nothing.

Semora

Can you give a brief summary of how you have experienced the journey so far?

For now, Argentina plays the dominant role in our journey, because we have not made much progress. The country has so many different sceneries! I am particularly impressed by the insane large voids, just nothing, for miles and miles, vast, whatever ... NOTHING. So incredibly boring and impressive at the same time. The Argentines themselves are truly pleasant people. They are kind, friendly, not shy to make some small talk and if you are not careful, you will be stuck under the armpits of a big cosy Argentine because he or she likes you so much. Of course, it is easy in our case, because we both are not so tall.

Bruce is a real charmer. Flirts with everything that moves and everybody wants to hang out with him. But then again, we secretly knew that already. He is a beauty ;)

We have been away for 3.5 months now and, since 19 January we live and travel by bus. For a long time, I have had the feeling that we are just on holiday and, I was unaware that we are on a trip around the world. It secretly still feels like the beginning of the journey. The holiday feeling is gone by now. Not to the detriment. I still think I am rather hurried and a lot of the time I have had the feeling that we had to be somewhere, finish something and move forward. Maybe it's also because I left with 1000 ideas about what I wanted to do on this journey. Helping people, learning from nature, getting inspiration, starting new projects, sports, not this, not that etc. In short too much and utter nonsense! Now I realize more and more that everything will come in time. First doing nothing and adjusting, enjoy the moment, Bart, Bruce (our new home). No more pushing the throttle 😉

How do you like living on 8m2 with Bart constantly around you?

Very cosy! In the beginning, I thought “holy shit”!!!!! 8m2!!! How on earth can this space be big enough for the both of us?! And yes, Bart is energetic and I can be easily irritated. But miraculously, there is plenty of space for these features.

Most extraordinary moments so far (max 3)?

Spotted killer whales in the wild.
That's so CRAZY!!!!! We were just jumping like toddlers, such a dumb grin for hours on your face, no matter what people said to you, just smiling.
The moment we received Bruce in Zarate.
That was truly exciting. 2 days before we had read and heard all these horror stories that lately campers on the boat were robbed empty etc. Waiting for hours with sloshing armpits, on the other side of the harbour, for Bart to finally come through the gates with Bruce. PARTY!!!!
My birthday.
Not because it was my birthday, but more because of how Bart and our families made me feel extremely special with lots of love. Family is really important to me and, I secretly had a hard time with the departure on December 1. St. Nicholas, my birthday, Christmas, New Year's Eve. All those moments you celebrate with your loved ones. From tango lessons to waking up in balloons, at unknown locations a delicious dinner and paragliding (I still have to do this)! In NL it would never be so special! Thanks again for everything dear ones!

What would you do different on the continuation of the journey, and why?

Chill the f*** down

Most embarrassing moment so far?
Graziella (my sister), Bart and I had lunch in Buenos Aires. At one point, a woman addressed Graz. None of us understood what she said until I was 100% sure. That woman must have seen that Graz was not going to eat her sandwich anymore and now she was asking Graz if she could have the sandwich. "Graz! Give that woman your sandwich, that's what she wants, give it!", I said. Graz listened kindly to her big sister. But the woman returned the sandwich and pointed to her watch. She wanted to know the time. I could bury my head in the sand. Such an embarrassment! Still ashamed of myself.

What do you miss the most from the Netherlands? (apart from family & friends, obviously )

Cycling through the city, getting my eyebrows epilated with yarn, oysters from the Noordermarkt and cheese.

Arrival in Ushuaia

6597 km further and safely arrived at the southernmost city on earth. In two hours, we will board the MS EXPEDITION and start our great adventure to Antarctica. We have seen and read a lot about it, but can not imagine what to expect. Anyway, a livelong wish is coming true for both of us.

Bruce has a safe shelter at the Mercedes garage in Ushuaia. While we're making Antarctica unsafe, they're fixing the roof.

Thanks for reading and until our next post on Antarctica!