This is probably one of my favourite days from that trip. It's dynamic, ironic, beautiful and "dream-crushing" all at once. Like a beautiful sunrise with a sudden slap of reality. Everything that might or might not happen is entirely our fault, so let's approach it as a learning opportunity.
Here is the first picture of the day, let's make it a cover. A mixture of excitement and fuss. I'm sure any parent will relate.
Also, don't you just love how weird people's faces look upon waking up? Like you've been poorly impersonated by an alien.
Witnessing the sunrise with an open trunk (sure, write that, it doesn't sound weird) was our dream for quite some time. In our previous tiny camper it wasn't possible, so this time we did everything right.
Memo altered the door so it can be opened from the inside and voila! A proper way to meet the new day.
Our daughter was in an exceptionally crabby mood. We're talking hangry, cranky and completely unimpressed. She wanted to go play outside and didn't care for a calm spiritual experience. So we've watched the sunrise for about 60 seconds and started the day.
The usual breakfast. Except, we couldn't find ripe bananas, so we substituted them for prunes. And don't you just love this word!
Our honey was nearly solid because of the temperature. If that happens to you, just leave it on the sun for as long as you can manage and then have your husband shake it like there's no tomorrow. 👍
While the breakfast was cooking, Sofi was practically invisible, playing in a designated circle of safety.
We ate outside because why wouldn't you?
It was a moment of quality time and absolutely no hurry.
We went for a walk.
We built some impressive castles.
Fun fact: I like to take pictures of my feet on minimalistic surfaces. I think it looks really cool. Give it a try, you'll never be the same.
After releasing some energy and soaking up the sun and the breeze, it was time to hit the road.
Plan for the day: get to Bufeo and find camping somewhere in that area.
Warning: if you are taking this road, you must know that there are no stores nor official gas stations almost all the way from San Felipe to Bahía de Los Angeles. We are talking hundreds of kilometres. Hit the store and buy supplies. Maybe consider getting an additional tank of petrol just in case. Depends on how fuel efficient your car is.
There are going to be people selling petrol "under the table" here and there, but I wouldn't recommend buying it from them unless it's an emergency.
Oh, and there is no signal. Not even in Bahía de Los Angeles. Take that into account and alert those who might expect your message, so they don't freak out.
Always do your research before taking trips like this, especially if you have children.
We bought enough food to last us 2+ days just in case. Also, some snacks for the road.
Fresh pastry for the morning coffee, which our daughter hated for some reason. Also, some nuts, fruits and cookies for the ride.
This is what you get when there are no humans around for miles. Truly stunning views.
The roads there are something else. Collapsed bridges, fallen concrete, "PELIGRO" (danger) signs everywhere and awful off-road routes you need to take to go around all of that.
You don't need a 4-wheeler to approach this road. Our car is rear-drive and we were pretty confident. However, we wouldn't dare to go there if it was raining. Consider that as well.
If you want more details about the road situation, watch the vlog at the end of this post.
It was quite a unique experience. Very surprising. Especially because Russians are convinced that they have the worst roads in the world. It's something they always ask foreigners about and have their sweet time mocking in times of struggle. Let me tell you, Russian roads seem very decent after this.
It wasn't all bad, though. Some parts were beautiful.
All was fine. We were in the area we wanted to end up in at the exact time we needed to be there at.
That until we got stuck.
We were heading to a camping spot that we found through the Overlander. The review claimed that you can totally go there with a 2-wheel-drive, so we went. Like absolute idiots!
Let me give you one very valuable piece of advice: If the internet said it'll be fine, but your eyes tell you otherwise, just turn around. If there is this faint feeling of doubt in your stomach, stop and don't go any further. You are better off camping somewhere else.
We started off very cheerful. No big deal, we'll dig around, find some sturdy stuff to shove under the wheels, give it a little push and be on our way.
If you are wondering, why am I pushing and not Memo - it's because I'm terrible at driving. I thought I'd mess it up even more, and even the idea of driving triggered anxiety. Pushing, however, is very straight forward. No stress involved. A monkey could do it.
Also, this is me waiting for Memo's signal. I don't push things this way. I'm not that dumb.
Yeah, that didn't work.
We dug some more.
We tried to give the wheels more grip by securing sticks to them, which actually worked, but still wasn't enough.
Sofi was quite bored, but we couldn't let her play outside (lots of snake holes around), so she found a way to entertain herself.
Our kid is very understanding in situations like this. Partially because she has already been through a lot of camping and travelling, but primarily because we explain everything to her. And that's the biggest piece of advice I could ever give you about parenting: talk to them. Talk like they are adults. Yeah, maybe they don't fully understand what being stuck in a desert means, but tell them anyway.
"The car got stuck, it can't go any further. We are going to figure out a way to fix that. In the meantime, you can play in the car. I understand that you want to go out, run and play in the sand. I'm sorry, but you can't do that. There are many poisonous snakes and insects around here. They are dangerous. Mommy and Daddy are going to be very worried about you. Can you please help them and play in the safety of the car for a little bit? Thank you."
Sofi was behaving beautifully, we were still very stuck and the sun was beginning to set.
We had some food and decided to give it one last try. If it doesn't work, we'll sleep like this and continue tomorrow.
It didn't work.
Since the car wasn't levelled, Memo and I slept in our seats and Sofi took our place - so that the head is higher than the rest of the body.
A couple of things happened that evening. The little one developed a temperature of 39.2C (102.5F), so we had to give her Tylenol and hope that it goes away after sleeping. It did.
I was under the impression that I started my period. If you have hopes that I won't bring up things like periods and other body fluids, forget it. I'm a girl. I have a child. All humans are a bit gross anyways. We need to talk about things like this. So, I'm gonna.
So I thought I started my period. I use a menstrual cup and if you know anything about them, you'd know that everything must be very clean when you use them. I was a bit worried about this before, but it actually wasn't much harder than changing it at home.
If you also use menstrual cups and feel unsure about camping, travelling or even flying on your period, don't worry. I've done it all. And I'm a huge chicken, so if I can do it, you can do it for sure.
Let's end the post here before I get carried away. Tune in next week to find out, what happened after, or head to our YouTube channel.
Thank you for following our journey. Have a great day!
Here is the first picture of the day, let's make it a cover. A mixture of excitement and fuss. I'm sure any parent will relate.
Also, don't you just love how weird people's faces look upon waking up? Like you've been poorly impersonated by an alien.
Witnessing the sunrise with an open trunk (sure, write that, it doesn't sound weird) was our dream for quite some time. In our previous tiny camper it wasn't possible, so this time we did everything right.
Memo altered the door so it can be opened from the inside and voila! A proper way to meet the new day.
Our daughter was in an exceptionally crabby mood. We're talking hangry, cranky and completely unimpressed. She wanted to go play outside and didn't care for a calm spiritual experience. So we've watched the sunrise for about 60 seconds and started the day.
The usual breakfast. Except, we couldn't find ripe bananas, so we substituted them for prunes. And don't you just love this word!
Our honey was nearly solid because of the temperature. If that happens to you, just leave it on the sun for as long as you can manage and then have your husband shake it like there's no tomorrow. 👍
While the breakfast was cooking, Sofi was practically invisible, playing in a designated circle of safety.
We ate outside because why wouldn't you?
It was a moment of quality time and absolutely no hurry.
We went for a walk.
We built some impressive castles.
Fun fact: I like to take pictures of my feet on minimalistic surfaces. I think it looks really cool. Give it a try, you'll never be the same.
After releasing some energy and soaking up the sun and the breeze, it was time to hit the road.
Plan for the day: get to Bufeo and find camping somewhere in that area.
Warning: if you are taking this road, you must know that there are no stores nor official gas stations almost all the way from San Felipe to Bahía de Los Angeles. We are talking hundreds of kilometres. Hit the store and buy supplies. Maybe consider getting an additional tank of petrol just in case. Depends on how fuel efficient your car is.
There are going to be people selling petrol "under the table" here and there, but I wouldn't recommend buying it from them unless it's an emergency.
Oh, and there is no signal. Not even in Bahía de Los Angeles. Take that into account and alert those who might expect your message, so they don't freak out.
Always do your research before taking trips like this, especially if you have children.
We bought enough food to last us 2+ days just in case. Also, some snacks for the road.
Fresh pastry for the morning coffee, which our daughter hated for some reason. Also, some nuts, fruits and cookies for the ride.
This is what you get when there are no humans around for miles. Truly stunning views.
The roads there are something else. Collapsed bridges, fallen concrete, "PELIGRO" (danger) signs everywhere and awful off-road routes you need to take to go around all of that.
You don't need a 4-wheeler to approach this road. Our car is rear-drive and we were pretty confident. However, we wouldn't dare to go there if it was raining. Consider that as well.
If you want more details about the road situation, watch the vlog at the end of this post.
It was quite a unique experience. Very surprising. Especially because Russians are convinced that they have the worst roads in the world. It's something they always ask foreigners about and have their sweet time mocking in times of struggle. Let me tell you, Russian roads seem very decent after this.
It wasn't all bad, though. Some parts were beautiful.
All was fine. We were in the area we wanted to end up in at the exact time we needed to be there at.
That until we got stuck.
We were heading to a camping spot that we found through the Overlander. The review claimed that you can totally go there with a 2-wheel-drive, so we went. Like absolute idiots!
Let me give you one very valuable piece of advice: If the internet said it'll be fine, but your eyes tell you otherwise, just turn around. If there is this faint feeling of doubt in your stomach, stop and don't go any further. You are better off camping somewhere else.
We started off very cheerful. No big deal, we'll dig around, find some sturdy stuff to shove under the wheels, give it a little push and be on our way.
If you are wondering, why am I pushing and not Memo - it's because I'm terrible at driving. I thought I'd mess it up even more, and even the idea of driving triggered anxiety. Pushing, however, is very straight forward. No stress involved. A monkey could do it.
Also, this is me waiting for Memo's signal. I don't push things this way. I'm not that dumb.
Yeah, that didn't work.
We dug some more.
We tried to give the wheels more grip by securing sticks to them, which actually worked, but still wasn't enough.
Sofi was quite bored, but we couldn't let her play outside (lots of snake holes around), so she found a way to entertain herself.
Our kid is very understanding in situations like this. Partially because she has already been through a lot of camping and travelling, but primarily because we explain everything to her. And that's the biggest piece of advice I could ever give you about parenting: talk to them. Talk like they are adults. Yeah, maybe they don't fully understand what being stuck in a desert means, but tell them anyway.
"The car got stuck, it can't go any further. We are going to figure out a way to fix that. In the meantime, you can play in the car. I understand that you want to go out, run and play in the sand. I'm sorry, but you can't do that. There are many poisonous snakes and insects around here. They are dangerous. Mommy and Daddy are going to be very worried about you. Can you please help them and play in the safety of the car for a little bit? Thank you."
Sofi was behaving beautifully, we were still very stuck and the sun was beginning to set.
We had some food and decided to give it one last try. If it doesn't work, we'll sleep like this and continue tomorrow.
It didn't work.
Since the car wasn't levelled, Memo and I slept in our seats and Sofi took our place - so that the head is higher than the rest of the body.
A couple of things happened that evening. The little one developed a temperature of 39.2C (102.5F), so we had to give her Tylenol and hope that it goes away after sleeping. It did.
I was under the impression that I started my period. If you have hopes that I won't bring up things like periods and other body fluids, forget it. I'm a girl. I have a child. All humans are a bit gross anyways. We need to talk about things like this. So, I'm gonna.
So I thought I started my period. I use a menstrual cup and if you know anything about them, you'd know that everything must be very clean when you use them. I was a bit worried about this before, but it actually wasn't much harder than changing it at home.
If you also use menstrual cups and feel unsure about camping, travelling or even flying on your period, don't worry. I've done it all. And I'm a huge chicken, so if I can do it, you can do it for sure.
Let's end the post here before I get carried away. Tune in next week to find out, what happened after, or head to our YouTube channel.
Thank you for following our journey. Have a great day!
No comments:
Post a Comment