The only thing sacrificed was a shower every day. You still get them often, just not every day, but most of the time, the ocean is at your feet so you stay clean.
I started travelling on the bus from 01/03/18 - 12/04/18
Age: 21
Why are you travelling? Travelling the globe to learn how different cultures live and open my eyes to how I want to live, definitely no 9-5 office job
Hot or Not? Hot
What are your talents? Still figuring this one out ...
How did you get on board? My little cousin Barney
First impression of the Submarine With Wheels? Epic, it definitely wasn’t hard to find it, even with the few directions we had.
Did it live up to its name/reputation? It went above and beyond.
What was your biggest challenge that surprised you about bus life? It’s a bus, which pretty much means living in a miniature house. So the challenge is respecting personal space when needed.
Tell us where & how many different places you slept on the bus? Tent and bed on the bus.
Since we don’t have a bathroom, where was your favourite bathroom location? Definitely, the awkward highway pee breaks with a towel held to cover you. Or when parked by the coast, the ocean wasn’t too bad for a pee stop.
Isabelle (left) and Maddy (right) on the roof, Montanita Ecuador.
What did you sacrifice or gave up during your bus stay? Very few things... The bus was well-equipped with everything. It had all the cooking equipment, which meant amazing meals, technology for movie nights, comfortable beds and warm blankets. The only thing sacrificed was a shower every day. You still get them often, just not every day, but most of the time, the ocean is at your feet so you stay clean.
What did you contribute to bus life? I hope I was able to contribute to some fun memories and good times through Ecuador.
Best bus travel tip? It’s not always fun and games, so keep a good book or drawing supplies on you for the long driving days. But even the landscapes can be enough entertainment at times.
What was your favourite bus meal/drink? I think the first meal I arrived too, fish tacos was my fondest memory but the whole trip was amazing meals. I loved learning to make arepas and yuca bread by hand. For the drink, it had to be tea always, lots of tea.
What food/recipe did you learn to cook with us? Arepas and yuca bread
Your favourite feature of the bus? The little jungle of plants that everybody cares for like babies.
Let's talk bus breakdowns. Tell us in detail about one experience. Breaking down in the middle of the highway on our way out of Montanita. It was handled well by setting up fluorescent shirts on chairs to warn traffic while waiting for help to tow us to town. We slept for two nights while the bus was worked on at all-night hours.
How was it fixed, and what you thought at the time? I thought the bus might be doomed when we started collecting nuts and bolts on the highway, but the mechanics are pretty dedicated to helping fix the bus.
Lunch under palm trees Isabelle inside the bus Camping at the mechanics
In 10 years, I will look back and remember: How fortunate I was to travel with my cousin (Barney) through South America on a crazy yellow moving home.
If you could relive an experience with the bus it would be? Eating lunch under palm trees on the hammocks and surfing out the front. I think it was a town not far from Montanita, Canoa.
Anything we should have/do MORE or LESS of? Don’t change a thing!
How do we compare with travelling by public transportation and staying in hostels? You have all the comforts, such as a home and all the happy things. Hostels and public transport are so tiring and can be such a drag.
So you had what it takes and you survived. Would you recommend buslife to others? Hell yes! Everybody needs to try buslife to figure out if it’s for them.
Any advice for us? Keep doing what you’re doing because you’re doing a damn good job.
When we drive our wheels into Canada, what will you do? Fly up and cheer you across the border.
Anything you want to tell us? Thanks for the experience, definitely one that will not be forgotten.
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