Bia RooneyYou know those days you’ve been waiting years for?
The kind of day you once imagined in detail – wondering what the weather would be like outside, whether the sun would show up warm and glowing. The day when coffee tastes different, simply because you feel different that morning. The day you wake up before your alarm, and somehow, getting out of bed isn’t hard at all.
Today is that day.
When I turned 22, I already had a clear sense of what I wanted. At the beginning of that year, we faced the worst pandemic of the century. We stayed home, trying to protect ourselves, dreaming about when the world would go back to “normal.”
But that was also when we realised there was no such thing as normal – and maybe there never had been. Everything is uncertain, and what feels guaranteed today might not exist tomorrow.
And it was like that – sitting on the living room floor, with the smell of freshly brewed coffee coming from the kitchen – that I came across my very first video about life on the road.
I had never considered that as a real possibility before. Living on the road? Sleeping somewhere different every night? A life that’s constantly changing, yet filled with new lessons every single day?
In that moment, watching that video, I looked to my right and saw my cats sitting by the window.
And right then, I decided: this is what I want. I’m going to live this life – even if just for a while.
A lot has happened since then.
I was about to graduate from university when the opportunity for a volunteer exchange abroad came up. I remember my first thought: I’m finally going to see a motorhome in person for the first time in my life!
The exchange was supposed to last one year, but the plan for life on the road had to change more than once.
What was meant to be one year abroad, then returning to Brazil to save money for converting a van, turned into an open-ended stay.
And somewhere along the way, I came across the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.
I walked into a pub and ordered the best Guinness I had ever tasted – and that’s when I met the person who would become the love of my life.
With love entering the picture, the plans had to shift once again. First came dating, then the engagement, and finally – the day that gave me the most butterflies of all – our wedding.
Before getting married, we talked. What did I want from life? To be on the road. What did Sam want? To join me – but also to have a safe place to come back to.
So we decided, together, that the best plan would be to buy a home first… and then get our beloved camper.
And that’s exactly what we did.
Just four months after moving into our new place, we got Rita Lee.
And I have to say – she is everything I ever dreamed of.
She’s a 2008 VW Transporter, previously owned by a lovely couple in their 70s who sold her to us as they were upgrading to a bigger motorhome.
She has a pop-top roof that lets us fully stand inside, with an extra bed up top that we’ll definitely use a lot in the summer. Down below, the seating converts into a long, comfortable bed – Sam is 1.81m tall and sleeps perfectly well.
She also has a hob, a sink, and plenty of storage. We’ve added a compost toilet (I’ll write a separate post about that), and we’re planning to install a diesel heater. So far, she has a leisure battery that charges while we drive, and she can also connect to an external solar panel – which isn’t mounted on the roof yet and can be used on the ground or dashboard when we’re parked. I’d also like to add a fixed solar panel on top for even more power.
Well, I think that’s a good start.
We’re now heading out on our very first adventure, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
We’ll be spending the next six nights on the road, trying to camp off-grid and explore as much as we can.
Thank you for reading this far and for being part of this journey with us.
I hope to see you out on the road!
And, welcome to the family, Rita Lee ♡
