Akela

31/01/2024

Celebrating six days of riddle conquering and and awesome birthday party!
This 12-year-old dynamo just cracked the code and unlocked the magic of his birthday present.
Surrounded by friends and family, we had a blast skiing and night sledding on the
Big shoutout to everyone who joined the birthday party and thanks for making it an awesome celebration!
And we parents couldn´t be prouder of our „little“ one. We love you so much ❤️- Happy Birthday 🎉🎂

31/12/2023

It is just for a few days, but it feels so good to be back in the truck after almost 3 months 🥰
Austria is not the easiest country for this lifestyle and therfore we are super stoked that the , which is right in our backyard, welcomes people who want to stay overnight in their vehicle and spend a few days skiing or skitouring or sledding, or just enjoying the beautiful nature in this alpine area.
And what better start into the new year can we ask for than staying in our „home“ in the snowcovered and peaceful mountainside ❤️
Happy New Year 2024 to all of you!!!
How do you spend New Year’s Eve?

14/12/2023

After almost 7 years on the road, it is official now that our journey has come to an end. We are finally reunited with our truck and today happens to be our truck Akela’s 46th birthday.
Built in 1977, this oldie has covered around 230,000 km all over the world across 5 continents.
Big shoutout to all of you who’ve been following us since day one. Your support means the world to us. To say thanks, we use the celebration day and doing a giveaway – two books, „Hit the Road“ and „The Getaways,“ featuring our story and tales from other adventurers like .r.bell and many more…

Just drop a comment sharing your favorite part of our journey and tag a friend you’d love to hit the road with. No idea what the future holds, but we’re grateful for each one of you joining us on this wild ride. Cheers to the road behind us and the memories we’ve made!

11/12/2023

Deciding to move away from the ocean to a landlocked country wasn’t an easy choice. We miss the ocean vibes, the warm tropical weather, and the marine life just a stone’s throw away. But you can’t have it all, right?

To compensate, we made sure to live at least close to a lake, giving us a taste of the water element whenever we feel like it. End of fall we have water temperatures at around 12 degree Celsius, so it´s pretty clear we’re nowhere near tropical temperatures or coral reefs, and marine mammals are out of the picture, but you have to make the most of it what you get.
On the upside, we’ve got snow-capped mountains in the distance. And here’s the twist – after a day of diving, we can easily switch gears and go skiing or hiking in the mountains. It might not be your typical beach-to-mountain scenario. But hey, life is about trade-offs 🤷‍♂️😂

08/12/2023

Behind on posts, but catching up!
The past months have been a whirlwind as we settled into a longer stay – quite the opposite of the simplicity of hitting the road.
Arriving “home”, or somewhere for a longer period of time, is definitely more challenging and time consuming than leaving, at least for us ;-)

Unexpectedly, Austria became our base for now, specifically in the enchanting Salzkammergut on the shores of Wolfgangsee. It wasn’t our initial plan, but sometimes life takes unexpected turns and for various reasons it seemed to be the most reasonable solution for having a break from traveling, at least for now. The condition for our stay? It had to be in one of Austria’s most picturesque corners with its lakes and mountains, and this place fits the bill.
Say what you will about Austria, but the Salzkammergut is still one of the most beautiful places we have ever encountered all around the globe.
Unfortunately we have arrived late and we missed an epic fall, but we squeezed in a day or two of its beauty before winter took over.

27/11/2023

Belive it or not, a new record is set!!!
2 Shippings with 3 accidents and damages in a row….

When the truck got loaded in the US, our mechanic friend made sure it is all properly running, and when it arrived in Belgium the batteries were dead again (someone left the lights on again) and they couldn´t unload the truck. Well they could and they did and again - they damaged it.

The front bumper (which is heavy metal) is completely dented, the spotlights are ripped off and gone and somehow they managed to push the front bumper into the truck, which means that the truck is now 10cm shorter than before…

Don´t know what else to say, but this was definitely the last shipping for us. Only advantage this time is that we got the truck inspected on location and got confirmation that they had caused this damage, so there might be a good chance to get compensated this time without a lawsuit.
(Litigation with WWL from our Canada accident still running)
🙈🤷‍♂️😡🤬

15/11/2023

We are back in Austria and the truck is on route to Europe.
A new life chapter is unfolding, and we`re considering new income sources. After 7 years living on the road, it`s clear we
need an independent work source and seek for location-independent income. As a photographer, Leander always had this opportunity and it seems, i found something interesting for me too.

A location-independent income offers flexible control over time, finances and space - supporting a self-determined life in any situation. Luck also plays a role, as in our case.
A few months ago we had the pleasure of meeting the lovely family of in Mexico. I had already heard about their online Pinterest course, but I was skeptical. I was never particularly interested in marketing strategies, but Melanie taught me otherwise. Pinterest, a visual search engine, provides a platform for self-realization.

Melanie guides customers through her unique online course to become a Pinterest Consultant. In 11 appealing video modules, she accompanies you with all her heart and shows how it works.
Even after the course you are not alone, Melanie will accompany and support you for another 6 months. You are also part of a valuable Pinterest Telegram group that is also available to provide support and help with initial difficulties.
Learn to earn income and live a fulfilling, autonomous life in accordance with your values and get an office with a view, wherever you want.

At this point we would like to say a big thank you to for all the efforts and passion they have put into this wonderful opportunity.

I completed the course 6 months ago and see it as an excellent opportunity to steer my life in a self-sufficient and self-determined direction.

You can find the course and how everything works at the link in our bio and if you use „AKELA50“ you´ll get an extra €50 off.
Only downside is, it is only available in German at the moment

04/11/2023

How quickly things can change.
A few days after we have arrived in Austria we got a call from the port in Georgia that they cannot load the truck, because batteries are dead (they killed the battery and left the lights on) and also that the clutch from the truck is broken. Without even moving the truck!! WTF??? 😡😡
No chance to get the truck loaded until it is fixed, because WE delivered a truck with a broken clutch!!! Yes of course 🙈

Having the truck fixed from another continent is one thing, but getting no access to the port (due to security reasons) is another thing. So what are we supposed to do now??

A few restless days later we remembered that, during our time in the motel, we talked to a guy who works as a Heavy Duty Mercedes mechanic at port and who had a room next to us. So we called the motel and asked them to knock on this guy´s door and tell him he should give us a call, which he did!
And he not only called us back but promised to have a look on the truck.
Somehow port stuff made it happen to destroy our clutch linkage, but after a few days, Rick the mechanic, made it happen to get some parts and fixed it, charged the batteries, made a test drive and - the truck was ready to go.
Two weeks later he got loaded and was on route to Europe…

20/10/2023

We are already 3 weeks after schedule due to multiple delays from the shipping company and finally got confirmation to get the truck shipped.
We normally never leave the country before the truck is loaded, but after the delays we need to leave a few days earlier this time. It’s also no fun hanging in a shabby motel since a week with microwave food only and nothing around than swamp…
But everything is properly prepared and described in an idiot-proof manner, so what could possibly go wrong?

10/10/2023

connected us with this lovely couple in florida, Gavin and Carly, who hosted us for a few days on our last stop before bringing the truck to the port. Last preparations were done and the two made sure we leave this continent with good impressions. Thanks and miss you guys 😘 and thanks for connecting

02/10/2023

We are way behind with our posts, but for those of you who are missing some underwater shots, we are trying to keep them going and hopefully we will continue to deliver more of them 🤞

24/09/2023

"Embracing the tranquil morning mist at Florida Springs, ready to dive into the crystal-clear waters. 🌊

19/09/2023

We made it to Florida.
The truck is still running fine but the climate didn’t change at all and it is still HaF. Chances of a nice campspot and even payed Campgrounds are very slim due to Summer Holidays and Walmart became our best friend. Especially as an after driving activity to cool off in the climatized building 🙈
But we finally found water again. Florida Springs here we come…

12/09/2023

Back in the US and we are almost half way through. Along the paradisiac beaches of the Gulf of Mexico we are headed towards Houston. Although the truck is still running perfectly fine, we wanted to give it another shot and figure out what´s going on with all the noise.
(Germany) got in touch with us and connected us with (Peru) who connected us with his friend Oscar (Houston) who has a friend who ows a garage and knows old vehicles.
It didn´t take him long to come up with an answer, and to make it short, it seems we have a small hole where the exhaust brake and the manifold connects, causing all this terrible noise. A tiny hole which you basically can´t even see has caused so much headache. Well, at least it looks like we have found the problem and are good to go. Off to Florida…

28/08/2023

As mentioned, our plan was heading down to Panama, but with all the uncertainty with our truck we needed to rethink this idea and all the mechanics we have talked to yet, have absolutely no clue about the truck.
Driving south means a few more annoying borders, little chance of getting spare parts and/or getting them imported in case of a break down and especially very limited time in each country.
After we need to be in Europe in a few weeks to work anyway, the risks of getting stuck and not being able to solve potential problems in (visa)time are quite high, although it is only a 2500 km drive to Panama.
The other solution would mean driving up north, almost 4000 km all the way around the Gulf of Mexico to Florida into a predicted heatwave in the southeast of the US.
Unfortunately that´s the only port which does make sense for our needs and schedule and just in case of a breakdown, we are having the possibility of getting parts easily shipped over and also no real time issues if we would need to leave the truck behind for a few more weeks.

Given all the information we have gathered, unfortunately the most reasonable and less risky option is to head north and skip the rest of Central America 😔

So, North it is then. Fasten your seatbelts and be prepared for a driving marathon covering 4000 km the next ten days to catch a vessel.
Let´s hit the road and pray the big boy handles it… yeih 🙈😭

23/08/2023

Alea iacta est - It is time to finish our journey.

It is not about the truck only (still running without any issues!) and there is not only one reason why we are going to finish this trip, but a combination of a lot of things.

The first 5 years on the road were tough, challenging and nerve wrecking, a huge rollercoaster of ups and downs, especially with a child on board.
It has never been easy, but the balance was still given to appreciate this self-determined lifestyle, this adventure with all the amazing experiences and encounters we had and we are still grateful for this privilege.

Living in a truck, living a simple life is something we have learned to love and still do, but traveling intercontinental with your own vehicle also means you are forced to permanently move due to a lot of bureaucracy, logistics or climate zones, which comes with a lot of pressure, never really being able to stop and to have a proper break.

Since we started in Canada, with a newly renovated truck, this journey has never been under a lucky star and we are still struggling from the accidents in Halifax and Baja, financially and mentally, and we never really recovered and came back into the flow of life.
We knew that already for a while and decided to finish our journey and ship back to Europe after arriving in Panama. Also because we didn´t want to „waste“ more money for another ridiculously high shipping rate to South America.

Pillars of income had dried up suddenly, partnerships expired, we bet on the wrong horses for a big project, bad decisions have been made. All that put us in a position (and area) where we are in right now and all of that came on top and very unexpected. No complaints, just facts but still a lot of s**t to deal with and an overload of external influences.

And yet, all of these issues would still be manageable, somehow, but there is one more reason, the most important one...

more in the comments…

20/08/2023

Not many traveler talk about travel fatigue but show the nice facets of „living the dream“. Understandably everybody wants to accomplish their planned goals and nobody wants to appear weak and quit, and yet we met quite a lot of people who are struggling with that issue already after a short period of time traveling.

Surrender is not on our Agenda!

A motto after we lived for a long time in different life situations (and still do), but which we apparently quite misinterpreted.

Although meditation and mindfulness became a big part of our life, and also helped us moving on in hard times, it is a skill you don´t achieve by tomorrow and which needs permanent training.

We made this sticker just after we kinda solved all the mess we had from shipping the truck to Canada, also likely to cheer us up. Another mission impossible accomplished, we are unstoppable, no surrender, no matter what! 💪

But ever since then it kind of never felt right to post that sticker and there was always a weird voice in our heads not knowing if after all the troubles we've had it's about time to give up. But just thinking about giving up, not fulfilling our goal and to change our current lifestyle, terrified us.

Time passed by and it took us until Mexico, where we met our dear friend , who finally taught us that surrender doesn´t necessarily mean giving up.
It is just another lesson to learn to listen to your soul, to let go, a change, put it to the universe and let it unfold.
Sounds pretty simple, ei? And yet one of the most difficult challenges we needed to learn on this trip - to let go, the fear of not knowing what’s next and to surrender into the circumstances given.

To finish it with this beautiful quote:
„For a star to be born, there is one thing that must happen: a gaseous nebula must collapse.
So, collapse. Crumble. This is not your destruction. This is your birth!“

Well, that was the post we were writing before this new happenings today 🙈 But lets keep the posts in a chronological order and let’s get back to this news later on…

11/08/2023

The drive to the border was just nerve wrecking, always paying attention, listening to the sound of the engine and not knowing if we might provoke an engine damage.
But everything worked out and the truck was running like always. Out of Mexico (of course not hassle free) and into Guatemala, we made it.

The incident with the truck came so unexpected that we have to rethink our further plans, especially because we still don´t know how serious it is and what´s actually going on. And so we decided to drive back into Mexico (again, of course not hassle free!) to get another 6 months, simply for the sake of buying us some more time to make a plan.
But making plans and reasonable decisions in this unbearable heat with melted brains and a noisy truck ain´t that easy either, but a decision has to be made - NOW!

09/08/2023

We have drained some engine oil and checked on metal splinters, checked the compression, the valves, got in touch with experts in Germany who know this truck in and out and also a mechanic from a nearby village had a look on it. Nothing…. Everything seems to be fine except the terrible noise.
The clock for our visa is ticking and there is nothing else we can do here. So we have to risk it and drive the 400km through the jungle to get to Guatemala. If we will make it we can think about further plans, if not we are screwed anyways…

04/08/2023

Yes it is been quiet for quite a while, and it will get even quieter.

When is enough, enough?

We have asked ourselves this question many times over the past years, but we have never had an answer for it.
Here in the southernmost part of Mexico, on the border with Guatemala, in the middle of the tropical lush green jungle, far from any reasonable possibility of assistance and just a few days before our visa expires, our truck started having a very strange conversation in a very different voice never heard before.
It sent shivers down our spines when we heard those horrible metallic crackling noises coming from the engine, not knowing what he possibly wants to tell us.

Maybe except one thing - "ENOUGH!"

16/07/2023

Over the course of a decade, the aqua baby has transformed into an aqua boy, showcasing an intensified love and passion for the oceans, actually water in general. His skills and awareness have evolved, and he now rivals Leander in diving prowess. It's truly incredible to watch him underwater, moving with grace and precision, enjoying a different world with just a single breath. ❤️

15/07/2023

It´s quite weird being right in the center of Mexico and walking through the jungle with our freediving equipment. But as you can see it is absolutely worth it and probably the last place for a long time.
We are still in the mountains on higher altitude, it is still hot and we don´t want to even think about moving down into the jungle on almost sea level. But our visa and documents for the vehicles are running short and if we want or not, we have to move on 🥵😭

12/07/2023

It´s been crazy hectic the last time but unfortunately no time for sharing. So much has happened, big decisions made, but first things first.
After escaping the heat in Veracruz and Tabasco, we were headed towards San Christobal and moved on further, but we were staying in higher altitudes, trying to not getting melted. And of course always near water ;-)
In the rainy season, a lot of the blue rivers turn brown but we were lucky enough on this particular waterfall and had a surprising visitor in the pool.
Have you ever seen a Skunk swim? Not really sure if it really swam on purpose, but this little fella was totally exhausted and couldn´t reach land anymore, so we were helping him out. Luckily without getting sprayed ;-) Rescue mission in the stories.

04/07/2023

30/06/2023

Paradise in the jungle!
Don’t be fooled, as amazing as it looks, but we needed to go into the water to cool down every few hours, even at night. Otherwise we couldn’t bear the heat. But the worst were the mosquitos who totally killed us! Not saying we didn’t have fun though 😏

26/06/2023

Driving from 3000m down to sea level let us realize we are back in the tropics, in summer 🙈 It is hot aF and it is absolutely essential for us being close to water to cool down. And nope, we don’t have AC 😏🙈😂

23/06/2023

It´s been a while since we have hiked up a proper mountain and we were definitely not in great shape.
But the volcano Malinche sounded to tempting not trying. 1400 vertical meters to reach the summit at 4500m. We started hiking at 5am and although quite steep we made good progress, always followed by our loyal dogs, who started walking with us all the way up and down ;-)

The weather forecast was not great but manageable. Clouds were rolling in quickly during the approach but fortunately it wasn´t a total white out when we summited. Only downside was that we couldn´t enjoy the view and right before we came back to camp, already totally wrecked, it started pouring like hell and we got completely soaked 🙈😂
It took us two more days to dry our clothes but it was well worth the trip!