KITE TRIP IN A MICRO CAMPER: Traveling in Covid times

“You can’t change the wind, but you can set your sails!”

When I came home in Summer 2020 after a few months of lockdown in
Cabarete, I was facing two options.
1.) Either to sit back and wait for better times to come,
or 2.) adapt to the circumstances and set the sail.

Frankly, I have always been a fan of flying and my destinations have always been
far. New cultures, different continents, new climate, warm climate preferably.

Camping? I never really tried it. But now suddenly it sounded like the perfect
option and alternative until we can travel normally again already. And everyone
seems to love it, so why not give it a try?

My quarantine in summer, after I got tested positive, I spent with research.
Turns out there are all sorts of vehicles out there that will accommodate you nicely
on your vacation. A bus, a trailer, a van or one of these fancy camper vans with a
hot shower and WC on board. One thing I learned: For every type of traveler
there is the right camper.

There is a whole cult around it and I found beautiful and really impressive rebuilds.
People turn old VW busses into a little and perfectly thought out dream house on
wheels. Wrapped up nicely, so you tempt to overlook the - after all - 41-year-old
engine. ;-) You want to live in an emergency car from the 70th? You’ve got it.

And me? I look at all these super nice and beautiful vans and station wagons,
and all I want is one of them myself.

And even if every single one is one of a kind and unique the way it was rebuilt,
almost with an own soul, quickly I found out what they have in common, the -
sorry - ridiculous high price.

 

I was not willing to pay that much for a cool, yes, but after all ancient bus.
Not even talking about new models. Specially because - 
I wasn’t even sure, if I’d like the #vanlife after all. 

My solution was to work with what I already had. 

I have never been camping before, and I had no idea  how many considerations go into planning to build a camper. First, I had to find out what was even possible by gathering information and inspiration.

Even though there are tons of information about rebuilding busses and bigger vehicles, cars don’t seem to be that common in this scene. So the few videos I found became even more inspirational for me. Thanks guys at that point. (It has been only guys that made this videos)  

So, it turns out there is less space than expected. But it will work. I am sure.
What is clear after the first measurements
1. I will definitely  need a roof box for my equipment.

2.sitting in the back of the car will be challenging.

We built a construction consisting basically from two separate wooden boxes.
Due to the space that the wheels are taking, in the back of the boot  is less space
than by the doors. I wanted to use all the space possible. So the boxes have a
different size. Also making two boxes instead of one big one, helps to take this
fairly unhandy construction out even by myself if needed.

That was an easy part. But only because we found an unused mattress in the
basement. We simply cut it in shape, threw a bedsheet on top and my new bed was ready. 

A huge topic was electricity and how to charge my devices? I am working
online and depend on my laptop and cellphone even more than others.
Only as soon as you can't just plug in your laptop whenever needed, is when you
realize how important it is and how often you actually charge have to charge it.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never thought about how much power one device
actually needs before. Charging a phone turns out be super easy. Neither of my
devices need a lot of power, except my friend the MacBook. 

A solar panel with a power bank / power converter. This little battery is all in
one, and the solar panel generates enough electricity to charge it full in only a few
hours even in the weaker autumn sun. That applies at least to Sardinia. 

I could charge my laptop up to three times full, with one power bank filling.
Whenever you have excess to a plug you can charge it there.
(I don’t get anything for mentioning this product unfortunately ;-) it actually worked
well for me and I can strongly recommend it. 

Water

gas cooker and dishes
cutlery, knife, and cutting board
a cooler box

As mentioned, I also brought a roof box with me to store mainly my kite
equipment. Make sure you can lock the box to your car properly. Someone tried
to take off my roof box while I was on the water kiting once.

I took with me three boards, two kites and two bars, two wetsuits, boots and there was even space for a table, a camping chair and a big winter jacket. Well, I did not know how long my trip was going to last, and I wanted to be prepared.

Finally, no baggage regulations!! :-)

So much said, it is much more comfortable as expected. Of course, it takes some organization skills due to the limited space. But once I got used to it, it was actually really great. I slept comfortable AND wherever I choose to stay.

Advantages of a car compared to a big camper van:

• You are absolutely inconspicuous. No one suspects you sleeping in there.
• You can go everywhere and enter even difficult roads or in cities. Many paths towards the beach are not manageable with a heavy vehicle. Sometimes it’s even permitted.
• Costs. Many parking charg a fee to campers for the night but NOT for cars. At least this is the case in Sardinia. I will tell more about my camping and kiting experience on this magical island in another article. 
• Petrol consumption is lower.
• Parking in cities easier.
• Bring what you want: Finally my equipment was not limited by the 30 kg weight limit of an airline. Finally, I could bring all my toys with me !

• space: the biggest disadvantage is the limited space and in my case not being able to sit upright was annoying sometimes. But I normally worked outside at a table. Single vehicle:  this way to travel is for one person only. I had my dog with me which was fine, but only because she is tiny.

• Only good weather camping: As long the weather was warm, and not raining it was absolutely fine. Rain can be a real killer though. I was lucky not only with the weather, but also by having friends around, who could offer me shelter in their camper vans if needed.

• Shower and toilet: I guess every camper who decides to wild camp faces that problem.
  
  

What can I say. I am a camping fan after all! Wild camping is the most
independent way to travel and for people like us, who want to chase the wind or
waves, this is absolutely perfect.

In the end I spent two months on Sardinia sleeping in my car. I traveled wherever I
found the best kiting conditions. I stopped and slept wherever it suited me.
My micro camper enabled me to that freedom.
And yes, I was thinking of buying a proper camper, bus or something bigger, but
hey, I love my Hermann and how handy it is to travel by car.

My trip was absolutely unforgettable and the perfect way to spend a lockdown
autumn in absolute freedom. With Kiting, surfing and unforgettable sunsets.