{"id":3744,"date":"2016-08-15T23:49:38","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T23:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/practicaloverlander.com\/?p=1020"},"modified":"2016-08-15T23:49:38","modified_gmt":"2016-08-15T23:49:38","slug":"melanie-justin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/?p=3744","title":{"rendered":"Melanie & Justin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to our From the Driver’s Seat<\/strong> series, where\u00a0we feature “real” overland travelers\u00a0who are either currently on the road or have just returned from an\u00a0overland trip.<\/p>\n

Today\u00a0we introduce you to Melanie Cahill and Justin Smith, who have traveled overland on 3 continents — North America, South America and Europe!<\/p>\n

Our family was lucky enough to meet them for the first time at a hostel in Colombia. \u00a0 It’s safe to say that we hit it off with them right from the beginning. \u00a0We also had a fabulous time\u00a0traveling\u00a0with them for several weeks in Ecuador and Peru. \u00a0We know that you will love them as much as we do!<\/p>\n

So grab a cup of your favorite beverage, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride\u2026<\/p>\n

~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

Tell us about yourselves. \u00a0What are your names, backgrounds and where are you from?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Before we traveled we\u2019d been married for 12 years and were living in Providence, RI. Justin owned a wooden window making shop and Melanie was administering public housing in Worcester, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

\"Melanie<\/p>\n

What inspired you to do an overlanding trip? \u00a0What are the steps that you took to turn the dream into reality?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A few months into our marriage we were happily unemployed, had an expiring apartment lease and some time on our hands. So we embarked a camping trip around the US that ended because Melanie was offered a job. 15 years later we were in similar circumstances and thought \u201cwhat the heck, let\u2019s do something different!\u201d We bought a small RV that allowed us to practice driving\u00a0and\u00a0stocking up for many weekends. We spent that year making decisions that kept us moving forward toward full-time travel life. We deferred getting a dog, new drapes, eliminated junk mail (!) etc.<\/p>\n

What was your biggest obstacle (real or imagined) to embarking on your trip? \u00a0Did anyone try to talk you out of it?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In terms of obstacles, fortunately, we had few.\u00a0 No kids, pets or jobs. No one tried to talk us out of it.\u00a0 At most folks thought we were either a little odd or complete slackers. Justin\u2019s attitude was anyone who thought it was strange\/dangerous\/weird was suffering from a paucity of imagination.<\/p>\n

What kind of rig do you have? \u00a0Does your rig have a name? \u00a0What do you like or dislike about your current setup?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Our rig is a 2004 Mercedes Sprinter Westfalia. It\u2019s creatively called \u201cWesty.\u201d<\/p>\n

We (meaning Justin) picked it since\u00a0Westy\u00a0met our\u00a0laundry list of can\u2019t-live-without features. A bathroom (specifically a shower for Melanie), enough height so 6\u20193\u201d guy can stand straight up and maneuverability in small towns and cities. Oh, and a bed long enough for said, tall guy.<\/p>\n

We could list the things pros (many of them) but the list of dislikes is shorter: A bit more ground clearance (we lost some — replaceable\u00a0—\u00a0plumbing from underneath in Peru).\u00a0 We would swap an aggressively cold coach AC for some solar panels.<\/p>\n

\"Melanie<\/p>\n

Where have you traveled (so far) with your vehicle?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Horizontally across US – Maine to California. South through Baja, east to the Yucatan, south through Central America, ferry across the Darien Gap, south through the west coast of S.A, \u2018til we cut across Argentina to Uruguay.\u00a0 Shipped to England, drove around western Europe, shipped from Antwerp to Baltimore \u2013 done. \u00a0Westy is currently residing on the East Coast of the US awaiting further deployment. (and also functioning as our daily driver!)<\/p>\n

What have you learned from your travels? \u00a0Have you experienced any unexpected revelations along the way?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We have learned: don\u2019t overpack. Meaning, don\u2019t pack 1 year\u2019s worth of bathroom supplies, trash bags, t-shirts etc.\u00a0 If it\u2019s something you need for everyday living, don\u2019t sweat it, your new neighbors need that stuff too and probably buy it cheaper. And, Walmart is everywhere — after a while, you will be happy to see them.<\/p>\n

We were well prepared with fantastic RV water filters, only to experience that outside of the US & Uruguay no one had enough water pressure to use them. So, we got used to the taste of bleach or went to water stores and stocked up. Water (in five gallon bottles called\u201cgarrafons\u201d) are common and cheap through Mexico and Central America.<\/p>\n

Everyone says this because it\u2019s true: people are nice.\u00a0 They are friendly and helpful. Also, everyone in the world laughs at Justin Bieber (take it from Justin\u2026. Smith).<\/p>\n

99% of obstacles are solvable. It is not necessary to have a rig\/set-up that will handle every emergency that could possibly occur.\u00a0 Heck, you\u2019ll be sharing the road with 7 locals driving in a Toyota Camry. If you design a rig for every situation, you will miss the chance for real adventure and connection. So plan to cover most situations: have a tow strap for yourself and others, make sure you\u2019ve got the minimum country requirements to avoid tickets and just GO.<\/p>\n

\"P1030662\"<\/p>\n

Do you have a favorite travel experience that you can share?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Meeting the Sparks-ci! We visited the Galapagos for a big trip splurge. It was an experience of a lifetime.\u00a0 5 days hanging in the Atacama Desert all alone waiting for money to hit our bank account turned out to be a great week.<\/p>\n

France & northern Italy. Who knew they were RV-ing paradises? We found great municipal RV parking and easy access to cities and sight-seeing. And bread. A lot of bread.<\/p>\n

\"Justin<\/p>\n

How do you fund your travels?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We run an online business www.srshardware.com<\/a>\u00a0 We maintained a connection to wifi for the most part and checked in everyday. Sometimes we spent days at a good wifi spot to get work done and some weeks we were out of pocket.<\/p>\n

What future overlanding plans do you have?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We left the southern halves of Chile & Argentina and Brazil for a returntrip. We plan to ship Westy to Europe again and maybe head east to India and Thailand.<\/p>\n

\"Sunset<\/p>\n

What was the biggest misconception about overlanding that you had before your travels?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

That we were odd or unusual. Really, there\u2019s whole community of folks doing the same thing and they are fun and have good info to share. That officials and police might present some problems. As it turned out,\u00a0we had one laughably bad encounter and the rest were really nice and helpful.<\/p>\n

What piece of advice could you offer to aspiring adventurers?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You don\u2019t need lots of stuff, especially technical stuff. A cell phone, local chip, paper map and good attitude will get you where you\u2019re going.<\/li>\n
  2. GO! You can always come home.\u00a0 Maybe you won’t really care for it.\u00a0 But at least you\u2019ll be able to say so from a position of experience.<\/li>\n
  3. You will meet folks on the road who totally \u201cget it\u201d and will make you feel like this was a really good decision. Plus, they probably have more experience and you will be inspired!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Justin<\/p>\n

    ~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

    So there you have it — some terrific advice and travel-inspiring words from Melanie & Justin. \u00a0We hope that you enjoyed this peek into their adventures. \u00a0Who else wants to explore Europe in an RV?\u00a0 It\u00a0sounds so amazing!<\/p>\n

    Want to be featured in future installments of From the Driver’s Seat<\/em>? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Please leave a comment and let us know. \u00a0Who knows? \u00a0Sharing your experiences might\u00a0provide the inspiration for someone else to follow their own travel dreams.<\/p>\n

    Until next time…. Happy Travels!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Welcome to our From the Driver’s Seat series, where\u00a0we feature “real” overland travelers\u00a0who are either currently on the road or have just returned from an\u00a0overland trip. Today\u00a0we introduce you to Melanie Cahill and Justin Smith, who have traveled overland on 3 continents — North America, South America and Europe! Our family was lucky enough to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-drivers-seat"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3744\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panam.whensparksfly.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}