How do you…

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...pass the vehicle inspection test (ITV)?

All the modifications made on a car, whether in a workshop or at home, need to be homologated in an engineering studio before trying to pass the ITV. We get a lot of questions about if we have problems when passing the ITV with these wheels or those bumpers, and the short answer is that if you have a good engineer, you won’t have any problems. Certainly, there are things that can’t be homologated, but these topics are best discussed with your engineer.

...camp in Spain?

There are many rules related to this topic, and many of them are not clear. In most cases, wild camping is forbidden. However, in many places overnight stays (pernocta) are permitted, or, you can spend the night in your vehicle, without setting up any kind of camp. This is why we chose the rooftop tent model that we have, as it doesn’t protrude from the car’s perimeter. In any case, it’s important to find out if the area you plan to visit allows driving on trails and overnight stays.

...sleep in nature, aren’t you scared?

When people ask this, they’re usually interested in two different situations. The first one relates to dangers of robbery, kidnapping, murder and other people in general, and the second to the risks of attacks from wild animals. 

In the case of other people, we believe that this fear comes from countless horror movies in which the gory plot inevitably takes place “in the woods”, in a place so remote that there’s no one within earshot to hear the victim scream. We hate to disappoint any true crime fans, but this image is very far from the reality we face. We make continuous efforts to spend our nights as far from other people as possible, and that means exactly that - there’s no people around, and the chances of a serial killer running into your exact spot are almost zero.

When it comes to wildlife, humans in Spain face no direct dangers from predatory animals. While it is true that in some parts of the country you could theoretically run into bears or wolves, these animals are relatively used to human presence and usually avoid contact at all costs, and smaller animals such as boars or foxes even more so. It is always a good idea to keep your food and waste somewhere out of reach, and, of course, to check the area you plan to visit for information on wildlife you might encounter, as well as behavior guidelines.

In our experience, people tend to prepare for disasters and overlook potential smaller inconveniences when planning a trip. It is not very probable that you’d be attacked by a bear; but it is quite possible that you will benefit from first aid skills (both for you and the animal companions you might travel with), good communication systems or that extra pair of socks.

...find trails, routes, overnight sites?

It’s necessary to spend time searching and investigating trails and sleeping sites before leaving for a trip. To do it, we don’t use anything special, complicated or expensive, only tools available to everyone: Google Maps and Wikiloc. It should be noted that we don’t share locations or geotags of the places we’re at, except in special circumstances, in order to avoid crowds of visitors (and the waste they create) in less known sites. In any case, all the places we visit are public spaces, and if we found it, we’re sure you can too, without a lot of effort.

...travel all the time?

We worked hard for many years in order to make our lives as ideal as possible. To us, this means not having a formal employment where it’s necessary to spend a full workday at the same desk, every day. We work in video production as freelancers. This means that we often have projects that require us to be in particular places, but most of the time we’re free to decide where and how to spend our days. Besides, traveling in a car is cheaper than it might seem, as we don’t have accommodation and food expenses.