The Pin Project: 1.794 days non-stop around the world and still rolling.. (OR How to afford emotionally & financialy a RTW trip on a camper van)

thepinproject

Adventurer
We are Nikos & Georgia, we are from Greece and the last 1578 days we are wandering around Africa, Europe and America, first in a Suzuki Grand Vitara & now in a Toyota Hiace campervan.

We are new to this forum but quite grown-ups when it comes to travel advice, stories, experiences, tips and travel wisdom.

Check our travels here: www.thepinproject.eu


Cheers

Nikos & Georgia
 
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thepinproject

Adventurer
Two months ago, we published our first book, a travel resource written & published literally while in the road. In order to explain better what traveliving is about as well as help people getting engaged with it, we have launched a Traveliving Series & Collection initiatives.

For example this is our latest collection of murals around the world:

223.jpg

or from carros de cuba

s.jpg

See more here: https://thepinproject.eu/the-traveliving-collection/

& read short, interesting stories here: https://thepinproject.eu/the-traveliving-series/
 

thepinproject

Adventurer
This is an article about the people who still look for a good reason to pre-order our book.

First of all, the book has not been created to support our travels and we do not count on the revenues from it. It is a travel resource, it is an on-the-road tool, it is a box full of memories, advice, information & experiences BUT it is not a way to generate income while travelling.

Everything started and finished on the road (writing, editing, designing, publishing etc) and we couldn't support better our current lifestyle and the decision we took 5 years ago to leave our comfort zone and start roaming free.

The Pin Project & the concept of TRAVELIVING is NOT another travel project or long vacations. We are not seasonal travellers, we are not freeloaders, we don't fly home when we feel homesick, we do not have sponsors, supporters or social media accounts, we pay for everything we owe or use and the last 2,5 years, we survive on 500 euro per month.

The Pin Project is a dream that was born in September 2011 & took shape in April 2012; the dream of a life change.

We chose to change our lifestyle & start travelling. The concept of traveliving evolved a bit later only to give purpose and meaning to our travels. To give purpose and meaning to our dream.

So, do you have dreams? Do you believe in change? Are you dreaming a life change?

By contributing to the book campaign, you do not simply get our book.

You rather embrace a life change that started as a dream and eventually became a wonderful reality, an amazing adventure, an unforgettable experience.

You are engaged to an innovative project that has been created by ordinary people to simply add value. No connections, no donations, no drama, no dragons. Real life stories for recreation ONLY.

Eventually, you become part of a wide community that strives for change by sharing & exchanging resources.

Everybody has the right for a change & actually lots of people have made it. However, all these success stories that make up a great resource are barely shared or published!

By launching our book, we are actually documenting this change & want to share it with everybody.

If you are dreaming a life change, then this is a good reason to grab a copy today.
 
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thepinproject

Adventurer
The Traveliving Series: Decisions, decisions, decisions

Surprises, last minute changes, opportunities, prospects, background. More or less, all these affect the decisions we take in our daily life. The denominator is the freedom we enjoy which is also a decision we have taken unconsciously.

However, life is full of options (along with chances) and there are always two ways to achieve things. The easy way and the hard way.

Having said that, our decision that later became a major principle is to choose always the hard way.

Before taking the decision to quit our jobs, we wanted someone to assure us that the trade-off freedom vs comfort zone would be fair and worthwhile. Isn't is selfish? For sure it is but there was only one way to learn; the hard way.

After almost 5 years on the roads, we always had -at least- two options. The easy one was to "sell" the trip, join the social media platforms and show off nice pictures, write up dramatic -or even diplomatic- stories & chase the Likes, the Subscribers & the Followers. Let me give you a real life example: having 5.000-10.000 followers on Instagram guarantees an easy -as well as lazy- trip in terms of promotion and sharing which can be easily monetized if you want.

Instead, we have decided to follow the hard way of personal contacts and connections with locals wherever is possible. Experience the culture, share stories, spend quality time with communities or families, cook for our hosts and spread the word of our life change. Traveliving is fun -no doubt- but everything comes at a price.

This makes up the incredible number of almost 300 people all around the globe in Africa, Australia, Europe & America.

Guess what? We are so proud of it. Most important, we are proud of having REAL FRIENDS following this trip.

Which way are you choosing ;-)
 
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thepinproject

Adventurer
The Traveliving Series: @access.o

"What are you doing today? I’m sure you’re busy.
There’s work, gym, me time, family time, networking, hobbies, happy hour and don’t forget those 8 hours sleep. All of those are squeezed between some good hours in traffic getting in and out. But, wait. Aren’t you missing something?
You are. Each choice you make is also an abnegation.
The question is: what are you willing to give up?
Would you trade your paycheck for time with family?
Would you give up your stuff for freedom?
Would you pause your Netflix to enjoy the sky?"
@access.o



Access.o is Caio & Mariana, a young couple from Brazil who quit their jobs in the marketing industry in São Paulo, Brazil, booked an one-way ticket to Ecuador and started travelling.

We met the guys at Lullu Llama Hostel, a mountain lodge in the Ecuadorian Andes where we do another exceptional work exchange.

Apart from their savings that eventually will run out, Caio creates income from trading his photos & Mariana keep herself busy with video editing & writing. Don't be confused with the digital nomad mainstream though. Caio & Mariana believe to freedom vs comfort zone exchange and you have to check their articles on Medium to see what made them quit their jobs and start wandering around in South America.

To some people, the traveliving concept sounds naive or even impossible to be achieved or experienced. Some others may think that we are just lazy young Millennials, we survive on our parents money and we just prefer travelling to working. Every time we meet young people with the similar mindset, we simply realize that we are not alone.

You can follow Caio's & Mariana's adventures at:

https://www.instagram.com/access.o/

https://medium.com/@mloo

https://www.instagram.com/cfernandesphoto/
 
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thepinproject

Adventurer
The TRAVELIVING Manifesto

Honest, aspiring, romantic, naive.. our philosophy about travelling is this:

Live to Travel, not Travel to Live.

Roam free with zero commitments. Long term, slow, non-stop, nomadic travelling.

Be grateful, respectful, humble & honest. Be open but not invasive. Be creative but not aggressive.

You don’t need money, you need time. You can create or generate income but not time. If you want to work on something, work this function; forget your social media accounts & online presence. Share your time but recycle your money; best exchange ever!

Travelling is not a business, so you do not need to market yourself & sell your trip.

Travelling is not a competition, so you do not need to be the first or the best.


If you want to share your trip, always add some value. Contribute with useful knowledge and experience to the travellers communities, share your skills and provide local communities with some kind of support. Better an honest taker than a pompous giver.

Keep your mouth shut but your ears & eyes open. Enjoy the freedom & be silent. Stop criticizing, grumbling, bitching & moaning. Be strict with yourself, not with the others. Appreciate the difference & see the reflections of your actions & your decisions.

Followers & subscribers are back home in their comfort zone checking your adventure. By giving you likes & shares, they do not make your trip better. At the end of the day, they make you a lazy traveller who chases WiFi and tries to feed them with new content. This ephemeral mindset enhances your social profile but not your travels.

Local people, a bit of luck and your eagerness to learn new things, explore the surroundings and do things for the first time, will drive you to a whole new experience, they will change your life, they will transform you forever.

Live to Travel, not Travel to Live.
 
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thepinproject

Adventurer
The Traveliving Series: Tourist vs Overlander: 0-0



Africa is full of tribes. The same in Latin America & Asia. Travelling as an activity has its own share as well. Tourists & overlanders make up the two biggest "tribes" in the travelling industry in terms of numbers and market share.

If there are one million differences between tourists and overlanders, there are one million similarities as well.

It is true that overlanders spend more time than tourists, experience way more & different things, have a bit more complicated travel plan, allow more time to get prepared and equipped and so on.

It is true, also, that travellers on vehicles are way more flexible and mobile, have the chances to go visit places that tourists simply cannot, or they are not even aware. (However, for the locals, they are still the "tourists" who come to explore their untouched region/ national park/ reserve/ hiking trail etc.)

Plus, overlanders always complain about their budget and it is them who mostly bargain first. We have personally met overlanders with a minimum of 2.000 EUR monthly budget who complain about room and food prices or find activities of 50 EUR expensive!

On the other hand, tourists are always in a rush but with a bigger budget. They can afford almost everything because they are simply on vacations. It is literally a waste of time to bargain and they only want to have fun this week in Cancun, México or Santorini, Greece. Their travel plan (and of course their return ticket that most overlanders do not have) must be very precise especially when they want to visit and see certain things.

Both tribes have similarities as well. When in big cities or simply touristic places (which are countless worldwide), overlanders & tourists stay at the same places, eat the same street food, go visit the same popular sight-seeings and get the same activities packages which are mainly designed for tourists (and most of the times are a bit pricey).

The Mayan pyramids of Palenque in Chiapas, México or the Lake Louise in Banff NP, Canada are popular for a reason and it makes absolute sense to be always busy and crowded. The same goes for the festival of the Dia de los Muertos in Oaxaca, México.

There is a good percentage of overlanders (we have personally met lots) who feel so exceptional and unique that they get seriously bothered from "tourists". They ***** & moan the whole time because in the same hostel they stay -which happens to be in a touristic place- "tourists" did the mistake to come spend their 10-day summer holidays! It is the very same people who market their long trips, show off their vehicles, make use of social media ephemeral power and usually add zero value to the travellers community. But for themselves, they are exceptional, unique or simply the best!

Guess what? At the end of the day, it is not about who you are and what are you doing; just put aside tags like overlander, tourist, traveliver. We are all passengers. But, for god shake, nobody is so special and will never be unless you are a scientist, an athlete or an academic.


The vast majority of long-time, seasonal travellers do not interact with their surroundings -despite the fact that there are some reasonable arguments-, they only travel to live and they usually chase WiFi, likes, subscribers and followers. Fair enough! The urban myth says that an overlander with Western background drove for 2 years in South America without speaking a word of Spanish. We can verify that it is not an urban myth! But, we hate when we hear from several overlanders: "The place was nice but unfortunately too many tourists!"

We are all tourists, idiot! Shut your mouth, be humble and grateful, enjoy your current lifestyle which allows you to wander around for a while (and is way more privileged compare to the tourist's) and try to see the reflections in the places you visit and the new people you meet.
 
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unkamonkey

Explorer
You seem to be a bit negative there pin project. and there was no need for the shouting bit
I'm not too sure I even want to respond to you.
 

thepinproject

Adventurer
You seem to be a bit negative there pin project. and there was no need for the shouting bit
I'm not too sure I even want to respond to you.

You live in a free country & we come from the land which gave birth to democracy. Plus its an open forum. If I am negative, let me be negative.

So, feel free to express yourself. No hard feelings.

By the way, what is the shouting bit? I am not familiar with this term?

Have a great day & travel safe ;-)
 

thepinproject

Adventurer
I do respect your own as well & I am glad that there are people who dont like what they read and they express themselves! I am sick of the LIKES & honestly, I much appreciate your DISLIKE ;-)
 

unkamonkey

Explorer
Actually my comment was about your rant. I can walk across the street and get all of f the crap I don't deserve, I expect it. I have dealt with it for over 60 years.
I don't dislike you.
I wander over to scratch the dogs.
 

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