We’re Gabriel and Jade. We’re currently on a journey down the west coast of the Americas from Tofino to Tierra de Fuego in our Westfalia, BigBlu, with our puppy, Phi.
Our mission is to show the world that travel is possible on a tight budget, with minimal waste, and without negatively affecting the cultures we come in contact with.

Stay tuned for the intimate ups and downs of #vanlife, amazing adventures, travel photography, gear reviews, inspiration, and travel tips.

Peace, Love, Happiness

23 comments

  1. Enjoyed your blog about hiking Pico duarte.
    Going with a group in early February 2014. Any tips besides packing underwear in a waterproof bag?
    Volunteering after at a project in Consuello.
    Ray

    1. Thanks Ray! Glad you enjoyed it.

      Tips… Yes!

      Warm up by doing stairmasters for a week, take a few days off to recover, and then go!

      Pack EVERYTHING in a plastic bag, and then a waterproof bag. Seriously.

      Wear layers, the temperature goes up and down erratically as you climb.

      Pace yourself, the mules aren’t really a rest, they’re just a different kind of exercise, and hard on your ankles.

      Pack some power bars. Potable water straight out the stream is available along the way, so just have a liter bottle and you’ll be fine to refill.

      Take lots of pictures, it’s a good excuse to rest.

      Make sure your gear is waterproof and quality.. boots, jacket, etc.

      Guides run on Dominican Time. Ask to do things an hour before you actually want to do them.

      Coming down is easier than going up, but be careful, it’s when most injuries happen.

      Yeah… that might be it.

  2. Hello Gabriel and Jade, I had a few questions for you two. I would like to know what inspired you two to create this blog? How long into your traveling together did you both decide it was time to share your experiences with us?

    1. Hey Francisco!

      We started this blog before we’d done any real traveling together, really! We started it when our travel plans were just in their infancy. I’d traveled before, and although I loved it, I thought if I was going to do it again, I would need a better purpose than just wandering.

      The blog was just the natural solution to making our travels productive! And here we are, slowly gaining views and followers, so you guys must be into it!

      How about you? Are you a traveler?

  3. Gabriel and Jade, first of all thank you for your kindness and letting me share in your very special night with friends and family.

    I adore your site and I have asked Pykott to help in the design of our ACE Surfing web site. Your look, your feel is what we want for our site. I am writing to see if we can access some of your pictures and ideas as well as to develop a link with our ACE Surfing site.

    When is the world tour getting underway?

    Peace, Pierre

  4. Brilliant blog!!

    Me and my boyfriend are just starting our blog. We begin travelling in January, going to Southeast Asia for 7 months. We thought we would start a blog early to get it around but I’m stuck and am unsure what to post about as we have not yet travelled.

    Some advice about what to write about in your first months of blogging but not actually travelling would be great.

    Thanks, Jade :)
    P.S Great name ;)

    1. Hey Jade,

      Thanks for stopping by and great question.

      Great idea starting early.

      At the beginning you can write about exactly what’s happening in your life right now: the planning, the research, the fears, the excitement, what inspires you to travel, what you do at home that’s sort of like traveling.

      Remember there are lots of people out there in the planning stages who’ll relate, so as long as you write form the heart, someone will relate, besides at the beginning it’s more about ironing out the kinks and finding your voice, there’s nothing glamorous about it. Just have fun with it.

      Keep in touch and let us know how you’re enjoying it (or not!)

      xoxox

      Jade

  5. Hey Jade,

    Its been EONS since we last spoke and Im so happy to see your doing well. Was going through some stuff from back in McGill and found a thank you note given by you ( which im sure you dont remember….). Just wanted to see how you have been so I looked you up on Google…..and here I am…;)

    Shezad

    1. That’s so awesome you found me! I do remember that note, i gave it to you because you brought me back an elephant tea thingy from your travels, which I had up until I got rid of everything I owned before I left on my trip!!

      Happy you found me! I’ll chat you up on facebook.

  6. Hey Jade & Gabriel,
    This is an amazing blog !!
    Me and my boyfriend are fond of travelling and have been exploring places in India (Our resident). He has also been travelling to Australia and US. Wish to travel to DR soon.

    Any plans for India you both ?

    Ankita

    1. Hey Ankita!! thanks for the visit and the kind words! India is on our radar, but it will probably be years before we make it to be honest!

      If you need tips on the DR feel free to contact us and ask, we’d love to help you out!

      Thanks again for stopping by!

      Jade

  7. I’ve been coming back to your site frequently since I found it a few weeks ago and I love everything about it! You guys are living the dream & traveling the world- something that my boyfriend and I hope to do very soon! Thank you for posting gorgeous photos, entertaining posts and inspiration to go out and do something different!

    1. Thanks for the kind words Lauren! I love your site! It’s really well done! Have you seen out hostel kitchen cooking tips? we have an episode on travel spices that reminds me of your top ten!

      Where do you want to go most?

      1. Hey thanks for checking out my site! I haven’t read your hostel cooking tips yet but I’m sure I’ll definitely put that to use! So far we are looking to spend the month of December ’15 in Australia and then maybe the next place would be somewhere in France. The daydreaming and planning part have been so fun, I just can’t wait to get there. Enjoy whatever part of the world you’re in and thanks again for all the great inspiration!

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