If not now, then when?
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Doing is like wanting, only more blatant!
We like to let you hear from us again and what better way to do that than with the most interesting figures from the second year of our trip! 🙂 In fact, it’s now been over 730 days since we set off on our great journey to unknown lands!
Not only many kilometres lie behind us, but also many unforgettable moments and memories – but also experiences that have ultimately enriched us all immeasurably.
Once again this year, we would like to thank all our loyal readers for travelling with us and, in particular, the people who are supporting us on our next step in our “life adventure”. Until there is something worth reporting, look forward to beautiful pictures and stories from Spain and Portugal! 🙂
But now to the most interesting figures from two years on the road:
| 1. Year | 2. Year | Total days | |
| Travelling days | 365 | 365 | 730 |
| Kilometres travelled | 12.041 | 13.859 | 25.900 |
| Countries travelled | 8 | 6 – of which 3 new | 11 different |
| Capitals visited | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Overnight stays | 170 | 147 | |
| of which “free” | 159 | 140 | |
| Average number of nights in one place | 2 | 2,5 | |
| Midnight place checks | 4 (Georgia, Eastern Turkey) | 4 (Morocco) | 8 |
| Additional expulsions | 0 | 5 (1x Armenia, 4x Morocco) | 5 |
| Highest night-time pitch | 2.439 m (Armenia) | 1.900 m (Morocco) | |
| Highest / lowest temperature | 35 degrees (Slovenia)
/ -8 degrees (Bulgaria) |
42 degrees (Armenia)
/ -4 degrees (Morocco) |
| Diesel heating consumption | 187 litres | 30 litres | 217 litres |
| Heating time | 6 months | 5 months (selective) | |
| Self-generated solar power consumed | 105 kWh | 195 kWh | 300 kWh |
| Total consumption of spirit stove | 47 litres | 23 litres | 70 litres |
| Ø diesel consumption motorhome / 100km | 10.5 litres | 10 litres |
| Breakdowns | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stuck | 2 (Bulgaria) | 3 (Georgia, Morocco) | 5 |
Some of the figures differ significantly compared to the first year of travelling. You may be wondering how this came about!
Diesel heating consumption in particular is significantly lower than in the previous year. If you think of warm temperatures when wintering in southern Europe, the reality is somewhat different. In Greece and Turkey at least, we had several weeks with sub-zero temperatures at night and occasionally even during the day. Unfortunately, you can’t avoid using the parking heater.
Morocco spoilt us with warmer winter temperatures in the second year of our trip. Thanks to the many hours of sunshine, the vehicle was always able to warm up well during the day, which meant that the cooler temperatures at night could usually be bridged without heating. Only during our time in the Atlas Mountains, sometimes with snowfall, were the temperatures noticeably wintry.
Two other interesting consumption figures, which have changed significantly compared to the previous year and are directly related, are the amount of solar power and spirit used for our cooker.
We bought an “electric cooking pot” in Armenia, which was then upgraded to a modern “kettle” in Spain. For some time now, we have been using our self-produced solar power instead of spirit to heat water. 🙂 This is not only good for the environment and ourselves, but also for our travel budget, as 1 litre of alcohol costs at least 3 euros, even abroad!
We had the highest temperature of 42 degrees shortly after our first anniversary in Armenia. The daytime temperatures hovered around this value for several days and usually didn’t fall below 27 degrees at night. Ideal for drying laundry 😉
Thanks to our mobile shower unit, we can usually cope well with such high summer temperatures even without water suitable for bathing nearby – which is unfortunately often very difficult to find in many countries due to heavy pollution!
Another fascinating experience is how the immediate and inescapable experience of the temperatures causes our bodies to adapt in their own way, making heat and cold feel different to what we have known before.
The following pictures will show you a few more special impressions from the second year of travelling:
We have now travelled to 11 countries in 24 months. We have particularly fond memories of some of them and would be “tempted” again any time 😉 .
Our “highlight countries” or “highlight regions” are Transylvania, Bulgaria, the south-west of Turkey, Armenia and Andalusia.
Travelling in this way and to this extent not only helps you to get an idea of other places and countries in the world, but also to surprisingly discover that people in other countries are “not as bad and criminal” as we are sometimes told 😉
On the contrary: we have definitely noticed more similarities than differences with our fellow human beings! What’s more, we were often surprised and deeply touched by the unprecedented hospitality, spontaneous warmth and unadulterated interpersonal friendliness and openness shown to us by people in all the countries on our trip – sometimes more, sometimes less.
Even language barriers are no longer an obstacle if both sides enjoy exchanging ideas. A few words of each other’s language are often enough, but today’s digital possibilities also enable conversation on an unimagined scale. Yes, and of course there is still the tried and tested method of “hands and feet”, which teaches you a lot about sign language when used frequently.
With this in mind, it’s worth going out into the world and engaging in dialogue with other people and cultures! The reward is priceless 🙂
Here’s to maintaining a peaceful world and breaking down borders in our heads!