This was a milestone week in our early retirement adventures. We celebrated our 500th night sleeping in the van, had our first true night of early retirement on 1st Sept when our teaching contracts expired and further explored the wild hidden places in the French alps.
500 nights plus
This week we celebrated our 500th night in our VW campervan Nelson. For those of you that are unaware, we have had Nelson for just over four and a half years and have made the most of every opportunity to escape in him. We have toured Europe, had amazing holidays across the UK, tried to get away at weekends as much as we possibly can and even used the van as a spare room on our driveway when people come to stay. The van is so versatile, allowing us to get away whatever the weather or whatever the season. It’s a bit of a headfry moment when we realise that most of our memorable moments from across Europe have involved Nelson. He is currently just on over 80K miles, is starting to age…like we all are, but we love him to bits. If you are ever thinking about getting a campervan, just do it…it will change your life for the better.
Meeting travellers
One of the joys we have found from our first week of our alpine adventures is the people that you meet along the way. In the space of a week we have met so many interesting and lovely people, all on their own adventures following their own paths. From the grandparents travelling out to meet up with their family who were flying out to join them, to the very posh and independent lady who was helping her daughter and family to build a house in the mountains, to the young Dutch couple with amazing English who charmed us with their own tales of vanlife adventure- they all left a mark on us and this was an aspect of travel that we didn’t expect. When we first planned for early retirement one of our concerns was that we may be lonely on the road- we needn’t have worried as these early encounters only build confidence that our adventures are going to be more enriching than we even thought possible.
Surprisingly we have come across very few Brits, apart from in Morzine, which seems to be a hidden British enclave similar to Val d’Isere in the winter. I am not sure if it is just that we understand what us Brits are saying, but we have witnessed some absolute tw*** out and about in the last few days. Why as a nation do we make ourselves such poor tourists? There is never a reason to be rude to people, talk down to people or just simply behave in a really inconsiderate way…or am I just getting old and grumpy? Another observation of us Brits, why does increased wealth result in increased tw**ish behaviour when on holiday?
Everything happens for a reason
We all have plans, but this week has illustrated to us the importance of not stick rigidly to them and allowing ourselves to go with the flow. On Sunday we would not have found the most unbelievable mountain top wild camp if it hadn’t had been for the fateful advice from the tourist office to change our plans. If we hadn’t have camped there, we would never have experienced the sunset visitation of the alpine cows up to our van door. On Tuesday, we hadn’t expected or planned to be able to spend the day relaxing in the sun by a mountain lake, or the evening wandering with the goat herd in a tiny mountain village. If we hadn’t pulled into the Aire in Morzine, we wouldn’t have realised that this fantastic facility was free of charge after 30 August- so for €2 for electricity, we could have all the comforts of home whist saving money by not having to use a campsite for the night.
It is the simple things that bring the greatest pleasure.
We have purposely tried to keep to a budget this week, and we have actually really enjoyed the way it has simplified our lives and our thinking. We have eaten well and the healthiest we have ever done on our travels, but simply. We have done loads of stuff, but all for free. We have thought carefully about every euro we have spent and have considered the value of each purchase we have made.
Some of the things that have cost little but paid-back in bucket loads have included our hikes into the high mountains, just simply being out in nature, hearing the cow bells clang, observing marmots and eagles in their world, watching the sun set from high mountains and deep valleys, camping in the wild places and looking up at the clear night skies.
If we didn’t know it before, we recognise now that it doesn’t take money to live a rich life- it is the experiences that are often free that lead to a rich and fulfilling life.
Our ongoing Alpine adventures
As I write this, we are sat in our van on an early Sunday morning in Les Gets in the French Alps. For the past few days the nighttime temperature has dropped considerably- even though the daytimes have been sunny and hot…is this the first sign of the summer coming to a close? We have spent the days lazing by mountain lakes, climbing high above the valleys and watching the sun rise and fall behind the peaks. If you havn’t already, check out our summer travel blogs part 4 (Our travel across France) and part 5 (the Abondance Valley).
The first Sunday in September
We have waited along time for this particular day to come as it will be the first one in 30+ years when we will not be returning to work as teachers. Our thoughts go out to all those teachers across the world who are busy preparing for the new academic year and all the fantastic work that they will be doing in that time. We loved teaching, but love early retirement more. The start of term for us was a horrible time, when the stress returned and we came to terms with the holiday feeling ending yet again. We do not, and will not miss this feeling, although we do miss our colleagues at this time, and will undoubtably miss working with the amazing (and often challenging) young people.
So today we raise a glass of very fine red wine (Thanks Jeannette!) to the start of the first academic year without us.
That’s it for another week of early retirement. We are off to climb a mountain before the heat of the day sets in.
Have a great week,
Richard & Jackie
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