Thoughts about a Caravan Purchase
During our travels around Europe, I've noticed, that many people tow Caravans and others drive large RVs. There were plenty of them in the south. And so I began thinking. The single most surprising thing was the economy of all this.
Myths
- Travel trailer or RV costs a lot of money
- Any vehicle on the road is loosing significant value fast
- Storing such a big piece of equipment is costly
- Maintenance, technical check, service visits, simply a lot of hassle
Everything looks like it does not have any sense. That's why I was using hotels all the time, as mostly anybody who travels around western world. That itself is fun in a couple and in a small scale, say a few weeks a year at most. But when we got kids, we started focusing on hotel features such as baby cot, amartment, kitchen corner and such.
Departure from mediocrity
I like it when I do things my way. I care about all the rules I follow in my life. But I also challenge them to make sure they still make sense. Even something that people are doing over and over again needs to be checked & verified. Or refreshed & changed. I don't mind going for a lunch that costs me day's pay, but I also like to go to a fast-food on the corner for a hod dog. I love to jump into a pool on the hotel roof one day, when next day I would sleep under the stars. Challenging the comfort zone is the motive here.
Same as travels, which help a person in understanding his/her own life and local society, then challenging of everything you do in life, makes you way more educated & smarter. You kind of receive a balanced view on our life. Simply put, as our former Czech president Vaclav Havel said: “Don't worry and don't steal”
One Example
Some people talk a lot and listen a little. I see it every day in shops. People abandon their shopping carts in the middle of the corridor, where it blocks others. Every day I see cars parked in a way that make the owner's life easier on behalf of tens of other people that cannot pass easily. Parking wildly over two lots, or parking on a sidewalk is a daily routine around me. Many people are so sure that they are unicorns of this world, that it blocks their sight and they would probably never see the real world around them.
Ford Mustang really fits to this parking style. On a sidewalk, on a parking forbidden sign & against the one way street.
Many Great Ideas Feel Strange at First
Caravan (as we call Travel Trailer in Europe) is a significant change to my life that I wanted to try. Same as getting connected to internet in year 1999, or a purchase of a mobile phone when it was bulky and calls were crazy expensive. It's not a decision based on facts, it's just a gut feeling.
Some ideas with Caravans are pure Craziness
So, after I've convinced myself about the awesomeness of this idea. I started to test the waters with friends and family. Not always I received applause. It's logical and understandable. It is difficult to simply switch off the common model of life, dictating: Start a family, build a house and plant a tree. It's also difficult to overcome the teaching from school shouting: Don't stick out of a crowd! Unfortunatelly, many people that just follow this, and realise later in life that maybe there was more to it. And that they maybe missed some great adventures.
But hey! It's easy to challenge the status quo! Just try it once. Enjoy each day. Leave the crowd behind and do your own thing. Watching the reactions is really fun. Feel the raindrops on your skin. Say goodbye to your comfort zone and remake your stereotypes. And maybe, in a while, you're going to inspire others.
Airstream: Africa — Capetown o Cairo (1959)
Quote from Friedrich Nietzsche
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
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