Meeting some travelers

With absolutely no plan after my visit to the farm near Grenoble, I headed with my van to a spot in the national park in the Cevennes. There, I found a nice parking spot near a lake. I enjoyed the beautiful nature around the parking spot and made some plans for what to do next. I remembered a guy on Workaway (a volunteering platform for travelers) who was also traveling with a van and stayed over winter near Toulouse. Spontaneously, I decided to write to him to see if he was interested in a meet-up. After a short exchange, we planned an appointment near Toulouse. Exciting! I packed my stuff and started my road trip towards Toulouse. During my road trip, I visited some nice places to hike (La Rozier) and spent a few days at a lake in the middle of nowhere. It’s always a pleasure to stay at places completely alone for a few days; that’s such a nice feeling of independence and freedom.

The days went by, and I arrived at the motorhome near Toulouse. I was welcomed at the entry by two lovely people. It was the start of nearly two weeks together with Kieran and Dina. Normally, the campsite is closed during winter, but a couple of long-term campers settled down here, and I had permission to come and stay some days at this place. We had everything there: water, electricity, a toilet, and a warm, cozy home on four wheels. Quickly, we understood each other very well and had some nice meals, conversations, thoughts, laughs, and music sessions in the evenings together.

During the visit, I helped him a bit with the electrical stuff on the truck. It’s an old Citroen, customized in Switzerland and was originally used for a trade fair stand, lovely called Bernard. The living space (the box on the trailer) is completely made of aluminum, and you feel the massive space inside. The van fits all standards like a normal house. It’s really comfortable inside. You won’t believe it’s a van. Kieran was originally living and sailing on a boat before he moved to the van. Dina was a part of the crew during this journey, and they sailed for a long period together. So, they knew each other very well and knew how to live in a small space.

A highlight was the trip to Toulouse. We moved with our vans close to the city and parked the vehicles on a parking side near a community hall. Then we took the bus to Toulouse to discover the city and have a few drinks at some nice pubs. It was a really lovely time, and the beer was really tasty. The next day we had an appointment with Helen and her three children. Dina did a longer Workaway at their site, and they knew each other very well. We went together to the Halle de la Machine. It’s a museum with lots of self-built machines for entertaining people. They also built some huge animals that can be moved. The minotaur is one of these animals. We also took a ride on the back of the minotaur. It’s gigantic, and it was also very interesting to see how everything worked together to move this massive body. It was a nice afternoon with Dina, Helen, Oak, Olive, and Zea. Kieran was unfortunately out of order from the evening in Toulouse. Happens.

After the visit to Toulouse, we headed back to the motorhome and enjoyed a couple of days together. I felt it was time for a new adventure. Dina warmly recommended me the farm of Helen, which is a 1-hour drive from Toulouse away. I took the opportunity and contacted Helen. She welcomed my message and invited me to her farm near the Pyrenees. It was the start of a new exchange.

Thank you, Kieran and Dina, for welcoming me. It was a lovely time together, and I took some good thoughts on my journey. Maybe we’ll see each other another day. Have a good one!