SO MANY WAYS – MAROUS

27 years, from Rotterdam, The Netherlands

So Many Ways; Vanlife; 2022; Portugal; Teneriffa; travel; lifestyle; van; camper; lebensgeschichten; life stories; Saskia Uppenkamp; Portrait; Fotograf; Fotografin; Berlin; Friedrichshain; Studio; On Location; Reportage

“I don’t want to wait for things to happen.
I want to be the navigator of my life, I will do it my way.”

Marous – Vila Do Bispos, Portugal
27 years, from Rotterdam, The Netherlands

In the second year of the pandemic, Marous would have gone to Sweden to do a Master’s degree in ‘Tourism and Sustainability’. She had broken up her flat and sold most of her possessions, storing what little was left with her family. To enjoy her life before starting her studies, she spent a holiday in the north of Spain. At the end of it, her father picked her up there in his camper. He has a classic van, an army car from 1988. Together, they drove along the French coast towards home, sharing moments of joy on the road trip with the camper. Marous had been dreaming of having a vintage van herself for a while, but had not made it a reality until now. The trip with her father was like an epiphany for her.

After coming home, she had to cancel her upcoming move to Sweden at short notice due to new Corona restrictions. International students were not allowed into the country, only to participate in studies online until further notice. So she returned from Spain, her plans for the near future completely thrown out the window, no home, no job.

An acquaintance offered her the chance to volunteer and live on a campsite in the Netherlands. The same friend already owned a vintage van and helped her search for her own. It was not so easy to find a suitable van. At that time, it was already quite trendy to own a van. Finding an oldtimer was even more difficult. With her friend, she scoured ads on the internet until she came across an old VW bus. Immediately, she realized that this was exactly what she wanted. However, the ad was already two years old, so she didn’t even try to get in touch, assuming that the car had been sold long ago anyway. She started asking around other sellers to see if anyone was offering a similar van. One dealer told her about a woman who wanted to sell such a car and sent Marous a photo of the very van she had spotted in the old ad. That was her lucky moment. She was the first to call the woman. The lady was very fond of the vehicle herself and was looking for someone who was equally excited about the van.

Marous returned to the campsite with the van and spent the rest of the summer there. From the van, she began her online studies. When it got colder, she moved in with a friend in Rotterdam. The van is not suitable for winter. For two months, she tried to get used to the online study, but then dropped out. One of the reasons she had chosen Sweden, was to experience life there. The long hours in front of a monitor without contact to other students were not for her.

In the second COVID-19 winter she was stuck in the flat, everything was closed, there was nothing to do, Marous felt trapped in the city where life seemed to make no sense. Something inside her told her there must be more out there. She had had the most amazing summer, travelling around Europe with her father in a classic camper and living in her own van at the campsite. That kind of life planted a seed, that feeling of joy and discovery, meeting new people and seeing the beauty of life, that inspired her. In Rotterdam, she caught COVID-19. During her quarantine, her friend gave her a magazine about people living in vans. On the cover was a couple travelling to China in their old VW T2. Marous thought: If they can go to China, I can travel to Portugal or Spain. That was the moment she decided to pack her bags and take the leap into the unknown.

She made a few adjustments to the old van: She installed solar panels and a large battery so that it could go off the grid. A few photos and plants to make it cozy, similar to a small house, only a tiny version. Then she took off.
The adventure of being on the road is a very different experience for Marous than last year in a van on a permanent spot. The campsite was a nice warm-up, now she is on her way to the unknown, next level so to speak. All she knew was that she wanted to go south. Since then, no day has been the same. The small decisions she has to make every day, where to sleep, where to shop, whether she is safe here, whether she is welcome, make life in the van an adventure on the one hand, but also an ever new challenge for her.

“I feel so much lighter compared with a few months ago when I was living in an apartment in a city. I feel free living in my van. In the morning, when I wake up, I open my door, I step outside, and I am outside. This is something that’s really powerful. We can be stuck in our minds, but also stuck in our houses, not leaving the house, not seeing anyone or anything. Now, when I don’t see anyone in a day, I still feel more connected than I did when I was living in the city.”

Coffee is one of her hobbies, part of her morning ritual. Marous has always had side jobs involving coffee. For her, coffee brings people together. She also trained as a yoga teacher, not intending to become a teacher, but to learn. The campsite offered her the opportunity to give classes, it became a daily happening. She can take yoga and coffee with her on her journey. Many people approach her when they see her van. The camper van, yoga and coffee have a common element, they connect people. Marou’s dream would be that everywhere she travels, people come to her van to chat, drink coffee and do yoga with her. She is looking for creative markets where she can stop with her camper, offer coffee and yoga, perhaps on a donation basis at first, to see how her idea develops. She can’t make a living from it yet. Writing stories about young people with unconventional lifestyles once a month for a magazine, and providing online customer service for an outdoor shop three times a week, that covers her costs.

From the departure, to being on the road, to the point where you start to really enjoy it, when your life begins to slow down, it takes a while. You have to get used to this lifestyle. Marous wants to continue living in the van without making too many plans for her life. She would like to be open to the things that come that she can’t plan or predict, see where it takes her.