Introducing Fellow Overlanders, Jenn, Niko, and Zoelle

Have you ever felt out of place in society? Or had a big, scary dream that you keep trying to push away? Have you ever had an inner voice that spoke to you for so long and so loudly that you simply couldn’t ignore it any more? If so, then this story – of a brand new overlanding family – is for you:

My cousin Jennifer has long felt out of place in the real world. She’s a deeply spiritual, highly sensitive person, and has struggled to integrate her values with the demands of work and society. She’s dreamed and wished to get away from it all for years, but financial fears (how would she pay for it? What about retirement?) stopped her from taking the leap. When she had a baby girl over five years ago, it sealed the deal – she felt she needed to grow up and take responsibility for her family’s future.

But life, as it does, continued sending her messages these past several years that she was on the wrong path. Finally, six months ago, she listened. She and her ex-partner sold their home and, simultaneously, an old Winnebago essentially fell into their arms. As co-parents to the adorably precocious Zoëlle, she and Niko decided to move into the RV together, leave Quebec, and co-parent on the road.

When we met up with them in Mexico’s Michoacan State, they’d been traveling down from Canada for two months. They’d encountered the typical adjustment pains of RV life – struggling to find places to dump waste, fill up water, and connect to WIFI – and they’d, of course, experienced a few challenges – most notably the day they crossed the Mexican border, forgot to have their passport stamps, and had to drive four hours back to the border to go through immigration. They’d been traveling south faster than expected because they’d struggled to find weather that was conducive to RV living – it seemed to always be either too cold or (more often) way too hot!

Despite these challenges (which, as fellow RVers, we totally relate to!), Jenn, Niko and Zoëlle seemed in high spirits. Like naturals, actually. They seemed at home in their small space and very much at ease with the slower, less-structured pace of nomadic life.

It was clear their decision to leave Canada and follow their hearts was the right decision. Zoëlle is independent and creative, so is quite happy playing by herself for hours at a time. She has decorated much of the inside of their RV with drawings, mosaics, and collages. Niko cooks gourmet meals in their tiny kitchen with whatever local ingredients he finds. And Jenn finally has the time to nourish her soul and embark on what she sees as her mission on earth – to reach spiritual enlightenment, thereby helping awaken the human race.

It’s true that in its solitude, space, and silence, RVing is a perfect lifestyle for spiritual contemplation. One of the ways Jenn and Niko want to further tie this goal into their newfound nomadism is by interviewing inspiring people they encounter who are living awakened lives, and to broadcast these videos to the world. They are in the midst of starting an online business to showcase these inspiring people.

Jenn and her family spent five days with us. We swam, we biked, we cooked, we talked. Their visit was incredibly rejuvenating and inspiring for me, and I am so pleased that they finally took the leap they’ve longed to take for so long.

I could have happily continued traveling with our extended family, but we are headed in opposite directions. As we head north to the United States, they are driving south to Guatemala. Niko, a DJ (Papa Kolass) had a gig at the Cosmic Convergence Festival in Guatemala on New Year’s Eve. The family are looking forward to reaching the higher altitude of Lake Atitlan and spending an entire month at an RV park, where they’ll finally have the time to delve into their inspiring project.

Their RV trip will last a year, and they may head as far south as Costa Rica or Panama, before returning to Canada and parking their home-on-wheels in New Brunswick as a summer home. Their plans after? To keep traveling around the world, meeting inspiring next-level people to interview for their business, while living as digital nomads in rental homes. RVing has been a fun experience, and something Jenn has always wanted to do, but long-term she thinks living a more grounded form of nomadism will work better for building and maintaining an online business. And if the business doesn’t work out and she has to return to 9-5 work? She hopes the personal spiritual work she is prioritizing this year will help her better manage whatever life throws her way.

Jenn and Niko are busy trying to get their new website live, so be sure to check back here soon for the link. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning about a few other overlanding families we’ve written about over the years, check out the adventures of our Greek friends, Nikos and Georgia; an Australian couple traveling half the year in their Land Rover; a British couple housesitting and driving around the world; and a very rugged Basque couple currently driving through Southeast Asia!