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Overland from North to South America | Meet Roy and Ellen

Hi, we are Roy and Ellen. we're going on an adventure, overlanding from North to South America. We bought a Jeep Wrangler, converted it into an off-road cottage on all-terrain tires and renamed it Red and shipped it to Halifax, Canada (about that in the next blog Lake). Now we are making one of our dreams come true and we are now traveling on North- en South America.

Introduce

Roy

Roy | Overland from North to South America

My name is Roy and I work for the best employer in The Netherlands, because after figuring out all the options, I can take a sabbatical. What started as a dream has gradually become reality; from the daily routine. Waking up every day with a different view and seeing new things every day. Experience the ultimate freedom, enjoy yourself together, live a more active life, discover waterfalls and stroll through the streets of world cities such as New York and Rio de Janeiro. 

We have consciously chosen to make this trip with a 4 × 4 because we like to explore off-road routes. I have the Dempster Highway in Canada, the route to the Mayan archaeological site of Caracol in Belize, into Death Road Bolivia and the Paso Rio Mayer border crossing between Chile en Argentina high on my list. 

At home I like to cook new dishes. I am therefore also looking forward to tasting new flavors and eating things that you would never try in the Netherlands. Eat in a unique restaurant or try local dishes at a place on the street. Preferably with a matching drink.

That's traveling for me!

Also read: Eat safe street food during your World Trip | 11 Tips

Ellen

Ellen | Overland from North to South America

My name is Ellen and going abroad has attracted me since I was young. As a little girl I went with my parents, in a tot camper converted van, by Europa† Later I went on a study trip to China and half a year to Macedonia for my graduation internship. That is what partly shaped me into who I am today. 

A few weeks after graduating, I moved to Antwerp for the first time. Antwerp, the city that somewhat stole my heart, where I also moved back 5 years ago for the second time for my career in production management in the textile industry. Now I let that one CAREER as a product manager to make one of our dreams come true.  

Today we have the freedom to develop into who we want to be, but at the same time we allow ourselves to be limited to what everyone else does. 

I would like to see with my own eyes what life is like on the other side of the world, taste the local dishes and walk through beautiful nature. Meeting new people and exchanging stories. Feel the freedom of the great outdoors. To overcome fears. I want to embark on adventures where I don't know in advance what the outcome will be. I want to chase my dreams and do things that make my heart beat faster. 

And last but not least, Red

Red | Overland from North to South America

Now Red is used to the condition the roads are in Belgium to be around. However, he recently got a complete makeover to prepare him for this ultimate journey in which we overland from North to South America. The car is equipped with a roof rack and hard-shell roof tent, a trunk, a new bumper with winch and of course a nice set of all-terrain tires. 

Also read: De Wereldreizigers.nl 4×4 motorhome (3) | Technique and upgrades to car

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Inside we also made some adjustments to make room for all our stuff with drawers and boxes. We have a water tank with water filter installed and a household battery that charges when we drive. We also have a 55 liter refrigerator. 

Also read: De Wereldreizigers.nl 4×4 camper (2) | Gadgets & Upgrades

Overland: how it started

We sat on the couch with a glass of wine in our apartment in Antwerp, talking about our previous travels. After an extra glass of wine, Ellen blurted out that she wanted to go on a long trip and thought it was the right time. How long then? Well, just, longer than 2 to 3 weeks of summer vacation. The doubt on Roy's face quickly turned to: Okay, let's see what's possible† Before we knew it, we were preparing for the overland trip of our lives. 

We found several stories of people who camper or 4×4 had shipped to South America. We liked that. The freedom of having your own car, camping under the stars and being able to hit the beaten track.

Also read: Overland in America and Canada | Insure your vehicle

One new car and a lot of modifications to the car later, we booked a boat to Montevideo, Uruguay† A few weeks before departure it started to get exciting. A number of country borders in South America were still closed due to Covid. It got a little too hot under our feet. We don't want to get stuck in a country! We have read the horror stories of people who have had to leave their cars behind and fly home because of Covid. So we changed all plans and decided to start in North America. After two weeks in home quarantine, for fear of contracting corona just before departure, we were able to take a seat on the plane. 

And here we are in North America!

What now

From now on you can regularly read our overlanding blogs at Wereldreizigers.nl, but you can also follow us closely via our Facebook page and our YouTube channel where we post videos of our journey every week! See all the links in our signature!

Until the next!

Avatar picture

Red's Road Life

Roy & Ellen
Traveling North and South America in our Jeep Wrangler Rubicon named Red
Vlogging it all on YouTube

We met in Bali and after a few months we lived together in the heart of Antwerp. We celebrated Christmas in Paris, traveled with our camper through Sweden and Norway, slept in an igloo during our winter sports holiday in Austria and flew to Jordan, where we slept under the stars in the Wadi Rum desert.

Then COVID hits...

We were given a little too much time to think about our dreams and before we knew it we bought a Jeep Wrangler, converted it into a cottage on all-terrain wheels and renamed it Red. We shipped it to Halifax (Canada) and now we are making one of our dreams come true, traveling through the Americas.

0 comments

  • Hi Roy and Ellen,

    What a cool adventure to make such a trip with your own 4×4. We are preparing a similar trip with our family of 4 (starting February 2024) and are looking into purchasing a 4×4 in Chile (with a contact person there).

    I have a question that you may have already found an answer to. How do you do it with overland travel and apply for a visa. You are often allowed to stay in a country for 90 days (South America in particular) and you demonstrate this by, for example, a return flight / transit flight. Traveling with your own car will have to do this in a different way. Is it sufficient to show proof of overnight stay or similar? We will be traveling from Chile towards Argentina and then up again (7 months journey).

    If you have any tips.. We'd love to hear it! I will continue reading your blog 😉

    Greetings,

    Marielle and Titus

  • Inglese:
    Hello
    How was the pass through Panama?
    Did they have to take a ferry?
    Thanks for the reply

    Spanish:
    Hello
    Como fue el pase por Panama?
    Tuvieron que tomar un ferry?
    Thanks for the reply

  • I need to travel from Brazil to Colombia, buy a world small coupé car, because I have two dogs that I picked up from the streets of Brazil, I need help with the roads and I want to know how much I need because I do not have many economic funds

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