While travelling through Peru and Ecuador, we had met quite a few fellow travellers. Often we would share details about where we had been, stories of life on the road, and future plans for the upcoming weeks and months. Two things that we kept hearing were about; the amazing Moroccans and their beautiful campsite and food in Silvia (Colombia), and the brilliant and dedicated French mechanics that repair motorhomes a mere stones throw away. So given the fact that we like good campsites, love good food, adore good people and cherish a 100% functioning motorhome, this seemed like a tag-team too good to ignore!
After a pretty lengthy drive to the outskirts of the town of Silvia, we were met at the gates of Finca La Bonanza by our host Kika. Immediately we could see what people had been telling us about, and we had not even driven through the gates yet. Her warmth, enthusiasm and attention to detail were abundant to see.
Kika and her family have a pretty impressive history that’s worth a mention. Having worked office jobs for many years in Casablanca with her husband Anouar, raising young kids they hardly got to see, they decided to up sticks and travel the world in a camper van. Having started off in North America, five years later they found themselves in South America with a wanting to settle back down. They did not want the same life as before, they wanted to be with their children, continue to watch and help them grow, and to still meet the wonderful kind of travellers they had been meeting for the previous years. That is where their campsite was born. Moreover, they decided to homeschool their three children, something they have done with incredible success. The two eldest are now on full scholarships in a couple of the most prestigious US universities. The third, who we had the pleasure to meet, is undoubtedly walking the very same path.
Over the following 10 days, we were either staying in La Bonanza with Kika, or in close contact with her, as she hugely helped us with various logistical challenges we had. All the time, she could not do enough for us and provided a friendly ear, a helpful suggestion, or a warm smile to put us at ease.
The food we enjoyed there was also of the highest quality. Our dinner of Moroccan tanginess were as good as we had ever tasted. The breakfast delicious and so big it served us a second time over! And before we left we brought homemade jams and bread with us that were so good it would have been worth the trip there just for that.
That brings us to the French mechanics…
Kika and Anouar spent a considerable period of their travel years with two French friends by their side. Ben and Joyo are inseparable, and have been so for as long as either could remember. They have travelled the world together and repaired more camper vans than any of us are likely to see in ours. So it was dreamed up during their joint travels that when they found the right place, a campsite for camper vans to stay in, and a mechanics for camper van repairs, they would take the plunge and go all-in doing something they truly loved.
Meeting Ben and Joyo, with our long-suffering 3.5 tonne warrior alongside us, filled us with excitement and apprehension in equal measures. We really hoped they would be able to fix some of the issues that arisen in the previous six months (since our great prior service in Buenos Aires), yet handing over such an important piece of our adventure to strangers always brings a sense of unease. We need not have worried one bit.
Both Ben and Joyo are true experts in their fields. They listened to our lengthy list of required repairs, noting each meticulously. They offered solutions and practical advice for the issues we had. And they subsequently managed to fix things that we had not been able to get done wherever we tried. Arriving back to collect the camper van, seeing all the top-quality work they had done, was a great feeling.
Yet what struck us most about both the work done by Ben and Joyo, and that done by Kika and Anouar, was that this was work being carried out by people doing exactly what they should be doing. People doing the things that they love, in a place that they also love. Yes they are making a living out of doing this, but this is clearly not their underlying motive.
We would all like to doing something that we truly love. We ourselves in this camper van are only taking the first baby-steps along this path. Seeing other people in action, who have already reached this point, are a great example of both the benefits to themselves and to those lucky enough to be around them.
Click here to read the “A Change Of Scenery” blog post
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