Time to take stock…

It’s a bit difficult to turn the page and think about what’s next… We always tend to delve back into the memories of the last seven months, whether looking at photos, merging the GPX files of each stage to have the complete itinerary of the adventure or choosing a project to which we would allocate our carbon offset… Lots of little details that we also wanted to share, to be totally transparent in our approach and our environmental commitment, for example, with some statistics too, just to stay a little longer in the adventure…

Contents

• Our itinerary
• Some statistics
• Main highlights
• The North Cape
• Environmental aspects
• And now?…
• For more details

Our itinerary…

(click on the video to watch it, watch it in full screen by clicking on the corresponding icon…)

Some highlights…

Our adventure took us from the southernmost point of continental Europe (Punta de Tarifa, Spain) to the northernmost point (North Cape, Norway). And incidentally, when we were at the North Cape, we were further north than any point accessible by road on the American continent.

On our way, we logically crossed the Arctic Circle. It was in Jokkmokk, Sweden, that we crossed it for the first time, on 1 July 2024 (northbound). But subsequently, we repeated the experience at least 6 times in total (the roads around Rovaniemi, Finland, tend to jump from one side of the Arctic Circle to the other and there is not necessarily a sign each time… And then we also crossed the Arctic Circle on foot, and quite a few times, in order to achieve a more or less decent video at Santa Claus Village… 😜).

Although it was not planned at the beginning, we also passed through the geographical centre of Europe, and even through two of them: the most official one, near the village of Girija, in Lithuania, established in 1989 by calculations of scientists from IGN (France), and the one calculated by including all the European islands and located near the village of Mõnnuste, on the island of Saaremaa, in Estonia.

Our idea was to get as close as possible to the eastern border of the European Union, so we were several times very close to the Russian and Ukrainian borders. This allowed us to discover incredible places, such as the Oulanka National Park in Finland, but also to better understand the concern of the neighboring countries about a possible invasion by Russia, and the practical reality of the war in Ukraine, which is also so close. We saw borders that were completely closed, and others that seemed to come straight out of a Cold War movie. We saw the absurdity of the concept of a border when only a small river suddenly separates people who had grown up together and who speak the same language. Finally, for the symbol, we were able to enter Russia, even if only for 1km, on a road connecting two parts of Estonia…

Conversely, and thanks to the European Union, we were able to cross 19 countries in total without being limited by any borders or administrative hassles. This model of free movement so decried by some is perhaps not perfect in certain situations, but between these small imperfections or the borders between Russia and Estonia, where a few vehicles move at walking pace, in the mud, between armed and hooded men, while people cross on foot, with suitcases in their hands, like in a spy film, we can only shout out loud that the European Union and its Schengen area are, without a doubt, one of the best political ideas implemented in recent decades!

In the series of “pluses”, our journey also took us through:

• the highest viaduct in the world: the Millau Viaduct, France, at 343 m.
• the longest road tunnel in Europe (and second longest in the world): the Lærdalstunnelen (24,51 km), in Norway.
• the second deepest underwater road tunnel in the world: the Atlanterhavstunnelen, at the exit of the Atlantic Road, in Norway, 250 m below sea level.
• the northernmost city in continental Europe: Honningsvåg, in Norway (Gjesvær, where we slept, is located further north but does not have the status of a city but only of a “locality”, just like Skarsvåg, even further north, but where we did not go…).
• the southernmost city in continental Europe: Tarifa, Spain.
• the largest city in Europe (in terms of area): Rovaniemi, Finland, with its 59 km² of municipal territory.
• the northernmost capital of continental Europe: Helsinki, Finland.
• the highest capital in Europe: Andorra-la-Vella, in Andorra (1.023 m).
• one of the last primary forests in Europe: the Białowieża Forest in Poland, formed ten thousand years ago during the last ice age and historically untouched by most human influences. It is also where the last European bisons (now recovering) can be found.
• one of the most ancient animals in Europe: the musk ox, in the Dovrefjell massif in Norway, which disappeared from the old world more than 2.000 years ago and has since been reintroduced.
• the largest colony of Atlantic Puffins in the world: over 300.000 individuals, in the Gjesværstappan Nature Reserve, in Norway.
• One of 10 places in the world where an alien abduction is said to have occurred: Emilcin, Poland.
• and many other places, but the complete list would be really too long… 😉

The North Cape…

The North Cape was our main goal for this adventure, and beyond the symbolism of having reached the northernmost point of continental Europe, we also discovered the Arctic environments, fauna and flora. We have often talked about reindeer in this blog, but the fact is that waking up in the morning surrounded by a whole herd is a rather unique experience. But we would not like to minimize our emotion when we saw our first elk, in a series that would turn out to be short but still substantial (the last elk we saw was crossing a highway right in front of us, in Estonia).

Beyond the Arctic environments, where nature clearly imposes its law and sets the pace for the lives and activities of the inhabitants, there are probably few things comparable to this feeling of being at the end of the world when you arrive at the tip of Knivskjelodden, the real North Cape (as opposed to the entirely touristy and artificial one at the end of the E69 road). We were lucky enough to start our hike there under a low, grey sky, before the clouds started to clear and gave way to a beautiful blue sky as we approached the tip of the peninsula.

The feeling of facing the Arctic Ocean and thinking that, in front of you, there are only a few islands left before the North Pole is simply unique. As unique as sitting in the sun on a rock, facing the cliffs of the other North Cape (the tourist one), with ocean mist clinging to it, and suddenly being amazed to see two whales going back and forth playing along the coast, just a few dozen meters away.

Our experience on Magerøya Island (the island on which the North Cape is located, connected to the mainland by a tunnel) would probably not have been so intense without the two days we spent in the village of Gjesvær, on the edge of a fjord, in a postcard setting as beautiful as the Lofoten Islands. The boat trip that took us around the rocks of the Gjesværstappan Nature Reserve allowed us to see the largest colony of Atlantic Puffins in the world (over 300.000 individuals), alongside thousands of Guillemots, Gannets, Razorbills and White-tailed Eagles.

Being there, in the middle of these clouds of birds (the cliffs are home to more than a million individuals, all species combined and not counting the migrants) on the water or above our heads was undoubtedly one of the most magical moments of this adventure (along with our encounter with a wild bison on a path, in Poland, of course 😜)…

The North Cape is certainly a tourist spot (at least in its most accessible version, at the end of the E69 road), subject to the same massification as the rest of Norway, but we will talk about this later on. In our case, these images of a small red and white lighthouse at the end of the world, of these whales, these seals or these thousands of birds on the cliffs of Gjesværstappan largely compensate for the 19km walk (round trip) to reach the tip of Knivskjelodden, and will certainly remain engraved in our memories.

Environmental aspects…

So yes, that’s all well and good, but what about our environmental commitment?

We started this adventure with the project of developing an idea that had been on our minds for some time: using the wild places we visit and the encounters we have there to report on the realities on the ground in terms of nature conservation and climate change.

We have had the opportunity to talk about these aspects several times over the past seven months, and we have sometimes experienced first-hand the more or less serious effects of climate change. Whether it is the floods in Germany or France, the weather alerts that we regularly received on our phones, the serious drought problems in Catalonia or the mutation of the wetland habitats of Doñana, not to mention the entire slopes of coniferous forests ravaged by bark beetles even in the Arctic regions, the effects of climate change are undeniable, and many people have expressed their concern to us about the changes they observe on a scale of a only few decades. For winegrowers in Slovenia, the increase in temperatures means increasingly early harvests and poor quality white grapes, in addition to a parasite that affects the vines and for which, for the moment, no treatment is possible. The alternative is to start planting black grapes (to make red wine), but in practice this means pulling everything out and starting over from scratch, with no income for a few years, while waiting for the new vines to grow…

Climate change is also the fact that we had a heatwave in Finland, right next to the Arctic Circle, while we had the coldest temperatures in Italy. Of course, weather and climate are two very different things, but here again, local testimonies told us that the Arctic region is experiencing increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, while scientists were unanimous in confirming a direct link between climate change and the intensity of the floods in Germany or France. Added to these testimonies are those of park rangers, such as in Doñana, who celebrate the conservation success of the Iberian lynx but are less optimistic about the long-term future of the species, given that climate change is gradually undermining what has been achieved through years of efforts by making the region’s habitats increasingly dry and unsuitable for the lynx’s survival. And what about this musk ox panting from the heat in June in Norway?

Another aspect we have been confronted with is the mass tourism that has been in the headlines this summer. We left Norway a few days after arriving there, gave up on visiting the Lofoten Islands and ended our journey north through Sweden because of the hundreds of vans and campers we encountered all over the country, often with a total lack of respect for local residents. On a smaller scale, this omnipresent lack of respect is reflected in the toilet paper and other human and household waste that we found everywhere we went, throughout our journey.

The result is overwhelming: there was not a single place where we have not picked up papers or other waste abandoned there by someone else before us. The pinnacle was probably Lake Pirola, in the Italian Dolomites, yet a UNESCO World Heritage site that all the local municipalities are so quick to highlight in their tourist campaigns, where we actually came across giant open-air toilets, barely twenty meters away from a refuge (equipped with toilets).

And what about us?

It would be a bit foolish to deny that our adventure also had an impact on the environment. Even if we are extremely aware of the impact we can have, even if we try not to leave any trace of our passage and even try to leave the places we pass by a little cleaner than we find them, it is undeniable that the simple fact of having an outdoor activity or moving with Marvin has an impact.

Throughout our journey, we have scrupulously applied to ourselves the principles and values ​​that we promote:

• minimalism (both in our way of life and in our behavior in nature).
• ethics and respect.
• promote the local economy and local businesses whenever possible.
• Minimise our waste and recycle what we cannot reduce.
• Minimise our consumption and use of plastic, and avoid single-use plastics at all costs.

Some of these principles have proven to be more difficult to implement than others. For example, during this trip we have become aware of the ubiquity of plastics and, even though we have been firm on single-use plastics, it has often been impossible not to use plastic (among other things in most food packaging). To be completely honest, we were probably a little naive about this, and the amount of plastic we have seen regularly accumulating in our waste has left us a little stunned…

Recycling has also sometimes proven to be more complicated than expected, especially in countries or regions that have implemented a tax on household waste, which means that recycling containers are only accessible with a magnetic card, and only to residents who are taxed according to the volume of waste that their card registers. In this case, we accumulated our waste for a few more days, waiting to find freely accessible containers.

With one or two exceptions, however, it has always been relatively easy for us to find places (public or private) where we can empty our grey and black water (into the public sewage system or the septic tank provided for this purpose) and replenish our supplies with freshwater. Marvin’s various filters have allowed us to overcome issues like ferruginous or slightly salty water (due to seawater entering the water tables) and to have drinking water on board in all circumstances. Similarly, Marvin’s solar panels have allowed us to produce 100% of the electricity we have consumed, with the engine alternator allowing us to top up while driving, if necessary.

This brings us to the last aspect, that of diesel consumption and the corresponding emissions. Even though Marvin is equipped with a Euro VI(d) engine and a 4th generation SCR exhaust gas purification system, we still “burned” 3.715 litres of diesel, with an average efficiency of 15 L/100 km. According to the vehicle energy classification system in Andorra, Marvin belongs to category 4, in a range from 1 (less environmentally friendly) to 5 (more environmentally friendly), plus 2 categories for electric and hybrid or green fuels vehicles (LPG, natural gas, hydrogen, etc.).

Part of our environmental impact, in particular the emissions produced by Marvin, could therefore not be reduced or avoided. This is why, in line with our initial commitment, we have offset these emissions via the Voluntary Contribution System of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

We once again turned to the GoodPlanet Foundation to calculate our emissions (by the way, their calculator is one of the few that can calculate emissions related to a trip). The 24.295 km traveled at a rate of 15 litres of diesel per 100 km represented a total of 10,31 T CO2e that we reported to the United Nations Carbon Offset Platform where all we had to do was choose a project from which to buy our carbon credits (CERs).

We chose ClimateCare Limited’s project aiming to provide clean cooking stoves in sub-Saharan Africa for several reasons:

• we favoured a project focused on avoiding emissions (which seems to us to be a guarantee of persistence, in the long term, in comparison with carbon capture projects, such as planting trees, for example);
• we favoured a project that had a direct social impact, and if possible at the individual level, in addition to its environmental impact. ClimateCare’s project not only has an impact on hundreds of people using stoves to cook, but it is also implemented by a local social enterprise in Ghana (CookClean Ghana), which employs around thirty people and has more than 200 local women involved in the company’s value chain;
• the project also has an environmental impact since CookClean stoves run on sustainable cooking fuels, based on biomass from agricultural waste and sawdust. These fuels are produced locally in Ghana, and the use of these stoves therefore helps reduce deforestation in the country (as opposed to traditional stoves which run on charcoal).

• in terms of health, the project aims to phase out traditional stoves, which are responsible for 13.400 deaths and 21 million people exposed to household air pollution each year in Ghana, by replacing them with healthier and more efficient technologies.

For more information about the project, see the official certification documents on the United Nations platform here.

We purchased 11 CERs (carbon credits) from the ClimateCare and CookClean Ghana project, equivalent to 11 tonnes of CO2e, certified by the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism under the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

And now ?…

After Marvin’s revision and technical inspection (both passed successfully), as well as a few other administrative errands (renewal of passports and credit cards, among others), all we have left to think about is what’s next and… the next adventure.

These seven months of travel have allowed us to see that it is entirely possible to live and work in 8m² (provided you have a good internet connection, which was not a problem in Europe). Nomadic life certainly has some drawbacks, but nothing that cannot be easily overcome. On the other hand, the benefits of traveling and discovering the world and meeting other people, far from clichés and preconceived ideas, are no longer in doubt…

We would like to modify two or three small things in Marvin to make it even more comfortable, but all that should be sorted out before the end of the year, and that doesn’t stop us, in any case, from making shorter outings, between two repairs, just to stay in the mood… We also want to rethink this blog, which has sometimes weighed heavily on our “self-imposed work” load (some of you warned us from the start, and you were right… 😌). The idea is not to stop or change everything, but only to find a more agile rhythm and format, which will allow us to maintain contact without generating additional stress.

In other words: the question is not if we will leave again, but when we will do it (and to where 🤓)… So it’s only a matter of time!

For more details…

For our most loyal fans or those who would like even more details about our trip, here are some additional documents:

• a more detailed overview of our route on Google Earth (FHD MP4 video, also available below)
• the GPX file of our route (to use on any web page or mapping software: GPXStudio, OSMAnd, etc.)
• the same file in KMZ format (for use on Google Earth)

And remember you can find all the posts to read them again and see the corresponding photos on the blog, here…

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EVERYWHERE AND ANYWHERE, PLEASE, LEAVE NO TRACE!

– Always travel on public ways and respect the signs.
– Limit noise and interfere as little as possible with wildlife.
– Respect the other users.
– Leave rocks, plants and other natural features as you found them and respect historic sites.
– Take your waste with you and throw it into the appropriate containers, in the nearest village.
– Do not camp inside protected areas and do not make any fires.