Wanted to give a shout out here to the new @responsiblevanlife page. Great to see people celebrating others trying to live ethical lives & sharing these ideas for us all to try. I’ve been living full time in this self-converted Mercedes Sprinter van with my partner @andyrgarside & our two rescue van hounds since November 2017. We’ve definitely improved our eco-approach to life on the road as time rolls by. From the beginning we invested in two solar panels which…
Sometimes it’s the simplest thing. A hot day, a too-shallow river; and then a slight bend where the water deepens so that I can swim in circles. Start by pushing up into the current, then flip on my back to be swirled like an autumn leaf downstream, when I hit the bend flip again to power upstream, then flip to shimmy down; repeat, repeat, repeat; smile, grin, smile. 📷 @andyrgarside 🐟💙💦 …
The water is a cloud of swifts detonating against body. Feet grip the stone fortress as an army of bubbles shatters time into skin. I am at peace here, immersed in the white noise. Every day the world is reborn so that we might start over. You cannot step into the same day twice. The water swallows me whole. I emerge moments, or lifetimes later, older, stronger, wiser: letting go of the woman I was, the water pushes me towards…
When I am alone in the wild water, nothing matters except this one, perfect moment. 💧🏞💦🌍 📷 @andyrgarside Subscribe to Patreon (link here) for two new chapters of the OUTSIDER book each month (14th & 28th) starting from June. Each chapter includes a more in-depth piece of writing as well as a photojournal by Andy Garside and a new recipe or poem. Exclusive only for Patreon supporters. Follow these travels for as little as $1a month. Please support this writer…
On a day when the clouds mop all the water from a billowing sky to wring liquid greyness into my head, I follow a single trail along the riverbank. The water is a renaissance painting: greens frill & flow beneath a surface of softly shimmering glass. I am reminded of The Wind in the Willows & my grandfather who gifted the audiobook I played for endless months as a child. Still, the rain falls relentless, outside & in. I scramble…
Post-run cool-down-wash. These days I’m braver with getting in the water wherever we are. Why does it feel so odd immersing in water if there’s people around? Especially if they’re in winter padded coats & hiking boots 🙈. When did it become weird to wash in a stream so that bathrooms are the only option? Increasingly I want to sit in the water naked. Not to show off flesh – I’m a long time past that – but to feel…
Went swimming with swans for the first time today (can’t believe it took coming to Slovenia for this to happen!). At first I was a bit nervous especially as some swans seemed slightly confrontational. Sitting on the jetty I calmed the heart by swirling hands and feet in the icy river. As soon as the swans realised I was getting in the water their attitude change from one of ‘stay away’ to reserved curiosity. As I swam in circles, more…
Conversations with water: wherever we visit it is difficult to settle until I have connected with the water. Usually I do this through swimming, and we drink the local tap water, but where possible I’ll drink from streams too. The water here tastes like snow. Gloriously ice-cold & glacial. These routines are part of a simple water ceremony but if anybody has any to share I’d love to hear them? Living in a van makes us acutely aware of our…
Ephemera in Aquamarine: a triptych. This water springs from a glacial cave 500meters higher up and doesn’t warm much during descent. A short, fierce, exhilarating blast of energy. I couldn’t stay in overly long – the body stops functioning properly. Afterwards, drinking hot mint tea, I think on the beautiful duality of water. Both a few seconds of raindrop, & universe-old. I dream of being the water-cycle: always changing, never tiring 💙🌧💧🌊💦 📷 @andyrgarside 🌿 (Slovenia)…