Santa Isabel

“Hey, I just saw your bus camped 8 km from my place!” was the message in our inbox.

We had connected to Louis over Facebook almost a year ago, back when he lived in San Diego. He had heard about our blog from a friend and offered to let us camp on his land if we crossed paths in Uruguay. Since then, he and Sonja cashed out of the American rat race after 20+ years (he’s Dutch and she’s German) and moved to Santa Isabel.

They’ve been here for 8 months and have done an incredible job converting an old workshop into a home… and have some really interesting stories about moving here. The original house on their property is now a rental, and they offered it up to us for a break from sleeping in the bus. Awesome! Louis has owned lots of VW’s, and even driven one to Guatemala, so there were plenty of stories to swap.

Bode made instant friends with pets Dutchy and Tommy. We strolled to the deserted beach and watched ‘Never Ending Story’ projected in their living room*. Mostly, we thought, “hey, this is the life!” They housed us, fed us and let us use their washing machine (seriously, this is a big deal.)

There isn’t a week that goes by that we don’t shake our heads in amazement at how Red Beard has connected us to some many wonderful people and opportunities! Thanks Sonja and Louis!

And, if you ever happen to wander through La Pedrera and want to rent a great little cabana, we highly recommend their place. Drop us a line, and we will connect you!

*it did end, actually.