On the 29th April 2021 the truck left Sint Maarten, to start the journey around the world ”Philipsburg to Marigot”. The island of Sint Maarten is shared by the Republic of France and the Kingdom of The Netherlands. Marigot is the capital of the French part and Philipsburg the capital of the Dutch part. We will go from the Dutch side to the French side, but not through their shared land border but all around the world.
Though the idea was to continue the journey right after arrival of the truck in Europe, the uncertainties of country to country travel due to the Covid pandemic, made us decide to postpone the continuation, until the situation became more clear.
Then finally, on the 16th of April 2022 (almost year later), we started the continuation of the journey. An extra service of the truck, some modifications and the purchase of several items to enhance our independence, were part of the preparations. The addition of 2 electrical off-road bikes has proven to be a good asset. The very spacious storage areas hold food and drinks for at least 2 months and clothing (warm and cold), tools and spare parts for the duration of the journey.
After fueling up the 2 diesel tanks of 300 ltrs each (what should give us 1500 to 1800 km of road killing), we drove off from Heiloo in the direction of the border between The Netherlands and Germany at the far north (province of Groningen). Excited as we were to try out the living quarters of our new home on wheels, we didn’t get far that day.
Entering small narrow roads and especially on small dikes, is pretty challenging for someone who hasn’t driven a big truck like this for a long time. Reaching the end of such roads without upcoming traffic is always a big relief. A narrow dike road in Groningen led us to the tiny village of Zwarte Haan (Black Rooster) where we spent the first night of our journey, on a little camping. Groningen stole our hearts a couple of years ago when doing a wedding anniversary tour through The Netherlands. The least populated province of The Netherlands with its expansive farm fields, long robust dikes along the Wadden Zee and historic majestic farm homes, fits in our love for spacious environments, where the land and its inhabitants try to live in a certain balance with each other.
