Alone and Off-Grid in the Mountains of Spain

Every once in a while we feel an irresistible pull to drive as far away from civilization as possible and escape the relentless pace and arbitrary rules of society. So this week we answered that call and drove our home on wheels deep into the forested mountains of Spain where we are completely surrounded by towering trees and peaks with no sound but the wind and the distant call of birds interrupting the perfect stillness. If you're new here, hi, I'm Jessica and I live in my wooden campervan Bilbo with my partner Rissi and our adopted puppy Heidi. A couple of years ago we decided to leave our old lives behind to seek a simpler and cheaper life in nature so we spent all of our savings on a second-hand van and converted it using reclaimed wood and natural materials. Since then we've been traveling around Europe in the slow lane to reconnect with nature and grow roots in the wild. For us living on the road is all about little rituals that keep us grounded and one of our favorite things is to start the day with a hot cup of coffee and watch the world around us slowly wake from its slumber. Good morning friends, so we drove down to southern Spain a couple of days ago after spending a week in the mountains filming our van tour and then we saw that there's a cold snap rolling in and well cold snap means like 13 degrees in Spain but because we're now used to the really nice and sunny warm weather we figured why not drive down to southern Spain and stay warm. So we're now in the woods in Murcia. We actually stayed in this very spot a year ago when we went on our very first road trip in this van just after finishing our conversion. Yeah it must have been one of the first places we stopped at once we we felt like we were warm enough. Yeah we're literally in the middle of nowhere, we're miles away from any people or houses which is quite nice and when we were here a year ago we were actually a bit freaked out by that. It was so weird to us just being in the middle of nowhere and now it's like really nice. It's still strange for me when I go out in the we're just like completely on our own. Yeah when the dog needs to go out or something it's a bit it is a little bit unnerving still. Yeah it's nice. It's weird isn't it because like technically we're much safer here than we are in a town because there's no people and there's not many wild animals here. So anyway because we're now south what we're going to do is we're actually going to revisit some of the places we stayed at last year when we spent a couple of months in Spain and back then we didn't have a YouTube channel so what we're going to do is we're going to revisit those places and film a little vlog at each of them and so we can share them with the community. Yeah our favourite places. Yeah so we've got this place and we've got a really nice place by the beach. I really hope it's still open to vans because I know they were trying to regulate it a little bit but it was a really gorgeous place and what else we're going to try make to the Tabernas desert because we really enjoyed it there. We're also going to try and visit the Sierra Nevada mountains. I really want to go hiking there but for now it's a lovely sunny morning so I think what we're going to do is go on a bit of a morning hike because Heidi is getting a little bit restless. Do you want to go on a hike Heidi? Do you want to go hiking? Yes? All right let's go. Murcia's rolling hills and rocky peaks are rich in history and folklore but while reading about the region's tales one legend stood out to me, the story of the giant Tumere. According to local folklore Tumere was one of the last surviving titans, a being of immense strength who sought refuge in these lands after the fall of his kind. He was not a mindless brute but a protector drawn to the wisdom and culture of ancient civilizations. Unlike many warriors of his time Tumere despised senseless violence and fought only to defend the lands he called home. He was armed with a club which was said to be fashioned from the hardest trees of Atlantis and wore the helmet of the Roman god of war Mars. Tumere stood against invaders who sought to claim the region for themselves and ensured that his people could thrive in peace. But even the mightiest can be deceived. Tumere fell in love with a princess, a woman who spoke of devotion and promised to build a future with him. She convinced him to leave Murcia and sail to a But it was all a lie, a betrayal that lured him away from his lands at a crucial moment. While Tumere was gone fighting sea monsters that threatened his journey, his lands were invaded, its defenses broken and its people conquered. By the time he returned the damage had been done. Tumere was full of rage and sought vengeance. With his immense strength he tore down the walls and towers built by the invaders and punished the traitor who had deceived him. But his time as a protector had come to an end. Full of shame the giant withdrew and retreated into the land itself. Over the centuries the legend of Tumere faded but many believe that he is not truly gone. Some say that he still rests beneath the hills and should the area ever face another great threat the giant Tumere will awaken, rise from his slumber and reclaim his role as guardian of the land. We spent a couple of hours roaming these beautiful woods and returned to the van in midday, just in time for lunch. We've been changing up our staple meals depending on which country we travel in and what vegetables are in season. So at the moment we're cooking a lot of Spanish and Mexican dishes and today Rissi is making plant-based burritos which have been our absolute favorite recently. The goal for this year is to read 52 books or one book a week and I am counting audiobooks because I listen to a lot of audiobooks when I'm editing these videos. So it's going to be about half audiobooks and half physical books. I just finished Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies which I really liked. It's kind of a cozy low-stakes fantasy book about this researcher who goes to like an island in Scandinavia to research fairies and it's it's a very cute story. And right now I'm reading In Defense of Witches which is about the witch hunts and how they've influenced society to this day. It's a really really good read and in parallel I'm also reading the second Outlander book. I'm currently working my way through all of them and I tend to have like a fiction and non-fiction book that I'm reading at the same time depending on my mood and I think right now I'm in the mood for the Witch Trial book. So I think what I'm gonna do because it's really nice and sunny outside I'm gonna grab the hammock and read my book outside for a bit. These are the last sunny days before we're hit with a full week of rain and storms in this part of Spain. So I'm making the most of every moment outdoors before the weather keeps us tucked away in the van. These woods truly feel like a fairy tale, the air thick with the scent of pine and wild rosemary and birdsong gently echoing through the trees. Recently we've been a little bit busier than usual so this was a much needed reminder to slow down, let the forest guide my pace and allow myself to just exist among the sun and the trees. So there's a mountain over there you can see it just behind the van where we're parked and it has a trail that goes all the way up to the mountain top and I feel like that mountain is calling me right now. So there's still a few hours of daylight left I might go and walk all the way up the mountain. This path may look very steep from the distance but it was actually a lot easier than expected and I only had to walk about a kilometre to the top of the mountain. On the trail I found myself completely alone with no sound but the wind sweeping across the hills and the occasional animal running through the undergrowth. I didn't manage to catch it on camera but as I was walking up this mountain I startled a herd of wild mountain goats which in turn very much startled me but you can just tell that humans don't come here very often which is quite magical. Good evening! If you enjoyed this video leave it a thumbs up and if you haven't yet do subscribe for more van life adventures, slow living on the road and the folklore we encounter on our travels. I hope you have a lovely weekend and we'll see you next time. Until then, take good care. Bye!