IS VAN LIFE OVER? // Global Pandemic // S04E08

We decided eight years ago to follow a minimalist approach to life and we recently built our third mobile home so that we could continue to live the van life. With the dream of traveling further for less and living off-grid wherever we choose, that journey has taken us from the Americas all the way to northern Africa. But now the global pandemic threatens this nomadic movement as we are forced to embrace the new reality. So we can't get the combi out. Is this the end of life as we know it? And is it wise to stay in north Africa during a global health crisis? We are driving around the world, you guys are invited too, so subscribe and buckle up. It's one heck of a ride. We're fortunate enough to have wheels attached at the bottom of our tiny house and we like to take advantage of that during the colder months of the year where, like migrating birds, we head south in search of warmer climates. This year, like many thousands of other vanlifers, we've come to Morocco to explore the diverse landscapes and incredible culture. This means even if you come here alone, there is plenty of opportunity to meet other like-minded adventurers. We have a very, very exciting day planned today. It's something that we've been looking forward to for such a long time now. We're going to meet up with people that we've been trying to meet up with for since we started this trip from Europe. They've been doing the same route as us, we've always just missed each other. So today they're in the same town as us, finally, so we're going to meet up with them. Yeah, let's do it. I'm very excited. Let's hit the road. So we finally met up with these guys, Ayman and Bek. If you don't know who they are, you should go check out their videos because they have amazing content and they're currently filming in Morocco and we are so happy that we finally met up with them. These guys have been going to the same route as us since Europe, right? Yeah, we've just been copying you guys the whole time. Yeah, we just keep missing each other, so it's really cool. This is their awesome van and they have a special guest, Lee, as well. So this is like double whammy. I'm just getting spoiled by all of this. Yeah, what's it like being in the van? So three of them have been traveling in Morocco in this van. You've all been getting on. How's that going? Van life? Yeah, I personally have no complaints. She cooks, she cleans, she doesn't fart. I've just made myself at home. I'm wearing their clothes, cooking their food. I'm being spoiled, really. Do you want to talk about what your future plans are? Yeah, we asked you guys that too and it's so hard to plan. We're the worst planners, so Morocco feels good. We probably have another month in Morocco and then we were planning back up through to Scandinavia and Norway for the summer, so we'll see how that all pans out and then maybe around the world. Yeah, we're going around the world too, so hopefully we'll meet up with them again. Definitely. It would be so good to see these guys on the road. I really hope that happens. Meeting up with the same people when you're on the road is special. Community, right? It'll be very easy to spot you guys too. Yeah, it's definitely a one-of-a-kind van, isn't it? Do you want to quickly see their cool van and how big it is? Yeah, just a quick comparison. Go ahead, give them a tour. I was going to say, it's good having you in there because people know how big you are in your own van. Yeah, they always say that we are big. The first thing that Bec showed me in this van was their awesome fridge. How big their fridge is. Oh yeah, the other side. You won't be able to get a beer from the passenger seat. Yeah, it's huge. I just wanted to show off my favorite feature of the van. This is our composting toilet. Two years without a toilet means that most mornings I'm expressing gratitude while pooping. Like, yeah, I love my toilet! I literally ran over your camera. Oh my god, are you okay? I'm sorry. Sitting down at Van Camp, there was one topic that was on everyone's minds. The spreading coronavirus, which was getting closer each day. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. At the time we first entered Morocco, there was no talk of COVID-19. As we roamed deeper into the country, and the pandemic began impacting life on the other side of the planet, we started to notice here that there were fewer tourists. But van life in Morocco continued, and at that point there was no cause for alarm. Now, the virus has jumped rapidly to multiple countries in Europe, and the concept of lockdown has entered our conversations for the first time. But even then, we had no idea just how severely and quickly we would be impacted here in Morocco. Hold it a second, take it slow. On this day, the Moroccan government began limiting travel in and out of the country. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country of Morocco recently closed its borders with no grace period or warning to allow travelers to return home. The only way we're going to be able to get out of here is with a government intervention. Bonjour! We've got the valley in the back, huh? Hey kids, you're gonna... Cheeky little buggers. Get the bus! Finally arrived in Paradise Valley, or at least at the start of the trail, and hopefully there's going to be a little oasis out here. It is quite hot away from the coast, but we're going to park up here and hike in and try to find a little slice of paradise. Of course, give Alaska two seconds and she's in the water chasing the fish. I think this is literally her ideal paradise. Well, maybe second after kind of Canadian natural habitat with squirrels and stuff, but she does love some canyoning. Haha, she's so cute. Days like this at Paradise Valley are special, and they're also frequent when you live the van life. We're always keen to share tips and ideas with fellow vanlifers, and we couldn't wait to continue exploring Morocco. But at the time, we didn't realize that this would be our last taste of freedom for a very long time. Vitamin C. Whoa! Vitamin C. Let's boost that immune system. Let's go everybody, get it in you. Jump from over here, please. Thank you. The situation at the moment is changing rapidly. We did originally have plans to kind of take off and go and explore Morocco, but in the last few days, there's been a shutdown in most of the countries in Europe, and also it seems like it may come this way into Morocco too. We were thinking whether we should get out of Morocco because we weren't sure if this would be a good place for us to face the virus, but they've closed all of the transport links out of the north back to Europe, so we can't get the Kombi out. So we're stuck here with our vans. Eamon and Bec are stuck here with their vans. And also, flights are cancelled, so Lee is also stuck here. No, I'm just hoping to be stuck here. I'm not a guarantee. Could you maybe still be going home? Yeah, yeah. What's the latest with the flights? Apparently, my flights are still on, but I can't book any new flights. So I'm flying through Zurich, and I have a layover in Zurich, but I was trying to fly through Casablanca direct to Canada, and those are all sold out, and I can't switch. So my worry is just flying to Zurich, and during my layover, either not getting out, like getting stuck in Zurich. So what's the plan? What do we do? What's the first thing we need to do right now? We need to all sit down, go through our options, and what's the best option for all of us, and just stick with kind of a plan, and then obviously be a bit more, like, be flexible, because it's going to change. Rice and beans. It's true that, like, right now, it's super wishy-washy. Like, we don't, none of us have a plan, so it might feel a little better, because we were all, like, placeboing, like, are we sick? Are we whatever? But I think we're just a little stressed and anxious and stuff. So maybe laying it out would be helpful. And getting some rice and beans. Yeah, there is, there's panic buying going on, like in Europe and America currently. So I don't think there's anything going on here, but... There is in America. There is panic buying in America, and there is panic buying going on further south in Africa, seeing in the news. So we haven't heard of anything going on in Agadir, but I wouldn't be surprised. But the problem with panic buying is as soon as it starts, it just takes over everyone's mindset. Yeah. So if people start seeing people stocking up here, everyone's like, oh, I need to get that. Yeah. I think I would personally feel happier if I had at least a week's worth of food, so I can kind of get over any immediate problems that might arise. Yeah. So I think that should be our next... I agree. Our next portal call. The current Kombi Live headquarters is a rental property in a fairly small coastal village. Food and supplies are available from local shops, but options are limited and prices are higher. All the shops, like that shop, and there's another shop up there that's closed. There is no supermarket, alcohol or ATM in town. So we drove to the nearby southern Moroccan city of Agadir. Morocco is definitely a cash economy. You can't get by with card alone. There's a lot of places here that don't accept it. So we're going to get a whole stack of cash out so that if the supply chain runs dry and the ATMs run dry, we can still kind of purchase the essentials, like food and water and stuff like that. Maybe petrol if we're allowed to move around, which might end up being a luxury at some point. We didn't know what to expect in Agadir. Would there be a mad rush at the supermarkets? Would supplies already be running low as people scramble to stock up on essentials before the virus cripples the country and supply chains are interrupted? We didn't know if we were being overdramatic or just adequately prepared. I mean, these are indeed strange times for all of us around the world. Who would have thought that we would live to see people holding toilet paper? That is the biggest roll of toilet paper I've ever seen in my life. Where did you find that? You need toilet paper in Morocco? Come to Morocco. Fortunately, Morocco grows a lot of vegetables. So we don't think we're going to need any produce, just like stuff that won't go off if the shops do start to shut down. It doesn't seem too bad here. Like there's a few things on the shelves that are running low, but it doesn't seem like everything is going out of stock, which is good. So I'm glad we came here today just to get stocked up. So the pasta aisle looks cleaned out. I just got one bag of cheese rice and the flour seems to all be gone from here too. So beggars can't be choosers, I guess. Okay, so we spent roughly 2,000 dirham, which is roughly 200 euros. That's a big shop for us, but we've got supplies, you know, the staples like pasta and toilet paper, I guess. But it does mean that we will be a little bit more self-sufficient and we don't have to go into the city anytime soon, which is, I think, key. The thing is, right now there's no reported cases of coronavirus where we are or in Agadir, but I honestly think that's because they're just behind with their testing. And I'm almost certain that there are people that are sick here. So, you know, with the fact that you can be sick and carrying before you really start showing symptoms, so I'm feeling a little under the weather, to be honest. How are you doing? Well, I'm feeling awesome, I think. Also, I'm just exhausted. I think we all are. I'm just feeling a bit flat. At this moment, things were changing hour by hour and conflicting information made decision-making tough. It seemed like all of the foreigners wanted to get out of Morocco, but leaving our Kombi and our dog behind was a last resort option that we were hoping to avoid. What's the situation with the Canadian government? What are they advising? At the moment, like you said, it's all happening really quickly and changing all the time. At the moment, it sounds like they're advising travelers to come home. There is so much information out there right now. So earlier this morning, Canada advised all citizens to try and get home before commercial flights were stopped. Right now, if you search Moroccan travel bans, there's websites that are saying in and out of Morocco is not possible. So you're getting all this different information and no one really knows what to do. With Lee, the concern is that she gets on a bus to go to Marrakech and then she's in the airport. Apparently, the airports are crazy right now too. There's really no good answer. I think the saving grace for us is we have mobile homes, which is amazing. Well, it's a pro and a con because on the flip side, if we didn't have a van here, which is our home, we could go back to Canada for better healthcare and whatever. But at the same time, like we were saying, for us going home to Canada doesn't mean we're going to a home because we don't have a base. And we don't want to risk our loved ones. We're going to be traveling through multiple airports, multiple airplanes, meeting multiple people. We don't want to put them at higher risk. We've probably already been exposed to coronavirus. I personally feel like I've already been exposed to it. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm already a little bit sick. I suspect that I am. And I don't really want to take that home personally to my family. And I know Eamon and Beck feel the same way. That's a concern of all of us that are overseas at the moment. And so we feel some, like, especially depending on the circumstances for who you've got at home and how old those people are, you know, like a lot of us are going back to live with our families. So we don't want to make them sick because it's not so bad for people with strong immune systems, but it could be a lot worse for the people we love. I think it's either going to get worse before because it's kind of like we're lagging behind Europe here. So Europe seems to be, like, taken off and there's all these cases and Morocco is finally taking it seriously and going, OK, we're going to contain it now. And it will restrict everybody from, like, going on the streets, going out to the shops. And I think they'll be quite strict here. I think the police will kind of reinforce that quite strictly. So we might be kind of stuck. I'm concerned that basically if we try to take off and go off grid, which is what I'd like to do and get away from the population and take as much supplies as I can and just get out of here. I think if they stop transport, I think they're going to recommend that people stop traveling if it's not absolutely necessary. And what may happen is that the police may basically herd us into some kind of forced quarantine. And that might be a quite difficult situation, not being able to communicate and not really knowing what's going on. So I'd like to avoid that. I'm kind of concerned about how it might go because I think when it does hit here, it's going to just be super quick. It's going to take over the whole country. Super quick is right. And over the next few weeks, life was going to reach an all-new level of crazy. The pace of developments continued to escalate. In the evening, we had all been sitting together discussing our options. By the next morning, our crisis buddies had ditched their van in Casablanca and were already on their way home to Canada on a rescue flight. We just booked a flight home. On the same day, Morocco declared a nationwide state of emergency enforcing a super strict lockdown, which would make any chance of leaving extremely unlikely. With no contact or repatriation routes from either of our embassies, our options had fast become limited. The Australian government saying that they can't help their citizens was getting back home at the moment from Morocco. Meaning that we would be forced to face this global pandemic in Morocco. But that is a story for next time. Guys, before we end this video, we just wanted to have a quick heart to heart with our viewers just to let you know that we are thinking of you all and we know that there are a lot of people out there that are struggling through this pandemic. A lot of people are struggling through isolation. A lot of people have lost their jobs and we just wanted to remind you all that we are all in this together and we hope everybody is doing well. We also wanted to make sure that people are helping each other as much as you can. Even if that is helping businesses out, small businesses around your town, that would help a lot, you know, help little guys out and getting through this. I think that will make a big difference. Yeah, I always remember doing a Spanish course in Guatemala. I think I paid like $70 for five straight days of full-time tuition. It was an incredible deal. But the thing that sticks with me through all these years from that experience is that at the end of every single day, the guy would look at me straight in the eye and say, thank you for another day's work. And that has always resonated with me. And that is how I feel every single time that we get to sit down with our computers to create a story to share on the internet with you guys. The Combi crew who supports our content makes this possible. So thank you for another day's work, guys. Thank you guys and take care of everybody out there.