AI Summary
This year, I went from feeling constantly tired to going on a week-long campervan road trip adventure along the coast of Portugal.
It’s only in moments like this that you remember how beautiful life can be. Everything around you pauses, and you get a moment to yourself, to let go of the limits and worries of your past and future.
Everything Happens for a Reason
At the start of 2022, my best friend, Bella, and I decided to go to a bonfire with a group of strangers we met online. It was at this bonfire that Bella and I met Sophie and Mateo.
Fast forward a couple of months, Bella and Mateo started dating, and out of nowhere, we all decided to move to Lisbon for the summer.
On our second night in Lisbon, we saw an ad banner for the band Tame Impala. They were playing at NOS Primavera Sound, a famous music festival in Porto, 5 hours away.
Just so you get it, “Eventually,” a song by Tame Impala, brought us together that first night at the bonfire. We all had coincidentally added the same song to the music queue. When we saw the banner, it was a sign—we had to go and see it live!
We got the tickets and remembered hearing about Indie Campers from a friend who had recently traveled with one of their campervans along the Californian coast. After hearing about his great trip, we knew that was the perfect choice for our own trip.
We decided to book a campervan for a week and started counting down the days to pick-up. Everything aligned, and our amazing summer plan was coming together perfectly.
Let the Adventure Begin
On June 7th, 2022, we started our campervan road trip. We picked up the van at the Lisbon Indie Campers pick-up spot, and I was amazed at how spacious and comfy we all were.
We immediately stopped at our favorite grocery store, Lidl, to grab some snacks. The van had a fridge, so our prized items (spicy hummus and Polaroid film) stayed safe from the Portuguese heat.
Don’t Look Back, We Are Not Going That Way
On the way to Porto, we looked for skate parks everywhere and rated them. Our favorite was HollySkate in Ericeira. We hung out there for hours, then went back to the van to find the perfect sunset spot. We fell asleep listening to the ocean and woke up to the sun warmly caressing our faces.
The next day, we checked out another skate park in Aveiro before heading to our destination, Dreamsea Surf Camp in Praia Da Tocha. Mateo, Bella, and I planned to volunteer at the surf camp later in the summer.
So, we stayed there one night to introduce ourselves in person. It was karaoke night! After embarrassing ourselves for two hours, we called it quits to rest for the next day—the day we’d finally see Tame Impala live.
Dreams Eventually Come True
Porto is about a two-hour drive from Tocha. Sophie and I used the time to clean our sandy cameras from days at the beach. Then we arrived, got ready, and headed to the festival.
We waited for 3 hours in front of the stage to get a good spot. Tame Impala’s light show was insane. “Eventually,” our song, played. We all looked at each other in awe. We couldn’t believe we made it.
I couldn’t believe I was hearing my favorite song live in Portugal with two strangers I met two months ago at a bonfire. Life’s just crazy.
Back at the van, we couldn’t stop talking about how we felt. It was an adrenaline rush that made us feel so alive. We couldn’t quite describe the feeling, so we made up a word: “Amprate.”
It’s that overwhelming feeling you can’t describe, your love for the earth and the world around you when you fully live in the moment. A moment when everything feels just right, something that wouldn’t have happened without Indie Campers.
Remember to Always Leave Space for Coincidences
The next two days we explored Porto, Nazaré, and accidentally, Peniche. We planned to stop in Ericeira again and spend the night. That changed when Bella played “wasted” by Tiesto. Mateo wasn’t a fan and pulled over, refusing to drive until we stopped belting it out.
What we didn’t notice was Mateo had pulled over on a sand dune, and we got stuck. That’s when I realized everything happens for a reason, and there’s no such thing as chance. Luckily, a beat-up BMW with six local Peniche boys drove by, saw our struggle, and helped us get unstuck.
We thanked them by grabbing beers at a nearby beach bar later that day. We spent the day there, taking thousands of Polaroids, having dance battles, and watching the most beautiful sunset.
An Ending or a New Beginning?
At the beach bar, we decided to name our campervan Tiesto. Tiesto taught us a lot—about campervans and life. It taught us to truly surrender to the present and not hold on to expectations. Sometimes a bump in the road, or in our case, getting stuck by the side of it, leads to the best stories.
