“I am a simple, everyday, optimistic person.
But I can’t stand windows without a view.
Windows are for the eyes to travel.
To open horizons.
Promise “more”.
Fill empty rooms with true light … “

There are those who are concerned about the lyrics of Odysseus Elytis. But there are some that are completely identical. Penelope, Giannis and Angelica hate windows without a view. Their windows are where they travel. They themselves discover new horizons every day and fill their rooms with light every day.

Living as traditional nomads rather than digitally as the times demand, Penelope travels with her partner Giannis while Angelica travels with her son Agamemnon. As they say in “TO”, spend several months of the year in their vans, not only as a hobby, but also out of necessity. It takes practice to avoid “enthusiasm” rent on the Greek islands, but also the need to “distract” for a while from people.

From theory to practice

“We had a lifelong dream to build our own van,” says Penelope Langadinou and Yiannis Karidas, who moved from theory to practice in 2020 when they decided to leave their permanent home of Mykonos due to high rents. “We went back to Athens, sold the car, bought a nine-passenger van, removed all the seats and got to work,” they say.

Two years later, they spend most of the year in their van. Even during the summer months, when they work “seasonally” in Mykonos, despite having their own rooms, they prefer to drive a van to the island and stay there. In the rest of the months, their life is literally a journey.

“It took us about four months to perfect the van. We made the kitchen, bed and toilet ourselves. Now we have electricity, heat and water,” says Penelope, pointing out that their first trips took place in late 2020/early 2021, and from 2022 they began to stay in a van for a long time.

“Before we went to Mykonos last summer, we stayed in the van for about five months. Then we mostly traveled around Europe. First we went to Italy, then to France, and from there we arrived in Spain. When we had to return, we drove through Croatia, Montenegro and Albania,” she recalls.

One stop to work

As for how they cover their living expenses, Penelope points out that neither she nor her partner comes from wealthy families. “At some point, our money runs out, so we stop working,” she says, pointing out that when their money runs out, they go to nomad websites that give them the freedom to choose temporary jobs to earn for life.

“On these sites you can find any job that does not require perfect knowledge of the language. In Spain we worked in fields and bars. We preferred to work in the fields because the money was about the same as other jobs, but at two in the afternoon we finished and then we could enjoy the city where we were,” he explains, pointing out that when they collected some money, then they left for their next destination.

“In fact, we do not have a specific program, we are more concerned with experience. We don’t care what happens along the way. After all, other countries are more organized for those who travel by van, unlike Greece, where there are very few parking spaces,” he adds.

Penelope elaborates that the couple have a home in Athens, but they stay very little in the capital, mainly when they want to see their friends, visit doctors, veterinarians, or spend holidays with their loved ones.

As for their next big dream? “We know that it is extremely difficult and dangerous, but at some point we want to follow the Silk Road and get to China,” Penelope replies. “This is a great trip, but you need a lot of money,” he concludes.

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The first vehicle I ever drove was a van

Angelica also told K about her own experience with vanlife. A teacher by profession, she enjoys every moment in the van from the first days of June, when schools close, to mid-September, when the school season begins, as well as the Christmas and Easter holidays.

“In 2015 I bought a Volkswagen T2. I started to build it, but various problems arose, so after five years I had to sell it, and with the proceeds I got a T5. This van was also the first vehicle I ever drove in my life,” she recalls, adding: “At first I lived in it with everything I had and slowly started building it. Inside, I put a sofa with a coffee table, a shelf, a dry closet and even solar panels.”

The odometer showed 12,000 km.

From June to September 2021, Angelica and her son traveled around Greece. “We started with Agamemnon and went wherever we had company. From the Peloponnese to Mount Olympus. But then we also traveled on different routes, ”says Angeliki, emphasizing that last summer she visited one of the highest peaks in Greece, where the counter was 12,000 kilometers. “Moreover, I spent more than a month in Smolik. There, together with Agamemnon, we met several tourists, and in the evenings we lit fires. I even met a girl from Austria who drove her van to Greece and decided to live here permanently,” he adds.

People are the biggest danger

When asked if she feels fear when she stops with a van in the middle of nowhere, Angelica replies: “I am never afraid, people are the biggest danger, not animals. My son and I feel freedom, we are not limited anywhere, we just live freely. Imagine, I don’t even buy water from the supermarket. We fill our bottles from the rivers,” he notes, adding that they have a hard time, especially when there are extreme weather events.

As for a possible van trip abroad, Angelica tells us that she is looking for the right company to travel abroad. Of course, Agamemnon, the best companion of her life, will be with her.