February 10, 2025 • 50 mins
This episode showcases Fiorella Iriberi's journey through the world of overlanding, emphasizing the lessons learned through failure and resilience. Fiorella shares insights on building a life on the road, the freedom it brings, and the importance of community, adventure, and self-discovery.
• Fiorella discusses her background and her early love for travel
• The couple transitioned from traditional living to a full-time overlanding lifestyle
• Building their shuttle bus was an act of creativity and growth
• Embracing failures as opportunities for learning and connection
• Life on the road presents unique challenges, including financial management
• Fiorella and Zach maintain balance in their relationship while living in close quarters
• The freedom and beauty of nature play a significant role in their happiness
• Future plans include completing the Pan-American Highway journey
If you want to follow along with her adventures, be sure to check her out on Instagram at @growingslowandwild.
Want to be a guest on Journey with Jake? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake
Visit LandPirate.com to get your gear that has you, the adventurer, in mind. Use the code "Journey with Jake" to get an additional 15% off at check out.
Visit geneticinsights.co and use the code "DISCOVER25" to enjoy a sweet 25% off your first purchase.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
According to the internet, an overlander is
someone who travels overland,often for extended periods,
sometimes venturing off-road andembracing the adventure of
camping along the way.
My guest, fiorella Iriberi,embodies the spirit of
overlanding, but what trulystood out in our conversation
were her insights on life,resilience and the unexpected
(00:22):
beauty of failure.
Get ready to embrace the dirtroads and see where the journey
takes us with Fiorella Eriberry.
Welcome to Journey with Jake.
This is a podcast aboutadventure and how, through our
adventures, we can overcome thechallenges of life that come our
way.
While I expect you will learnsome things about different
adventures, this show willentertain you.
(00:42):
Each episode will featuredifferent guests or guests as
they share experiences andstories from the different
adventures they have been on.
Not only will you beentertained, but you will also
hear the failures and trialseach guest faces and what they
have done or are doing toovercome the hardships that come
their way.
My goal is to take each of uson a journey through the
(01:03):
experiences of my guests, withthe hope that you'll be
entertained and inspired toovercome your day-to-day
challenges.
After all, it's not all aboutthe destination as it is about
the journey.
(01:25):
Hello, my friends, and welcomeback to the show.
My name is Jake Bushman and I'mthe host of Journey with Jake.
I'm thrilled you're here andcan't wait for you to hear the
incredible stories andadventures of life on the road
with my guest, fiorella Iriberi.
Before we dive in, I have a fewquick housekeeping items.
(01:46):
First, be sure to subscribe tothe show wherever you listen to
podcasts, and if you could leaveme a rating and review, I'd
greatly appreciate it.
It truly means a lot.
Speaking of subscribing, don'tforget to check out Journey with
Jake on YouTube.
I've started releasing all myepisodes there, so if you'd like
to watch instead of just listenhead over to YouTube, hit that
subscribe button and give thevideos a thumbs up.
(02:08):
One more exciting update OnFebruary 18th, sacred Spaces
Volume 3 will be available onAmazon.
I was honored to be one of the20-plus authors featured in this
book.
In Chapter 8,.
I share my story and thejourney of how this podcast came
to life.
I hope you'll check it out.
(02:31):
Now back to today's episode.
Travelers and overlanders aresome of the most adventurous
people I know, and Fiorella isno exception.
She's found her love for lifeon the road, alongside her
husband, zach.
If you enjoy this episode, besure to check out episode 63,
where I spoke with Jake andHaley about navigating van life.
All right, let's hit the roadand explore with Fiorella.
Fiorella Eriberry, did I say itright?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
You did say it right.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah, nice Fiorella, I love it.
Great name.
Great last name as well.
I'm not going to say it againbecause I don't want to butcher
it.
Welcome to the show.
Thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Thank you for having me.
I'm excited to have aconversation and to join you
today.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Awesome, I appreciate it.
This is going to be fun.
You're an overlander.
I'm just going to start withthat.
I know you're out on the roadliving in.
It looks like.
Is it a fire truck?
Is it some sort of rig?
Maybe that's old, I don't knowwhat's the vehicle you're in.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yeah, so it's a really unique vehicle.
It's a search and rescue, soit's a combination of like fire
truck and an ambulance.
It used to belong to the firedepartment in Nassau County in
New York.
Yeah, very fun rig because ithas a little bit of both and
when we bought it it had allthese really cool features like
a 20 foot, like spotlight andall these cool like search and
(03:42):
rescue stuff.
So very unique vehicle.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
All right, well, we'll dive into the some of the
vehicle here in a little bit.
But now that you mentioned ithad the spotlight and things,
I'm just wondering how much ofthat you kept.
Did you keep some of thefeatures that it had?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
We kept one of the spotlights that was in the back.
That doesn't extend quite the20 feet, that was a big one that
we had over the cab, so we gotrid of that one so we could have
a roof rack and other stuff.
But we did try to keep somestuff.
We haven't painted it, we'vetried to keep some of the
personality of it because it'sjust such a unique vehicle.
Yeah, we have an intercom thatwe kept and rewired a lot of the
(04:16):
lights and just try to eitherrepurpose some of the stuff that
was already here or keep it forthe looks of it, I guess.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yeah, and I know I'm usually I'm kind of going out of
my cadence, of how I usually dothe show.
But while we're talking aboutthe vehicle, I just got to know,
like when you're coming downthe road, do people sometimes
think like it's like a searchand rescue vehicle?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Yeah, absolutely.
So we've had some situations onlike small back roads.
There was this one particulartime they were doing some
construction, so you had, youknow, the regulating of traffic,
and they saw us coming.
They immediately just likestarted trying to stop the other
lane and like move us over.
We're like no, we're not whoyou think you are.
Like no, like it's okay.
So we've had some situations.
I think cars in general on thehighway kind of get a little
(04:57):
scared of like oh, do I need tomove over?
Which kind of works in theirfavor.
But we're usually doing like 50miles an hour, so they kind of
get the idea that we're not in arush.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You're not in any kind of speed rush at all,
that's that's awesome, though,and I can just see cars.
I can see me looking in my mymirror and be like, ooh, I
better get over, I better letthem buy.
I could, I could see thathappening All right, before we
get cranking into some of thoseadventures.
That's kind of hear about yourvehicle a little bit.
Tell me a little bit aboutFiorello, where you're from,
kind of your background a littlebit.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I was born and raised inBolivia, so in the heart of
South America.
I come from a family thatreally valued travel and
experiences, so that was reallyingrained in me growing up, like
we didn't really did the bigbirthdays or big Christmas, but
rather we did like big familytrips.
They're like the best memoriesI have of time with my siblings
and my parents and it reallybecame a part of life for me.
Since I've been old enough totravel by myself, I've been
(05:54):
doing it.
When it came time to college, Idecided to come to college in
the US, came to Ohio out of allplaces, which I quickly realized
, you know, not so travelfriendly, but it's OK.
We made it work and I studiedabroad a few times while in
college, in addition to my studyabroad.
I guess, like I said, travelhas just always been a big part
(06:15):
of my life Met my husband, webackpacked Europe and just we're
looking for different ways onhow to make travel like long
term for us and sustainable.
So we started exploring allsorts of alternatives to become
digital nomads.
Do we do, like you know,airbnbs in a few countries and
do that for a while, and then weended up in the world of like
RVs and overland and van life,and we're like this, is it?
(06:35):
You know, a home base, but alsotraveling, and been doing that
for four years now, full time.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Four years, so you've been doing it since about 2020,
then, I guess.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Yes, right before the pandemic, so it was a crazy
time.
Yeah, it was a crazy time.
So we bought our first vehicle,which was a shuttle bus, in
2017 and converted it veryslowly.
We had never done anything likethis, so we had no construction
background or anything likethat, so just teaching ourselves
on the weekends, and we builtthe bus over two years.
It took us, and we quit ourjobs and moved in beginning of
March, so right beforeeverything actually shut down.
(07:12):
So it was like a crazy time tostart doing this.
But it was also perfect becausewe had the self contained
vehicle and we could go placesand at that time, you know, a
lot of places were very eitherthere, there was nobody there or
, you know, there were very fewcrowds.
So we got to explore the U?
S in a time where there wasn'ta lot of people out there, so it
was really cool time.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
That's awesome, and I think what I like is you said
2017 is when you bought theshuttle bus.
Yeah, that was way before thewhole 2020, where everyone it
seemed like not everyone wasdoing van life, but it seemed
like a lot of people jumped inon it in 2020.
You guys had already formulatedlike hey, we're going to do
this even before that, which Ithink is cool.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, it was a crazy time.
We were looking at differentways, like I mentioned, of
becoming full-time travelers andstuff like that, and my husband
showed me a picture of a vanthat, at the time, is the the
only ones you could find onlineof like self conversions were
pretty much just like a mattressin the inside of a cargo van.
He's like here we could do this.
I was like, I mean, I guess,like at that time there wasn't
(08:13):
these crazy builds and all thisreally cool, like there's
incredible builds out there andproducts for vans and it's
become such an industry and sucha boom.
But yeah, yeah we were beforeit.
So a lot of our process likelearning how to build, we were
we had very limited resources orYouTube channels or people
showing people how to do stuff.
It was a lot of like just learnby trying and trying to get out
(08:37):
there and do stuff.
And then, once we got on theroad and we saw the boom, we're
like, okay, we were in hereright before, so we're we
consider ourselves the originalsnow.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Exactly.
You're the OGs, the OGs of thevan life era.
I guess that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, something like that.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Let's go back a little bit further then.
Born and raised in Bolivia.
When did you move to the US?
How old were you when you movedto the US?
Speaker 2 (09:01):
I was 18.
So I came for college.
Yeah, so I came for college allby myself, just packed a
suitcase and just flew all theway.
In college I met my husband andthen we got married and I
stayed ever since.
So I've been in the US for over10 years.
Yeah, it was.
It was a crazy time to justdecide to go to this college so
far from home.
But I just my mom did collegein the US, so I always had that
(09:24):
experience and I was like youknow, it's really cool out there
, so why not?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Are both parents Bolivian.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, bolivian, born and raised.
Yeah, my dad doesn't speakEnglish, so English is my second
language.
Yeah, I mean, like I said, justthe traveling part has been the
biggest part from them, likejust very adventurous, and
that's just been so much of whoI am because of them.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Amazing.
And how many siblings do youhave?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Two, two older ones.
I'm the youngest.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
You're the baby.
Okay, brothers, sisters, whatdo you got?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
One of each One brother one sister yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Very good, are they in Bolivia still?
Speaker 2 (09:57):
My brother is and my sister actually just recently
moved to Texas, so I have herstateside, so it's pretty cool
to have family here now.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
And I was going to say, I mean I heard Ohio, you
know honestly.
I mean you can live anywherebecause you're in a converted
rig, so I guess home can be.
Do you have a certain placethat you consider home, or is it
pretty much just wherever youpark?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yeah, so you know.
Home, I guess in the sense oflike where family is, is Ohio
for us.
Like my family, my husband'sfamily is in Ohio and that's
what we call like our home base.
But yeah, we actually haven'tbeen back much, so we fly back
if we go back, but really homehas become the road for us.
We've been doing this for fouryears so it just it's so
familiar, like down dirt roadsin the middle of nowhere.
(10:41):
That's what we consider home.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
First of all, for being Bolivian like you are.
You speak great English.
I, you know, I would have noidea that English is your second
language.
You speak really good English,so kudos to that.
You're, yeah, you speak reallygood, and that's that.
Had to take some courage at 18to be like all right, I'm going
to go out of the country, awayfrom family, to the States to do
this.
You did it, met your husband.
Now you're living life on theroad.
Wow.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
It's been a journey Like.
Sometimes I look back and whenmy first time coming for college
, so that first plane ride tothe States to like come live
here, it was in January, causeour school year in Bolivia
starts at the beginning of theyear and ends at the end of the
year.
So I graduated high school inDecember.
December 23, 21 was mygraduation and then I was on a
plane January 1, to go tocollege, so I had a very low
break between it.
It's winter in Ohio, so there'sthis crazy winter storm.
(11:35):
I'm stuck in airports trying toget to Ohio for college and all
those things.
I was like, wait, am I makingthe right decision?
And I always look back to thatbreakdown in the airport to be
like, wow, like everythingthat's happened since has been a
wild ride, but happy to be init.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Wow, and I'm amazed when people like you summon up
that courage to do that.
I think that's really cool thatthat you did that, and now look
where it's taken you.
You're traveling all over theplace in a converted rig.
I want to talk about thatconverting and actually, before
I even do that, you kind ofmentioned some of your why, of
why you enjoy the traveling andyou and your husband both have
(12:10):
this love and passion fortraveling.
But what is it about?
Why not just pick some tripsevery so often, every twice a
year, and do something?
What is it about?
Like, hey, full time over theroad?
What's the reasoning behindthat for you?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, I love that question.
I actually feel like for us itstarted as like a one year thing
.
So when we finished the bus wewere like one year of total
freedom.
You know, we saved all themoney we could and we thought we
would do this one year of epicadventures and travels before we
settled down and did like thetraditional path.
And it was quickly after we goton the road that we realized,
(12:46):
you know, we are young and weget the privilege to do this and
it's so.
There's so much to see outthere, but just in the US.
And it just became thissensation of like this feels
good for us and why not do itwhile we're young if we can
sustain it?
And so it just became a home orlike a way of living instead of
just having a home base andtraveling.
(13:07):
It just became so normal to us.
So we're like, hey, we couldjust maybe do this for a few
years.
We say we have a few more yearsunder our like.
We could see ourselves doingthis and I think eventually you
know it'll get old, but untilthen there's the sense of
freedom, of being able to likejust move with the seasons or be
wherever you want to be andchoose these different
backgrounds or backyards thatare incredible all throughout
(13:30):
our public lands in the US hasbecome just a beautiful way to
discover, not only make traveland discover these places, but
also like, do it in a way for usthat it's slow enough to where
we're also experiencing whatit's like to live in these
places.
So it is travel, but in a wayit also feels like we're just
living in all these placesacross the US.
So it's a pretty cool mixture.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
All right, you dove in a little bit about the whole
converting process and how.
Now it's like a whole thing.
There's just a whole world ofit.
I watched a video of you onYouTube, you and your husband
converting your search andrescue vehicle.
We'll call it that ambulanceslash fire truck.
There was a lot of how do Iword this?
(14:13):
Not tears, but there's a lot ofa lot of stresses with it, like
there was, it was.
I mean, I saw the show aboutwhat you got and then kind of
what you turned it into.
What you got and then kind ofwhat you turned it into.
How do you find the ability todo that when it's, I mean, I
don't think it's something thatyou, you know you have.
Well, you have some experiencenow that you did the shuttle bus
and things like that, but Imean you're working with your
(14:34):
hands, you're doing stuff that Imean I don't think you're a
construction person by trade byany stretch.
Talk a little bit about thatwhole process and what that was
like.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
So the first time around it wasincredibly daunting.
So once we bought the bus, thebus came into our lives in this
very serendipitous way.
We started talking about doingRV life or some sort of road
life, and we were on a road tripand we're talking about it and
this big bus comes on the sideof the road with the Bisc for
Sale sign.
We're like, well, that's it,this is what we're doing.
(15:05):
The bus felt like we boughtthis thing.
We were ready to do it.
Then suddenly it kind of dawnedon us like, oh my God, we
actually have to build this andwe have no idea what we're doing
.
And, like I mentioned before, itwas at a time where, like
resources or guides or, you know, videos even're very, very
limited out there on how to dothis.
I think at the time of thefirst build, we were really
motivated by just this desire totry to do this while we were
(15:28):
young, before we settled like,let's go travel, like this is
going to be a budget friendlyway to do it and let's just like
try.
So we were very encouraged bythat.
Our first build was very simpleand we just kind of did with
what we could.
A lot of it was with recycledmaterials.
We just kind of improvised alot and didn't really care too
much about it being like perfect.
(15:49):
So we were just kind of okay,like that works, and there's a
gap in between, you know, thecouch and the bed, it doesn't
matter, like, let's just roll.
And that was incredible for thefirst build.
Obviously, once we got on theroad and decided to do it long
term, we realized the space hadto be suited enough for us to do
it long term.
So that's where we got into thesecond build and, not having
previous experience althougheven with the first build, it's
(16:12):
daunting, but I feel likesomething we've realized is that
it's such a unique opportunityto build a home and do it with
your hands and, in our case, doit together through this like
and build something out ofnothing, right?
So so much of the modern worldis convenient and easy and this
is definitely this long, likehard trip to take and trying to
(16:33):
build something like this.
But it's brought us together asa couple, it's given us this
sense of accomplishment ofhaving built this from nothing
and it's just pushed us to likego outside of our comfort zone
and teach ourselves things andnot be afraid to try things and
if they don't work out, likegoing back to the board and
starting again, like all thoseexercises that I think as we
(16:54):
grow up, sometimes we get morescared of doing or like avoid.
Like oh, that's a scary thing tofail, and this process has
continuously taught us just howincredible it is to fail and how
incredible it is to work withyour hands and get down to it
and keep teaching yourselfthings outside of, like you know
, the normal education period ofyour life.
It's really brought us thissense of like, accomplishment
(17:16):
and growth and it's been what'smotivated us to like do it
without any previous experienceand what will probably motivate
us, you know, if we have a nextbuild, or now we talk about
building a house.
You know we started with noexperience and now we're like,
okay, what else can we do?
Because we've really learnedthat we can teach ourselves
pretty much anything.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Amazing.
You said something there thatkind of struck me.
You said how incredible it isto fail.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
What does that mean to you?
Dive into that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Yeah, I love that.
I think for me it means thatyou can just deconstruct so many
parts of your life and thatdoesn't deconstruct you as a
person and it doesn't make youless of a person or get you
behind in whatever time clock wethink we're comparing and
existing in each other with andto me.
I was so scared of failurethroughout college, just in my
life.
I think we all are right.
(18:06):
As you start getting olderespecially, I think it feels
like this bigger, more scarything of like what's going to
happen if you know I lose myhouse, if I lose my job, and
through this process we've lostjobs and we've had, you know,
very little in our bank account,a lot in our bank account, and
gone through all these processesthat have taught me that when
you fail, when you make mistakes, when you're in that valley,
(18:27):
that feels dark and confusing.
It's really when you grow andyou teach yourself who you
actually are and are the timesthat are going to push you in
your life to like expand and bea better version of yourself.
I've grown to like really lovefailure and I love to try
something and see if it works ornot, just for the experience of
trying and educating myself andgiving it a shot, and if it
(18:49):
doesn't work, I've learned thatyou're going to be okay.
You just can shake it off.
Sometimes a little bit longerto shake it off than others, but
at the end of the day you'reable to shake it off and that's
been like one of the biggestlessons for us throughout this
whole nomadic journey.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
And that's big, because I sit there and listen
to you.
You talk about that and I agree.
I agree that our growth comesfrom our failures in a lot of
cases.
But when you're in the midst ofit, when you are sitting with
your husband and you're lookingat your bank account and you
realize you sucked a lot ofmoney into this rig or some
other project, you're and you'rekind of like, okay, how are we
(19:24):
going to pay for this?
Or how are we going to do thatwhen you're in the middle of it?
Because, yeah, when you lookback sometimes like yes, that
was good, I grew.
But when you're in the middleof it, in the middle of that
struggle, what do you dotogether as a couple?
What do you do individually tokind of get through that?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Something I started doing.
It's like this exercise of likeimagining my life.
If I'm writing like a movie orI'm writing a book and those
flow valleys, that's like theplot right.
So in any like movie it's likewhen everything is happening,
it's like, oh, my god, what'sgoing to happen?
And when you see it from theoutside and you're reading a
book or watching a movie, youhave this excitement of like how
is this going to resolve itself?
(19:58):
Something I've tried to do islike incorporate that into my
life, especially with road life.
We face all these obstaclesthat are unexpected, that come
quickly, like breakdowns and youknow, like all these different
things that just show up out ofnowhere and take you very
quickly to this valley whereyou're like Okay, how am I going
to get out of here?
This exercise of like taking afew steps back and be like Okay,
(20:19):
it's not ideal.
It's obviously not what I wasexpecting on the Tuesday to like
break down, but I'm here, sowhy don't I just try to face it
and see if I can find the reasonit happened or like find a
bigger excitement out of it, orwhere it's going to leave me?
That's been huge for me as aperson that used to be a huge
planner, and a huge, like youknow.
This is how everything is goingto work out.
(20:39):
Road life has really helped metake those steps back and
realize how important it is totake those steps back and be
like okay, right now I can feelterrible, but maybe there's a
bigger purpose for it.
And trusting that there is abigger purpose, even if it's
very simple it doesn't have tobe this crazy bigger purpose,
you know, but it can just belike okay, maybe you weren't
supposed to drive that dayanymore.
(20:59):
You know little things likethat.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Didn't realize this was going to be a
self-development podcast, didyou?
I love it.
Yeah, I appreciate you sharingthat because that's what I love.
I love getting to know peoplelike you and someone who's doing
something amazing, but itwasn't always like, oh, yeah,
they're just out cruising around.
It takes some effort and ittakes some work and some
failures along the way andthings like that.
(21:22):
So I appreciate you sharingthat because it it helps me get
to know you a little bit betterand it just it helps me improve.
And I like hearing that becauseI'm with you.
I'm a planner.
I don't like it when thingsdon't go the way I want them to
go or expect them to go, andit's tricky for me to get out of
that.
And this is, you know, this isan adventure type podcast and
that's what venture is all about.
It's about those failures andthose things that happened to us
(21:44):
.
So, speaking of adventure, Iwant to go back to the bus.
When you finally got the busdone, what was your first trip
in that bus, do you remember?
Speaker 2 (21:55):
It was.
We moved into the bus right atthe beginning of the pandemic.
So we actually lived in the busin Ohio stationary for the
first few months while we kindof figured out what was going to
happen in the world.
But once that happened weactually took a job.
My husband took a job doingsome kind of construction in
Colorado.
So that was kind of like ourticket west is what we call it.
It's like what gave us anexcuse to head west from Ohio
and know that we were going tohave some sort of like base in
(22:16):
case things got worse or justhave some sort of ground and not
just be fully on the road at atime that was kind of
unpredictable.
So that was our first like trip.
We left Ohio straight toColorado and we were there for a
few months but it was a homebase out of Grand Junction, so
like Western Colorado and wewere anytime that he had like
time off.
We were doing Utah and Wyomingand Southern Colorado.
(22:38):
So that was kind of like alittle bit of like a good soft
introduction into road life,cause we had a place we could go
back to and park and collectourselves and make some money
and then just go out and do itagain.
So that was like our firstjourney into real life.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Kind of what were your thoughts when you're like,
when you get to Colorado andthen you're able to pop over to
Utah or maybe, you know, go toGlenwood Springs or wherever in
Colorado?
What were you thinking thiswhole time?
What was kind of going throughyour mind?
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Oh I, for us, like making it out west was
incredible because we had beenin Ohio for most of our time and
we took trips out west, like wetook a trip to Portland at some
point.
But when you're traveling to thewest part of the country on
like a trip, you know it'sexpensive, like the trip, the
hotel, the flight, the food, youknow in Ohio is a state you can
live with, like the income isdifferent and you know cost of
restaurants is different.
So then you know, getting toCalifornia, you're like, oh OK,
(23:31):
I can't be here for many days,or at least for us at that time,
especially when we were collegestudents and traveling
everything was budget.
So the West was like frontierfor us.
And to make it out here with ahouse and the ability to move
and explore these places withouthaving to like to have these
big like travel expenses wasincredible.
It felt like this movie set, aconstant movie set, just like
(23:54):
the valley, like everything, themountains I come from a place
where mountains, so themountains were a welcome home in
a way for me in Colorado andjust exploring everything and
discovering public lands was ahuge thing for us and that was a
time where we did that, likejust the vastness and
availability of dry camping andpublic lands and just so much to
explore out there, and it alsois what made us fall in love
(24:17):
with this, just like, wow, wecan do this for a really long
time.
You know, there's endless dirtroads.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
So everyone knows when you say public lands, what
do you mean by that?
Like it's a place where you cancamp for free.
What does public lands mean?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
The US has a bunch of public lands that are managed
under the Bureau of LandManagement, so sometimes they're
also referred to as BLM land,so it's land that is preserved
for recreational purposes.
So you can dry camp in most BLMor public lands 14 days for
free.
You're just in the middle ofnowhere in these beautiful
locations and they're mostly out.
(24:51):
Although there's BLM and publiclands all over the US, they're
mostly in like the West Coast.
So Utah, colorado, all thesestates out here have ton of
public lands.
Yeah, you can camp there forfree and as long as you leave no
trace, we can have access tothese places and enjoy them.
But there are these beautifulopportunity or locations to have
(25:14):
like travel and recreationoutdoors without having to like
be at a campground or bespending money.
So it's a great way to traveland discover the US.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
And for those who don't know, including myself,
dry camping, that means leavingit like the way it was right,
like not having tell me what drycamping is to you.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Yeah.
So dry camping is the conceptof like you're not going to have
hookups, so you're not in acampground, so you don't have
access to like the grid, so likeelectricity or water or a dump
station.
So dry camping for RVers meansthat you would just be
self-sustained, so you're goingto go and park somewhere and
you're going to be able to likedo everything within your
vehicle so you're not like usingwater or dumping water.
(25:52):
So it's kind of these publiclands, you know for the most
part are for tent campers.
But you know, if you have avehicle that's capable and can
drive down these roads and park,you're welcome to do it, as
long as you have a rig that'sself-sustainable or
self-contained.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
So with exploring Colorado and Utah and I live in
Utah and I love Utah there's alot of national parks.
I'm guessing you've been to abunch of national parks, any
particular favorite ones thatyou've been to?
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Oh my God, I love the national parks.
So we've been to over 35national parks or something like
that, so kind of halfwaythrough.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Almost halfway.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yeah, and I love them all.
I think they're all nationalparks for a reason.
They have these stunning, youknow, stunning views.
Like Zion is absolutelybeautiful.
It just looks like a movie set.
The Grand Tetons looks likejust like you're in this Western
movie, with like mooses walkingaround like they're just these
beautiful landscapes.
So I love national parks.
But something that we've cometo love even more is, again,
(26:45):
this public land that surroundsnational parks.
Most national parks aresurrounded by national, this
public land that surroundsnational parks.
Most national parks aresurrounded by national forest or
public land.
So you can camp in these placesand you're kind of just in the
same landscape, same kind ofvibe as a national park, but
just removed from the moreproduced section of the national
park with like the campgroundsand the crowds.
So we really try to avoid thecrowds.
So we've come to love thosekind of areas that are like
(27:08):
outside of national parks,national forests.
That's become like our favorite.
But if I have to pick anational park, I think Glacier
is my number one.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Glacier is on my list for next summer.
I want to go to Glacier.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yes, that one is.
I mean, all of them arestunning, but that one for some
reason just feels extra extraspecial.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
All right, so you've been cruising around for four
years.
I want to hear of any maybe amishap or two, and just any
stories that you want to, anyexperiences that you want to
share about what it's like, andmaybe for people like me who've
never done it, but maybe someonein the back of the mind is
thinking how can I do this Maybeyou can kind of give us a
little insight into that as well.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
So, oh my God, we've had about everything wrong
happen to us over the last fouryears.
So I know that that's somethingthat scares people about trying
this lifestyle.
Like what happens if somethinghappens to my vehicle and it's a
lot scarier than it is so againto that exercise of like okay,
it's not going to be as big as Ithink, it's just, you know, our
minds playing tricks.
We've had everything from blownup tires Like the first,
actually on our first trip outto Colorado with the bus.
(28:13):
First day we leave Ohio, we'rethree hours into our road trip
and we just hear like whatsounds like an explosion and
there's like this, like dust andthings more like what just
happened.
So we pull off and we'relooking at the engine.
We can't figure out anythingand we're like this is so weird.
(28:34):
And then I kind of look behindand I realized one of our tires
just completely exploded.
That was like a fun time to bestranded off the side of the
highway.
I think it was in Indiana atthat point, sunday night, tiny
towns, nothing.
So we're like what do we dofrom here?
You know, it was like our firstday.
We have learned that you, ifyou're in a bad situation most
of the time there will besomebody around you.
(28:57):
If you're willing to kind ofopen and welcome that energy and
like try to ask for help,they're most likely to be
somebody willing to help.
So we got lucky that one carstopped and asked us like if we
need help and as the car stoppedlike a sheriff pulled up behind
him, he's like oh the friend ismy like, I have a friend who
has a tire shop, I'll take youthere, I'll escort you there.
So we got so lucky in thismiddle town, middle nowhere, to
(29:19):
get like connected, I guess,between the sheriff, people that
knew, people that could likehelp us out.
It's always been so reassuringthat there's good people out
there and in bad there can begood You're something you're
wanting to do is go out thereand explore and you're scared
about these things.
Just know that a havingassistance, roadside assistance
(29:40):
is great, so invest in that, butthen be if you don't have it or
if it doesn't work or anythinglike that, they'll most likely
be someone willing to help.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
I love that.
I found that too in my lifethat there are people who want
to help and people who arewilling to help.
Sometimes it's amazing andsometimes I think we're
reluctant to ask and we'rescared to ask, but I think
people want to do it for sure.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Yeah, I think we just think that nobody's willing to
help you.
I think it's easy to think,okay, well, nobody's's gonna see
or ask for help.
But anytime we've had to go ourown way or ask for help, or
even, like we just recently wereoutside of Bryce Canyon and the
truck wouldn't start.
And it was the morning we werelike heading out for sunrise
hike and our truck wouldn'tstart, wouldn't start, wouldn't
start.
We're like, okay, this is soweird, must be the battery.
(30:22):
We're trying to charge thebattery with our backup and like
stuff and nothing is happening.
So we're like, okay, well, Iguess we just walked down this
dirt road and all of ourneighbors were like, okay, help
us.
In between, in 20 minutes wehad like a whole crew of people
like jumping us, like callingother people.
So it's just really a way likeI feel like we've learned the
bad times are, in a way, helpfulto like just push you to make
(30:43):
community and like interact withpeople and just have to put
yourself out there in a way.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Any situation that you were in where it was, maybe
what's the word I want to use Idon't know if the word scary or
unsettling any kind of situationlike that.
Maybe you're in a part of townsomewhere where you're like yeah
, we did have one that was notideal.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Again, to the tires in the bus, but we actually had
our lug nuts, so what holds thetire together or like in place
all explode at the same time aswe're driving down the highway.
So thankfully the tire didn'tactually come out of the bus, we
just kind of like felt it andit was one of the duallys.
So we were able to pull up.
We called tow assistance andthe tow truck came and picked us
up and we were trying to figureout what shop to go to.
(31:25):
It was kind of in the middle ofnowhere.
The we were trying to figureout what shop to go to.
It was kind of in the middle ofnowhere.
The tow guide was like oh, Iknow this one place.
It's not that far, so I'll becovered in your tow insurance so
I can just go drop you offthere and tomorrow morning
they'll be able to help you out.
We didn't have much service sowe couldn't corroborate the
information, make sure it wascorrect and it would work out
for us.
So just went for it and trustedthe tow person at the time and
(31:50):
they dropped us off right infront of like this business in
like a very inconvenient way.
So we're like hey, can youmaybe like change our position
or something?
And he's like no, it's going tobe fine, I promise everything's
going to be fine.
We're like okay.
So the next morning we come tofind out that this facility does
not work with vehicles our size.
So we're like in the middle oflike their area and we're trying
(32:11):
to figure out you know what todo and in a rush they get us
someone that could like kind ofpush us to the side on the other
, like they kind of there was aback lot that was like abandoned
.
So they pushed us to this lotand we started realizing it
wasn't the best area or like thebest area in town, and we're
like stranded.
So that was like a little bitof a scary situation.
Just because we didn't have alot of service.
(32:32):
We were in like clearly I don'twant to say not wanted there,
but you know, not necessarilywelcomed so we were pushed off
to the side.
We start realizing it's not thebest area.
Our service at that time wasn'tworking at all.
So it was like a day and a halfof just kind of being on alert
at all times and just being likeokay, we clearly stand out.
We had a painted bus and thingsoutside, so you stick out.
(32:55):
It's not like it's a white vanthat people might think it's
something else.
So it was a little bit ofunsettling time but we were able
to get another toe and figureit out.
But that one day of being therewas definitely we didn't sleep,
let's.
Let's say that.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
Well, and I would imagine, because when you think
about the bus and then your rig,that you're in now, that's your
home, so that's your.
Everything that's that'simportant to you is there.
Everything's kept in there.
That is your, that is your home.
So it would be a littleunsettling if you're in a
particular spot where it's maybenot super comfortable, or
because you're that's your home,you're kind of protecting, so
(33:30):
to speak.
So I can see why that would.
That would be difficult.
All right, I want to bring it'szach right.
Your husband's name, zach.
Yeah, I want to bring zach intothis for a little bit.
What's it been like for yourrelationship with zach?
And especially because you know, I think of people who RV life
together, van life together,whatever the case may be, you're
in tight quarters a lot.
(33:50):
You know.
You're not just.
You know he can't just go tohis spot in the vehicle and be
away from you.
You're there in tight quarters.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
So what's this done for your relationship?
It's only brought us together,which is crazy to say, and I
feel like a lot of people likethat we talk to, that are
curious or want to do RV life,are like well, how do you manage
this small space?
And it seems like this crazyconcept and we were nervous
about it at first.
But we transitioned into buslife from a studio apartment so
we already kind of, you know,used to the tight quarters in a
(34:20):
way.
And this is obviously adifferent layer of it, because
when you're living in a city westill hire cars.
You could go to your friends,you, you know, you could go to
do your job.
Now we both work from here, soit's definitely more like we're
around each other all the time.
But it's actually helped uslike set really good boundaries
with each other on like okay, weneed to have our alone time.
(34:41):
I think in in our normal livesyou kind of are getting alone
time or your time by default,like when you go to work or when
you have these things, and it'snot so intentional.
And for us, like, thistransition like helped us really
great that boundary of likeintentional, like okay, this is
my me time, this is what I dofor it, this is what you do for
it, or this is my time here,this is your time.
(35:01):
They are setting thoseboundaries of like it happens in
this time or this reoccurrenceand that's how we kind of we
keep the balance, but in general, it's just brought us together
as a couple.
I think again, like when youlive in a vehicle, your whole
life like you were saying justnow is is here and every day
it's like okay, all thesedecisions that are taxing and
obviously take a strain on usevery once in a while, but it
(35:23):
also makes us have to liketrouble solve together.
When we're in these situations,when things are going bad, you
know it's easy to want to getmad at each other, but at the
same time it's like OK, weactually have to work together
to figure this out.
So it's helped us likecommunicate better and just find
these like boundaries of how wecan have this like tight
relationship while also havingour space.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Between the two of you.
Is there one of you who maybewas more gung-ho for this than
the other, or were you bothreally adamant about like, hey,
let's do this?
Speaker 2 (35:51):
I think I was more about the travel, like let's
travel full time, and then hewas more about like doing it
this way.
So, like I mentioned earlier,the first time he showed me a
picture, it was just an oldcargo van with just a mattress
inside of it.
Like that was the extent of thepicture and I was like you're
crazy, like how are we going todo this?
How do we do this?
Long term it's just a mattressin a car, like for a week and
(36:14):
sure it works, but like longterm, you're this.
So there was like a little bitof like that that I was more the
motor of like let's travel fulltime, and he was more like the
okay, let's do it this way.
And it took a little bit oftime to get on the same page of
like oh, these two thingsactually do go together.
We can make them work.
Yeah, we all, we both had kindof our ways around it.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
As a young married couple who's out there traveling
together, I'm guessing there'sgot to be some great like
romantic places to that you'vebeen, or you see a sunrise or a
sunset in a particular memoriesof anything like that that comes
to mind.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Oh yeah.
So we just last winter.
We spend the winter in Baja,which is Baja California source.
So it's the peninsula in Mexico, that's right underneath
California, and in Baja you cancamp in the beach, just like
right on the beach.
It's literally this magicalplace for overlanders,
especially in the winter,because you get to just have
beautiful weather.
But we were down there and oneof them it was sunrise.
(37:11):
Actually, we were waking up forsunrise and like getting to the
water so we could see thesunrise from the water.
And we're just sitting thereand it was like a random Tuesday
, I think we're just drinkingour coffee and then the sunrise
gets beautiful, like beautifulclouds, there's a double rainbow
, there's like dolphins, likeright in front of us, whales,
(37:31):
and it was just one of thosemoments where I just kept
looking back, like is somebodyfilming this?
Like I feel like somebody needsit, like is this a movie?
Is it just like the situationof just drinking your coffee and
all these things, beautifulthings are happening around.
You do feel out of this world.
So we have, we've had a few ofthose which we're very lucky for
.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
That's awesome.
That's great that you've hadthat.
Does Zach speak Spanish?
Speaker 2 (37:52):
He had to learn, yeah .
Speaker 1 (37:55):
He had to learn.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
He did have to learn.
Yeah, so my dad doesn't speakEnglish and most of my
grandparents and stuff like thatdon't speak English.
So once we started dating moreseriously, I was like, listen,
if this is going to work, youneed to learn Spanish.
And he had already startedlearning spanish.
So, yeah, he speaks fluently.
And our cat, um, is frombolivia.
(38:17):
So we have a cat with us fulltime on the road and we rescued
her in bolivia.
She, like we speak to her inboth languages.
You know that's part of ourexercise and stuff like that.
So, yeah, we have bothlanguages at home awesome, very
cool.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
I was gonna say going to you know, baja, mexico.
That's you got the Spanishgoing on.
You can speak Spanish.
I'm sure there's a lot ofEnglish down there too, with all
the overlanders and everything,but that's cool.
I'm glad Zach's jumped in onthat too and speaking, and
that's that's fantastic.
All right, you, you talkedabout working on the road.
Tell me about, like, what'sthis like?
How's it like having a job onthe road being remote?
(38:51):
What's this like?
Speaker 2 (38:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
So it's been quite a journeyfor me.
So, like I mentioned before,when we got on the road we were
kind of just doing it out ofsavings, thinking it would just
be a short term thing.
You know, quickly on the road Iwas like, okay, I actually love
this.
So how do we make this, youknow, sustainable for us long
term?
And the big factor there waslike financially.
You know, how could we do thisfinancially?
And we got lucky that we werealready living in the road when
(39:14):
COVID started happening and allthese remote opportunities
started opening up.
So that first year, year and ahalf, that we were on the road,
I just did and we both did anyfreelance work we could find,
like remote jobs as we try tofigure out also the internet and
like how we can do that andjust navigating that world,
because we had no experiencewith freelance work and digital
(39:35):
work, which is, you know, itsown set of like type of work.
So we did that for the firstyear and it was okay.
It helped us, you know, pay thebills and feel the gas and keep
going.
But then when we realized wewanted to do this long term, I
got serious about working orlooking for, you know, more full
time job, like a nine to five,and for me the key was like I
needed to find a workenvironment that was accepting
(39:58):
of my circumstances.
You know, I have this veryunique set of circumstances
where, like I mentioned, on aTuesday you can think that
you're just driving down to getgroceries and something can
happen, and then I'm strandedoff the side of the highway.
So it's like this verydifferent set of rules that I
work by and through some peoplethat we actually met on the road
.
I came across this companycalled RV Share.
(40:19):
So it is actually a peer topeer RV rental marketplace, so
just like Airbnbs, but you rentRVs from RV owners all across
the US.
I was like, well, they're kindof trying to get people out to
experience exactly what I'mliving.
So that was a quick, easy wayin.
They had a job, an internship,available at the time.
I jumped in it.
I was able to get theinternship and it quickly became
(40:40):
a full time position.
So I work for a company thatyou know is trying to get people
out there just to experiencewhat I live by.
And you know they're not onlyaccepting of my circumstances,
they're like encouraging it andyou know they are very pro me
doing this and so it's very coolbecause it gives me this
ability to have a full time joband have a career but also just
(41:01):
have this unique lifestyle andtravel and kind of balance both
of them.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
That's awesome, that's fantastic.
And what about Zach?
What's Zach doing?
Speaker 2 (41:08):
So he's a freelance digital artist, so he does
anything from illustrations,logos, merch, anything like that
for clients.
He's been able to build hisbusiness through just social
media and online so that's beenreally great for him.
So, between his flexibility ofjust working for himself and my
flexibility of a workenvironment that allows me to
(41:30):
have that flexibility, it's beenwhat, honestly, has allowed us
to do this long term and havethe financial part covered, just
because without thatflexibility it's very stressful.
I had a job for a while beforethat that it was a strict nine
to five and they did not likewhen my internet, you know, a
spotty or my batteries were lowand so I couldn't run my
internet all the time and likeit was not a healthy work
environment for me at all.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
That's good.
I'm glad you found somethingthat works for you and that
sounds perfect.
Rv share it sounds yeah.
I mean they want people.
You're encouraging people to dokind of what you're doing,
which is great.
So that works out great.
Okay, what is the mostdifficult part about this whole
lifestyle for you?
Speaker 2 (42:06):
Yeah, it's the ongoing.
So it's just like no-transcripthouse and you just show up, you
(42:32):
don't have to worry aboutrunning water or where are you
going to dispose of the waterafter you use it.
So there's these very primallike needs that need to be like
answered every day and like youhave to be thinking about it's
taxing.
It's not for everybody,especially as you start doing it
.
Long term it gets easierbecause you kind of understand
the flow of it, but it nevergoes away.
(42:53):
So there's always this likebacklog on cue, like open tab in
your head of like okay, wheream I going to sleep?
And then tomorrow, what is thatgoing to be like?
Where are we going to get water, how much food do we have in
the fridge, how much solar powerdo we have, like how much our
batteries run, and the questionsjust keep going.
If you are having a bad day,you're having a bad day and
(43:13):
you're having to still answerthose questions.
So that's the most difficultpart of this that there's just
this big area that keeps askingyour energy every day.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
And what's the opposite of that, then what is
the best part about it?
Speaker 2 (43:25):
The freedom which is crazy, Just the, you know move
and discover these places andexplore some areas that are
beautiful and solitude and likejust be in nature.
We've had some incrediblewildlife encounters that are
just out of movie because we'vebeen in these places by
ourselves and you know I've seenbear cubs just pretty much be
(43:48):
born in front of our eyes likejust beautiful, incredible
things.
So that freedom to likeexperience the world and not be
tied down, and honestly alsothat not paying rent for us is a
huge one until we can afford,you know, a house or like want
to do a mortgage, just thefreedom of like spending that
money and experiences and thistraveling has been a great
(44:09):
relief.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
When you're out there in the outdoors and you see a
beautiful sunrise or you seesome crazy wildlife right in
front of you, what does it dofor you?
Like mentally, what does thatdo for you?
Speaker 2 (44:20):
It's a natural dopamine, honestly.
So you know, in a world wherethere's so much dopamine at us,
that's like not so healthy forus.
So, like checking your phone,you know, like instant grat
gratification, like having fooddeliver, when things are so easy
, our dopamine levels get alittle bit moved around in there
and for us this lifestylethat's a little bit more
meticulous, like we have to, youknow we can't postmate our food
(44:41):
or like get it delivered.
You know, everyone in the middleof nowhere like kind of going
back to this analog and way ofliving that also has to do with
connecting more with theoutdoors and seeing sunrise and
being in tune with the moonriseand the sunset, like we're so
exposed to these elements andthey're so part of our lives
that they've reset, like ourdopamine levels.
So it just, you know, gives youthe sense of like being part of
(45:03):
something so much bigger thanyourself and just connected to
the world that's here and howbeautiful it is.
And it just makes me, it makesus just so happy, it makes me so
happy to be able to experiencethis way and just you know, you
can't have a terrible day whenthere's beautiful, glowing
mountains at the end of it, atleast for me this is the part I
like.
Speaker 1 (45:22):
I like when I get to see your face and see just how
excited and you know how muchjoy that brings you for people
just listening on the podcast.
They you know audio only theycan't see that.
This will be on youtube though,too, so people can see it there
if they want to go to youtubeto see it.
What does the future hold foryou?
Speaker 2 (45:38):
our big goal with this whole like new vehicle and
the search and rescue, has beento kind of unlock this new level
of travel, that's thisoverlanding style.
So where you can just, you know, do these tracks dirt roads
very long, hundreds of milesdown dirt roads and be able to
have everything you need andcapability of a vehicle to carry
(46:00):
you down these tracks.
So a lot of that is in ourfuture, but with the ultimate
goal of doing the peri-americanhighway, so the highway that
starts in alaska and goes allthe way down to the last town in
South America, which is Tierradel Fuego in Argentina.
And so that's our big, likenext mission of road life
completing that journey and upuntil then we still have a few
(46:20):
years of road life ahead of us,probably a few years after that,
but just enjoying it anddiscovering all the dirt.
We just tried to drive down allthe dirt roads in the US.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
Hit all the dirt roads.
I love it.
All right.
If someone wants to get to knowyou and follow along with your
journey a little bit, where canthey?
Where can they find you?
Speaker 2 (46:37):
Yeah, they can find me in all social channels at
growing slow and wild growingslow and wild.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Beautiful, love it.
And my last question of theevening day, whenever, whenever
people are listening, I don'tknow when they're listening, it
could be morning, it could bewhatever.
For you, fiorella, what doesadventure mean to you?
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Adventure means discovery of new places of self,
of just the world, yourconnection to the world.
But yeah, adventure to me isjust that sense of discovery.
Speaker 1 (47:06):
Fiorella, thank you so much for coming on Journey
with Jake.
Speaker 2 (47:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been a lovely conversation.
I really appreciate the space.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
A huge thank you to my guest, fiorella Iriberi, for
coming on the show and sharingher passion for overland travel
and what it means to her.
I had such a great time talkingwith Fiorella and I hope you
enjoyed it as much as I did.
If you want to follow alongwith her adventures, be.
If you want to follow alongwith her adventures, be sure to
check her out on Instagram atgrowing slow and wild.
Thank you, fiorella, forsharing your journey with all of
us and, of course, thank you toall of you for being part of
(47:39):
Journey with Jake.
If you'd like to connect withme and get to know me a little
better, follow me on Instagramat journeywithjakepodcast.
I share clips from the show,along with personal stories and
updates about my life, so comesay hi.
We may be in the shortest monthof the year, but I'm bringing
you more episodes than ever Injust a few days.
This Thursday, I'll be joinedby Kelton Shelley.
(48:01):
Kelton is an athlete whocompetes in Spartan races and
has overcome some incrediblehealth challenges to get where
he is today.
It's another inspiring episodeyou won't want to miss.
Remember, it's not always aboutthe destination as it is about
the journey.
Take care, everybody.
According to the internet, an overlander is
someone who travels overland,often for extended periods,
sometimes venturing off-road andembracing the adventure of
camping along the way.
My guest, fiorella Iriberi,embodies the spirit of
overlanding, but what trulystood out in our conversation
were her insights on life,resilience and the unexpected
(00:22):
beauty of failure.
Get ready to embrace the dirtroads and see where the journey
takes us with Fiorella Eriberry.
Welcome to Journey with Jake.
This is a podcast aboutadventure and how, through our
adventures, we can overcome thechallenges of life that come our
way.
While I expect you will learnsome things about different
adventures, this show willentertain you.
(00:42):
Each episode will featuredifferent guests or guests as
they share experiences andstories from the different
adventures they have been on.
Not only will you beentertained, but you will also
hear the failures and trialseach guest faces and what they
have done or are doing toovercome the hardships that come
their way.
My goal is to take each of uson a journey through the
(01:03):
experiences of my guests, withthe hope that you'll be
entertained and inspired toovercome your day-to-day
challenges.
After all, it's not all aboutthe destination as it is about
the journey.
(01:25):
Hello, my friends, and welcomeback to the show.
My name is Jake Bushman and I'mthe host of Journey with Jake.
I'm thrilled you're here andcan't wait for you to hear the
incredible stories andadventures of life on the road
with my guest, fiorella Iriberi.
Before we dive in, I have a fewquick housekeeping items.
(01:46):
First, be sure to subscribe tothe show wherever you listen to
podcasts, and if you could leaveme a rating and review, I'd
greatly appreciate it.
It truly means a lot.
Speaking of subscribing, don'tforget to check out Journey with
Jake on YouTube.
I've started releasing all myepisodes there, so if you'd like
to watch instead of just listenhead over to YouTube, hit that
subscribe button and give thevideos a thumbs up.
(02:08):
One more exciting update OnFebruary 18th, sacred Spaces
Volume 3 will be available onAmazon.
I was honored to be one of the20-plus authors featured in this
book.
In Chapter 8,.
I share my story and thejourney of how this podcast came
to life.
I hope you'll check it out.
(02:31):
Now back to today's episode.
Travelers and overlanders aresome of the most adventurous
people I know, and Fiorella isno exception.
She's found her love for lifeon the road, alongside her
husband, zach.
If you enjoy this episode, besure to check out episode 63,
where I spoke with Jake andHaley about navigating van life.
All right, let's hit the roadand explore with Fiorella.
Fiorella Eriberry, did I say itright?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
You did say it right.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah, nice Fiorella, I love it.
Great name.
Great last name as well.
I'm not going to say it againbecause I don't want to butcher
it.
Welcome to the show.
Thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Thank you for having me.
I'm excited to have aconversation and to join you
today.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Awesome, I appreciate it.
This is going to be fun.
You're an overlander.
I'm just going to start withthat.
I know you're out on the roadliving in.
It looks like.
Is it a fire truck?
Is it some sort of rig?
Maybe that's old, I don't knowwhat's the vehicle you're in.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yeah, so it's a really unique vehicle.
It's a search and rescue, soit's a combination of like fire
truck and an ambulance.
It used to belong to the firedepartment in Nassau County in
New York.
Yeah, very fun rig because ithas a little bit of both and
when we bought it it had allthese really cool features like
a 20 foot, like spotlight andall these cool like search and
(03:42):
rescue stuff.
So very unique vehicle.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
All right, well, we'll dive into the some of the
vehicle here in a little bit.
But now that you mentioned ithad the spotlight and things,
I'm just wondering how much ofthat you kept.
Did you keep some of thefeatures that it had?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
We kept one of the spotlights that was in the back.
That doesn't extend quite the20 feet, that was a big one that
we had over the cab, so we gotrid of that one so we could have
a roof rack and other stuff.
But we did try to keep somestuff.
We haven't painted it, we'vetried to keep some of the
personality of it because it'sjust such a unique vehicle.
Yeah, we have an intercom thatwe kept and rewired a lot of the
(04:16):
lights and just try to eitherrepurpose some of the stuff that
was already here or keep it forthe looks of it, I guess.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yeah, and I know I'm usually I'm kind of going out of
my cadence, of how I usually dothe show.
But while we're talking aboutthe vehicle, I just got to know,
like when you're coming downthe road, do people sometimes
think like it's like a searchand rescue vehicle?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Yeah, absolutely.
So we've had some situations onlike small back roads.
There was this one particulartime they were doing some
construction, so you had, youknow, the regulating of traffic,
and they saw us coming.
They immediately just likestarted trying to stop the other
lane and like move us over.
We're like no, we're not whoyou think you are.
Like no, like it's okay.
So we've had some situations.
I think cars in general on thehighway kind of get a little
(04:57):
scared of like oh, do I need tomove over?
Which kind of works in theirfavor.
But we're usually doing like 50miles an hour, so they kind of
get the idea that we're not in arush.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You're not in any kind of speed rush at all,
that's that's awesome, though,and I can just see cars.
I can see me looking in my mymirror and be like, ooh, I
better get over, I better letthem buy.
I could, I could see thathappening All right, before we
get cranking into some of thoseadventures.
That's kind of hear about yourvehicle a little bit.
Tell me a little bit aboutFiorello, where you're from,
kind of your background a littlebit.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I was born and raised inBolivia, so in the heart of
South America.
I come from a family thatreally valued travel and
experiences, so that was reallyingrained in me growing up, like
we didn't really did the bigbirthdays or big Christmas, but
rather we did like big familytrips.
They're like the best memoriesI have of time with my siblings
and my parents and it reallybecame a part of life for me.
Since I've been old enough totravel by myself, I've been
(05:54):
doing it.
When it came time to college, Idecided to come to college in
the US, came to Ohio out of allplaces, which I quickly realized
, you know, not so travelfriendly, but it's OK.
We made it work and I studiedabroad a few times while in
college, in addition to my studyabroad.
I guess, like I said, travelhas just always been a big part
(06:15):
of my life Met my husband, webackpacked Europe and just we're
looking for different ways onhow to make travel like long
term for us and sustainable.
So we started exploring allsorts of alternatives to become
digital nomads.
Do we do, like you know,airbnbs in a few countries and
do that for a while, and then weended up in the world of like
RVs and overland and van life,and we're like this, is it?
(06:35):
You know, a home base, but alsotraveling, and been doing that
for four years now, full time.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Four years, so you've been doing it since about 2020,
then, I guess.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Yes, right before the pandemic, so it was a crazy
time.
Yeah, it was a crazy time.
So we bought our first vehicle,which was a shuttle bus, in
2017 and converted it veryslowly.
We had never done anything likethis, so we had no construction
background or anything likethat, so just teaching ourselves
on the weekends, and we builtthe bus over two years.
It took us, and we quit ourjobs and moved in beginning of
March, so right beforeeverything actually shut down.
(07:12):
So it was like a crazy time tostart doing this.
But it was also perfect becausewe had the self contained
vehicle and we could go placesand at that time, you know, a
lot of places were very eitherthere, there was nobody there or
, you know, there were very fewcrowds.
So we got to explore the U?
S in a time where there wasn'ta lot of people out there, so it
was really cool time.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
That's awesome, and I think what I like is you said
2017 is when you bought theshuttle bus.
Yeah, that was way before thewhole 2020, where everyone it
seemed like not everyone wasdoing van life, but it seemed
like a lot of people jumped inon it in 2020.
You guys had already formulatedlike hey, we're going to do
this even before that, which Ithink is cool.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, it was a crazy time.
We were looking at differentways, like I mentioned, of
becoming full-time travelers andstuff like that, and my husband
showed me a picture of a vanthat, at the time, is the the
only ones you could find onlineof like self conversions were
pretty much just like a mattressin the inside of a cargo van.
He's like here we could do this.
I was like, I mean, I guess,like at that time there wasn't
(08:13):
these crazy builds and all thisreally cool, like there's
incredible builds out there andproducts for vans and it's
become such an industry and sucha boom.
But yeah, yeah we were beforeit.
So a lot of our process likelearning how to build, we were
we had very limited resources orYouTube channels or people
showing people how to do stuff.
It was a lot of like just learnby trying and trying to get out
(08:37):
there and do stuff.
And then, once we got on theroad and we saw the boom, we're
like, okay, we were in hereright before, so we're we
consider ourselves the originalsnow.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Exactly.
You're the OGs, the OGs of thevan life era.
I guess that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, something like that.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Let's go back a little bit further then.
Born and raised in Bolivia.
When did you move to the US?
How old were you when you movedto the US?
Speaker 2 (09:01):
I was 18.
So I came for college.
Yeah, so I came for college allby myself, just packed a
suitcase and just flew all theway.
In college I met my husband andthen we got married and I
stayed ever since.
So I've been in the US for over10 years.
Yeah, it was.
It was a crazy time to justdecide to go to this college so
far from home.
But I just my mom did collegein the US, so I always had that
(09:24):
experience and I was like youknow, it's really cool out there
, so why not?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Are both parents Bolivian.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, bolivian, born and raised.
Yeah, my dad doesn't speakEnglish, so English is my second
language.
Yeah, I mean, like I said, justthe traveling part has been the
biggest part from them, likejust very adventurous, and
that's just been so much of whoI am because of them.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Amazing.
And how many siblings do youhave?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Two, two older ones.
I'm the youngest.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
You're the baby.
Okay, brothers, sisters, whatdo you got?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
One of each One brother one sister yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Very good, are they in Bolivia still?
Speaker 2 (09:57):
My brother is and my sister actually just recently
moved to Texas, so I have herstateside, so it's pretty cool
to have family here now.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
And I was going to say, I mean I heard Ohio, you
know honestly.
I mean you can live anywherebecause you're in a converted
rig, so I guess home can be.
Do you have a certain placethat you consider home, or is it
pretty much just wherever youpark?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yeah, so you know.
Home, I guess in the sense oflike where family is, is Ohio
for us.
Like my family, my husband'sfamily is in Ohio and that's
what we call like our home base.
But yeah, we actually haven'tbeen back much, so we fly back
if we go back, but really homehas become the road for us.
We've been doing this for fouryears so it just it's so
familiar, like down dirt roadsin the middle of nowhere.
(10:41):
That's what we consider home.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
First of all, for being Bolivian like you are.
You speak great English.
I, you know, I would have noidea that English is your second
language.
You speak really good English,so kudos to that.
You're, yeah, you speak reallygood, and that's that.
Had to take some courage at 18to be like all right, I'm going
to go out of the country, awayfrom family, to the States to do
this.
You did it, met your husband.
Now you're living life on theroad.
Wow.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
It's been a journey Like.
Sometimes I look back and whenmy first time coming for college
, so that first plane ride tothe States to like come live
here, it was in January, causeour school year in Bolivia
starts at the beginning of theyear and ends at the end of the
year.
So I graduated high school inDecember.
December 23, 21 was mygraduation and then I was on a
plane January 1, to go tocollege, so I had a very low
break between it.
It's winter in Ohio, so there'sthis crazy winter storm.
(11:35):
I'm stuck in airports trying toget to Ohio for college and all
those things.
I was like, wait, am I makingthe right decision?
And I always look back to thatbreakdown in the airport to be
like, wow, like everythingthat's happened since has been a
wild ride, but happy to be init.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Wow, and I'm amazed when people like you summon up
that courage to do that.
I think that's really cool thatthat you did that, and now look
where it's taken you.
You're traveling all over theplace in a converted rig.
I want to talk about thatconverting and actually, before
I even do that, you kind ofmentioned some of your why, of
why you enjoy the traveling andyou and your husband both have
(12:10):
this love and passion fortraveling.
But what is it about?
Why not just pick some tripsevery so often, every twice a
year, and do something?
What is it about?
Like, hey, full time over theroad?
What's the reasoning behindthat for you?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, I love that question.
I actually feel like for us itstarted as like a one year thing
.
So when we finished the bus wewere like one year of total
freedom.
You know, we saved all themoney we could and we thought we
would do this one year of epicadventures and travels before we
settled down and did like thetraditional path.
And it was quickly after we goton the road that we realized,
(12:46):
you know, we are young and weget the privilege to do this and
it's so.
There's so much to see outthere, but just in the US.
And it just became thissensation of like this feels
good for us and why not do itwhile we're young if we can
sustain it?
And so it just became a home orlike a way of living instead of
just having a home base andtraveling.
(13:07):
It just became so normal to us.
So we're like, hey, we couldjust maybe do this for a few
years.
We say we have a few more yearsunder our like.
We could see ourselves doingthis and I think eventually you
know it'll get old, but untilthen there's the sense of
freedom, of being able to likejust move with the seasons or be
wherever you want to be andchoose these different
backgrounds or backyards thatare incredible all throughout
(13:30):
our public lands in the US hasbecome just a beautiful way to
discover, not only make traveland discover these places, but
also like, do it in a way for usthat it's slow enough to where
we're also experiencing whatit's like to live in these
places.
So it is travel, but in a wayit also feels like we're just
living in all these placesacross the US.
So it's a pretty cool mixture.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
All right, you dove in a little bit about the whole
converting process and how.
Now it's like a whole thing.
There's just a whole world ofit.
I watched a video of you onYouTube, you and your husband
converting your search andrescue vehicle.
We'll call it that ambulanceslash fire truck.
There was a lot of how do Iword this?
(14:13):
Not tears, but there's a lot ofa lot of stresses with it, like
there was, it was.
I mean, I saw the show aboutwhat you got and then kind of
what you turned it into.
What you got and then kind ofwhat you turned it into.
How do you find the ability todo that when it's, I mean, I
don't think it's something thatyou, you know you have.
Well, you have some experiencenow that you did the shuttle bus
and things like that, but Imean you're working with your
(14:34):
hands, you're doing stuff that Imean I don't think you're a
construction person by trade byany stretch.
Talk a little bit about thatwhole process and what that was
like.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
So the first time around it wasincredibly daunting.
So once we bought the bus, thebus came into our lives in this
very serendipitous way.
We started talking about doingRV life or some sort of road
life, and we were on a road tripand we're talking about it and
this big bus comes on the sideof the road with the Bisc for
Sale sign.
We're like, well, that's it,this is what we're doing.
(15:05):
The bus felt like we boughtthis thing.
We were ready to do it.
Then suddenly it kind of dawnedon us like, oh my God, we
actually have to build this andwe have no idea what we're doing
.
And, like I mentioned before, itwas at a time where, like
resources or guides or, you know, videos even're very, very
limited out there on how to dothis.
I think at the time of thefirst build, we were really
motivated by just this desire totry to do this while we were
(15:28):
young, before we settled like,let's go travel, like this is
going to be a budget friendlyway to do it and let's just like
try.
So we were very encouraged bythat.
Our first build was very simpleand we just kind of did with
what we could.
A lot of it was with recycledmaterials.
We just kind of improvised alot and didn't really care too
much about it being like perfect.
(15:49):
So we were just kind of okay,like that works, and there's a
gap in between, you know, thecouch and the bed, it doesn't
matter, like, let's just roll.
And that was incredible for thefirst build.
Obviously, once we got on theroad and decided to do it long
term, we realized the space hadto be suited enough for us to do
it long term.
So that's where we got into thesecond build and, not having
previous experience althougheven with the first build, it's
(16:12):
daunting, but I feel likesomething we've realized is that
it's such a unique opportunityto build a home and do it with
your hands and, in our case, doit together through this like
and build something out ofnothing, right?
So so much of the modern worldis convenient and easy and this
is definitely this long, likehard trip to take and trying to
(16:33):
build something like this.
But it's brought us together asa couple, it's given us this
sense of accomplishment ofhaving built this from nothing
and it's just pushed us to likego outside of our comfort zone
and teach ourselves things andnot be afraid to try things and
if they don't work out, likegoing back to the board and
starting again, like all thoseexercises that I think as we
(16:54):
grow up, sometimes we get morescared of doing or like avoid.
Like oh, that's a scary thing tofail, and this process has
continuously taught us just howincredible it is to fail and how
incredible it is to work withyour hands and get down to it
and keep teaching yourselfthings outside of, like you know
, the normal education period ofyour life.
It's really brought us thissense of like, accomplishment
(17:16):
and growth and it's been what'smotivated us to like do it
without any previous experienceand what will probably motivate
us, you know, if we have a nextbuild, or now we talk about
building a house.
You know we started with noexperience and now we're like,
okay, what else can we do?
Because we've really learnedthat we can teach ourselves
pretty much anything.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Amazing.
You said something there thatkind of struck me.
You said how incredible it isto fail.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
What does that mean to you?
Dive into that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Yeah, I love that.
I think for me it means thatyou can just deconstruct so many
parts of your life and thatdoesn't deconstruct you as a
person and it doesn't make youless of a person or get you
behind in whatever time clock wethink we're comparing and
existing in each other with andto me.
I was so scared of failurethroughout college, just in my
life.
I think we all are right.
(18:06):
As you start getting olderespecially, I think it feels
like this bigger, more scarything of like what's going to
happen if you know I lose myhouse, if I lose my job, and
through this process we've lostjobs and we've had, you know,
very little in our bank account,a lot in our bank account, and
gone through all these processesthat have taught me that when
you fail, when you make mistakes, when you're in that valley,
(18:27):
that feels dark and confusing.
It's really when you grow andyou teach yourself who you
actually are and are the timesthat are going to push you in
your life to like expand and bea better version of yourself.
I've grown to like really lovefailure and I love to try
something and see if it works ornot, just for the experience of
trying and educating myself andgiving it a shot, and if it
(18:49):
doesn't work, I've learned thatyou're going to be okay.
You just can shake it off.
Sometimes a little bit longerto shake it off than others, but
at the end of the day you'reable to shake it off and that's
been like one of the biggestlessons for us throughout this
whole nomadic journey.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
And that's big, because I sit there and listen
to you.
You talk about that and I agree.
I agree that our growth comesfrom our failures in a lot of
cases.
But when you're in the midst ofit, when you are sitting with
your husband and you're lookingat your bank account and you
realize you sucked a lot ofmoney into this rig or some
other project, you're and you'rekind of like, okay, how are we
(19:24):
going to pay for this?
Or how are we going to do thatwhen you're in the middle of it?
Because, yeah, when you lookback sometimes like yes, that
was good, I grew.
But when you're in the middleof it, in the middle of that
struggle, what do you dotogether as a couple?
What do you do individually tokind of get through that?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Something I started doing.
It's like this exercise of likeimagining my life.
If I'm writing like a movie orI'm writing a book and those
flow valleys, that's like theplot right.
So in any like movie it's likewhen everything is happening,
it's like, oh, my god, what'sgoing to happen?
And when you see it from theoutside and you're reading a
book or watching a movie, youhave this excitement of like how
is this going to resolve itself?
(19:58):
Something I've tried to do islike incorporate that into my
life, especially with road life.
We face all these obstaclesthat are unexpected, that come
quickly, like breakdowns and youknow, like all these different
things that just show up out ofnowhere and take you very
quickly to this valley whereyou're like Okay, how am I going
to get out of here?
This exercise of like taking afew steps back and be like Okay,
(20:19):
it's not ideal.
It's obviously not what I wasexpecting on the Tuesday to like
break down, but I'm here, sowhy don't I just try to face it
and see if I can find the reasonit happened or like find a
bigger excitement out of it, orwhere it's going to leave me?
That's been huge for me as aperson that used to be a huge
planner, and a huge, like youknow.
This is how everything is goingto work out.
(20:39):
Road life has really helped metake those steps back and
realize how important it is totake those steps back and be
like okay, right now I can feelterrible, but maybe there's a
bigger purpose for it.
And trusting that there is abigger purpose, even if it's
very simple it doesn't have tobe this crazy bigger purpose,
you know, but it can just belike okay, maybe you weren't
supposed to drive that dayanymore.
(20:59):
You know little things likethat.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Didn't realize this was going to be a
self-development podcast, didyou?
I love it.
Yeah, I appreciate you sharingthat because that's what I love.
I love getting to know peoplelike you and someone who's doing
something amazing, but itwasn't always like, oh, yeah,
they're just out cruising around.
It takes some effort and ittakes some work and some
failures along the way andthings like that.
(21:22):
So I appreciate you sharingthat because it it helps me get
to know you a little bit betterand it just it helps me improve.
And I like hearing that becauseI'm with you.
I'm a planner.
I don't like it when thingsdon't go the way I want them to
go or expect them to go, andit's tricky for me to get out of
that.
And this is, you know, this isan adventure type podcast and
that's what venture is all about.
It's about those failures andthose things that happened to us
(21:44):
.
So, speaking of adventure, Iwant to go back to the bus.
When you finally got the busdone, what was your first trip
in that bus, do you remember?
Speaker 2 (21:55):
It was.
We moved into the bus right atthe beginning of the pandemic.
So we actually lived in the busin Ohio stationary for the
first few months while we kindof figured out what was going to
happen in the world.
But once that happened weactually took a job.
My husband took a job doingsome kind of construction in
Colorado.
So that was kind of like ourticket west is what we call it.
It's like what gave us anexcuse to head west from Ohio
and know that we were going tohave some sort of like base in
(22:16):
case things got worse or justhave some sort of ground and not
just be fully on the road at atime that was kind of
unpredictable.
So that was our first like trip.
We left Ohio straight toColorado and we were there for a
few months but it was a homebase out of Grand Junction, so
like Western Colorado and wewere anytime that he had like
time off.
We were doing Utah and Wyomingand Southern Colorado.
(22:38):
So that was kind of like alittle bit of like a good soft
introduction into road life,cause we had a place we could go
back to and park and collectourselves and make some money
and then just go out and do itagain.
So that was like our firstjourney into real life.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Kind of what were your thoughts when you're like,
when you get to Colorado andthen you're able to pop over to
Utah or maybe, you know, go toGlenwood Springs or wherever in
Colorado?
What were you thinking thiswhole time?
What was kind of going throughyour mind?
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Oh I, for us, like making it out west was
incredible because we had beenin Ohio for most of our time and
we took trips out west, like wetook a trip to Portland at some
point.
But when you're traveling to thewest part of the country on
like a trip, you know it'sexpensive, like the trip, the
hotel, the flight, the food, youknow in Ohio is a state you can
live with, like the income isdifferent and you know cost of
restaurants is different.
So then you know, getting toCalifornia, you're like, oh OK,
(23:31):
I can't be here for many days,or at least for us at that time,
especially when we were collegestudents and traveling
everything was budget.
So the West was like frontierfor us.
And to make it out here with ahouse and the ability to move
and explore these places withouthaving to like to have these
big like travel expenses wasincredible.
It felt like this movie set, aconstant movie set, just like
(23:54):
the valley, like everything, themountains I come from a place
where mountains, so themountains were a welcome home in
a way for me in Colorado andjust exploring everything and
discovering public lands was ahuge thing for us and that was a
time where we did that, likejust the vastness and
availability of dry camping andpublic lands and just so much to
explore out there, and it alsois what made us fall in love
(24:17):
with this, just like, wow, wecan do this for a really long
time.
You know, there's endless dirtroads.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
So everyone knows when you say public lands, what
do you mean by that?
Like it's a place where you cancamp for free.
What does public lands mean?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
The US has a bunch of public lands that are managed
under the Bureau of LandManagement, so sometimes they're
also referred to as BLM land,so it's land that is preserved
for recreational purposes.
So you can dry camp in most BLMor public lands 14 days for
free.
You're just in the middle ofnowhere in these beautiful
locations and they're mostly out.
(24:51):
Although there's BLM and publiclands all over the US, they're
mostly in like the West Coast.
So Utah, colorado, all thesestates out here have ton of
public lands.
Yeah, you can camp there forfree and as long as you leave no
trace, we can have access tothese places and enjoy them.
But there are these beautifulopportunity or locations to have
(25:14):
like travel and recreationoutdoors without having to like
be at a campground or bespending money.
So it's a great way to traveland discover the US.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
And for those who don't know, including myself,
dry camping, that means leavingit like the way it was right,
like not having tell me what drycamping is to you.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Yeah.
So dry camping is the conceptof like you're not going to have
hookups, so you're not in acampground, so you don't have
access to like the grid, so likeelectricity or water or a dump
station.
So dry camping for RVers meansthat you would just be
self-sustained, so you're goingto go and park somewhere and
you're going to be able to likedo everything within your
vehicle so you're not like usingwater or dumping water.
(25:52):
So it's kind of these publiclands, you know for the most
part are for tent campers.
But you know, if you have avehicle that's capable and can
drive down these roads and park,you're welcome to do it, as
long as you have a rig that'sself-sustainable or
self-contained.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
So with exploring Colorado and Utah and I live in
Utah and I love Utah there's alot of national parks.
I'm guessing you've been to abunch of national parks, any
particular favorite ones thatyou've been to?
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Oh my God, I love the national parks.
So we've been to over 35national parks or something like
that, so kind of halfwaythrough.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Almost halfway.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yeah, and I love them all.
I think they're all nationalparks for a reason.
They have these stunning, youknow, stunning views.
Like Zion is absolutelybeautiful.
It just looks like a movie set.
The Grand Tetons looks likejust like you're in this Western
movie, with like mooses walkingaround like they're just these
beautiful landscapes.
So I love national parks.
But something that we've cometo love even more is, again,
(26:45):
this public land that surroundsnational parks.
Most national parks aresurrounded by national, this
public land that surroundsnational parks.
Most national parks aresurrounded by national forest or
public land.
So you can camp in these placesand you're kind of just in the
same landscape, same kind ofvibe as a national park, but
just removed from the moreproduced section of the national
park with like the campgroundsand the crowds.
So we really try to avoid thecrowds.
So we've come to love thosekind of areas that are like
(27:08):
outside of national parks,national forests.
That's become like our favorite.
But if I have to pick anational park, I think Glacier
is my number one.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Glacier is on my list for next summer.
I want to go to Glacier.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yes, that one is.
I mean, all of them arestunning, but that one for some
reason just feels extra extraspecial.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
All right, so you've been cruising around for four
years.
I want to hear of any maybe amishap or two, and just any
stories that you want to, anyexperiences that you want to
share about what it's like, andmaybe for people like me who've
never done it, but maybe someonein the back of the mind is
thinking how can I do this Maybeyou can kind of give us a
little insight into that as well.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
So, oh my God, we've had about everything wrong
happen to us over the last fouryears.
So I know that that's somethingthat scares people about trying
this lifestyle.
Like what happens if somethinghappens to my vehicle and it's a
lot scarier than it is so againto that exercise of like okay,
it's not going to be as big as Ithink, it's just, you know, our
minds playing tricks.
We've had everything from blownup tires Like the first,
actually on our first trip outto Colorado with the bus.
(28:13):
First day we leave Ohio, we'rethree hours into our road trip
and we just hear like whatsounds like an explosion and
there's like this, like dust andthings more like what just
happened.
So we pull off and we'relooking at the engine.
We can't figure out anythingand we're like this is so weird.
(28:34):
And then I kind of look behindand I realized one of our tires
just completely exploded.
That was like a fun time to bestranded off the side of the
highway.
I think it was in Indiana atthat point, sunday night, tiny
towns, nothing.
So we're like what do we dofrom here?
You know, it was like our firstday.
We have learned that you, ifyou're in a bad situation most
of the time there will besomebody around you.
(28:57):
If you're willing to kind ofopen and welcome that energy and
like try to ask for help,they're most likely to be
somebody willing to help.
So we got lucky that one carstopped and asked us like if we
need help and as the car stoppedlike a sheriff pulled up behind
him, he's like oh the friend ismy like, I have a friend who
has a tire shop, I'll take youthere, I'll escort you there.
So we got so lucky in thismiddle town, middle nowhere, to
(29:19):
get like connected, I guess,between the sheriff, people that
knew, people that could likehelp us out.
It's always been so reassuringthat there's good people out
there and in bad there can begood You're something you're
wanting to do is go out thereand explore and you're scared
about these things.
Just know that a havingassistance, roadside assistance
(29:40):
is great, so invest in that, butthen be if you don't have it or
if it doesn't work or anythinglike that, they'll most likely
be someone willing to help.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
I love that.
I found that too in my lifethat there are people who want
to help and people who arewilling to help.
Sometimes it's amazing andsometimes I think we're
reluctant to ask and we'rescared to ask, but I think
people want to do it for sure.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Yeah, I think we just think that nobody's willing to
help you.
I think it's easy to think,okay, well, nobody's's gonna see
or ask for help.
But anytime we've had to go ourown way or ask for help, or
even, like we just recently wereoutside of Bryce Canyon and the
truck wouldn't start.
And it was the morning we werelike heading out for sunrise
hike and our truck wouldn'tstart, wouldn't start, wouldn't
start.
We're like, okay, this is soweird, must be the battery.
(30:22):
We're trying to charge thebattery with our backup and like
stuff and nothing is happening.
So we're like, okay, well, Iguess we just walked down this
dirt road and all of ourneighbors were like, okay, help
us.
In between, in 20 minutes wehad like a whole crew of people
like jumping us, like callingother people.
So it's just really a way likeI feel like we've learned the
bad times are, in a way, helpfulto like just push you to make
(30:43):
community and like interact withpeople and just have to put
yourself out there in a way.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Any situation that you were in where it was, maybe
what's the word I want to use Idon't know if the word scary or
unsettling any kind of situationlike that.
Maybe you're in a part of townsomewhere where you're like yeah
, we did have one that was notideal.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Again, to the tires in the bus, but we actually had
our lug nuts, so what holds thetire together or like in place
all explode at the same time aswe're driving down the highway.
So thankfully the tire didn'tactually come out of the bus, we
just kind of like felt it andit was one of the duallys.
So we were able to pull up.
We called tow assistance andthe tow truck came and picked us
up and we were trying to figureout what shop to go to.
(31:25):
It was kind of in the middle ofnowhere.
The we were trying to figureout what shop to go to.
It was kind of in the middle ofnowhere.
The tow guide was like oh, Iknow this one place.
It's not that far, so I'll becovered in your tow insurance so
I can just go drop you offthere and tomorrow morning
they'll be able to help you out.
We didn't have much service sowe couldn't corroborate the
information, make sure it wascorrect and it would work out
for us.
So just went for it and trustedthe tow person at the time and
(31:50):
they dropped us off right infront of like this business in
like a very inconvenient way.
So we're like hey, can youmaybe like change our position
or something?
And he's like no, it's going tobe fine, I promise everything's
going to be fine.
We're like okay.
So the next morning we come tofind out that this facility does
not work with vehicles our size.
So we're like in the middle oflike their area and we're trying
(32:11):
to figure out you know what todo and in a rush they get us
someone that could like kind ofpush us to the side on the other
, like they kind of there was aback lot that was like abandoned
.
So they pushed us to this lotand we started realizing it
wasn't the best area or like thebest area in town, and we're
like stranded.
So that was like a little bitof a scary situation.
Just because we didn't have alot of service.
(32:32):
We were in like clearly I don'twant to say not wanted there,
but you know, not necessarilywelcomed so we were pushed off
to the side.
We start realizing it's not thebest area.
Our service at that time wasn'tworking at all.
So it was like a day and a halfof just kind of being on alert
at all times and just being likeokay, we clearly stand out.
We had a painted bus and thingsoutside, so you stick out.
(32:55):
It's not like it's a white vanthat people might think it's
something else.
So it was a little bit ofunsettling time but we were able
to get another toe and figureit out.
But that one day of being therewas definitely we didn't sleep,
let's.
Let's say that.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
Well, and I would imagine, because when you think
about the bus and then your rig,that you're in now, that's your
home, so that's your.
Everything that's that'simportant to you is there.
Everything's kept in there.
That is your, that is your home.
So it would be a littleunsettling if you're in a
particular spot where it's maybenot super comfortable, or
because you're that's your home,you're kind of protecting, so
(33:30):
to speak.
So I can see why that would.
That would be difficult.
All right, I want to bring it'szach right.
Your husband's name, zach.
Yeah, I want to bring zach intothis for a little bit.
What's it been like for yourrelationship with zach?
And especially because you know, I think of people who RV life
together, van life together,whatever the case may be, you're
in tight quarters a lot.
(33:50):
You know.
You're not just.
You know he can't just go tohis spot in the vehicle and be
away from you.
You're there in tight quarters.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
So what's this done for your relationship?
It's only brought us together,which is crazy to say, and I
feel like a lot of people likethat we talk to, that are
curious or want to do RV life,are like well, how do you manage
this small space?
And it seems like this crazyconcept and we were nervous
about it at first.
But we transitioned into buslife from a studio apartment so
we already kind of, you know,used to the tight quarters in a
(34:20):
way.
And this is obviously adifferent layer of it, because
when you're living in a city westill hire cars.
You could go to your friends,you, you know, you could go to
do your job.
Now we both work from here, soit's definitely more like we're
around each other all the time.
But it's actually helped uslike set really good boundaries
with each other on like okay, weneed to have our alone time.
(34:41):
I think in in our normal livesyou kind of are getting alone
time or your time by default,like when you go to work or when
you have these things, and it'snot so intentional.
And for us, like, thistransition like helped us really
great that boundary of likeintentional, like okay, this is
my me time, this is what I dofor it, this is what you do for
it, or this is my time here,this is your time.
(35:01):
They are setting thoseboundaries of like it happens in
this time or this reoccurrenceand that's how we kind of we
keep the balance, but in general, it's just brought us together
as a couple.
I think again, like when youlive in a vehicle, your whole
life like you were saying justnow is is here and every day
it's like okay, all thesedecisions that are taxing and
obviously take a strain on usevery once in a while, but it
(35:23):
also makes us have to liketrouble solve together.
When we're in these situations,when things are going bad, you
know it's easy to want to getmad at each other, but at the
same time it's like OK, weactually have to work together
to figure this out.
So it's helped us likecommunicate better and just find
these like boundaries of how wecan have this like tight
relationship while also havingour space.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Between the two of you.
Is there one of you who maybewas more gung-ho for this than
the other, or were you bothreally adamant about like, hey,
let's do this?
Speaker 2 (35:51):
I think I was more about the travel, like let's
travel full time, and then hewas more about like doing it
this way.
So, like I mentioned earlier,the first time he showed me a
picture, it was just an oldcargo van with just a mattress
inside of it.
Like that was the extent of thepicture and I was like you're
crazy, like how are we going todo this?
How do we do this?
Long term it's just a mattressin a car, like for a week and
(36:14):
sure it works, but like longterm, you're this.
So there was like a little bitof like that that I was more the
motor of like let's travel fulltime, and he was more like the
okay, let's do it this way.
And it took a little bit oftime to get on the same page of
like oh, these two thingsactually do go together.
We can make them work.
Yeah, we all, we both had kindof our ways around it.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
As a young married couple who's out there traveling
together, I'm guessing there'sgot to be some great like
romantic places to that you'vebeen, or you see a sunrise or a
sunset in a particular memoriesof anything like that that comes
to mind.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Oh yeah.
So we just last winter.
We spend the winter in Baja,which is Baja California source.
So it's the peninsula in Mexico, that's right underneath
California, and in Baja you cancamp in the beach, just like
right on the beach.
It's literally this magicalplace for overlanders,
especially in the winter,because you get to just have
beautiful weather.
But we were down there and oneof them it was sunrise.
(37:11):
Actually, we were waking up forsunrise and like getting to the
water so we could see thesunrise from the water.
And we're just sitting thereand it was like a random Tuesday
, I think we're just drinkingour coffee and then the sunrise
gets beautiful, like beautifulclouds, there's a double rainbow
, there's like dolphins, likeright in front of us, whales,
(37:31):
and it was just one of thosemoments where I just kept
looking back, like is somebodyfilming this?
Like I feel like somebody needsit, like is this a movie?
Is it just like the situationof just drinking your coffee and
all these things, beautifulthings are happening around.
You do feel out of this world.
So we have, we've had a few ofthose which we're very lucky for
.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
That's awesome.
That's great that you've hadthat.
Does Zach speak Spanish?
Speaker 2 (37:52):
He had to learn, yeah .
Speaker 1 (37:55):
He had to learn.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
He did have to learn.
Yeah, so my dad doesn't speakEnglish and most of my
grandparents and stuff like thatdon't speak English.
So once we started dating moreseriously, I was like, listen,
if this is going to work, youneed to learn Spanish.
And he had already startedlearning spanish.
So, yeah, he speaks fluently.
And our cat, um, is frombolivia.
(38:17):
So we have a cat with us fulltime on the road and we rescued
her in bolivia.
She, like we speak to her inboth languages.
You know that's part of ourexercise and stuff like that.
So, yeah, we have bothlanguages at home awesome, very
cool.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
I was gonna say going to you know, baja, mexico.
That's you got the Spanishgoing on.
You can speak Spanish.
I'm sure there's a lot ofEnglish down there too, with all
the overlanders and everything,but that's cool.
I'm glad Zach's jumped in onthat too and speaking, and
that's that's fantastic.
All right, you, you talkedabout working on the road.
Tell me about, like, what'sthis like?
How's it like having a job onthe road being remote?
(38:51):
What's this like?
Speaker 2 (38:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
So it's been quite a journeyfor me.
So, like I mentioned before,when we got on the road we were
kind of just doing it out ofsavings, thinking it would just
be a short term thing.
You know, quickly on the road Iwas like, okay, I actually love
this.
So how do we make this, youknow, sustainable for us long
term?
And the big factor there waslike financially.
You know, how could we do thisfinancially?
And we got lucky that we werealready living in the road when
(39:14):
COVID started happening and allthese remote opportunities
started opening up.
So that first year, year and ahalf, that we were on the road,
I just did and we both did anyfreelance work we could find,
like remote jobs as we try tofigure out also the internet and
like how we can do that andjust navigating that world,
because we had no experiencewith freelance work and digital
(39:35):
work, which is, you know, itsown set of like type of work.
So we did that for the firstyear and it was okay.
It helped us, you know, pay thebills and feel the gas and keep
going.
But then when we realized wewanted to do this long term, I
got serious about working orlooking for, you know, more full
time job, like a nine to five,and for me the key was like I
needed to find a workenvironment that was accepting
(39:58):
of my circumstances.
You know, I have this veryunique set of circumstances
where, like I mentioned, on aTuesday you can think that
you're just driving down to getgroceries and something can
happen, and then I'm strandedoff the side of the highway.
So it's like this verydifferent set of rules that I
work by and through some peoplethat we actually met on the road
.
I came across this companycalled RV Share.
(40:19):
So it is actually a peer topeer RV rental marketplace, so
just like Airbnbs, but you rentRVs from RV owners all across
the US.
I was like, well, they're kindof trying to get people out to
experience exactly what I'mliving.
So that was a quick, easy wayin.
They had a job, an internship,available at the time.
I jumped in it.
I was able to get theinternship and it quickly became
(40:40):
a full time position.
So I work for a company thatyou know is trying to get people
out there just to experiencewhat I live by.
And you know they're not onlyaccepting of my circumstances,
they're like encouraging it andyou know they are very pro me
doing this and so it's very coolbecause it gives me this
ability to have a full time joband have a career but also just
(41:01):
have this unique lifestyle andtravel and kind of balance both
of them.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
That's awesome, that's fantastic.
And what about Zach?
What's Zach doing?
Speaker 2 (41:08):
So he's a freelance digital artist, so he does
anything from illustrations,logos, merch, anything like that
for clients.
He's been able to build hisbusiness through just social
media and online so that's beenreally great for him.
So, between his flexibility ofjust working for himself and my
flexibility of a workenvironment that allows me to
(41:30):
have that flexibility, it's beenwhat, honestly, has allowed us
to do this long term and havethe financial part covered, just
because without thatflexibility it's very stressful.
I had a job for a while beforethat that it was a strict nine
to five and they did not likewhen my internet, you know, a
spotty or my batteries were lowand so I couldn't run my
internet all the time and likeit was not a healthy work
environment for me at all.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
That's good.
I'm glad you found somethingthat works for you and that
sounds perfect.
Rv share it sounds yeah.
I mean they want people.
You're encouraging people to dokind of what you're doing,
which is great.
So that works out great.
Okay, what is the mostdifficult part about this whole
lifestyle for you?
Speaker 2 (42:06):
Yeah, it's the ongoing.
So it's just like no-transcripthouse and you just show up, you
(42:32):
don't have to worry aboutrunning water or where are you
going to dispose of the waterafter you use it.
So there's these very primallike needs that need to be like
answered every day and like youhave to be thinking about it's
taxing.
It's not for everybody,especially as you start doing it
.
Long term it gets easierbecause you kind of understand
the flow of it, but it nevergoes away.
(42:53):
So there's always this likebacklog on cue, like open tab in
your head of like okay, wheream I going to sleep?
And then tomorrow, what is thatgoing to be like?
Where are we going to get water, how much food do we have in
the fridge, how much solar powerdo we have, like how much our
batteries run, and the questionsjust keep going.
If you are having a bad day,you're having a bad day and
(43:13):
you're having to still answerthose questions.
So that's the most difficultpart of this that there's just
this big area that keeps askingyour energy every day.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
And what's the opposite of that, then what is
the best part about it?
Speaker 2 (43:25):
The freedom which is crazy, Just the, you know move
and discover these places andexplore some areas that are
beautiful and solitude and likejust be in nature.
We've had some incrediblewildlife encounters that are
just out of movie because we'vebeen in these places by
ourselves and you know I've seenbear cubs just pretty much be
(43:48):
born in front of our eyes likejust beautiful, incredible
things.
So that freedom to likeexperience the world and not be
tied down, and honestly alsothat not paying rent for us is a
huge one until we can afford,you know, a house or like want
to do a mortgage, just thefreedom of like spending that
money and experiences and thistraveling has been a great
(44:09):
relief.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
When you're out there in the outdoors and you see a
beautiful sunrise or you seesome crazy wildlife right in
front of you, what does it dofor you?
Like mentally, what does thatdo for you?
Speaker 2 (44:20):
It's a natural dopamine, honestly.
So you know, in a world wherethere's so much dopamine at us,
that's like not so healthy forus.
So, like checking your phone,you know, like instant grat
gratification, like having fooddeliver, when things are so easy
, our dopamine levels get alittle bit moved around in there
and for us this lifestylethat's a little bit more
meticulous, like we have to, youknow we can't postmate our food
(44:41):
or like get it delivered.
You know, everyone in the middleof nowhere like kind of going
back to this analog and way ofliving that also has to do with
connecting more with theoutdoors and seeing sunrise and
being in tune with the moonriseand the sunset, like we're so
exposed to these elements andthey're so part of our lives
that they've reset, like ourdopamine levels.
So it just, you know, gives youthe sense of like being part of
(45:03):
something so much bigger thanyourself and just connected to
the world that's here and howbeautiful it is.
And it just makes me, it makesus just so happy, it makes me so
happy to be able to experiencethis way and just you know, you
can't have a terrible day whenthere's beautiful, glowing
mountains at the end of it, atleast for me this is the part I
like.
Speaker 1 (45:22):
I like when I get to see your face and see just how
excited and you know how muchjoy that brings you for people
just listening on the podcast.
They you know audio only theycan't see that.
This will be on youtube though,too, so people can see it there
if they want to go to youtubeto see it.
What does the future hold foryou?
Speaker 2 (45:38):
our big goal with this whole like new vehicle and
the search and rescue, has beento kind of unlock this new level
of travel, that's thisoverlanding style.
So where you can just, you know, do these tracks dirt roads
very long, hundreds of milesdown dirt roads and be able to
have everything you need andcapability of a vehicle to carry
(46:00):
you down these tracks.
So a lot of that is in ourfuture, but with the ultimate
goal of doing the peri-americanhighway, so the highway that
starts in alaska and goes allthe way down to the last town in
South America, which is Tierradel Fuego in Argentina.
And so that's our big, likenext mission of road life
completing that journey and upuntil then we still have a few
(46:20):
years of road life ahead of us,probably a few years after that,
but just enjoying it anddiscovering all the dirt.
We just tried to drive down allthe dirt roads in the US.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
Hit all the dirt roads.
I love it.
All right.
If someone wants to get to knowyou and follow along with your
journey a little bit, where canthey?
Where can they find you?
Speaker 2 (46:37):
Yeah, they can find me in all social channels at
growing slow and wild growingslow and wild.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Beautiful, love it.
And my last question of theevening day, whenever, whenever
people are listening, I don'tknow when they're listening, it
could be morning, it could bewhatever.
For you, fiorella, what doesadventure mean to you?
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Adventure means discovery of new places of self,
of just the world, yourconnection to the world.
But yeah, adventure to me isjust that sense of discovery.
Speaker 1 (47:06):
Fiorella, thank you so much for coming on Journey
with Jake.
Speaker 2 (47:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been a lovely conversation.
I really appreciate the space.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
A huge thank you to my guest, fiorella Iriberi, for
coming on the show and sharingher passion for overland travel
and what it means to her.
I had such a great time talkingwith Fiorella and I hope you
enjoyed it as much as I did.
If you want to follow alongwith her adventures, be.
If you want to follow alongwith her adventures, be sure to
check her out on Instagram atgrowing slow and wild.
Thank you, fiorella, forsharing your journey with all of
us and, of course, thank you toall of you for being part of
(47:39):
Journey with Jake.
If you'd like to connect withme and get to know me a little
better, follow me on Instagramat journeywithjakepodcast.
I share clips from the show,along with personal stories and
updates about my life, so comesay hi.
We may be in the shortest monthof the year, but I'm bringing
you more episodes than ever Injust a few days.
This Thursday, I'll be joinedby Kelton Shelley.
(48:01):
Kelton is an athlete whocompetes in Spartan races and
has overcome some incrediblehealth challenges to get where
he is today.
It's another inspiring episodeyou won't want to miss.
Remember, it's not always aboutthe destination as it is about
the journey.
Take care, everybody.
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