All about being a tortoise (ZAV)

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This entry is mainly for the Israelis among you.
I have been asked so many questions about caravans, camper vans, mobile homes, camping etc... that I think I should explain a little about it.
For the non Israelis here, it might seem a little weird but let me tell you a secret: we don't have caravans. or camper vans. sssssssshhhhhhhh don't tell anyone.. but Camping for us is mostly when we go backpacking somewhere. Hardly happens in Israel.
SO - non Israelis - you are excused from this entry, see you in the next one (but if you want to stay and learn something... you are more then welcome!!)


Lets start with the obvious questions: what are campers, caravans, mobile homes etc
all of those are houses with wheels. But there are differences between them:

* Camper vans (campers) are vans that has camping facilities - a bad, a cooker of some sort, storage places etc. sometimes there are the professional version, from the factory, that has all the facilities in it: beds, full kitchen - fridge, stove, oven, toilet and shower, that's what you usually seen on TV (I told you!! its for Israelis).sometimes there are self made by people who decided to build one (Roger is a very good example). The facilities inside varies - a whole kitchen installed in or an outside one (like camping), running water or not, toilets and showers or not, etc.
* Caravans caravans are separate "houses" u can attach to the car and toe.
* Mobile homes those are houses that has the ability to move but they are not moving. they are parked in campsites and people live there - permanently or in summer time or go for a vacation on the beach (usually).
* camp sites are almost everywhere: in or near towns, a lot of them are by the sea (where you have sea)... They are usually combined from - mobile homes (that are permanent there) area, camping area for the guests, camping area for the guests with tents. They have little shops, a bar, a restaurant, shared showers, washing machines, and electricity you can plug your "house" to (wait!! I'm not done yet!!)

who uses what and why
As Israelis, we have 3 different vacations: In Israel, usually a weekend in a Zimmer or hotels or day trips. Out of Israel: we go for a package-deal-all-included-weekends somewhere or we go - lets-explore-the country-in a-week-or-two, usually in Europe. Just like our concept of vacation, the Europeans usually go to Europe too!! BUT, they don't need to fly there, they just need to drive for few hours. Whats more comfortable then going on vacation with your own house?


lots of the Europeans goes to the sea, in summer time. unlike Israel, the sea is sometimes very far from home, and they wont go there for a day or two, (or for few hours like in Israel) but for a week or two (if you are an Italian, you will probably go there for a month every year) and having your home with you is the cheapest and most comfortable way.
why do people live permanently in campsites - its the cheapest way to have a garden in the summer...
Some more benefits for driving a caravan is the freedom to eat when you want, cook what you want, nap if you need, use your toilet and not the public ones, etc..


so far it sounds great, so where are the problems? Jewish, I know, always have to look for the negatives...
well. There are some aspects that are not that comfortable with having a caravan (or a camper):

*who the hell wants to go on a vacation with his house??? a vacation is all about not cooking, not washing, not cleaning, being spoiled by others... that's right, I agree, only that it makes it into a very expensive vacation... so - - its a mid way - away from home but still - you are busy doing something... or you will find the vacation very boring!!
*Driving a camper van. well, driving it is as nice and easy as driving a truck. its not that easy to manoeuvre or park, its not that fast, and getting it into small towns centers is a challenge. Here we have solutions too: special parking places, its a vacation so no need to hurry, you cant drive in town centers anyhow so - no worries there!! some of them carry with them bicycle or motorcycle - for daily use while u are parked at the campsite.
*Driving a caravan - try reversing those!! its just a little more difficult then maneuvering the truck. You can park it in the campsite and take your car wherever you want and come back to sleep in your caravan.. and you need a powerful car



O.k... we got the idea of driving a house. but - how does it work?

o.k. lets use, for an example the perfect caravan that has all the facilities - a full kitchen, toilet, shower, heating system. how does it work?


*Water - there are always two water tanks - one is for clean water - kitchen, shower, washing up. the other is for grey water - the water after the use in shower and kitchen. as we all know - when the clean water tank is empty, the grey water one is full so there is a need to empty the grey water tank and fill the fresh water one. bingo!! the grey water are emptied in special places. no, you can not empty it on the road or in the fields. only in the special places for it (almost every campsite has one) or strait to the drainers. They don't need water as much as Israel needs...
*Toilets - the toilets are chemical. we have chemical liquid in a container (cassette) underneath our toilets and all the no. 1 and no. 2 goes there and becomes a nice juicy liquid that stays in the cassette until we empty it in another special place - for cleaning chemical toilets. no, its not like trains in Israel - drops out... its Europe here!!
*Electricity - the systems are connected to three energy sources - the main - a 220V, a battery, gas. when camping in a camp site we connect strait to the main power and it charges the batteries and works like every home does - with power. if we don't have an outside power source we use the battery - to keep the fridge running, power in the van, water pumps etc... the third and less recommended option is to connect everything to the gas as a power source. We will do everything to keep the beers cold!!!
*some of the campers also have heating systems, usually it works like air condition systems - using gas.



I think that we got the basics. if you have any other questions - I would be happy to help... The pictures you see here are of Roger and toothbrush (temporary name) that belongs to my friends - Deborah and Nando. For 2 weeks I have used toothbrush as my bedroom... as you see getting in and out of bed involves climbing... a "great" idea when u have been drinking too much or when u need to pee... about toothbrush's name - we are looking for a new name (it wasn't baptized yet) so - any Ideas would be considered...


some more info about Roger:
most campers comes with a parasol. Roger was built as a one man show and has a very special tent (parasol) for one person to handle. this one person only needs to be 2.5 meters tall, needs to have 2 sets of hands (stretching for up to 3 meters, if possible), at least 3 legs, has to be an engineer (or at least a space ship pilot) and to stay in the same place for 10 years to make the effort worth it.

Roger and I are very close now, and we share a lot. We even share a power steering - he has the steering, I have the power...
Driving Roger is so noisy that men are more then welcome to join us - there isn't a possibility of having deep conversation (deeper then - turn left or right) and due to the steering issues mentioned above - I wouldn't be able to make those deep conversation after driving it.. so - I think we are perfect for boys.... the only thing is - I might need a massage but - since my father is reading this blog here, I will stop here....


P.S
O.M.G!! I am a celebrity!!! you can Google me now!!! (o.k. googling was always an option but now you can even find something)

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Photos

a real one
and my bed room for 2 weeks

Roger
you see what i am wearing?? its 29.09!!

Roger's secret weapon
a CD changer hidden in the kitchen

the grey thing
is the under the scean of the toilets..

Comments

[sigipil]

Living like a Turtle, but on wheels...
All you need is the wind in your hair, some place to park, and the desire to go on, exploring the world that awaits for you.. So, it takes some ime to make a turtle move, but - it goes on and on and on... Wishing you the best of all the worlds you are going to find. But, I have to tell you -shamelessly - thank you for making my dream come true, even if i'm doing it through you... thank you for living your dream all the way. I admire you for that (and many more things, but that's between us.. all my love, always, sigi.

[odidodi]

No more questions left... :)
Was very intresting, love your humor.