Back to Cyprus and the Land Cruiser – Overland Travel

It was with a sense of loss that we left the Land Cruiser behind on Cyprus last summer. Still numb from Coen’s brain cancer diagnosis (read about it here), and with him just out of the hospital – part of his head shaved, stitches crisscrossing where the tumor had been removed – we drove through Nicosia in a daze, on a goose chase from one office to the next.

Two full days in forty-degree Celsius heat, stuck in unattractive, barren offices with no air conditioning (not that we have any in the Land Cruiser either), sorting out paperwork so the Land Cruiser could stay in Cyprus for a year.

It was an intense undertaking, but we were incredibly grateful for the cooperation we received in the bureaucratic maze – normally, you only get six months. At least we didn’t have to worry about the Land Cruiser. Let me take a moment to, once again, thank Aytac of guesthouse Suluca Homes in Girne (Kyrenia). His incredible help during this ordeal and his generosity in offering his olive yard for the Land Cruiser’s stay meant the world to us.

To the Netherlands

We flew back to the Netherlands, where Coen was immediately swept into the whirlwind of cancer treatments – radiation, chemotherapy, and months of uncertainty about whether the treatment would work. The sheer intensity of relief last month when we learned the treatment had worked was overwhelming. The MRI showed no signs of tumor activity. Finally, we could take a deep breath again and look to the future with confidence.

Meanwhile, other processes were unfolding in our lives. As you may have read, last June – just a week before we flew to Cyprus and our world turned upside down – we bought a ‘new’ BJ45 (read about it here). Because, after 21 years of world travel, our trusty home on wheels was exhausted, worn down, and ready for retirement.

Where it will end up?

We’ll leave that open for now…

Vincent and Kirstin, with whom we have stayed the past couple of months, took out the champagne to celebrate the wonderful result of the MRI scan – all tumor activity eliminated

Back to Cyprus

Step 1 in that transition process from the old to the new Land Cruiser meant saying goodbye and emptying out the old beast. So, right after the MRI results, we set off in our, by now, third vehicle – a tiny Starlet – and drove 3,500 kilometers to Cyprus in a week. The trip gave us an immediate glimpse into our future: one where I will always be the one driving (at least on public roads) because Coen’s field of vision is permanently reduced by fifty percent due to the tumor.

It’s not just the Land Cruiser that’s worn out; we are tired of our travel companion, too. That became painfully clear once again upon arrival. The starter batteries were dead. Batteries we had replaced last summer and barely driven a few hundred kilometers with. The blistering Cypriot heat (our thermometer showed that inside the truck, temperatures had exceeded fifty degrees Celsius) had apparently fried them.

We had two days to fix the issue before the Land Cruiser was scheduled to take the ferry back to Turkey. So, off on another goose chase, this time through Girne (Kyrenia). On foot, since we had left the Starlet in Turkey. This time, though, it was in pleasant winter temperatures under a bright sun, and with Coen’s hair fully grown back.

There are always angels out there, and sure enough, a young man from a parts shop drove us back to the Land Cruiser and replaced the batteries.

Problem solved.

After 15 years we saw our friends Dan & Dominique again, who we know from French Guiana.

Down Memory Lane

A few days later we were back on Turkish soil, heading to an Airbnb to spend days emptying out the Land Cruiser and sorting through our belongings.

Memories flooded back as we handled each item: the pink box that has traveled with us since Thailand (2005), the banner we had made for a photo exhibition in Argentina (2009), the extra mounting clamps from South Korea (2018), received during the hunt for the brake line gremlins (ready for a good story? Find it here)…

What do we take with us?

What can go?

What is an integral part of the Land Cruiser and must stay?

A laugh, a smile, a sense of nostalgia, a tear. Looking at the pictures, flags, drawings, and money bills pinned to the interior evoked a sense of amazement at all the places we’ve traveled, everything we’ve done, and the incredible people who have become part of our lives.

Slowly but surely, our 21-year Land Cruiser adventure was coming full circle.

As the trash cans filled up and the Land Cruiser was emptied out, we let go of something that had run its course. In that process, we made space – both physically and mentally – for the future: new plans, new ideas, new adventures.

The week was intense and beautiful. In light of Coen’s diagnosis last summer, we feel deeply grateful that we can do this together!