Aaron Neilson-Belman just returned home from a three-year journey to South America in his 1979 Volkswagen T2 Transporter. As if the journey and the vehicle weren’t hippie enough, Neilson-Belman recruited renowned Toronto artist Al Runt to paint a mural symbolizing the adventure across the van. He made it to Argentina, hitting 15 countries across 37,839 kilometres. And, let’s be honest, we’re all a little bit jealous of the freedom. So, we tracked down Mr. Van Man to ask him a few questions and maybe get some adventure inspiration.
Aaron Neilson-Belman
When did you finish your trip?
I rolled back in to Toronto the first week of May.
When is the next one and where?
Right now I am enjoying being back home, spending time with family and friends. I have also been focusing on my start up Crumbs, an app to create, share and explore self guided tours. I have been working on it the past few months and I guess you could say it's the next adventure for me.
Would you recommend this type of trip to your fellow Torontonians?
Of course! Living and traveling in a van allows you to connect and interact with people in a more intimate way. It comes with it's own challenges but has a ton of benefits as well. Thanks to the internet, there are more opportunities now than ever to work remotely while exploring. Having it covered in a wild mural by Runt, has proven to be the ultimate ice breaker.
What is the most important thing you learned on the trip?
There will be ups and downs, but with patience, determination and a good attitude anything can be overcome.
Is the van still running?
Yes, thanks to DIY videos, internet forums, and a set of tools as well as a bunch of friendly mechanics and Volkswagen enthusiasts I met along along the way.
What were a couple of the highlights?
I picked up some new skills including surfing, Spanish, how to fix a VW and how to avoid paying bribes to corrupt officials. I made some great friends and connections along the way. Using my machete to scare off an intruder who was trying to steal the gas cans off the top of my van at 4 a.m. Snowboarding in Bolivia. Taking my mom to Burning Man. Many highlights the past three years.
And what is one moment you hope to forget?
I was going to say getting robbed in Rio which left me with 11 stitches, or the seven days of bureaucracy trying to retrieve my van from the sea port of Vera Cruz in Mexico, but on further reflection, it has to be the extreme right wing radio driving back through the United States.
Go to hippievanman.com to read about all his adventures.
