In the beginning of 2019, Colin Boyd & Sofi Aldinio decided to uproot their young family of four, buy a bright orange 1978 Mercedes bus, and set off from Maine to Argentina. We were jealous enough of their trip that we figured we could tag along, figuratively, for a bit of the journey. So for the next few weeks Marine Layer will be keeping up with them during their drive south.

Their 1978 Mercedes 508D Germand Command & Control Center has been shown at van and tiny house festivals around the US and compared to Da Bus, it runs great. You can keep tabs on their adventure by following them at Afuera Vida.

Stay tuned over the next month as we post more of their correspondence from the road. In the meantime, we’ll have them tell you a bit about what inspired their trip: 

~ Driving from Maine to Argentina was something that lurked in the back of our minds for the past few years as we judiciously went to work, paid the bills and ghosted through our routine lifestyle. But after the arrival of our second son, we began hunting down a van. Months later we found a 1978 Mercedes bus and knew this was it.

After nine months on the road, we feel liberated from our old lives. There are new challenges, of course, but we are happier and more connected with ourselves and each other.

Twenty states, 15,000 miles, 240 nights of camping, and countless hikes later we’re ready to embark on phase two of our journey. We are making the final preparations to leave the United States and depart for Mexico. It’s just us, our two sons, the dog, and the van. We’ve passed our shakedown test - the van is running, we are still together, and we haven’t gone broke. We’re stoked to have you follow our journey. ~