Nomads Recover from Tragic Van Explosion

We are calling on support from our incredible community in this time of crisis.

Sadly, the dream van that has been our home for the last several weeks has tragically caught on fire and burned down along with almost all of our belongings on Tuesday May 23rd at 6:35pm in Encinitas, California. Here's our story.

It all began when Julian found an EPIC 1999 VW Eurovan on the internet and decided to put everything else in his life on hold for the opportunity to fly to Seattle, purchase the van, and visit his friends throughout the West Coast while road tripping down to Mexico to give the van (we named Winnie) some extra TLC and restoration to be in top shape for adventuring and eventually resale to another couple. He met me, Isabella, at a music festival in northern California and we instantly had a strong & magical connection.

In Nevada City, CA

The sacred fire where we met ❤️‍

We were sitting around a campfire (lol - foreshadowing?) singing songs together and talking about music, travel, and our mutual friends. We continued to hang out and he invited me to join him in going down to work on the van and visit those same friends, Jah and Sunny, who own the Mystical Yoga Farm at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, who coincidentally happened to be visiting their family in Encinitas at the same time. We planned to leave my car in NorCal, go down and then cruise back up the Pacific coast to enjoy our newly upgraded ride.

Winnie looking all pretty in Tijuana

Unfortunately, tragedy struck hours only after we crossed the border back into the US. After a week-long stressful and challenging mission to Tijuana to get the car all pimped up, we made it into California again, we did some errands, buying nice fabric to make new curtains for the van, fairy lights, a new surfboard to enjoy the waves along the trip and a bunch of healthy groceries. We stopped at Beacon Beach for a quick surf and then went to the nearby gas station to fill up our propane tank so that we could cook our dinner in the van before meeting up with our friends.

Just few hours later

When we got there around 6:30pm, Julian parked the van next to the propane tank and went inside the store to ask the clerk to help us. The clerk was really busy, and he accidentally overfilled the tank, creating a high-pressure jet of propane that caught on fire, completely burning down our van and causing damage to nearby cars. We were seriously afraid that the entire gas station would explode, but fortunately, nobody suffered any physical injuries. The mental and emotional trauma has been significant, but we are doing our best to keep our spirits high like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes.

Isabella was in the passenger seat when it happened and immediately jumped out of the van when she saw the flames with only her phone in her hand and the clothes she was wearing: leaving behind and losing her shoes, wallet, passport, hundreds of dollars in cash, her laptop, airpods, and other electronics, hula hoop, clothes, camera, water bottle, travel backpack, and many more essientials.

Julian, of course, lost the van, which was a major investment and worth $30k+, plus many of his sentimental belongings including his guitar, surfboard, clothes, crystals, and much more. One of the most stressful parts of the situation is that his insurance policy doesn't look like it will support us in covering anything and it could take a significant amount of time and energy to get any compensation from the gas station's insurance. We are in the process of finding a lawyer and preparing to take legal action, and therefore, if / when we do receive a future payout, we intend to donate the amount of money raised with this campaign to another community in need (most likely an indigenous Amazonian tribe that Julian works closely with).

Overall this experience has been shocking, devastating, as well as humbling. Again, we are extremely grateful that nobody was injured and that most of the things we lost are replaceable (yet expensive). We are grateful to be alive with a crazy story to tell and can hopefully promote safety & education about propane for other Vanlife folks like us.

Now we can empathize more deeply with others who have suffered from similar types of crises & sudden loss.

We have to give a huge thank you to our friends Jah and Sunny & her family for taking us in and helping us out immediately after the accident and would like to donate 2% of the funds we raise to the Mystical Yoga Farm. Also sending our appreciation to the Encinitas police & fire responders who handled the situation very professionally. And lastly thank YOU for taking the time to read about what happened to us, to donate whatever you can, and for helping us spread our campaign by sharing it within your community.

If 1,000 people can donate $22 or 500 people donate $44 we can easily meet our goal to cover the majority of the expenses of our loss.

Wishing you infinite blessings,

Isabella & Julian

More About Us

Julian is a native of Montreal, Canada. He is a lover of adventures, different cultures, and languages. He has spent a lot of his time in Peru and Brazil connecting with different indigenous tribes like the Shipibos, Yawanawas and others in the Amazon rainforest that inspire him musically and teach him about many healing modalities. He also often travels to Costa Rica and Guatemala where he is connected with a vast web of friends all over the world. He loves singing, playing guitar, and surfing. Everyone that meets him loves him. He celebrated his 29th birthday on May 12th.

Isabella, aka Isa, is a nomadic artist, dancer, and yoga teacher originating from Pensacola, Florida. She is passionate about nature, sisterhood, personal & collective empowerment, and community building. She enjoys all things slow and sensual, including but not limited to: yummy food, nourishing friendships, laughter, music, sunshine, cuddles, and of course travel! From January to March of this year, she lived at the Mystical Yoga Farm as a resident volunteer and has been a part of several other amazing communities within the last year alone, in places like Nashville, Asheville, New Orleans, St Pete, Austin, and Nevada City. She loves chilling just as much as getting groovy, and people describe her presence as warm, comforting, and fun. She will turn 26 on June 20th.