Hi there!

 

I’m super excited that you want to get to know us!

Have you already read all About BlueMarble Vagabonds? Cool, then let me tell you a bit more about the members of the pack.

 

HOW IT ALL BEGAN…

 

Technically, there are four of us now (ok, 5 if counting Loki the Van!) since you’ll usually find us in the company of furry members of the pack, Nano, the grumpy JRT and Nui, the happy Border Collie.

If you’d ask Nano how it all began, he’d probably tell you that I found him and Bojan on a ski trip in 2016.

 

At skiing - our first photo
That’s us, on the right. At that moment we have known each other for approximately 4 hours. 🙂

 

As cheesy as it sounds, there was “a connection” from the moment we met. But Bojan claims that me finding out he owns a van with enough space to store TWO mountain bikes kind of sealed the deal 😁. However, we have been wandering around the world together ever since.

Two years later, Bojan decided to “pop the question” and just 6 months later we got married, quit our jobs and went on a year-long honeymoon around the world (read all about it here). During that time Nano was on a holiday of his own – he stayed at a 6-star hotel with Bojan’s sister where he was spoiled rotten on a daily basis.

Soon after we returned from the “honeymoon”, the C* thing happened and we suddenly found ourselves exploring our own country. Finding the silver lining and all that!

Then we fulfilled our dream and bought a 4×4 van (this beauty here) and built it from scratch. In 2022, our pack got bigger when Nui joined us and we’re now exploring Europe together! (& sure, Bojan and I still visit other continents now and then! 🙂 )

 

Moments after we have become a married couple. Walking down the aisle, with Nano by our side
And that’s us, moments after buying a very special “one-way ticket” 😉 (Photo Credit: Tomaz Kos Weddings)

 

Meet Sandra

 

Yep, I am the one who writes articles for this corner of the all-mighty web. I also take care of our social media accounts and try to use my camera as often as possible. I am still learning the art of photography, that is to say, and I try to find all possible excuses for why my photos didn’t turn out the way I intended – camera, light, bad day, full moon… you name it 🙂

New adventures, travels or just trips to the seaside or mountains are ALWAYS on my mind and the best feeling in the world, in my opinion, is having a new plane ticket in my pocket even before the last trip has ended.

My family has somewhat gotten used to this (oh, who am I kidding, they still hope I’ll settle down someday) and according to them, my free spirit has something to do with my Sagittarius sign (always good to blame the stars) and grandpa’s genes (he was also a Sagittarius, so maybe there’s some truth in that after all).

Since I am curious by nature – and a multi-passionate (and I also run a digital marketing business) – I LOVE trying new things and my biggest struggle is usually that it feels like my day doesn’t have enough hours to do everything I want.

If I had to choose my three favorite hobbies, I’d say traveling, yoga, mountain biking, Zumba, running, cuddling + sheepherding + mantrailing with our pups, photography, reading… oh, and here I am, well over three already.

 

Yoga pose at sunset at Salar de Uyuni
Travel & Yoga – so little to keep me happy! Oh, and guacamole. Lots of guacamole.

 

My favorite places on our Blue Marble

It’s extremely difficult to choose. By now I have probably visited 60+ countries, but the world is so large that it almost feels insignificant.

As my favorite country, I’d probably choose Iran, which may be a surprise, but the hospitality of the people is unbelievable. Or Argentina, I just LOVE everything about it. And I fell in love with New Zealand at first sight. Also, I adore Istanbul and since I lived in Turkey for over 6 months, it almost feels like home every time I return there. But my favorite place in the world is somewhere among rice fields in Ubud – yep, I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for Bali.

See, can’t decide!

But not only foreign countries, but our Slovenia also is beautiful and I absolutely adore it, especially two regions – Soča Valley and Goriška Brda.

 

How would Bojan describe me?

She is “a nomad soul” who wants to fully enjoy life. A dreamer who needs attention, lots of it sometimes. 😉 Someone who is extremely emphatic and inclusive, despises narrow-mindedness, and dreads the routine. Obsessed with her furry kids. To be honest, I dread the day she will start putting little dresses on our dogs and showing them around in an “Oh look at them, the are the most adorable dogs in the world” manner. 🙂

 

Sandra's head at the rice fields in Bali
Don’t bother, I’m just gonna stay here!

 

Meet Bojan

 

So, it looks like I’ve got a task as well to write something about myself. And since I prefer doing things rather than writing about them, this was slightly stressful, to put it mildly.

Shortly, my goal is to enjoy life, because it is definitely too short to do it any other way. I guess we are doing quite well in that category so far 🙂

I come from a region in Slovenia called Dolenjska (Southeastern Slovenia around the Krka river) and I am extremely proud of it. We have quite famous wine there, called “cviček” but I still prefer beer and plan to brew my own one day. Breweries are always on our itinerary when we travel!

I am an engineer and love to do something with my own hands rather than simply buy it (and writing is my weak point, as you might have guessed by now). I spend a lot of free time working and repairing my bikes and I’ve built our Loki the Van all by myself. This is totally opposite to Sandra, who thinks that everything could (and should) be bought or outsourced. You could say I’m an avid DIY-er. On second thought, maybe I should charge her for all the technical solutions I come up with the next time she puts together a project in her mind 🙂

Besides spending time in my “man bike cave”, I love all things adrenaline and I enjoy being outside; in the past, I dedicated my free time to many different sports, from running, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding and cycling to motorbikes and football. Of course, every time I started a new hobby I had to buy all the possible equipment and almost went bankrupt, but hey, you only live once, right?

But for the past few years, I’ve spent most of my free time on my mountain bike or on skis during the winter (freeriding is awesome!). Sure, still going bankrupt with all the equipment expenses, but as I said…YOLO 🙂

 

Bojan and Torres del Paine in the distance
Always outside!

 

Things I Couldn’t Live Without

I cannot imagine my life (besides my wife, of course 😉 ) without mountain biking, which is why you may find some posts about such trips on our blog as well.

Thankfully, Sandra rides bikes too, so we can spend time together, and most importantly, she understands all the (un)necessary financial expenses that come with it (and more often than not, I am not the one who spends the most). 😛

And naturally, I cannot forget about our furry friends, they make even the worst kind of days way better just by waggling their tails.

I’ll never say no to travel and there’s plenty of that with Sandra constantly planning our next trips. I visited a few countries in Asia, saw a great deal of Europe and parts of northern Africa before we met…but with her, I went all around our Blue Marble.

But even though I am excited about going abroad I have to admit that every time I return to Slovenia, it still feels like the most beautiful country in the world to me.

 

What Sandra Says About Me

He is a bigger version of Nano – excited about everything that life has to offer; if he could, he’d eat very often; mildly hyperactive at times, and at others his lazy side comes to light and he plays a couch potato.

He is very easy-going and therefore a good influence on my occasionally anxious soul. He is more patient and talks less than me, which makes our relationship possible. 😉 He adores everything furry on four legs; therefore, I haven’t quite yet excluded the option of having a zoo behind our house one day. Or at least a pack of dogs. Despite the fact that he enjoys being at home more than I do, I guess what he’d love the most would be to travel in a van, explore all the bike trails around the world and sell his own beer for a living. 🙂

 

Bojan on his mountain bike
My second biggest love. Not first. Obviously. 

 

 

Now you want to know even more, do you?

 

Oh, I knew you would, you cute little stalker.  I swear that is a compliment. 😉

Then there’s only one thing left to do… To low-key stalk us officially on social media, of course!

You can do so by clicking that mighty FOLLOW button on our Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or Youtube.

Oh, but WHICH ONE, you might wonder.

Ok, let me give you a clue:

  • On Instagram, I post stories every day. Ok, almost every day. So here you can keep up with us almost like with the Kardashians! Lots of cute videos with our pups doing absolutely nothing but being SO adorable. Travel memories. Weekend trips. Daily updates from travels. You get the idea. 
  • On Facebook, I throw in some travel updates, a video or two and always let you know when a new post is published!
  • On Pinterest you’ll find all kinds of cool stuff! Tons of travel tips, itineraries and a daily dose of travel inspiration.
  • I didn’t write that much during our one-year honeymoon, but at least our vlogs can give you “The Big Brother” experience and some South America travel tips! Hop on our Youtube channel to binge-watch them all!

 

Now, did I make things easier for you? (And sure, you can follow us everywhere as well, you’ll make my day!)

 

I hope you’ll stick around! Happy vagabonding 🙂