GlobalTraces / GlobalTraces is on Nostr

A nomadic globetrotting family living in an ex-military expedition truck.
We are Dave, Jess, Isla (aged 5) and Otis the Hungarian Vizsla.
📍Kazakhstan
Dave is a professional photographer, Jess is a full time mum to Isla. Otis makes lots of noise 🤣

Last Notes

2026-09-15 05:12:43 UTC

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Thanks Nathan. Yes it feels like a nightmare that just won’t end right now!
We’re looking for the light at the end of the tunnel though, and there’s definitely a glimmer starting to appear.

2026-09-14 19:29:33 UTC

GE Nostr 🌆
A few weeks before our accident, we sat down with Ash from Overland Journal as she interviewed us for the podcast.
In it we talk about life on the road in a big truck and the realities of overlanding.
Listening back now, it seems almost prescient because we talk about resilience and the ability to solve problems and pivot when plans change.
And that’s exactly where we find ourselves now. Effectively homeless, back in the UK and staying with family, but still trying to work a way forwards. A way back on to the road to continue the life we began five years ago.
If you use Spotify and feel like listening to us, you can hear it here.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0RhyMDq0FnNuV5trJuXp8N?si=PWtx87pmSFSCvFNvET7Ucw&utm_source=copy-link
Its also on youtube and various other streaming platforms. If you do listen, let us know what you thought of it!
In the meantime, we are pushing forwards, making plans and figuring out what the road looks like next. Thanks to all of you hear for the messages, support and zaps. It is greatly appreciated.
https://blossom.primal.net/141e75db7e52847896e1f09d3df5dca58178d7abc306a336abf7c57871c76803.jpg

2026-09-13 21:42:13 UTC

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Sadly we had quite the accident in Kaz. We were driving through an under construction toll booth and clipped a tyre on the unmarked concrete plinth. Since it was finished it was like a razor and sliced open the tyre turning us in to passengers as we then hit the post at about 30kmh. That stopped us dead and the momentum bounced us back the other way as we rolled over.
Fortunately we all walked away (although I had concussion and whiplash and a night in a Kazakh hospital after some x-rays and CT scans.)
Sadly Bebe is a write off 😢

2026-09-13 20:50:01 UTC

GN Nostriches!
Watching our home, Bebe, being recovered after the accident in Kazakhstan was painful in the extreme. Seeing a truck this size, that you’ve built your life around for the last five years, all bent and twisted and out of shape, cut really deep.
But she gave us five years of incredible adventures and, when the chips were down, she kept us safe so we all walked away.
#overland #alternativeliving #expeditiontruck
https://blossom.primal.net/0873c626c7edfd7d75ebef57e1129a72636480e2a7fc4ab0d9ba04dcf7f9f676.mov

2026-09-10 06:01:45 UTC

GN Nostriches 🌅
Wow! Thank you so much for the support and zaps. As you may imagine this is a very challenging time as we try to navigate what the future looks like.
We are truly grateful for your support and words of encouragement.
We will rebuild. And we will continue this lifestyle we have chosen because we feel it is the best way, for us, to live our lives and raise and educate Isla.
If doing so brings inspiration to any of you, then so much the better.
https://blossom.primal.net/41cf7006276f11e5d8e591aa0e2e2dfe0d525c1e03cc7e56ad56e3ac01dee640.jpg

2026-09-08 19:55:52 UTC

“Why did Bebe have to hurt herself to keep us safe? It wasn’t her job.”
That’s what Isla asked us after the accident.
We didn’t have a good answer for her beyond saying that Bebe did exactly what she was built to do.
We’ve been quiet for a while because we’ve been trying to process what happened and work out what comes next.
A few weeks ago in Kazakhstan, Bebe’s front tyre clipped an unmarked concrete plinth at a half-finished toll booth. It slashed the sidewall and we lost control. The rear wheel then caught the same plinth and blew out too, swinging Bebe into a metal post and flipping her onto her side.
We all got out. I was taken to hospital and stayed overnight for X-rays, CT scans and other tests. I escaped relatively lightly with concussion, whiplash and a few minor cuts. Jess was shaken and bruised. Isla and Otis were unharmed.
We know how lucky we are.
Bebe, our home for the last five years, has been catastrophically damaged. The chassis is badly bent, the cab mangled and the habitation box, our actual home, has suffered major structural and internal damage.
Bebe was never just a truck.
Six years ago we sold up, sold almost everything we owned and put our life savings into building a different life. She became our home, office and school. The place Isla has grown up in. The place we’ve built our whole life around.
There is no comprehensive insurance to replace her. Commercially viable comprehensive cover for a truck like Bebe on a long-term journey outside Europe simply wasn’t available.
After a lot of encouragement from friends in the community, we’ve set up a GoFundMe to help cover the cost of getting all of us and as many of our belongings as possible back to England, deal with the aftermath of the accident and begin building a replacement family home on wheels.
Asking for help doesn’t come naturally to us. But right now, we need it.
If you can donate, either through gofundme or direct with SATs, thank you. If you can’t, sharing this post or the genuinely helps too.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-global-traces-family-rebuild
Thank you.
Jess, Dave, Isla & Otis
https://blossom.primal.net/1de16f9bc8a5a0a8239e18aa40dd7f9ca544ef2e7e82c2e3d679eae9e43dc702.jpg