Today, the home of Brazilian Luciana Schuetze is a Forest River Georgetown 36F5 motorhome, with 3 single beds, 2 double beds, and 1 bathroom, currently parked in a campsite in Milton, Ontario. Five years ago, she began her journey from Campinas to Toronto. Expatriated by the company, Luciana came to take on a new position in Canada’s largest city. The plan was the classic one: house, work, and try for permanent residency. Everything worked out. Luciana moved in January 2021, with her daughter, husband, and dogs, who only arrived in August. She worked on-site at the pharmaceutical factory that employs her until she reduced her on-site schedule, took on more remote work, and started living in a house on wheels, the motorhome she named “Urso.”
Luciana is my mother. I wanted to share her story because, by closely following her journey, I can see how many opportunities Canada offers for those with an adventurous spirit who love to stay connected to nature, just like my mother.
Connections with Nature. A Life Story
Luciana’s desire to explore the world through nature isn’t new. Since she was a little girl, her father, my grandfather Ubirajara, would take her and the family camping, whether on the beach, in the woods, or in the mountains. “I loved it, from a very young age, even as a baby. At 2, 3, 4 years old… we would go camping, and I spent my childhood and adolescence camping at least once a year,” Luciana says. And these were always remote adventures. I remember her telling me stories about them being isolated for days on beaches in São Paulo or on challenging trails to reach their desired destinations. This influenced her decision to adopt a nomadic life here in Canada. She told me that she always preferred camping in deserted places, which is why she likes the idea of the motorhome.
The beautiful and vast provincial parks, lakes, and mountains of Canada were not the reason Luciana moved here, but when she found out the country would be her new home, the opportunity to explore these places excited her a lot. “I knew about the wonderful landscapes and nature of Canada. Here, even more than in Brazil, there are many more uninhabited places. And that’s what I love to discover.”
In August, when the weather had warmed up, her best adventure partner finally arrived from Brazil. “As soon as Edu arrived, I think it was the first or second weekend, we already went camping.”
In Search of Adventure
Luciana’s husband, Eduardo, is also a great adventurer (they met while camping). Nearly 20 years ago, when my brother was about 5 or 6 years old, my mother took him to climb Pico dos Marins in São Paulo – one of the highest mountains in the state – with a group of friends. It was there that she met Edu for the first time. Over the years, they crossed paths at adventure races and other camping trips. But it was in 2019, during another moment in nature, that they reconnected and started their current partnership. “We were taking a trip, rowing through Ilhabela (in São Paulo), on an island with a diameter of 150 kilometers. We spent four days there,” she told me.
In Canada, after a few years in Toronto and enduring the lockdown period and severe winters, Luciana and Edu finally decided to get a motorhome and start their journey of life on wheels. “I always thought about having this greater mobility, right? And I really wanted, one day, to spend some time or live in a motorhome.”
The couple’s desire aligned with the fact that I was graduating from college and leaving home. Also, both of them had more flexibility in their work to take on remote life. It was in April 2024, after several weeks of research and visits to different motorhome dealerships, that they bought the “Urso,” which stayed parked in front of our house the whole time while we were moving.
“The first day of the trip was the first time we actually slept [in Urso]. We took the motorhome and went to Niagara, and it was the day of the total eclipse. It was the most special night in the world. It was so beautiful, I even got goosebumps again just talking about it,” Luciana said.
Getting to Know Urso
Luciana and Eduardo’s plan was to buy a smaller motorhome, but when they started looking, they realized that to fit everything they wanted, the bus had to be bigger. “We also have three large dogs. And since we do a lot of adventure activities, it had to have space for two bicycles, a kayak, a canoe, snowboards, skis, snowshoes…” Luciana explained.
And Urso is big. It’s like a bus, and it has slides, which means parts of the living room and bedroom slide out when parked. “With it opened up, the interior area is 30 square meters, so it’s bigger, for example, than small apartments. And it has all the comforts of a home: it has a large TV, refrigerator, stove, and microwave. My bed is Queen size. Urso is 36 feet long, and it can accommodate visitors.”
What You Need to Know
To drive a motorhome like Urso, which has two axles, you can use a regular Canadian driver’s license, the Full G. It can be challenging to drive, Luciana said, but nothing that practice can’t solve.
One of the challenges she encountered was finding places to park her home near the city when she was still working semi-remotely in North York. “But my expectation for the future, now that I have a 100% remote job, is to be able to stay in more remote places.” So, the couple’s first challenge was finding a place to stay near the city. The second will be finding remote and free places in Ontario.
Parking on Crown Land could be a solution, as it’s free. Luciana researches everything online, and the provincial and federal park websites are great for finding information and making reservations. “It’s easy to search, easy to reserve. And they are the most beautiful places.”
Another challenge was this winter season. Urso is fully prepared for the cold, with thermal insulation and heating. But some additional infrastructure is also essential, especially for beginner adventurers. The water has to be underground to avoid freezing. So the clean water and sewage systems need to be buried more than two meters deep. “We don’t need to go out, especially because there’s a lot of snow in this region,” Luciana said. “In the winter, it was a challenge to keep Urso parked. I like to move around. I wanted to live in the motorhome to travel, but winter is almost over now.”
With spring and summer approaching, Luciana and Eduardo are excited to hit the road with Urso, and the idea is truly to embark on adventures. “When we have even more mobility, since Edu is getting organized with his work, I want to go all the way to Alaska. After that, the plan is to try to head down to Brazil. I know this might seem like a very distant dream… but that’s the goal,” says Luciana.
For those who also want to embrace this lifestyle, Luciana suggests starting now. You have to try it out first. Because life in a motorhome is somewhat like camping. You’ll have to take your clothes to be washed elsewhere, and you always need to drain and sanitize the bathroom’s waste tank… “It’s a different life from living in a house. So, try camping first, try renting first. And then do a lot of research, follow social media for tips, and talk to people who already live in or have used a motorhome.”
Even with the challenges and stresses of life on the road, Luciana wouldn’t trade Urso for anything. If you want to follow more of Luciana and her partner Edu’s adventures, visit their Instagram account, @luedu.adventure.
