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

2026-09-14 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 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

2025-09-17 07:54:56 UTC

We’re in Tajikistan. That guy on the motorbike the other side of the river…. Is in Afghanistan!
#overlanding #borderzone #pamirhighway
https://blossom.primal.net/efc1e0126d11056518ec818ebb93beb01872c6325f01d9c488502d96076d5cc9.mov

2025-08-31 05:03:41 UTC

Expect lots of shots like this. This is the Pamir Highway. The long, lonesome road surrounded by epic mountains.
Did you know that Tajikistan is 90% mountainous and about 50% of the land mass is over 3000m.
If you’re a mountain lover, it’s the place to be.
#photography #overlanding #tajikistan #centralasia #borderlessliving
https://blossom.primal.net/8aab8c065eda81d513f17284b12fd1b5ce3c5c477d700ffec2eb5ada7572f11c.jpg

2025-08-27 01:43:23 UTC

- reply

I haven’t put them up anywhere individually yet as these are all from the last week, but maybe this is a sign I should!

2025-08-27 01:16:11 UTC

Travel fact: Kyrgyzstan is 93% Mountains and has an average height of 2750m above sea level.
Mostly formed by the Tian Shan or “Celestial Mountains” range, but also including the Pamir Mountain range too.
There are three peaks over 7000m - Pobeda Peak being the tallest at 7439m, Lenin Peak at 7134m and Khan Tengri at 7010m.
#travelstr #photography #overlanding #mountains #livefree
https://blossom.primal.net/c27d2391692709ae923daaaf17e2d9131d3e7c87dc2fdda797fff2cdb93f54ab.jpg

2025-08-21 05:54:47 UTC

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Will do in future!

2025-08-20 01:43:39 UTC

Postcards from Kyrgyzstan #7
Lake Song Kul, Kyrgyztan, sits at an altitude of 3016m (9,895ft.)
It is the largest freshwater later in the country. And second largest lake overall after Issyk Kul (which is slightly brackish due to evaporation.)
Descending from Song Kul is a feast for the eyes. You begin on the alpine plateau before winding your way down a series of incredible dirt track hairpins gradually getting down to the tree line where towering stands of pine trees cover the landscape, with yurts nestled in between them - a far less brutal summer homestead than those up on the plateau.
Further down the pines give way to deciduous trees and eventually, after descending about 1.5km in vertical height, you return to the low trees and scrub land.
#borderlessliving #kyrgyzstan #overlandlife
https://blossom.primal.net/00c546a36d04ac617e31b8e486fe75213e3561935feccc817f4d2563900342fe.jpg

2025-08-17 13:07:05 UTC

Postcards from Kyrgyzstan #3
Suyek pass between Karasay and Lake Arabel. 4030m above sea level with glaciers sitting in the valleys either side.
#alternativeliving #borderlesslife #livefree
https://blossom.primal.net/c1f6f2df374823b3a21777eee48fb1f57c24910823c467f20a33466ea9cc442c.jpg

2025-07-30 14:22:21 UTC

We don’t often drive at night, but sometimes needs must. In those situations we like to be able to see where we’re going… 👀
#overlandlife #overlandfamily #expeditiontruck
https://blossom.primal.net/635782d597f3d6c66699471e5a01ae8d1d6594b1651c15c22cf785d9f5dc8e2c.mov

2025-02-19 12:32:00 UTC

I took a boat trip out on to Lake Kerkini this moring to see and photograph the Dalmatian Pelicans. They’re such interesting birds with that tuft of hair, ridiculous, big bills and amazing eyes. And they look so menacing when they stare straight at you!
They’re also the largest pelican species and quite probably the largest freshwater bird in the world, weighing in around 9.5kg with a wingspan to rival some of the albatrosses.
They’re listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN list and their population is still decreasing due to exploitation at all life stages. It’s estimated there are 3000-5000 breeding pairs left.
In Mongolian markets for example, the going rate for a Dalmatian Pelican bill is 10 horses and 30 sheep.
While Lake Kerkini is not their largest population (that’s Lake Prespa on the border of Greece and Albania) there is still a good population here, that given the efforts of locals who run boat trips to see them and conservation efforts to provide breeding and nesting platforms on the lake, is holding steady.
#environmentalawareness #seetheworldwithdifferenteyes #wildlife #photography #decentralisedliving
https://m.primal.net/PCoz.jpg

2025-02-06 20:07:08 UTC

If you’re interested in following our journey, living our decentralised family life driving around the world in our truck, what would you like to see more of:
1. Truck pictures
2. Places we go
3. Doing family things
#truckstr #overlandlife #alternativelifestyle
https://m.primal.net/OTcx.jpg