Discovering Earth and Sky with an EV
From waking up in a glamping dome to gazing at the stars – experience how an EV blends freedom, comfort, and nature into an unforgettable experience in this travelogue from Alqueva, Portugal.
As I wake, the first fingers of Alquevas sunlight shine in through the soft curtains of my glamping dome, painting the white canvas curtains that encircle me in my luxury tent in nature with liquid gold. I don't yet know, what awaits me today. I have not planned anything. Nothing is certain, but one thing: today will be unhurried, a slow drift from one moment to the next.
As I open the door to let in fresh air and prepare myself for the day, the scent of the earth outside mingles with the smell of coffee.
My IONIQ 9 waits right outside my dome in silence, its clean lines mirroring the horizon – a promise of movement that seems limitless in its potential. Once I leave my dome, it feels like I am seizing its full potential.
8:00 AM – An Awakening
I step onto sun-warmed timber. The world is still soft around the edges – the silence that surrounds me feels like an absence, but in a good way. Nothing demands my attention, just the rising whistle of my moka pot on a small induction plate, powered by the car. I take a deep breath, letting the moment settle in as I wait for my coffee to percolate.
Satisfied, I lean back into the Adirondack chair, my palms wrapped around warm ceramic, while I watch the sunlight dance on the IONIQ 9’s bodywork. For once, it is not about where it could take me. It's just there – quiet, capable, and still. I finish my coffee slowly, letting the countryside’s hushed beauty linger a little longer.
9:30 AM – Setting Off
A fingertip on the start button and the IONIQ 9 hums to life, almost noiseless. We glide down a ribbon of road that uncoils toward the horizon. With the panoramic roof pulled wide, the inside of the car seems borderless. And suddenly, I realize I haven't decided where I am headed. And for once, it just feels right.
From around a bend in the road, a sign comes into view, that promises something in Portuguese, though I do not know what. On a whim, I brake curios about what might await me down this little track. I pass small huts and pull into a sleepy village square where I discover a small local market. I stock up on fresh bread and pastries, stash the treasures in the trunk, and slide back into my EV.
It's a quiet stop, brief and unplanned: the kind that makes slow travel feel just right.
I fold the rear seats flat and open the car doors, transforming the cabin into a breezy lounge. I stretch out on the seats with a dog-eared paperback and some of the pastries from a roadside market, I stretch out and let the wind skims through the tall dry grass.
A low-fi playlist hums softly while the car’s battery keeps my cooler humming. Hours drift by unnoticed, measured only in page numbers and the slow-moving angle of the light.
At some point, I realize just how much comfort my car provides. Thanks to the V2L function, I can plug in everything I need – my coffee machine, my laptop, even a small fridge. It is freedom in its purest form. Suddenly, I see how this EV opens a new way of traveling: reaching remote places without worrying about power, cooling or where to sleep. A new kind of freedom – one only an electric vehicle can offer.
10:00 PM – A Message from the Cosmos
Darkness arrives in intervals and then all at once - like a curtain pulled across the landscape. Alqueva is Europe's first Starlight Tourism destination, an island of true night in a sea of urban glow, almost entirely free of night pollution.
I meet Rebecca, an astronomer from the nearby Dark Sky Observatory who caps off my day with a guided stargazing session. Together, we set up a telescope and connect it to the EVs V2L outlet. As we gaze into the night, we reflect on the fact that their light began its journey before any of us existed.
I share a memory of my father tracing Orion’s belt through a window on a winter night. Under the stars, that lessen suddenly feels universal.
Rebecca guides me to constellations I have only known by name, but I have never seen so clearly in my entire life. Finally, she shows me Saturn and tells me, that, by chance, it finished its 29-year revolution of the sun today. The perfect way to bookend my stargazing session with Rebecca.
11:30 PM – An Evening Under the Stars
The session has been over for a while, but I still cannot turn my gaze from the stars. As I mull over Rebecca’s insights from our session, I recline the front seats flat and climb into the car’s quiet. Looking up from my makeshift bed, the panoramic roof frames universe above: A small part of something incredibly vast. Crickets chirp in the dark. There are distant sounds that speak of water and wind. Through the windows, starlight spills into my little personal island.
Wrapped in a blanket, I look back on a day that felt endless while it unfolded yet seems fleeting now in hindsight. For a moment, there is a twinge of something not unlike nostalgia.
But tomorrow the road will unspool beneath my wheels once more. And I know: this kind of travel, this kind of freedom – it’s not tied to one place or one model. It’s something every EV can offer. A new way to explore the world, with everything I need.
Contacts
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Wolfgang Würth
Director PR & Communications
[email protected]Adriana Cerami
Head of Corporate & Brand PR
[email protected]Elvira Vella-Herrera
Executive & Internal Communications Senior Expert
[email protected]Maria Bricio
Corporate & Brand Communications Expert
[email protected]Patricia Lammers
Corporate Communications Expert
[email protected]Conor Twomey
Head of Product PR
[email protected]Adrian Péré
Product PR Manager
[email protected]Katharina Kupper
Hyundai Newsroom Lead
