First and foremost, we’re a group of friends.

We’re a group of friends who became joined by two passions – two passions which, deep-down, is really just one.

- the passion for all-terrain vehicles, specifically Land Rovers and Santanas.

- the passion for the route, for travelling off-road with our gadgets.

We are, therefore, a group of overlanders who, whenever we find the slightest chance to get together for a few odd days, we head off on routes. No matter how inhospitable or overlooked they may be – in fact, it might be better if they are – the more inhospitable, the less frequented, the more difficult or more complex, then the more routes we plan.

Our group came into being around April 2017, although plans had been in the pipeline since April 2016, when Rafa returned from the national club meeting from Escalona (Toledo) to Malaga along tracks with his Santana 88 Militar. That was what we would go on to refer to as the prequel to Los Extremaos. That year 2017, like every year, the Spanish All-Terrain Land Rover Club (CLRTTE) organised its annual meet-up in the Pyrenees, in Broto. It was then that my friend Rafa first thought about the appealing idea of heading off along tracks instead of roads, the rest of us signed up to such a brilliant plan and we decided to embark on a route from Malaga to Broto off-road – thus was born our first Los Extremaos Trans-Iberian voyage.

Other journeys emerged in the wake of that first one – we got into the habit of showing up at national and autumnal meetings of the CLRTTE by driving from the other side of the map – from one end of the Iberian Peninsula to the other. Since then we’ve been organising this type of journey in which the common denominator is that, to get somewhere, we depart from the opposite side of the map and drive on as little asphalt as possible.

We are also, coincidentally, from opposite ends of Spain - some even from off the map, namely our intrepid Pierre and myself, who actually live across the border (France).

Hence the name by which we are known within the club - LOS EXTREMAOS. Los Extremaos for two reasons: one, because we travel from one extremo (“end” in Spanish) of the map to the other, albeit for now within Spain, Portugal, Corsica and Morocco (although in the last-mentioned case organised by the Santa Trophy). As I say, when we have to go somewhere, first we go to a place on the opposite side of the map to embark on the journey.

Los Extremaos also because we are each from one extremo of the map of Spain and France, and so we are therefore the ones who hail from the extremos - LOS EXTREMAOS.

But who are we and who forms part of Los Extremaos? Initially, there were 4 founders – and these are the ones who are still here now: Rafa, Paco, Pierre and myself (Javier). However, there are actually more of us. There are no defined rules attached to being considered an Extremao – it basically means anyone who travels with us. On some occasions we have jokingly thought that, to be considered an Extremao, it would be necessary to go on or take part in at least three routes with us. In any case, there are no approved requirements. And so, at present, LOS EXTREMAOS means any of us who travel together -perhaps as founders, we might have to hold an assembly to lay down the requirements for being considered an Extremao.

Anyhow and as I said at the beginning, we’re all good friends with a desire to share our passion for Land Rovers, as my friend Pierre would say, and with no pretensions other than to carry on planning routes for as long as we can and all the time nothing or no one prevents us from doing so.