Vespa World Club, Portugal 2010, Vespa World Days

  

Having followed the route umpteen times on paper it was heartening to see these now familiar Spanish place-names come to life. Burgos, Palencia, Valladolid… we were on the right road. 170 miles over the Spain-Portugal border and the 6 km sign to Fatima was soon to come into view.

The journey had been amazing. Barely a cloud overhead since we set off from home and the daytime temperatures not dipping below the mid-seventies.

This was Susan’s first real journey on the back of a Vespa, and mine on a GTS. A different type of scooter on unfamiliar roads, so armoured jackets and breeks were the order of the day(s). But by Christ, were we warm!

Down through Yorkshire and the Cotswolds our first overnight stop was in Bath and a chance to cool off, before heading across to Plymouth to catch the ferry to Northern Spain.

After soaking up the sun on deck and a decent sleep we arrived in Santander after noon, fresh and ready for a two-stop 250-mile blast to Salamanca.

  

Paul On His GTS

  

50 miles from the Portuguese border, the old city of Salamanca is a world heritage site and its central square - Plaza Mayor - our chosen spot to spend the evening and enjoy some tapas and a cerveja or two.

Next morning we filled up and rejoined the A-62, heading west into the hills - viaducts getting taller, tunnels longer - the scenery breathtaking.

Three more 80-mile bursts and there it was - Fatima - and the sign told us we had less than five miles to go. After paying the 1.60 euro toll to leave the auto-estrada the scooter’s engine died on us! It turned out to be only a faulty HT lead but, not knowing that at the time, we arranged to get the scooter carted off to the nearest Piaggio dealer.

Until we got back on two wheels the next 48 hours were spent enjoying the heatwave and getting to know this quaint town.

Fatima has become a pilgrimage centre for the Catholic world, with an estimated half a million tourists each year. But for four days in July, all roads lead to the municipal stadium on the outskirts of town - the Vespa village for VWD10.

Susan Hird

 

 

Hanging around the village enjoying a beer or two was the order of the (first) day as many of the entrants representing 183 Vespa clubs started to arrive. The food, drink and merchandise stalls kept us occupied as we met up with many of the other thirty who’d travelled down from Britain.

Numbers continued to rise throughout Day 2, as we took in two of the organised tours - a 20 km ‘rural’ rideout followed in the afternoon by a longer run out to the hills and the opportunity to swim in the ice cold natural spring at Agroal.

We returned to the Vespa village in the evening for a couple of drinks with some of our new acquaintances but it was a short-ish night as Saturday was to be an early start.

 

  

 

Having dragged Susan off to a scooter event - for her summer holiday - I’d prayed it’d be worth it and so far the organisation and friendliness had us bowled over. But Day 3 was something else!

It was a misty start to the day but throughout our now familiar journey out to the Vespa village there was a real buzz - a feeling that something special was about to happen. Over a thousand Vespas riding en masse to the seaside resort of Nazare, with a police escort. That was pretty special to me.

First stop was the monastery at Batalha, where we were all served a light snack. Then it was back on the scooters for more waving and tooting of horns for the locals who stood at the edge of the road out to Nazare where a buffet lunch was served.

 

 

Alcobaca was the last stop on the 105 km rideout- a picture-postcard village, made all the more picturesque with hundreds of Vespas parked anywhere and everywhere, and scooterists of all nationalities mingling outside its café bars.

More live music, an acrobatic display on scooters, and a gala dinner on the Saturday night - a (five course) sit-down meal with wine served to 2,000 satisfied punters in the main marquee - was the perfect way to finish a great day and an excuse to join our fellow VCB members one last time.

I’m a great believer in the best time to leave a party’s when it’s in full swing. Still, when Sunday morning arrived - the sun beating down again and knowing there was the best part of another day’s activities scheduled - I did feel sad to leave it all behind.

But we had a ferry to catch, 500 miles away, so reluctantly the GTS was packed and filled up before setting off for an overnight stay back in Salamanca. I knew we’d have a video to edit and photographs to look back on but the adventure was coming to an end.

We passed half a dozen or so scooters on the first leg of the return journey but after that it was just me, Susan and the GTS again.

 

 

 

 

For just about everyone we spoke to, Fatima wasn’t their first VWD event. And I could see why! They talked of Sicily in 2008, about Zell Am See the year after, and how it keeps getting better. The atmosphere and organisation at Fatima was first class - will Norway in May 2011 be as good? There’s only one way to find out! Words & Pictures Paul Hird VCS Member 222