“Adventure, vintage vehicle, what fun - but not for the faint hearted!”
We had an unforgettable vacation – what an adventure! We began in a Mercedes MB130 camper, small but basically equipped, and soon discovered it had an overheating issue – but most 50‑year‑old vans with over 250,000 km likely face similar problems. The owner was very helpful and offered us a larger van, MB180, with similar mileage, which became available for driving after a week once it had a new clutch and wheel bearing. Because of these technical challenges and a health issue during our stay, we spent a lot of time on site, unexpectedly by local residents, who were all charming and friendly and introduced us to local activities and places to go. Our “landlord” couldn’t have been more accommodating, providing water and anything we asked for, and fixing mechanical problems as they arose. After a blue‑light trip to the hospital, we finally got to visit Tenerife and its amazing sites – up into the mountains, Tajoa Rocks, Carnival in Puerto de La Cruz, etc. We enjoyed wild camping spots, found parking in towns frustrating, visited a fabulous beach where no one had warned us of the dress policy (but it saved us from getting our clothes wet!), found a brilliant vegan farm/al‑fresco eatery with fresh fruit, pizza and bread sales, drove up into the hills to avoid a Sahara sandstorm, saw amazing sunsets, befriended hippies and folk from all over Europe living an off‑grid life, stopped by people who wanted to photograph our vintage van, etc. Yes, an unforgettable holiday. Note: This is not a smart expensive camper van experience. We are in our late 70s, used to Scout camping and our own camper van. Not for those who want a comfortable hotel by‑the‑pool existence – it’s so much less boring than that!! And you couldn’t get a better “landlord”. Get ready.
Not what we expected! But all problems and challenges were overcome.
Alexander·7 months ago