ToGoVan
MICHELA AND 4 VINTAGE WHEELS
Following a beautiful trip to Tenerife, Michela decides to follow her passion for vintage and classic cars. It was born like this ToGoVan a project with a completely retro taste!
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BENVENUTA SU EASY TRAVEL HOSTING! PUOI RACCONTARCI COME È COMINCIATA L'ATTIVITÀ "ToGoVan"?
Hi Easy Travel Hosting, and thanks for the chance to tell Togovan 🙂
The Togovan business project was born on Médano beach, in Tenerife, a Canary Island where my partner Carlo and I decided to welcome the arrival of 2018. It all started with the realization of a long-held dream of mine: traveling aboard a vintage minivan!
And so, once we arrived, we rented” Wendy”, and Volkswagen T2 camperized from 1975 which brought us up (with a little’ of effort
) and down the island of Tenerife for a whole week, discovering wonderful places outside the canonical circuits of mass tourism.
A week in which thoughts, the stress of daily life and worries disappeared, literally swept away with the wind always present on that island…
On board Wendy, time stopped, the crazy daily rush calmed down: we followed our own times “old lady”, never more than 80km/h, the climbs were tackled with great tranquility but above all we experienced the strong contact with the nature that surrounded us.
Discover the island in mode “slow”, reach seaside villages and stretches of wild coast, cross mountains… everything had a different flavor because it was done slowly and with attention to the moment we were living in and the place we were in.
Falling asleep aboard Wendy was like being cradled in the arms of a caring mother: a dinner prepared in the minivan, a good bottle of wine, the light turned off when the stars lit up in the sky…
We slept free, on cliffs overlooking the Atlantic listening to the sound of the wind, we woke up with the colors of dawn stolen from the palette of an Impressionist painter: what else do you need to feel good in the world?
From this question came the idea of wanting everyone to try it “the thrill of slowness” and discover the territories in a slow and conscious way aboard vintage minivans.
The formula currently includes the Experiences mode – in which the owner of the minivan himself drives as Ambassador of the territory – and that of sharing the vehicle, where the user himself will drive the minivan.
Ours will arrive too “vintage green minivan” to combine the retro look with the ecological impact, but for this there is still a little’ to wait 
THIS PROJECT HAS A VINTAGE FLAVOR, ARE YOU A PASSIONATE OF RETRO STYLE EVEN IN EVERYDAY LIFE?
I love all vintage vehicles, it's a passion I've had since I was a little girl: a dear friend of mine has a convertible Beetle, and it was she who directed me into that world of gatherings, the desire to be together, joy and joking.
As a new driver I dreamed of the 2CV Charleston, I haven't bought it yet but who knows, sooner or later it might arrive...
My closet is full of vintage clothing, I prefer it to new for two reasons:
- I really like the idea that behind that item I purchased there is the story of another person, their emotions and a piece of their life
- there are beautiful garments, with cuts and a quality of fabrics that are certainly not found in large-scale retail chains today
I think that everything behind this world still has a flavor “sano”, beautiful and real: in my opinion, appreciating something anachronistic and outside the mold of current fashion is a symbol of originality and personality.
THE TRIP YOU DREAM OF TAKING ON BOARD A VAN AND THE BEST TRIP YOU'VE TAKEN?
I dream of traveling along the entire west coast of the United States up to Mexico, from San Francisco to Cabo San Lucas aboard a minivan, to admire wonderful views and wild animals, lie down on sunny beaches and cross expanses of cacti and fall asleep “free” with volcanoes watching over my shoulder.
An iconic journey, to relive a little’ of what was supposed to be the true hippie journey of discovery of the 1960s.
The best trip I've ever taken? Without a doubt Costa Rica: 1500km aboard a Jeep on winding, difficult and tiring roads, climbing over mountain passes and volcanoes, fording rivers and resisting very strong gusts of wind.
A country where nature dictates the law, where there is such a high concentration of animals per square meter that it makes the presence of man feel useless.
Howler monkeys that follow you in the trees, raccoons that run along the electricity lines, caimans that spy on you during canoe crossings on rivers surrounded by mangroves…not to mention the inhabitants, the most peaceful people I have ever met.
I would leave tomorrow morning for Costa Rica, to breathe deeply again the beauty of a country “slow” perfectly integrated with its nature…
WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE YOUR LIFE GREENER?
Well, if vintage in itself contains a concept of ecology, as it is not thrown away but re-used, from clothes to minivans, from furniture to accessories, everything fits into a circular economy perspective, don't you think?
In my small daily life I am committed to buying as much as possible in bulk, both food and detergents, I apply the waste separation and for a few days I have been using the app TooGoodToGO for the purchase of food items that are close to their expiry date and which would otherwise be destined for the bin.
I mainly get around by bicycle or on foot and for a year and a half I no longer use the car which was driving me to exhaustion: 1 hour to travel 8km was really too much!
I no longer believe it is possible to continue with the same life model as 50 years ago, but I think that the path to raising awareness – of young and old – is still long and uphill, unfortunately…
Easy Travel Hosting thanks Michela so much for sharing travels and her vintage spirit with us!
If you want to find out more, you can follow her on the site by clicking here. And on social media too!
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