Johanna betermi
We are Damien and Maria, Two Galician boys who started a journey from our native Arteixo (A Coruña) to Madrid, using the old National-VI route (600 km) as the main road. For this our journey we use a Renault 8 second series from 1975 restored by Damián after 1 year and a half of work and, to give it a bit of character, we used the clothes and belongings of the 70's time. The objective of our trip was to revive those most emblematic places throughout of said route as well as the possibility of making a report of this adventure in the press.
We left for Madrid on a cold afternoon with two degrees Celsius at around 16:00 p.m. full of enthusiasm to undertake this adventure, which for the people of yesteryear was not an adventure, it was day to day, it was what there was. We stopped for dinner near the Puerto de Pedrafita de O Cebreiro, not in a restaurant, but to the old way, We took out grandmother's lunchbox and tortilla and ate in a section of the road and then finished going up the port and going down to the city of Ponferrada where we would spend the night.
THROUGH THE N-VI WITH AN UNBREAKABLE R8
The next day, after a succulent breakfast, we continued the march towards our destination, making stops and photos at the places most emblematic and today abandoned from the N-VI highway, (abandoned gas stations, closed restaurants, towns and cities including Lugo, Astorga, La Bañeza, Mota del Marqués, Manzanal del Puerto, Adanero, Villacastín, El Escorial), to old abandoned hostess clubs.
The towns through which this road ran, when decades ago they had a movement and a lot of life, of people, bustle of cars and trucks, businesses, today they seem like ghost towns in which dozens of octogenarians live, the emotions that entered us when we saw them was between nostalgia and sadness.
We were very surprised by how comfortable the car was in terms of comfort, without suffering any type of pain (neck, back) during the trip, something that before starting that trip we had a lot of respect.
The mechanics behaved like a swiss watch, without any setback, just a few small jerks when ascending the Puerto de los Leones, already arriving in Madrid, possibly from the gasoline filter in poor condition. In any case, in the trunk we had prepared enough spare parts (strap, spark plugs, sleeves, etc.) and tools to be able to solve any breakdowns that might arise.
A GREAT JOURNEY WITH AN UNBEATABLE ENDING
The duration of the trip in total it was 12 hours counting the stops in the places and towns of interest. A journey that nowadays takes just 6 hours, with cars that have nothing to do with a Renault 8 and some highways with a road surface in excellent condition. It must be said that the National Highway VI is preserved almost in its entirety except 158km between Benavente and Adanero, which we were forced to use the modern A-6 highway.
We ended up in the Madrid Classicauto Fair putting a very peculiar finishing touch to this adventure: Upon arrival I asked my girlfriend Maria kneeling in the same Hall, where the organizers had everything prepared since in previous weeks he had contacted them to make the play ...
TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE HAND ORDER CLICK HERE!
* From 'La Escudería' we wish Damián and María to be very happy
