After an amazing few days at Annecy the schedule dictated we had to move on. It was always going to be difficult to leave knowing there were still lots more to see and do, but the parting was made easier by the fact we were heading to a VW event at Vignarello in Italy. Our friends Debs and Mark were leaving for the same destination, and knowing they had sprung an oil leak after leaving the UK, it made sense to travel together. There was hardly a cloud in the sky as we departed the camp site, but a gentle breese with the windows down, and amazing views as we followed our friends into the amazing mountains vista. We needed to stop for supplies before the next camp as we were almost sure we wouldn’t have access to groceries locally whilst at the event. If we did it would most likely cost a premium so we wanted to be prepared. Approximately 20km en route was a supermarket in Alberville where we stocked up for the weekend.
Our friends were going back to Annecy a week or so later, and wanted to take to the lake with their dog Oscar on their return. An inflatable Kayak looked like it was going to offer a solution, and packed away relatively compactly, so they wanted to have a stop at Decathlon. This only took an hour or so, but they decided to have a think about the options, and possibly collect one on the way back to Annecy if they were confident it would tick the box.
We set off for the final destination just before midday. The temperature had already started to climb, and even with the windows fully down doing 100kmh, it was a becoming slightly uncomfortable. The mountains on either side of the roads offered some distraction to the heat, but it was temporary. The route was riddled with tolls, and we saw our holiday saving depleted substantially by one after the next. The most expensive was €58, but the 11km tunnel needed paying for some way. It was an amazing feat of engineering by any stretch of the imagination, but both Mandy and I felt slightly quuzy after entering daylight on the other side. Maybe it was due to us having the windows down and breathing in the fumes of the other vehicles in the tunnel, or the lighting. Either way it’s odd we both felt slightly under the weather.
Anyways, we entered Italy and the plan was to stop just after the boarder for a mid point refreshment break combined with an opportunity to attach the dog guard to separate Oscar from the driver / passenger seat. Something that is apparently regulation in Italy. We had a toilet break and Mark checked the rear of his van to see how much oil the van had deposited. Things didn’t look good. It seemed to be leaking by the buckets.
After close inspection it appeared to be water, but the adoption of coolant meant It could have been something terminal. We removed the contents of the rear of the van to have a look in the engine compartment, but nothing obvious from the top. We could identify the general area the coolant was leaking from, but photos with our mobile phone showed it was close to a jubilee clip. We got a wok pan underneath to catch as much coolant as possible, and a bread bag clamp to cut off as much water from the hose when it was removed for surgery. The hope was that the minimum amount of hose would be needed to be amputated to provide a fix. This proved to be the case, and a pair of scissors from our cutlery draw made a neat cut, and the remaining good hose was attached to the inlet, and clamped in place. This proved to be an acceptable fix, and as it turned out the oil leak had reduced substantially since Debs and Mark left the UK. Win win 🙂
As we approached our destination I became more in need of a rest as the ETA slipped. Even though we knew the distance to Tornaco from Annecy, the temperature had been silly hot. Numorous toll roads had made a big dent in our budget, but we’re here now in Italy, and arrived at the Bugaloo VW festival by the lake just before 7pm. Great
The Bugaloo meeting weekend was a fantastic mix of music, festivities and socializing, all in a very relaxed surrounding by the lake
The last day at the Bugaloo started with a couple of strong coffees by the lake in Tornaco. After breakfast and a wave goodbye to our friends Debs and Mark, we headed to the entrance for the ‘Cultural Drive’, which was a procession of classic VWs though a 15km route of the surrounding Italian landscape. I attached a camera to my roof to record some footage, dropping back from time to time to capture as many vehicles as possible.
We stopped in Tornaco to snap a few photos when they parked up for a guided tour of the museum. But we had to peel off just after midday for our next destination Venice.
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