Juan Ramos Rosales, from Conejero, a firefighter by profession, passionate about his land and experiencing different adventures, set out to unite the eight Canary Islands in a different way. After 20 days on a Vespa, the best part of the trip has been the Canarian hospitality and the beauty of our eight islands.
Juan Ramos Rosales has expressed the sensations experienced during the trip. "I've been cold, hot, soaked by the rain, and suffered the harshness of the wind on the road, but I would repeat the trip a thousand times more." The essence of the town squares, gas stations, or wherever he stopped to eat became places for conversation and anecdotes.
The adventure of Choleando Canarias on a Vespa arose after the complete restoration of the motorcycle between him and a friend. In 2018, after being the first Conejeros to participate together in the X edition of the solidarity race 'Panda Raid' through Morocco, he proposed that one day he would unite our eight Canary Islands in a different way, with the Vespa.
Choleando Canarias en Vespa was born from the search for experiences, self-knowledge, and strength, and above all, from the love for our Canarian land and the idea of traveling continuously throughout the archipelago. I have always been aware of the wonderful place where we live, and although I knew all the islands, I wanted to visit them in a different and closer way.
The ideal means of transport for this trip has been the motorcycle, a 41-year-old Vespa, a Piaggio model Vespa 150 CL, from 1983, a simple motorcycle that is not
fast and has proven to be reliable, which has allowed him to interact with people in a close and beautiful way, enjoy our beautiful landscapes, the idiosyncrasy of each island, our gastronomy and culture, and enjoy every Canarian kilometer traveled.
The trip
The north of Tenerife began the trip on May 6 in Tegueste, passing through La Esperanza to reach Los Cristianos accompanied by a friend in his classic BMW to cross the Park
National del Teide, enjoying its grandeur and its entire surroundings. The tour of El Hierro was alone for three days, covering 311 kilometers and falling more in love with the island if possible.
In La Gomera, family and friends accompanied him during the tour of the island, which was demanding due to the terrain, the wind, and the temperature changes, but its neighbors, landscapes, and
gastronomy made the stay and the 302 kilometers seem too short. On the beautiful island of La Palma, three friends traveled from Lanzarote to accompany him on a motorcycle. In Santa Cruz de La Palma, the accelerator cable broke. With the help of friends, they were able to change it and continue the trip, completing 432 km of experiences, sun, and rain.
In Tenerife, it was an incredible trip alone and 646 km, where he enjoyed sports on the north coast, pilgrimages, folklore, gastronomy, and friends from the area. Part of the trip was spent in
water and it was somewhat hard, but it was worth seeing the beauty and grandeur of the island, as well as being able to observe the regeneration of the area devastated by the fires that occurred during the past summer.
From Tenerife heading to Gran Canaria to travel 470 kilometers on an island that captivates and surprises, enjoying every corner. The whole island left him with great experiences, but a special moment was reaching the island's natural monument, El Roque Nublo. It was extraordinary.
The trip through Fuerteventura began by touring the south of the island, passing through the most rural areas, avoiding the main roads. The trip was extremely hard due to the strong wind throughout the journey and the accumulated fatigue from the days and kilometers. Each stop in the beautiful corners of the island and the invitation from friends to share the trip made the road to Lanzarote incredible.
After 270 kilometers through Majorera lands, heading to the island of Lanzarote, the penultimate island where he would stop in a thousand places before finishing the trip. During 252 kilometers he was able to enjoy family and friends, La Geria, the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers, Femés, Tinajo, Famara, Los Valles, and many stops before heading towards the eighth island. La Graciosa was not going to be less and he decided to go with the Vespa in a different way, trying to have a small gesture for such a large island and end the Choleando Canarias en Vespa adventure.
Anecdotes
1. On all the islands, several people of different ages who saw me on the motorcycle, with the flags, the bag, and the backpack, asked me what the trip consisted of and if they could see me on Canarian Television.
2. In La Palma, the accelerator cable broke and thanks to the friends who came to accompany me, we were able to get one and change it.
3. In Agaete, a Local Police officer stopped me, curious about where I was going with the bag and the backpack. After explaining my destination and the trip, he repeated several times that I should enjoy it, that it seemed very beautiful to him, but that I should be very careful on the road. He was very pleasant and attentive.
4. On several islands, I was invited to visit the town festivals or to participate in the pilgrimage.
5. The only island where I ran out of gasoline was Lanzarote, because I relaxed.
6. In Lanzarote, Paco Curbelo and Rufina Santana invited me to stop by their studio in San Bartolomé and explain my little adventure to them.
7. The firefighters of Tenerife had the detail of inviting me to stop by their facilities and check the motorcycle.
8. Upon arriving in Corralejo and spotting Lanzarote in the background, I felt a feeling of happiness and satisfaction for the entire journey and for the proximity of my island.
Acknowledgements
Juan Ramos Rosales thanks his family and friends from all the islands for the constant support and affection he has received. Without them, this great adventure would not have been so enriching, pleasant, and beautiful, to Néstor Melián and the company Blank Publicidad for their collaboration, and to Cabrera Medina for providing the maps of all the islands. "I have felt loved, supported, and accompanied" during the tour of the 8 islands.
