The tour of Spain (3,800 km) at the wheel of a 1971 500: the feat of a Sardinian couple

Almost 3,800 kilometers, from Sardinia to Spain and back, to stop in all the main cities in the north of the Iberian Peninsula.

All on board not a modern and fully equipped SUV, a camper or a comfortable station wagon, but a 1971 Fiat 500, affectionately nicknamed Sbirulina.

This is the small, great feat accomplished this summer by Nicole Maria Zanon, from Quartu , and by her boyfriend Nicola Spano, resident in Pirri , who after having made, always at the wheel of Sbirulina, the whole coast of Sardinia and two tours of Corsica have decided to try their hand at a much more challenging tour.

And the old 500 did very well, despite its venerable age.

THE STAGES - "We left aboard Sbirulina from Quartu Sant'Elena on 12 August with the direction of Porto Torres to take the ship bound for Barcelona", says Nicole. "From Barcelona we went to San Sebastian, passing through Pamplona, to then start the tour of northern Spain, passing through Bilbao, Santander, Comillas, Gijon, Oviedo, Foz, La Coruna. From La Coruna we went down to Santiago de Campostela, Leon, Burgos, Logrono, Zaragoza, ending the tour again in Barcelona " .

“We carried out - continues Zanon - about 3770 km, of which 3060 in Spain the remainder from Quartu to Porto Torres and vice versa to take the ship. Sbirulina behaved very well, the pin that holds the distributor gear broke, but we solved it and started again. Fortunately - says Nicole - I am Sbirulina's mechanic, but in life I am not a mechanic. No, it is a passion. In my life I studied management engineering and I work for what I studied, but it is such a strong passion that last year I decided to enroll in the mechanical engineering master's course ".

As for Sbirulina, explains Zanon, “he has been with me since the age of 18, it was my first machine and still continues to be my first machine”.

THE WELCOME - “During the trip - Nicole and Nicolò say - we slept strictly in the campsite, so every night in a different campsite.

In general, people were thrilled to see a small Fiat 500 in the streets of Spain, everyone rang to greet us and take pictures and videos of us. Let's say that like all trips made with Sbirulina, this one was also fantastic and unforgettable. Traveling with a 51-year-old car is something magnificent, it fills your heart with joy ”.

"Nicolò and I - concludes Nicole - we love to travel with Sbirulina, in fact we already have in mind next year's destination and if this year was a challenge, the next one will be even more so."