I am Celeste, a 1981 Vanagon camper, and I love to take el presidente and Miss
Bettie to many neat places. This picture (you can click on all the thumbs to see
me larger) is of me and Miss Bettie in the
English countryside. My engine is a 1.6 liter CT petrol 4 cylinder with
hydraulic valve lifters; you don't see these engines in the States. Even though
I live in England, my driver sits in the left seat.
With
such a small engine, I don't like to travel on the motorways very much, where I
have to "draft" trucks to cut down on air resistance. I much prefer to travel on
the scenic back roads. These two photos show me on a picturesque stone
bridge (<); and on a single lane road with farm gates (>). England is full of roads like
this.
My interior was prepared by a company called Bilbo, which combines the Norwegian
words "house" and "car". My cabinetry is varnished plywood, and includes a
convertible sofa/double bed, a table, a sink, cooker, PortaPotti, and lots of
storage. The climate is cool enough that I don't need a refrigerator.
My exterior is army green, with a white top that is hinged on the left side.
Here is a picture of me and a friend (He's the one who has a top with hinges on
the right side, and right hand drive).
I am a real VW transporter, as you
can see from this picture. I'm loaded (overloaded is a better
description) with 2,800 pounds of telephone books; I was helping a friend who
got a job distributing British telephone books.
I also like to take my masters to many beautiful and interesting places in
Ireland. The left picture shows me in Avoca, County Wicklow, also known as
Ballykissangel (where the TV series was filmed). And the picture to the right is a lunch
break by a beautiful bay on Achill Island, in Co. Mayo; I was afraid of falling
off the cliff.
This picture (<) shows me sleeping on Malin Head, Co. Donegal, a rocky point at the northernmost tip of Ireland; with winds up to 40 knots, I kept my roof lowered. The next three photos show me: Sleeping beside a small bridge in the high valleys of Co. Donegal (>).
Camping
along the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland, just north of Belfast
(<). And camping right beside the water at
a small fishing port
near
Bushmills (where they make that great Irish
whiskey). (>)
I have traveled about 60,000 kilometers in 23 countries in Europe since 1996. I
have camped in many interesting places, as far east as Hungary and Slovakia. Here is a picture of me camping at the very top of Europe, near a lighthouse on
the Arctic Ocean (<). And here I am camping above Omaha Beach in Normandy,
France beside one of my brothers (>).
But best of all, I got to spend a night in remote part of paradise, Raj
Slovenska (a national park whose name translates as Slovak Paradise). However,
paradise wasn't very level, and you can see from this photo that my master had to
place a stack of stones under some of my tires to level things.
I would suggest that you buy one of my brothers or sisters to travel around
Europe. There are lots of beautiful and interesting places to see; and travel
here is very safe. Gun laws are very strict, so you don't have to worry about
getting mugged or worse. The only drawback is the cost of petrol, about
$4.00 per gallon; and I do drink a lot of petrol. But I am worth it, because I
will carry everything you need for your trip.
