- Description: Santiago Guillén and Antonio Veciana were two Spanish law students from Albacete who met at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. Inspired by Michael Anderson's 1956 film adaptation of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, they decided to beat the fictional record by one day, circling the globe in 79 days on a single Vespa 150 GS scooter. Their journey, named "Operación Elcano", was supported by the Delegación Nacional de Juventudes, the Spanish Foreign Ministry and Piaggio Spain, who provided a brand new Vespa named "Dulcinea" - after the heroine of Don Quixote, in homage to their origins in La Mancha. Shortly before departure, Salvador Dalí painted the scooter at his home in Cadaqués, signing it with the names of himself and his wife Gala. They departed Madrid on 25 July 1962 and rode through France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, then flew to Malaysia, continuing by scooter through Hong Kong, Japan and across the United States, returning via the United Kingdom and France to arrive in Madrid on 12 October 1962 - 79 days after departure - covering more than 40,000 km. Upon their return they were awarded the medals of Youth, Sports Merit and the Gold medal of the Vespa Club of España. They established a prize for the best youth adventure of each year with the proceeds of the sale of Dulcinea. The "Dalí Vespa" is on permanent display at the Piaggio Museum in Pontedera, Italy
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Spain, Spagna, Espagne
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Vespa
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Around the World, Giro del mondo, Tour du monde
- Internet: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_79_d%C3%ADas._Vuelta_al_mundo_en_Vespa
- Multimedia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bexFd606a-M
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5831866
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Guillén, Santiago; Veciana, Antonio. En 79 días: Vuelta al mundo en Vespa. Madrid: Editorial Doncel, 1964.
- Description: In 1953, Bell answered an advertisement for adventurers to join two Australian riders heading home overland from Britain to Australia. Having completed the overland leg to Australia, Bell and Wells then rode back to the UK via the USA on a 1952 Norton Dominator 500 cc, completing the round-the-world journey between 1953 and 1955. Together they covered 26,000 miles (41,840 km) on the trip, in addition to the 20,000 miles (32,180 km) the motorcycle had already accumulated before departure. Apart from punctures and a spark plug change, the Norton required no significant maintenance throughout. The journey is recounted in The Hard Way Round, based on Bell's travel diaries, which were not originally intended for publication
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: UK, Inglese, Anglais
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Motorbike, Motocicletta, Moto
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Around the World, Giro del mondo, Tour du monde
- Internet: https://www.adventure52.com/adventure-motorcycles/ernests-1954-motorcycle-adventure/
- Description: In late 1961, Catalan adventurer and publisher Oriol Regàs conceived "Operació Impala" - a motorcycle crossing of Africa from south to north - as a marketing initiative for Montesa's forthcoming new model, the Impala, designed by Leopoldo Milà. The five-person team comprised four experienced rally and racing motorcyclists - Regàs himself, Juan "Tei" Elizalde, Enric Vernis and Rafa Marsans - and writer Manuel Maristany, who joined as photographer and chronicler despite having no motorcycle experience. Sponsored by Montesa and lubricant brand Wynn's, they departed Cape Town on 15 January 1962 on three 175 cc pre-production Montesa prototypes, with a Land Rover support vehicle named "Kiboko" (Swahili for hippopotamus). After 100 days and 20,000 km through southern, central and North Africa, they arrived in Barcelona on 16 April 1962, having demonstrated the reliability of the new motorcycle under extreme conditions. The model was subsequently launched as the Montesa Impala, winning the ADI-FAD Gold Delta prize for best industrial design in 1962. One of the three original prototypes is on display at the Museo de la Moto de Barcelona. The journey is documented in Maristany's book Operació Impala and in a documentary film produced by Bausan Film in co-production with TV3 and Montesa-Honda
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: Operació Impala
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Spain, Spagna, Espagne
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Motorbike, Motocicletta, Moto
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: -
- Internet: https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operaci%C3%B3_Impala
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11939383
- Description: Walker Willem "Wim" Dussel (1920-2004) was a Dutch photojournalist who had previously covered the Dutch Marine Brigade in Indonesia and the Korean War. Manfred Uschold was his German photographer and cameraman companion. Between July 1955 and July 1956 they completed a round-the-world journey, departing from Groningen, Netherlands, on a red 250 cc Maico Maicoletta scooter with sidecar and an 8.5-litre fuel tank, nicknamed "Pechvogel" (unlucky bird), collected from the Maico dealership in Munich. Their route covered Yugoslavia, Iran, Pakistan, India, Burma, Thailand - where they boarded a ship to Hong Kong with 50 cattle - Korea, Japan and then North America, riding through the western and eastern United States and returning to Europe. In Japan, Uschold purchased a Fuji Rabbit scooter for the American leg of the trip. Dussel photographed approximately 10,000 negatives during the journey, of which only 36 appeared in his book. The photograph archive is held at the International Institute of Social History (IISG) in Amsterdam. Dussel later made a second world journey by DAF car, recounted in In 'n drafje de wereld rond (1964)
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Netherlands, Olanda, Hollande
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Moped, Motorino, Cyclomoteur
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Around the World, Giro del mondo, Tour du monde
- Internet: https://www.flickr.com/photos/iisg/albums/72157622841573224/
- Multimedia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17EGUD3fsxU
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Dussel, Wim. De wereld is nog altijd rond: per scooter dwars door Europa, Azië, en Noord-Amerika. Amsterdam: C. de Boer jr, 1957. Dussel, Wim. In 'n drafje de wereld rond. 1964. "Travel Around the World by Scooter in the 1950s." Vintage News Daily. "Wim Dussel's 1950s Photo Collection." Expedition Portal.
- Description: Eduard Edlitzberger and Norbert Wittasek were Austrian long-distance motorcyclists. In 1953 they departed on a Horex-Felber sidecar outfit with the initial intention of riding overland to Persia (Iran). On reaching their destination they decided to continue around the world, riding through Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Ceylon, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan, then crossing by ship to North America and riding through the United States and Canada before returning to Europe. Over 19 months they covered approximately 47,500 km (29,500 miles)
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Austria, Österreich, Autriche
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Motorbike, Motocicletta, Moto
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Around the World, Giro del mondo, Tour du monde
- Internet: https://www.berndtesch.de/English/Continents/WorldAround/WorldAroundMotorcycle1951-1970.html
- Description: Vagn Tyrsted Rasmussen was a Danish farmer, officer and adventurer. In 1960, while working in California, he purchased a yellow Vespa 150 cc Grand Turismo scooter from local gas meter readers who had asked for cars instead. He rode it south from the USA to Panama, crossing 44 bridgeless rivers and negotiating a railway bridge on foot - where a train approached and stopped just before hitting him. In July 1964, aged 28 and with only $100, he departed from Denmark on the same 29-year-old scooter for a round-the-world journey. His route covered West and East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan - where he was chased by wolves - then Pakistan, Kashmir and India, before shipping to Australia. He financed the journey by working aboard cargo ships and in various countries. He subsequently continued through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, and crossed the USA before returning to Denmark via the Netherlands, visiting 23 countries across four continents
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Denmark, Danimarca, Danemark
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Vespa
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Around the World, Giro del mondo, Tour du monde
- Internet: https://arkiv.dk/vis/3498799
- Description: Born in the suburbs of Tehran, Issa Omidvar (1931-) and Abdollah Omidvar (1932-2022) were Iranian explorer brothers, mountaineers and self-taught filmmakers. In 1954, each with only $90 in his pocket, they imported two 500 cc Matchless motorcycles from the UK and departed Tehran on a ten-year round-the-world expedition, with the stated goal of documenting the world's most remote and isolated peoples. Their motto was "all different, all relative." Their route covered Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Tibet, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Siam, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia - where they lived with Aboriginal communities - New Zealand, and then across the Pacific to Alaska, Canada and the Arctic, where they spent four months living with Inuit communities. They continued through the United States, Central America, South America and the length of the Andes, then Europe and back to Iran, arriving in 1964. The films they shot on 16 mm cameras are considered among the earliest travel documentaries made by non-Westerners, and were broadcast as a weekly television series in Iran in the late 1960s. Their book was published in Persian in 1964 in an edition of 10,000 copies. After the journey, Issa established the Omidvar Brothers Museum at the Sa'adabad Complex in northern Tehran, housing artefacts collected during the expedition. Abdollah settled in Chile, where he founded a film company and cinema, and subsequently joined a Chilean naval scientific expedition to Antarctica. In later years Issa drove a Citroën 2CV through Africa
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Iran
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Motorbike, Motocicletta, Moto
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Around the World, Giro del mondo, Tour du monde
- Internet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Ommidvar
- Multimedia: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/video/2013/jul/26/adventure-travel-film-festival-iran-explorers-video
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107588457
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Omidvar, Issa; Omidvar, Abdollah. In Search of the World's Most Primitive Tribes from 1954 to 1964. Teheran, 1964.
- Description: Leopoldo Tartarini (Bologna, 1932-2015) was an Italian motorcycle racer and entrepreneur. Giorgio Monetti was his childhood friend and university student. Tartarini had raced for Ducati in long-distance road events such as the Milano-Taranto and the Moto Giro d'Italia, until road racing was banned for safety reasons. With a remaining year on his Ducati contract, he proposed to Ducati managing director Giuseppe Montano a promotional tour - initially to Turkey, then expanded to Africa and finally to a full round-the-world journey. On 30 September 1957, blessed by Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro before 1,000 factory workers at the Ducati plant in Bologna, the two departed on two standard Ducati 175 Tourismo motorcycles modified with crash bars, rear luggage racks and aluminium cases. Over 12 months they covered more than 60,000 km across 42 countries and five continents: Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Burma, Indonesia (by ship to Borneo and New Guinea), Australia (Darwin to Sydney), New Zealand, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and by ship to Dakar, then Morocco, Gibraltar, Spain and back to Bologna, arriving on 5 September 1958. They were arrested as suspected spies in Indonesia and rode through Syria during a period of political tension. The journey, filmed on 16 mm cameras, is described as the world's first corporate motorcycle adventure. Tartarini later founded Italjet in 1959. The two original motorcycles were certified as unique historical examples by the Automotoclub Storico Italiano (ASI) in 2020
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Italy, Italia, Italie
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Motorbike, Motocicletta, Moto
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Around the World, Giro del mondo, Tour du monde
- Internet: http://1mapx2.com/en/the-film/
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Montanari, Roberto. Road Map: Il leggendario giro del mondo di Tartarini & Monetti su Ducati 175. LullaBit, 2018.
- Description: Shigeru Yoshida was a Japanese motorcycle adventurer and engineer. At the age of 24, having completed his studies in motor engineering, he proposed to Yamaha a solo round-the-world journey as a field test of the company's machines. Yamaha agreed, providing a 246 cc two-stroke Yamaha YDS-3 with Autolube automatic lubrication system and arranging technical support through its worldwide importers; in return Yoshida was required to report on the motorcycle's behaviour throughout the journey. Between 1965 and 1968 he covered 136,000 km (85,000 miles) through 60 countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. His route began with a sea crossing from Japan to Vancouver, then north America, Mexico and Central America to Panama, south through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, then by ship to Portugal and across Europe including seven communist countries - Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia - continuing through North Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia and Singapore, and finally by ship to Perth, riding across Australia to Sydney before returning to Japan
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Japan, Giappone, Japon
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Motorbike, Motocicletta, Moto
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Around the World, Giro del mondo, Tour du monde
| Precursori, Forerunners, Précurseurs |
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| Viaggi stravaganti, Weird travels, Voyages insolites |
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| Globetrotter contemporanei, Contemporary globetrotters, Globetrotteurs contemporains |
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| Personaggi fittizi, Fictional character, Personnages de fiction |
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About us
Museum of Travel and Tourism is a virtual museum dedicated to travel and tourism, founded in 2016. It began as a research platform focused on the biographies of women and men travelers from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and has gradually expanded to include contemporary journeys.
Impressum
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Source citation "Museum of Travel and Tourism, museumoftravel.org"
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