Pan-American Road Trip Memories 12 – Technical Team
The Pan-American Road Trip began in December 2011. A road trip through South America with 83 classic Volvos. Over 35 days and 16,000 kilometres, these Volvo enthusiasts drove from Buenos Aires in Argentina, southwards to Cartagena de Indias in Colombia. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing memories of this memorable journey on our blog.
The lovely Ecuadorian countryside
We’ve been on the road for 33 days and are driving through the lovely Ecuadorian countryside. Ecuador is the fifth-smallest country in South America and, although it’s comparable in size to a country like France, the distances here seem like nothing after our journeys through the previous countries. We crossed the border between Peru and Ecuador, simply via a bridge over a small mountain stream, and the landscape changed immediately. The roads here wind past small fields and through colourful villages. The locals, often dressed in traditional attire, seem to live at a different, more leisurely pace. As we drive through Ecuador with its snow-capped mountain peaks, green valleys and meandering rivers, we find ourselves unconsciously thinking of the children’s programme *Heidi*. We can almost picture her running with Peter and the little dog in her wake.
Looking back on the past few weeks
We’re slowing down a bit and taking the time to reflect on the past few weeks. As members of the technical team, we haven’t had a chance to do that yet. During this journey, we’ve driven across endless plains and through both arid and wet regions. We crossed mountain passes at extreme altitudes of over 4,500 metres. We drove in temperatures around freezing and in temperatures above thirty degrees, sometimes for more than 15 hours a day.
Everyone’s still driving
Some days were a real test not only of the participants’ physical fitness, but also of the condition of the classic cars. Fortunately, everyone stayed healthy and all the teams are still on schedule. Sometimes we even drove through the night. But we’ve managed it – everyone’s still on the road. There are teams we never see. Simply because they haven’t had any technical problems, or because the participants are able to sort out any issues they do have themselves.
Counterfeit parts
What we, as the technical team, do notice is that cars regularly break down which – as it later turns out – are fitted with imitation parts. And these aren’t of the best quality; in fact, they’re frankly poor quality. For example, contact points that are already badly burnt in or have even broken off after just one day. Similarly, there are starters and alternators on the market that do not meet Volvo’s quality standards. When we ask where people have bought them, the answer is often ‘online’, because they’re nice and cheap. As the technical team, we recommend buying genuine Volvo parts, and if these are no longer available from Volvo, then buy the parts from specialist suppliers. That’s where we buy our parts too.
From Ecuador to Colombia
After four days in Ecuador, we cross the equator and carry on to Colombia, the sixth and final country on this extraordinary journey. We’re keen to see what awaits us there.
Technical Team PANAMERICANA 2011–2012
Book a Pan-American Highway road trip
The book ‘Panamericana Road Trip’ has been published as a memento of this memorable journey. The story is told through the stunning photographs of travel photographer Thijs Heslenfeld, accompanied by a selection of the many stories written by the heroes of this journey. For anyone who didn’t make the journey, this is a wonderful book to lose yourself in. The proceeds from the book will go towards the special projects run by the HoPe Foundation. This organisation – founded by Walter Meekes – focuses primarily on developing education in the remote mountain villages around the Peruvian city of Cuzco.
More about LatinAmeriCar
Would you like to join one of these exclusive road trips yourself? Then take a look at our LatinAmeriCar page. Do you have any questions about a unique trip of Latin America, would you like a bespoke travel proposal, or would you like to arrange an appointment at our office? Please feel free to get in touch with us. Send an email to info@sapapanatravel.nl or call +31 73 610 62 04. We’d be happy to help.