Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 17:10:35 -0500
Reply-To: andrewbell <andrewbell@QWEST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: andrewbell <andrewbell@QWEST.NET>
Subject: Re: Vanagon through South America! Caravana Adventure!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854";
x-mac-creator="4D4F5353"
I got on it via the Vanagon.com site. I went to mail lists and found it
there under Caravana. Pretty cool!
AB
Chris Mills wrote:
> Where do I get on the Caravana list?
>
> Thanks.
>
> At 09:55 PM 6/15/01 -0500, you wrote:
> >Hey list -
> >
> >I was on this Caravana list, (as many of you probably monitored, too)
> >which was a bunch of people riding round in Vanagons through South
> >America to Terre Del Fuego, and back. There is really interesting
> >content about the lengthy 10 month tour. Read or delete - it was fun
> >watching them go through it!
> >
> >AB
> >
> >Hello to everyone
> >
> >We are home. Actually we have been home but had to go
> >back to South Carolina to get the vans which we did
> >day before yesterday. We decided to ship to
> >Charleston, South Carolina, since it was sort of
> >midway between West Virginia where we live and Florida
> >where Kai and Valeria live and also since we wanted to
> >avoid the hassle of shipping into Miami. We thought it
> >would be better to ship to a smaller port. Not so.
> >
> >The container had to go from Guayaquil to Panama to
> >Miami to Baltimore to New York and finally to
> >Charleston, SC. After it arrived we found out our
> >container was the lucky one chosen to be "stripped" by
> >US Customs to search for drugs. Why? Because we came
> >from Ecuador which borders Colombia and because we had
> >been gone for 9 1/2 months. Guess what else...when
> >Customs "chooses" to search your vehicle, you must pay
> >a fee ($380) for them to unload the van for the
> >search. Since we had the keys with us, we asked them
> >if they could set up a time to do the search so we
> >could come to SC bringing the keys with us in addition
> >to showing them how to access the hidden compartments
> >we had built into the vans to foil South American
> >thieves. Nothing doing! You are not allowed to be
> >anywhere near the search area when the search is done.
> >So we had to pay $20 to FedEx to get the keys to
> >Customs. The process to get the container from the
> >Wando terminal of the port of Charleston a mile or so
> >to the Customs search area and to get it unloaded has
> >now cost nearly half as much as the 3,000 mile voyage
> >from Guayaquil, Ecuador. Nonetheless, the search did
> >get done and last Monday we were notified that the
> >vans would be ready Tuesday morning so we headed out
> >Tuesday evening getting to Charleston on Wednesday
> >where we first paid the customs broker his $275 ($125
> >for submitting the paperwork and $150 for drayage
> >(hauling by truck) from the port to the Customs area.
> >Then we finally found Customs hidden away on a side
> >street off another side street neither of which showed
> >up on one of those computer GPS map location finders
> >that my brother-in-law who took us to South Carolina
> >had in his van.
> >
> >Once there we paid our money and were asked to sign a
> >release that the vans were received in good order even
> >though we had yet to see them. I asked that we see
> >them first so someone there accompanied us around a
> >warehouse building to get to the vans. We couldn't go
> >through the warehouse even though every door was open
> >because customs was supposed to be doing a search that
> >day. But since no one could find the key to the gate
> >we were supposed to go through to go around the
> >building, finally we were allowed to scurry through
> >the warehouse where we saw no one doing anything but
> >at least we finally saw our vans. There they were
> >parked much to our surprise inside the warehouse. We
> >looked inside the vans and were surprised to see that
> >customs had done almost no searching except to look
> >through one box inside and check into the locked
> >containers we had had constructed to replace the
> >luggage rack up front. I suppose if the drug dogs
> >don't sniff anything, they don't do a very thorough
> >search. We did notice however that they are fairly
> >inept at opening a door. The interior door handle to
> >the sliding door was broken off in two pieces and was
> >laying in the floor. Of course, there was no note on
> >any of the paperwork how it got broken. Also, someone
> >had tried to pry the rear hatch open from the side
> >even though they had the keys to open it. We noted the
> >broken handle on the paperwork, signed it and were
> >told to leave. We were not allowed to even park in the
> >parking lot to check over the rest of the vehicle
> >since it was a bonded customs lot and no strangers
> >were allowed there. This terminates our US Customs
> >experience. We then left and headed home: Kai back to
> >Florida and us to West Virginia.
> >
> >Our 9 1/2 month near 28,000 mile trip to South America
> >was over when we finally made it back home last night
> >at midnight. We had gone through the accumulated mail
> >and paperwork last week while awaiting the vans
> >arrival. Now today there is "stuff" all over the house
> >from unpacking the van. Will has already discovered
> >that two of the four motor mounts are broken but other
> >than that we escaped South America with no more than a
> >couple of dents. We left with 6 Michelin Agilis tires
> >which Will religiously rotated every 5,000 miles and
> >we came back with six having had no flats along the
> >way. We did however note one that was leaking in
> >Argentina and had it removed and patched where a small
> >spine from a tree had gone through it. Will rebuilt
> >the engine before we left and again, religiously
> >changed the oil (Castrol 20W-50) every 3,000 miles.
> >Billy, our Vanagon, used not more than a third of a
> >cup of oil per oil change. We had no problems with the
> >motor except once when the computer got wet and about
> >three or four times when the fuel pump relay decided
> >to take a short break of an hour or so. This happened
> >usually when we were at high altitudes stuck in first
> >gear at low speeds for a prolonged period. Then, after
> >we had waited awhile, it would correct itself.
> >
> >We did have problems with our batteries both of which
> >we replaced and with the rear brakes which were
> >sabotaged by an Argentinian brake man who didn't know
> >what he was doing so he turned our drums and got them
> >"eggy" which plagued us for the next three months. We
> >bought nearly 1,400 gallons of gas over 9 1/2 months
> >and averaged 20 mpg for the whole trip which is the
> >same gas mileage we got before we left and the same we
> >got yesterday driving home from South Carolina.
> >Gasoline in Argentina was the most expensive and cost
> >us nearly a tenth of the total money we spent...around
> >$1700 US just for gas in Argentina.
> >
> >VAN PROBLEMS: Here is a breakdown of the problems we
> >had with the vehicle: 1) repaired gasoline leak where
> >vent pipe enters gas tank (twice) 2) repaired
> >antifreeze leak 3) replaced exhaust support bolt 4)
> >replaced auxiliary battery switch (twice) 5) bought
> >and replaced exterior sliding door handle 6) front end
> >alignment 7) repaired and then replaced plastic bleed
> >screw in rear heater box 8) changed air filter 9)
> >switched to our back up computer for two days while
> >original dried out after crossing end of lake 10)
> >changed throttle cable 11) replaced clutch master
> >cylinder 12) relined rear brakes twice due to ignorant
> >brake man mentioned above 13) replaced hose clamp. 14)
> >bled clutch several times. As you can see--all we had
> >were minor problems. This was entirely due to Will who
> >checked the tires and oil and the antifreeze each and
> >every day before we started out. Also, he would
> >inspect the vehicle all around every day looking for
> >anything unusual especially anything leaking
> >underneath. He also inspected the engine from above
> >and underneath as often as we could and whenever it
> >wasn't covered in mud or dust. We had the bottom of
> >the van washed more frequently than the top. As I
> >mentioned above, oil was changed every 3,000 miles and
> >tires rotated every 5,000 miles.
> >
> >TIRES: I can't say enough about the Michelin tires. I
> >would have no others. The punishment they took can not
> >be explained to anyone who has NOT seen the roads in
> >the Andes of Chile, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia and
> >Ecuador not to leave out the potholed moonscape they
> >call roads in the north of Brasil.
> >
> >MONEY: Traveler's checks are NOT needed. Take some
> >emergency cash in dollars. Use ATMs exclusively and
> >sometimes you can use your credit card for tours,
> >flights, rental cars and such. We charged a bit more
> >than $2,000 on credit cards for the two of us and we
> >withdrew about $12,000 in cash from ATM's along the
> >way. The only thing missing from this total is about
> >$400 to get the vans in Charleston, the $1400 it cost
> >to ship ours from Guayaquil, the $1000 or so to ship
> >them from Miami to Venezuela and perhaps $1000
> >miscellaneous which I carried in cash and used mostly
> >in Ecuador where the dollar is accepted which brings
> >our trip total for two people for 9 1/2 months to
> >around $18,000 or a little less than $2,000 a month
> >which is more than what I thought it would average out
> >but much less than other travelers have spent on
> >similar trips. The reason for this is the fact that
> >except for the beginning of the trip when we stayed in
> >a hotel in Venezuela awaiting the vans to be released
> >from corrupt port officials and again at the end when
> >we stayed in a hotel in Guayaquil, we stayed in the
> >vans in city squares, in service stations, in people's
> >yards, in effect anywhere that was free and safe for
> >nearly 9 of the 9 1/2 months we were gone. Once when
> >we linked up with Jeanne and Tyler in Chile, we rented
> >a "cabana" for a few days and twice in Brasil we
> >stayed with friends of mine for about a week each time
> >where we had a house of our own but otherwise, we
> >slept inside the vans nearly every night.
> >
> >CARNET: Our carnet served us very well everywhere. You
> >do NOT need an official one for which you have to pay
> >money but if you make your own, it has to look
> >official with gold seals, ribbons, rubber stamps and
> >such. Be sure and leave a big space for the border
> >officials to sign their names...they like that.
> >
> >DRIVERS: I might have ranted and raved over the insane
> >things that the drivers in South America did but now I
> >actually miss them. Our interstates are clogged with
> >people who have a drivers license but haven't the
> >faintest idea of how to drive whereas in South
> >America, you have to be an expert to even attempt the
> >chaotic conditions that are continent wide. We were
> >the odd drivers who clogged traffic. We were the ones
> >who nearly caused accidents. We were the ones who
> >reversed our course while walking on a sidewalk and
> >caused others to have to veer away from the congestion
> >we had caused. We also were the ones who became
> >angered at other drivers. To them, chaos is normal and
> >they accept that and manage. We became frustrated with
> >it.
> >
> >South Americans in general are hard workers who are
> >doomed in many cases to toil all their lives just to
> >feed themselves all the while their often corrupt
> >governments squander the money of the country
> >enrichening politicians. In Peru for example where it
> >is common to see people going through trash cans to
> >find food for their families, we saw Toyota
> >Landcruisers costing perhaps $60,000 each all over the
> >country parked beside the highways in which sat two
> >policemen reading comic books or sleeping. They did
> >nothing all day long but sit or in one case pull us
> >over to try to extract money from us. We saw the Land
> >Cruisers everywhere...they numbered in the hundreds. A
> >plausible scenario for this waste of public money
> >might be as follows: the Minister for Security for the
> >country of Peru suggests to the President that they
> >equip their road police with new Land Cruisers. The
> >Minister's brother-in-law in Lima just happens to be
> >the Toyota dealer so the three of them make sure that
> >twice as much money is appropriated for the purchase
> >of the Land Cruisers as is necessary and the three of
> >them pocket half the money so they can buy 50,000 more
> >hectares of land just S of Lima where the new
> >industrial park will be built so they can sell it back
> >to the government for a tidy profit of a million or so
> >dollars each. Of course this kind of corruption
> >happens everywhere but in Latin America it happens
> >from the president all the way down to the man at the
> >license bureau who says that if you want to get your
> >"cedula" (an ID card that everyone has to have) today
> >instead of next week that you have to pay him $5
> >knowing that you live 100 miles away.
> >
> >To wind this up on a positive note, I must say
> >something about the "normal, everyday" people of Latin
> >America especially South America. I haven't words to
> >express the gentleness and friendliness and
> >helpfulness of the thousands of people we met. In 9
> >1/2 months, we probably came across fewer than five
> >people who were unhelpful in addition to three
> >policemen in Paraguay and two in Peru who tried to rip
> >us off. ALL the rest of the people we encountered who
> >numbered in the thousands went out of their way to
> >aide us in any and every way they could. I could drive
> >up in my fancy vehicle (to them it was very fancy),
> >get out with my $2,000 camcorder beside a house made
> >of mud bricks where there was no electricity, no
> >plumbing, no bathroom inside where people slept on
> >pallets on the floor at night and there was no
> >animosity toward me. On the contrary--after I had
> >asked if we could park there for the night, the family
> >would many times go off in different directions only
> >to reappear later with fresh limes from the lime tree,
> >fresh oranges from the orange tree, chirimoya,
> >bananas, passion fruit, guavas or some kind of freshly
> >prepared juice---always something.
> >
> >If I asked a taxi driver out the window at a traffic
> >light what the easiest way to get through town was,
> >often he would lead us through the town. Sometimes
> >another driver who overheard us asking would offer to
> >lead us all the way through town. Sometimes people
> >would ride with us to show us the way and then take a
> >bus back to where we had first encountered them. We
> >could learn a lot from them.
> >
> >Thanks to all my old friends in South America and to
> >all the new ones we made. Now I have friends in all
> >nine countries we visited with whom I can stay the
> >next time. Yes, there will be a next time. Thanks to
> >Kai and Valeria and Les, Vicki and Jozey for making
> >our trip a "memorable" one especially Jozey's
> >caricature drawings. It wouldn't have been the same
> >without you. I miss all of you.
> >
> >Thanks to Ron for preparing the Caravana site which I
> >happened upon shortly after purchasing my Vanagon in
> >the Fall of 1998. Thanks also to him for posting the
> >pictures from our preliminary meeting at Custer State
> >Park in South Dakota and posting the pictures from our
> >dispatches from South America. Thanks much to Jeanne
> >Maly for gifting us with her walkie-talkies which
> >proved invaluable throughout the rest of the trip.
> >Thanks also to her for the book, "Birds of the Beagle
> >Channel" which she lent us when we met her in Chile.
> >Thanks to my friends Fabio and Ba and Fabio Jr. and
> >Fernanda and Ricardo for putting up with five vans
> >full of people in Atibaia and to Renato and Celia in
> >Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul who gave us a house to stay
> >in. Thanks to my friends in Carlos Barbosa, RGS and
> >special thanks to Graciela and her family who
> >graciously put us up under a mango tree for nine
> >wonderful days at Agualinda, Venezuela. Thanks to Irma
> >Gamboa and her family in Argentina for receiving me
> >after a 12 year absence. Thanks to the Lahausen's for
> >showing us their estancia in the Provincia de Buenos
> >Aires. Thanks also to Eduardo in Buenos Aires for
> >receiving a package for us and then finding us a place
> >to stay and for the empanadas at his apartment.
> >
> >Thanks to my family who took care of things in my
> >absence especially my sisters Cay and JoAnn and my
> >nephew Roger who sent us a new carnet for Les after
> >his was stolen and who sent me a cable for my
> >CD-writer after it was stolen. Special thanks to my
> >brother-in-law Bob who managed a website to receive
> >nearly 3,600 pages of my diary and hundreds of photo
> >pages. Thanks also to all our friends here who sent us
> >e-mails which were like "mana from heaven" when we
> >wandered into an internet cafe, dirty, sweaty and
> >tired from driving and saw that we had 15 new
> >messages!! Thanks to Karen Keck for keeping our house
> >intact and our dogs healthy. Now can I have my Academy
> >Award please?
> >
> >I am sorting through some 10,000 digital photos and
> >have yet to even attempt to look at the 50 hours of
> >video I made on the trip but here are a couple of
> >photo pages I have been working on. (Sent this once
> >and it bounced saying the message was too big so will
> >post the message sans photo pages and try to send them
> >later one at a time.)
> >
> >Larry and Will high on a hill in West Virginia
>
> Chris in Tennessee
>
> '78 VW Westy
> '65 Beetle (type IV powered)
> '99 CR-V
> '81 Honda CB900 Custom (FOR SALE)
>
> ICQ# 5544649
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