:Daily Reports
Daily Report May 17, 18 and 19, 2006
Dear Readers,
I am writing this at dawn of the last day of our tour.
It is the night of Friday, May 19 to Saturday, May 20, 2006, and I am sitting on my copilot seat, fighting fatigue and many technical problems and like the other pilots, I am feverishly looking forward to breaking the world record.
By now every vehicle has a laptop with VW software for detecting and fixing electronic malfunctions, we are constantly adding coolant to all vehicles, the pressure regulation are random and the record time is in jeopardy because the cars are only doing 80 kmh due to running on back-up programs.
What could have been so easy became so difficult so close to the end.
But first the good news.
Daily Report May 17 – May 19, 2006
During our trip, there were long, very long stretches through nearly deserted parts of the country. When, after almost 2,500 km across Peru, we arrived at the border to Chile, the German Honorary Consule was waiting for us in Arica. He had prepared the entire border crossing and arranged a very fast border crossing.
We entered Arica where a television team was waiting. The best hotel invited us to stay a bit, an invitation I had to decline when after only 3 minutes I noticed the dreamy and longing glances of our drivers. A fine sandy beach, lounge chairs, perfect weather, comfortable hotel, wonderful ocean aren’t beneficial for a driver that still has several thousand kilometers to go – without emotional trauma.
We were given lunch packages for the road and left for the capital Santiago de Chile, 2150 km away. On May 18 at 1 am, we arrived in the desert town of Copiapo, halfway on our way to Santiago. There we were met by a Chilean biodiesel producer who had come here only to provide us with Chilean biodiesel and to accompany us to Santiago. He had even decorated the outside of this car with a complete Panamericana map and our logos.
We filled the record vehicles at my friends the Despetris and despite the late hour gave an interview to interested members of the press. A pizza parlour nearby quickly made 10 pizzas for the road and on we went through the desert, in anticipation of the media events in the capital. Our stop there had been well prepared by our contact person in Chile, Anne Schroeder.
We arrived in Santiago on May 19 one hour ahead of schedule which was a blessing. The last days had been hard on us and we were feeling as bad as we smelled, no better than an old cheese. The VW dealership which had prepared a huge train station for our arrival, reacted immediately and provided us with towels, soap and privacy.
We took advantage of this offer and washed up in the workshop showers until 11 am. We were spick-spanking clean when, among others, the German Ambassador to Chile spoke as a guest of the press conference and event. It was a very successful presentation of the Panamericana World Record Tour 2006. When we left, new tires had been mounted and the vehicles had been serviced.
We now started on the last stage of the tour: Argentina. We began with a spectacular crossing of the Andes mountains at around 12:30 pm. I claim that no matter how many or few times you have done this, it is always something special to cross these unique mountains, the highest in the Western hemisphere, on roads cut into the steepest of slopes.
In Mendoza, our friend Hans Siebenhaar and his wife awaited us in the late evening of May 19 with a wonderful event organized right in front of a beautiful hotel at the Plaza de Independencia, the city’s central square. We were welcomed by a lot of media representatives, spectators and other guests. Dinner was ready, the vehicles were immediately taken to have their winter tires mounted, the press conference took place right away and the Argentinian biodiesel supplier had travelled with his fuel from Buenos Aires just to see his fuel send the record vehicles on the last segment of the tour.
When we left, approximately 3,450 km through Las Pampas and Tierra del Fuego to Ushuaia. lay ahead of us.
Copiapó
In Santiago de Chile
|
