Posted on 09/24/2015 3:45:21 PM PDT by smokingfrog
They traveled 13,000 miles in a Volkswagen bus through 13 countries and were only 30 miles from their destination, Philadelphia, when it broke down. Again.
By now, they were accustomed to the idiosyncrasies of their beloved bus. Still, after 194 days on the road and on the city's outskirts, they dealt with one more disappointment.
But again with the help of Good Samaritans, they got the bus going again and finally arrived this week in the City of Brotherly Love, the culmination of a journey of epic proportions. They had embarked on the long trip to spend time together as a family and to see the man who reinvigorated their faith, as he has for so many Catholics: the Pope.
Catire Walker, 41, his wife, Noel Zemborain, 39, and their four children ages 3 to 12 left their home in Buenos Aires back in March. They packed all they would need into a remodeled 1980 Volkswagen and began driving north.
They were not hippies, they insisted, but admitted they were a bit crazy to take on such an adventure. But for Catire and Noel, it was important to make this road trip. It afforded them the time they wanted to spend with one another.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
The article said nothing about how the got across the Darien Gap (an area between Colombia and Panama that has no roads) It appears there are river boats, but no ferry service.
They were planning to attend the World Meeting of Families Congress. I’m not sure when the papal visit was announced.
http://www.worldmeeting2015.org
A testimony to ye venerable and robust VW Bus
I rowed a few VWs through the Rockies, valves clicking, fingers crossed.
I was wondering the same. Journalists can’t be bothered with logistics.
The only question I have is, are they gonna stay here?
Other than that I really could care less what they’re doing.
I also could care less what the Socialist Pope is doing this week. (And I’m Catholic)
Dude! Seriously, I rebuilt a number of them back in the day. Glorified Beemer engines, worked great as long as you didn’t overload them. Easy to tune...but don’t forget the warpy washer.
LOL my first thought.
I’m with you, I’m starting a cross country trip next Wednesday (MD to CA), my jaunt is a hop, skip and a jump compared to this.
If you ever wanted to drive from Chile to Alaska, you're clear out of luck. Here and there in the world, small gaps of wilderness hold out against the onslaught of rising populations, exploitation and bulldozers. One such area is found at the southern end of Panama, separating the North and Central Americas from South America.
The Pan-American Highway stretches from Cape Horn, Chile to Alaska with one 90 km break: The Darien Gap.
This area is a forbidding mountainous jungle on the Panama side; full of swamps, guerrillas, drug traffikers and kidnappers on the Colombian side, making travel through the area not just a struggle against a hostile environment but also a maze of bribing the right people for passage and ducking bullets.
In case you missed the dangers we just enumerated, here is an easy list to remember: - tough nasty jungle with plenty of disagreeable wildlife. - impenetrable swamps - crazed drug traffikers - pissed-off guerrillas - greedy kidnappers (all of the guys mentioned above) - paranoid government police - no marked trails
You read my mind. That's precisely what I was puzzling over.
Well, they could now write a book about their journey and let us know. I can imagine the kids were saying the equivalent of “Are we there yet?” the entire time.
I used to shove a YZ400 dirt bike in there just like that
Why didn’t they just fly to Italy?
Container ship, I think.
Where’s the adventure in that?
I wasn't allowed to use it for dates for some reason...
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