VW Beetle

VW Beetle

My friend Brett over at Gleeful Gecko mentioned back on July 30th that the last old style VW Beetle was made in Mexico on that day in 2003. I left a comment on his site about a trip my dad took in a VW, and I thought I'd expand upon it here.

When I was born, my family lived in Asunción, Paraguay. Our family car was a VW Beetle. My dad said there weren't too many of them around in South America at that time and his was usually an object of interest where ever he went. The next year, when it was time to move back to the US, mom and us four kids flew home, and dad took a road trip. The Pan American Highway had been an ideal since the 1920s, but there wasn't much of a coherent route on the ground.

Dad drove through Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, where he caught a ferry around the Darien Gap to Panama City, Panama. He then headed up through Central America, Mexico and into the US. He also did several side trips along the way, including a voyage to the Galapagos Islands.

Here are some of the trip statistics:

Total Mileage: 12,922
Total Land Mileage: 10,822
Total Gas: 433 Gallons
Vehicle range on main and reserve Tanks: 800 miles
Total tank Capacity: 34.4 Gallons
MPG: 24.2
Gas Expenses: $128.00
Total Expenses:1,406.36
Cost per Mile: 10 cents.

Here is a photo from that trip.


I've done some fun stuff myself, but Dad has had some real adventures.