Who hasn’t dreamed of traversing the Pan-American Highway on an epic overland journey? I certainly have, and last year, that dream became a reality when a group of avid adventurers decided it was time to tackle one of the world’s longest road networks.
The Backstory: From Dream to Reality
In 2022, Max and Joel, the founders of Global Convoy, and I met Nik while overlanding in Morocco. Little did we know that this meeting would be the catalyst for our long-awaited dream of overlanding in a bus. We were sitting under the stars and could feel the warmth of the campfire glowing in our faces as we shared our dreams and ideas for future expeditions. As crazy as they were, this was a space to imagine and create epic concepts for outlandish adventure. For over seven years, we had envisioned an expedition aboard a school bus, and after discussing our ideas with Nik, it came to light that he could make this a reality. Little did we know that we would own a school bus just a year later.
Twelve months of meticulous planning followed. We recruited team members, worked on route logistics, sorted finances, and shopped for the perfect bus. In March 2023, Joel began working on our 2007 Bluebird Vision, turning it into the ultimate adventure rig while learning to drive the 40-foot-long (12-meter) vessel. The build was simple; we kept eight benches, built tables, and a hang-out zone in the back. Some shelving, which doubled up as bunks, was added, and a small kitchen galley and roof rack were built for extra storage. In our eyes, it was perfect, and by May 2023, we were ready to set off on our maiden voyage, a test drive, traversing national parks in the USA from Chicago to Las Vegas.
This test was where we learned a lot of the hard lessons. We decided to bring along a backup car, as this was our first time owning, let alone driving, something of such a scale. The bus’s transmission started to fail in the first week, but we managed to pull through and get across the country to find new parts and keen mechanics willing to help us figure out our conundrum. This pivotal moment almost marked the end of the road, but with persistence, and the transmission was fixed, the bus was ready for Alaska.
The Mission: Tracing History
Inspired by Sullivan Richardson’s 1940 Pan-American highway expedition, we decided to document our journey from North to South. Along the way, we spent endless hours lining up shots and capturing comparison scenes of locations the Richardson team visited in the 1940’s. Richardson’s team drove from the USA to Argentina in a Plymouth sedan, and their story captivated us as they traveled before a road network even existed. We decided to undertake a similar route, aiming to analyze key changes in the landscape, infrastructure, and the effects of tourism on this intercontinental route. Our American school bus would create a modern-day logistical challenge, somewhat like the Richardson team experienced. We expected to stick to paved roads, unlike their traversing through jungles, but driving a bus through narrow cobbled towns would be our challenge. Our goal was to be the first to drive a school bus from the Arctic Circle to Fin del Mundo, Argentina, filming our lives along the way.
Time to Hit the Road
The 6th of August 2023 marked the start of our 20,359-mile (32,764-kilometer) journey south. It began at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, chugging along the Dalton Highway. This route, primarily for truckers and oil field workers, begins near the Arctic Ocean on its northernmost reaches. Reaching this official start point was the furthest north we could drive. Over the next 234 days, we would traverse 16 countries, following the Pacific coast of the Americas.
We started with a team of seven and had a total of twenty-one participants along the way. Team members dipped in and out, leaving their mark on this epic project and supporting its success. The journey would not have been possible without the help of many others, and it was a collaborative effort.
The journey kicked off to a smooth start, and as time went on, we faced a number of challenges. However, we came to realize that this was part of the adventure and was a trade-off for all the beautiful and unique places we were able to visit. We crossed almost every terrain imaginable, from the Atacama Desert to carving our way along the entirety of the Andes Mountain Range, as well as salt flats and more. Our trusty bus reached heights of 15,500 feet (4,730 meters) in Peru and certainly struggled, but our goal was not only to push our limits but that of the bus, too.
We reached Fin del Mundo in Argentina 234 days later, on March 27th, 2024, marking the end of our journey. Over the course of the 8-month expedition, we experienced some of the highest highs and the lowest lows.
Overcoming Obstacles: Both Physical and Bureaucratic
One of the significant challenges we faced was the Darién Gap, a notorious stretch between Panama and Colombia where the Pan-American Highway is interrupted. We had to ship our bus on a flat-rack container ship from Colón, Panama, to Cartagena, Colombia. However, this did not go as well as planned. In Panama, we encountered road closures due to protests, forcing us to store the bus at a farm outside the small city of David for over a month. This caused delays and affected team members’ ability to stay on the expedition, and at the time, it was unclear if this would be the end of the road for us. With no clear end to the protests and the country becoming increasingly locked down, we waited anxiously until the situation calmed and the country reopened its road networks.
When Joel and I returned to Panama in December 2023, we faced more setbacks: the bus wouldn’t start. It was also covered in mold and was infested with termites and ants. After a cleanup and fitting a new alternator, we swiftly resumed our journey, driving the last 350 miles of Panama.
Fast-forward one month, and we were in Colombia, about to enter Ecuador. There, we encountered another potential roadblock when the country entered a state of emergency due to gang-related crime. Fortunately, we were granted entry on the condition that we pass through the country within ten days. This permit allowed us to continue our journey but, again, could have been a major obstacle in completing this epic adventure on the Pan-American Highway.
The route took us along the Pacific coast, weaving from the highlands down to the sea, where we interacted with people from all walks of life to investigate how the development of the Pan-American Highway has impacted them.
After reaching Ushuaia and spending a few days celebrating, we returned to Santiago, Chile, to pass on the bus to new owners. It now lives at an overlanding camp just outside Santiago, where other like-minded adventures dream of their own journeys.
Lessons Learned from The Road
This was a tale of endurance, camaraderie, and the unyielding spirit of adventure. It showed us the resilience required to overcome mechanical failures, navigate political turmoil, and traverse challenging terrains. We all learned a lot from being on the road. It was a testament to what can be achieved when a shared dream is pursued with unwavering determination and the collective efforts of a dedicated team. Through our epic voyage, the Global Convoy team not only succeeded at their self-inflicted challenge but also forged bonds and created memories that will last a lifetime.
The Legacy of the Journey
This journey was more than just an adventure; it was a voyage through time, tracing the footsteps of explorers from the past and examining how the world has changed over decades. This is not the end of the road for us. We are now compiling our footage to create a feature-length documentary that shares our experience. We will intertwine Richardson’s footage with our own to show a new version of this evolutionary journey on the Pan-American Highway.
If you are interested in learning more, visit our YouTube channel to watch our behind-the-scenes diary of the journey.
Read more: Milestones in Human Achievement :: Transglobal Car Expedition and The Hardest Geezer
Images: Rebecca Marsh, Global Convoy
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