Accompanied by a dozen bicycles, vintage cars and commuters, the Argentine Zapp family ended last Sunday at the Obelisk in Buenos Aires a 22-year journey in a 1928 car across five continents.
“We would never have imagined when we left here to come back 22 years later, never, with children, with everything we experienced, the truth is that I need another heart”said Candelaria Zapp, 51, upon arrival at this emblematic monument in the Argentine capital, where some 300 people were waiting for them.
The family left in the morning from Gualeguaychú (east), on the border with Uruguay, their last stop before ending their dream of traveling the world.
The couple, who launched their journey on January 25, 2000 at the Obelisk itself, now returns with four teenage children born in different parts of the planet: Pampa (19, USA), Tehue (16, Argentina), Paloma (14, Canada) and Wallaby (12, Australia).
Then Timon, the dog, and Hakuna, the cat, adopted in Brazil, where they were stranded in 2020 due to the covid pandemic, joined.
Herman Zapp, 53, said they were late getting to their final stop because he forgot to refuel the 1928 Graham-Paige when it left Gualeguaychú.
“It took me a little longer because I ran out of gas, I forgot to check the gas but people showed up right away and helped me load gas and here we are,” he explained.
“A door opener” from 1928
The car with which they traveled some 362,000 kilometers throughout 102 countries was modified to make room for the children: it was cut in half and they added 40 centimeters and a seat.
Herman told AFP on Friday in Gualeguaychú that the Graham-Paige does not have the best seats, or the best cushioning, or air conditioning.
But “it is a car that forces you to be alert. It doesn’t seem comfortable but it was wonderful, it was a ‘door opener’, it was useful for the cities, for the mud, for the sand”, he recounted enthusiastically.
They decided to embark on the adventure when they had been married for six years and had “good jobs”. They had finished building their house on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, which will now be the family home.
In the 22 years they only used eight sets of tires and made two engine starts.
“If I had had a zero kilometer 4×4 it would no longer exist, this one is prettier now than when it came out,” Herman enthuses as he unfolds the tent that the car has on its roof and where the four children sleep when they have to camp.
A tarpaulin falls from the roof, giving them privacy inside the vehicle, where the parents sleep. They carry the trunk as a kitchen and in the engine they can cook eggs and sausages or heat water. Clothes and supplies are stored under the seats. As if it were a snail, the old car served for many years as a family home.
“It is a small house but with a huge garden, with beaches, mountains, lakes. If you don’t like the landscape, you can change it,” jokes Herman. On the body it reads: “A family traveling around the world”.
In general, the Zapps stayed in houses. They estimate that 2,000 households received them. “Humanity is incredible,” Candelaria enthuses about the solidarity received. “Many helped us just by being part of a dream.”
“What will come next?”
To finance, Candelaria began to paint simple pictures with birds; Herman learned to frame and, with the product of the sales, they continued to advanceslowly but surely.
At the moment, His main source of income is the book “Catch a Dream”, which recounts his experiences and of which so far they have sold 100,000 copies.yes, they assure.
Now that the affair is over, Herman says he has “very mixed feelings.”
“We are finishing a dream or rather fulfilling a dream. The nice thing is to live it,” she told AFP.
“What will come next? Thousands of changes, thousands of options.” (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
