Well, the Panamericana 2006 team has made it to the very southern tip of South America. And it took them just 15 days, 11 hours and 25 minutes to get there from the edge of the Artic Sea in Alaska. Not bad, not bad at all. I'm still not certain which records were broken on this trip, but the team's daily diary entries refer to some. You can read all the daily reports here if you haven't been keeping up. If you have, the last report from snow-covered Tierra del Fuego is an emotional wrap-up to a dramatic two weeks.

May 22 – The last 400 kilometers were so much smoother than much of the trip. There were no breakdowns, no troubles crossing the border, no personal difficulties. The cars ran smooth and a sort of ease came over the drivers. All the liters of soy, palm, walnut and other biodiesels they had burned somewhere to the north were worth it. The team members' tears of happiness mixed with the snow as they stand on "the southern tip of the National Route No.3 at Lapataia Bay". Many more details will be available in the group's upcoming book on the 25,000 km journey using biodiesel.

[Source: Panamericana 2006]

Apparently, the biodiesel-powered trip from Alaska to the southern tip of South America did start on time last week (see previous posts here and here). The first few daily diary posts are up on the Panamericana 2006 website. Here's a real brief rundown:

May 4 – Sometime after 10 p.m., the three biodiesel SUVs leave from a spot near the Artic Sea.

May 5 – Using B20 to be able to run in the cold Alaskan spring, the team goes 450 km until getting four flat tires. They change the tires and make it to the U.S.-Canada border, then to a McDonald's in White Horse and eat all they want. They switch to B50 and continue to Prince George.

May 6 – The team arrives in Prince George late, thanks to technical difficulties. They still enjoy the planned reception events and another all-you-can-eat buffet. Driving 24-hours-a-day apparently makes you hungry.

More updates as they become available.

[Source: Panamericana]

A tiny mention in a local Alaska newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, points out that a German team of nine drivers will drive three Volkswagen's from Fairbanks, Alaska to the bottom of South America – a distance of 25,000 kilometers/15,500 miles - in just over two weeks. The drivers will be on the move around the clock and the goal is to raise awareness of biodiesel as a legitimate fuel choice. The ride will be recorded by two TV crews traveling with the team and parts of the footage will be made available free to media outlets. What would be really cool is if the planes that will fly the SUVs over the Panama Canal were using green technology, or if the vehicles could be moved over the water in a sailboat of some kind. For more information, check out the team's website here. The ride starts next week. [Source: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]