A Swiss couple travelling
around the world in a jeep left the BVI on
Monday after spending the past week touring the
island of Tortola, the Tourist Board
reported. Emil and Liliana Schmid began their
journey in October 1984 when they were both 41.
Their mode of transport is a 1982 Toyota Land
Cruiser FJ60 and their first stop was in New
York, from where they travelled to 39 countries
in North and South America, 34 countries in
Africa, to Australia, 30 countries in Asia, 45
in Europe and now to several countries in the
Caribbean. Most times, they would travel with
their vehicle when it was shipped from port to
port, but on other occasions, they would be
required to send the vehicle on a ship and they
would have to take a commercial flight. In each
country, the Schmids would drive around
exploring the destination. When asked why
they were doing this, Emil said: “I think it was
mid life crisis. We were married since 1969 and
by 1983, we had no children and since
retirement, we were going through a routine
doing the same things over and over again,
watching life passing by. It made me think of
making a break, but I didn’t want an ordinary
vacation. I suggested to my wife that we drive
through Africa in that car.” Well, it took
him one year to convince his wife to take a
vacation, but she does not regret she did. Said
Liliana: “I’m so glad he did, because this is
the life I like – meeting new people, seeing
beautiful landscapes, experiencing different
religions etc.” The Schmids have been entered
into the Guinness Book of World Records for
having made the longest journey – 19 ½ years;
driven the longest distance – 581, 647 km or
361, 424 miles and through the most countries –
149 in a single car. Over the past 19 ½
years, they have used the same vehicle, had
around 153 flat tyres, used 63 tyres, 27
batteries, 120 spark plugs, 22 air filters, 46
shock absorbers, made 83 oil changes with 47 oil
filters and 94 times greasing. And the Land
Cruiser keeps going. It even survived a crash
into another vehicle in Macedonia as the Schmids
scurried to escape would-be robbers in a life-
threatening experience. In terms of other
statistics, the adventurers have had to take a
ferry or a freighter 195 times to cross a river,
lake or the sea; apply for 66 visas, which
filled seven passports; visited more than 150
countries with 50 different languages and 125
different currencies and driven in 18 of the 24
time zones. This world tour is self-funded
and they intend to continue travelling until
they have possibly covered all
countries. They are now on their way to
Montserrat, Antigua and Anguilla, having come
from the United States Virgin Islands. From the
Leeward Islands, they hope to journey to Jamaica
and the Cayman Islands and then to the
Pacific. Before their departure from the BVI,
the Schmids expressed gratitude to the people
here for their hospitality, especially Tourist
Board officials who made their trip a success.
Schmid pointed out that through the Board, they
were able to avoid much of the bureaucracy
encountered in other countries, such as customs
and port duties, environmental levies, bonds and
taxes etc. They said they enjoyed the beauty
of the BVI and their trip was quiet and
relaxing, but commented that these islands were
very expensive. Their average expenses per day
ranged from $22-$50 in the various countries.
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