The news is bad as the alternator is broken beyond repair at least in this corner of Brazil. This means we can only charge our house batteries with the solar panels or by plugging in to the electrical grid. Friday we leave with no fridge and altered travel plans, probably a straight shot to Brasilia the capital where we may find repairs or be able to ship a replacement from Missouri.
Rusty is a good example to follow when I am feeling impatient.
In town we mooch around for a bit, walk a few streets, shop for groceries and wonder if today’s the day.
I got a really silly photo of the food line and didn’t notice till much later. My photography is suffering from this delay!
I’m not a huge fan of buffets which produce food that I have to guess if I’ll like it and is produced without the care of a dish prepared to order.
The card is your tab, you weigh your plate, the waitress will add any drinks you order through her and the bar code stores your tab. The menu such as it is, is bi-lingual for the many French visitors.
Brazil loves its buffets even for pet food, sort of. 
Brazil is a country of two electrical systems. I have a list of states that shows which are 240 and which are 110 and roughly speaking it’s the northern half that is on the US system albeit with different plugs. We of course carry lots of adapters.
If you look in the bottom right corner of the box below you’ll see the voltage. The weird thing is the whole country has to adapt to each others voltage. Often I’m told campgrounds have both voltages and sometimes hotels do too. We always ask to make sure before we plug in. I guess you get used to it but I find this twin system chaotic.
The sole overlanders in Oiapoque. That would be us!
And here we have a jar of farofa, which is the yellow roasted manioc flour that Brazilians love to sprinkle on their food for extra calories.
Why they do it I don’t know. The stuff is flavorless and gritty and adds nothing. I’ve tried it repeatedly and it never gets better.
And on the subject of weird travel things here’s an open drain in a parking lot. So far we’ve avoided it but why they won’t cover it or put a fence in front I don’t know. A sawhorse would do.
If you don’t speak Portuguese French works in this town but Layne has no interest in visiting the museum. So far at least she’s held off.
Mural alert:
That sign promising the open road is still there at the southern edge of Oiapoque.
3 comments:
Re alternator. Rerouting the cable from the house battery cable to starter battery and placing a diode (isolator ) in along the line would allow the primary alternator to charge your house batteries without draining back. Engine alternator should have sufficient output.
Thank you for that. I’m not mechanically able to do it but I had been thinking along those lines but up here there isn’t the skill - any more than I have! My idea is to head to Brasilia and see what we can find but ultimately there is a company in Uruguay -Terra Ventura that does RV work and I have been thinking of doing what you suggest permanently. This second alternator has been a pain. Plus I’d like to have much stronger more modern solar panels. But that is a good idea for a temporary fix.
I need civilization!
Somebody with some battery cable and some crimpers ought be able to get the stock alternator to charge the house. Its pretty robust. I get about 90amps out of mine driving and have 600ah in the house bank. An isolation solenoid is about all ypu need and its a common part at any auto store.
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