Thanksgiving

Yesterday was very odd as we were the only people at Lider shopping for Thanksgiving. Imagine that, no crowds no frenzied pursuit of anything. 

Monica the German overlander had never had marshmallows (“Marva”) so Layne asked and the employee in proper Walmart style led us to them. Today is Black Friday in the US. “El Black” is a new three week tradition in Chile apparently:  

Walmart bought Lider (pronounced “leader”) in 2009 but for a lot of things Layne prefers Jumbo for its selection. However this store is on the edge of town with easy parking.  Rusty took a short walk and unimpressed retreated to the bed. 

Google maps listed this place as aJumbo supermarket so we wasted some time checking it out and I wasted some sending in a correction to Google. 

We were a group of six for dinner, two Russians from Seattle, a German, an Austrian, Layne the Jew and me the mutt. A perfect mix for this holiday.  

Julia, Monica, Christoph, Konstantin and me taking the picture.

The dishes were not necessarily traditional but they did the job. 

He got more chicken than he could eat of course: 

And thanks to Layne’s ingenuity we had a memorable evening. It was what we needed. 

Packing

One thing I don’t much like in this freewheeling life is deadlines. And as curious as I am about the four day ferry journey through the fjords of southern Chile sitting around waiting for the day we load, which is Monday, is proving to be tedious. 

Layne got back Tuesday afternoon from Key West loaded with stuff as always including a collapsible barbecue grill some German Overlanders introduced us to in Peru…

…a couple of fresh SD recording cards  for my digital Panasonic cameras and a new type of compact coffee press called The Final Press.

Solidly built, easy to clean and compact which makes it ideal for van life but will my persnickety wife give up her clumsy Aeropress? This tea drinker watches with eager anticipation and no great hope. 

At the moment my bachelor life has been turned on its head. Clothes are out of the van and in the cabin as Herself organizes her winter wardrobe to face the rigors of Patagonia. Rusty handles the chaos with his usual aplomb. When we were alone I made tea and plowed through my book and he hung out as an old dog should. He still does that as bags of t-shirts and shorts go into the bowels of GANNET2 and long johns and woolen watch caps see the light of day. When we get back up north we will have to swap back as this visit to cold places is purely temporary. Next April we hope to be sunning ourselves on the tropical beaches of Brazil. 

When Layne got back the first thing we did was go food shopping. I saw these frozen sides of lamb hanging in the Jumbo store’s meat section in Puerto Varas. I thought that was unusual enough to photograph. It’s not the raw unrefrigerated street markets of Andean Peru but the sight startled me.  

We will have Monica and Christoph over for Thanksgiving so I’ve been trying to read up on the myths and realities of the holiday but I will say I’ve found another reason to enjoy Thanksgiving as the best holiday. It keeps Christmas at bay. Around here trees and carols and decorations have shown up in stores for weeks already. Last year we did Thanksgiving in Nicaragua I think. It’s the best time to be home for me but oh well. 

Robert was busy gardening and sorting out his house for sale. He went me a wave after Layne came by to see him. We first met sailing in the Bahamas 35 years ago. I wish I had been there but a photo is the next best thing. 

Friday we have an appointment to install the alternator parts Layne brought back from Florida. Then at last we board the ferry on Monday and sail to Puerto Natales 1200 miles south of here. That should be a change.

Waiting

We bought our Promaster on the cusp of evolving  battery technology and since we had GANNET2 outfitted, you may be surprised to learn, electrical systems for RVs have advanced quite a bit further than our four year old layout which relies heavily on 110 volts. I have to say though that we pioneered one idea that manufacturers are now adopting for commercially built campers, principally ditching propane gas. We went all electric in 2020 which raised some eyebrows at the time as lithium batteries were new and very expensive.  

Living with electricity alone for heating cooling cooking and lighting means you need a lot of battery power which used to mean lugging around a generator but our builders, Custom Coach Creations of DeLand Florida went instead with a second alternator to provide faster charging for our batteries. That was great until the second alternator stopped working and a replacement regulator cannot be found in Chile. The factory alternator is doing fine at the moment so we can drive as normal which is nice. We just can’t burn electricity with gay abandon in the living quarters which is a drag. 

Layne is in Key West at the moment picking up the part for our alternator shipped to a friend’s house by Nation’s Starters and Alternators in Missouri.  Indeed she has her hands on it as I write, as well as the spare we decided to order at the same time as a precaution against a future failure. Lovely things the tiny plastic $20 regulators that are critical to engine battery charging:

The problem was we had to get them this week as we are hoping to load ourselves and our van into the Esperanza ferry next Monday for a four day sail to Puerto Natales 1200 miles south of here. Had we decided to have the parts shipped directly to us there was no telling when they might arrive and pass through customs and so on. So Layne flew to Florida where she is seeing friends, going to see a play in Key West, (I’m jealous) while enjoying 60 degree days in a proper Keys winter. Rusty and I are twiddling our thumbs in the cabin outside Puerto Montt.

It’s not a bad place to stay and Rusty loves the absence of competition from other dogs and he loves sunbathing on the gravel (weird dog) and rolling in the grass while ignoring the chickens. It’s a pastoral life.

I spend my days reading and having lunch with our German neighbors Christoph and Monica. They are waiting for a new axle for their Mercedes Unimog expedition vehicle to be sent from Germany. It’s been a month and the part has now arrived in Santiago where it faces scrutiny by the inscrutable customs inspectors and that could take days. As it’s 7 feet long and weighs 250 pounds it’s not something you can fly to Germany to pick up and stuff in your pocket. They may have their truck back in a week. Or not. Sigh. 

I have lunch with them and we talk about travel, families, European and US politics and spare parts shipping. 

Then I read and my plan is to finish off a paperback I picked up at the Rome airport last year, a biography of the conquests of Alexander the Great  who fought his way from Greece to India. Layne wondered why we were hauling around this thick green book and it was  about time I read it. I’m at page 300 of 440 with two days to go so I should get it done and go back to my Kindle.

I generally prefer reading on my ebook  as I get the benefit of reading electronically with a lightweight back-lit library in my hands but without the distraction of the Internet. The book is heavy and the pages flap but it’s great story. And with the state of affairs in Russia it seems as though I may have missed my window to drive the Silk Road so at least I can still read about it.

Meanwhile here we are in Chile, land of unpredictable weather. It’s been sunny and pleasant like a summer day in Seattle and then suddenly with no notice at all it starts slashing rain which either stops equally suddenly or persists all night dropping temperatures to make it fell less like Spring an feel much more like winter. 

Rusty has some idea when the rain is about to start so when he goes indoors I pick up my chair and follow him and sure enough the waterfall begins. He has got used to the rain on the metal roof of the van and he sleeps through the heaviest rains these days where he used to tremble when we started out living life in a van. The heavy rain on the in insulated cabin roof bothers him not at all and the old dog likes his naps. 

Layne gets back Tuesday and then we get the alternator fixed and then we take a drive to check it and then we get on the ferry out of here. 

Meanwhile I’m off back to Central Asia to see if the plot to overthrow Alexander is going to succeed. It’s unlikely as his biography has 140 pages to go…

Goodbye Chiloé

Monday was our last morning on Isla Chiloé and our plan was to drive an hour back to the ferry and get to Puerto Montt before lunchtime to do some chores.

It was another lovely morning on our island hill top. 

There were just three vehicles in the 35 minute ride back to the mainland. 

It was a chore finding oil for my oil change. The Jeep dealer in Puerto Montt had none but they directed me to a place that did. Our Pentastar engine takes 5W-20 oil which is not common. In a pinch we can use the much more available 5W-30 but usually Jeep dealers have what we need.

I took the oil and filter to the shop which could handle our 21 foot, 9400 pound behemoth and Rusty did his part by breaking down the rather sullen attitude in the office. 

After the oil change and tire rotation and alignment ($60 fir the work and $70 for the oil and filter) we went to a place where we can park in Puerto Montt, city of no parking, even if it costs $2 an hour. 

The mall. 

Crocs with heels; will  wonders  never cease? Not in my  size (un)fortunately. 

We needed to copy a couple of documents for Layne to take to Florida on her trip to Key West but finding a copy shop was not easy. In other South American countries they are everywhere and well advertised; not here. 

You can get best ever you want at Costanera Mall and I was overwhelmed. 

I took Rusty for a walk. These dumpsters are everywhere and they are for the public to use. You bring your garbage bag from your house and drop it in. To open it you step on the bar and the lid comes up and the city denies the dumpster. Easy peasy. 

The rather uninspired waterfront of Puerto Montt. 

Layne was shopping in the supermarket inside the mall and we had sushi on the menu too. 

No Laphroaig for Webb.  

And then we had to do laundry and we were done for the day.

Our cabin was still occupied by some other inconsiderate person so we parked for the night in a truck rest area a mile away. 

I actually prefer van living but sometimes an air b and b is convenient especially when Layne has to fly to Florida to pick up our alternator parts.