The drive back to the campground on Friday was a brief taste of the new smooth shifting I can look forward to I hope. $4100 for a new transmission, $650 for the code reader to unlock the computer and about $750 for assorted tows. Plus $250 for eight nights in a room at the campground.
Rusty liked having a courtyard outside room 14. The staff pet him and play with him and even the house painters take time to greet him when they arrive each morning to refresh the hotel decor. He really liked having a room with a king sized bed, but it’s back to van life.
Happily we are back aboard though Saturday was a long day of hauling crap out of the room and filling GANNET2 and sorting where everything went. It’s weird how no matter how much you dump stuff more arrives to take its place.
We have found it hard yo buy decent sheets in South America oddly enough so Layne brought back a sheet to cover our bed as a dust sheet to keep our bedding clean. We use an RV Superbag which we had on our boat 30 years ago and they are still in production. It’s a king sized comforter with a sheet velcroed inside.
One side up is thinner for warmer weather and the other is for cooler temperatures. We needed a new sheet liner after five years and the one Layne brought back from the States feels luxurious. But it took time to get our bedroom reorganized. Then the kitchen, then the odds and sods and half the day went by. Layne got my cough and mine had t finished so we ate a chorus of dry hacking coughs all day long. But slowly we restored order.
Vans have been coming and going. Everyone has an issue. I directed a young French couple in a Chinese van they bought in Chile to Renzo’s shop where he diagnosed the need for a new engine as theirs has no compression. A Dutch couple came in with a Volkswagen that needs an oil filter so far unobtainable and a Spanish family in a Ford Transit is looking for a mechanic to repair a timing chain failure. It feels pretty good to be getting ready to take a drive in our restored Promaster.
Tomorrow I’m gone all day flying to Cusco to pick up my new passport then Tuesday and Wednesday we have dental appointments to finish our crowns and I’m hoping Thursday we can take a drive to the coast for a few days camping on the beach. It’s winter so it won’t be swimming weather but some fresh scenery will be a break.
I’m hoping after we get back we can complete our suspension replacement as Renzo heard the clunking on our test drive that I’ve been hearing on rough roads. The CV joints seem fine now after a one time clunk but we’ll get them inspected when the suspension is out and make sure they are solid. They are aftermarket beefed up units so I was surprised to hear a clunk.
I also dropped off the ethanol kit Layne brought from the States and hopefully Renzo can install it. Then we should be ready for Brazil. It’s still raining in the jungle so we don’t want to get there too early and August is the start of rainy season so our timing may be just right.
I walked across town from my last dental appointment and took a few street photos of Arequipa. We have been here altogether too long but it has been useful place to get stuff done.
It’s rather odd to find myself familiar with the streets, used to dodging pedestrians in this oddly aggressive town where people walking two or three abreast will force you aside if you look intimidated but will yield if you don’t. So I’ve learned to play the sidewalk game and try not to yield…learning to walk like a Peruvian. We have our favorite eateries, our mechanic, our dentist, our doctor… I really need to get back on the road. Rusty would be happy not to, he liked having a room of his own.
