The Fourth

 Happy Fourth of July whatever your continent. 

Update

 Life is nothing if not ironic and by that I mean now that GANNET2 is ready for the road I have been in bed recovering from a fever for two days.  Today, Friday I seem to have peaked and I am on the recovery side of the coughing and spluttering sore throat side of this irritation. I spent Thursday in bed happy to let the fire go out when temperatures here in Uruguay have taken a wintery turn.

Which probably sounds like summer to an Alaskan but not to me. It is definitely time to go and I think today will be time to start the process of refilling our shelves and lockers board GANNET2.

We want to visit an Uruguayan winery, pass by the capital Montevideo and see the coastal town of Piriapolis a little further along the coast. Theres a national park in the hills along the border with Brazil and we’ll need to get Rusty his exit papers to go to Argentina. Then we want to drive north back to Paraguay which was 105 degrees the last time we were there and should be a bit warmer than freezing Uruguay. 

But every journey starts with a first step which I hope we can be ready to do Sunday morning. Yesterday I wasn’t even feeling like driving to the supermarket which tells you how ill I felt. When one says “to good health” sometimes one means it.

Back In The Barn

I spent Monday and Tuesday keeping half an eye open on the approach road from the town of Colonia Valdense but when GANNET2 finally showed up from the mechanic’s shop on Tuesday afternoon I totally missed it. Adrián knocked on the door of our rental cottage and when I looked out there she was.

Coolant leak fixed, tire pressure warning light fixed, a 2020 Promaster apparently ready to roll, after a $420 check up. It feels liberating to have  a van at our door all ready to go. 

Naturally I got a head cold which keeps me up at night and Layne and I are coughing in harmony as Rusty tries to ignore us by snoring over the top of all this hacking and spluttering noise.

Interestingly our fridge has been running all the time and our batteries have barely noticed the demand from the 12 volt motor. We haven’t driven much and the solar panels have been largely in the shade but our new Victron 540 amp lithium battery bank doesn’t seem to notice the drain. This is quite a change from our original system with 500 amps of Go Power lithium and a 110 volt motor which drained the batteries easily over two days. I am excited to test our new energy independence on the road. This is a system Adrián is putting in a customer’s Sprinter van he is building:

If I had another van built I’d give serious consideration to shipping it to Montevideo 90 minutes from here and have him build it out.

I suspect Rusty may not be too excited to leave this place but we will take good care of him and keep our driving times within his tolerance levels. Besides he like me needs slightly more strenuous walks than gentle ambles round the garden.

Our plan is to drive to the west coast of South America after we take a quick tour of this tiny country. We’ve long wanted to see Bolivia and this might be the moment as the strikes have calmed down, road blockades have been lifted and fuel is said to be available. Plus US passport holders no longer need a visa to visit which was imposed by the old left wing government that had a traditional beef with the US. Getting a visa we found was very difficult. 

Layne has some reservations about visiting high altitude Bolivia in winter but she has come round to the idea this may be the moment to get there so we will drive cautiously to Paraguay ready to change plans at any time.

Paraguay and Bolivia share a border in a wilderness region known as the “Chaco,” which has been populated by Mennonites whose main town is called Filadelfia which I’m sure looks nothing like Pennsylvania…especially as the Chaco jungle is also known as the “Green Hell.” So the journey to Bolivia may end up being more interesting than necessary. The area sounds a bit…rugged but nothing daunted we have an excellently appointed home refurbishment to put to the test.  

Team Lost will have ample opportunity to do what it does best and mangle all travel plans should that become necessary or desirable. Departure day is tentatively set for Sunday, time to heal, to do laundry, to pack and to grill some meat on Saturday. We shall see.

Impatience

 There is some impatience to get going.  GANNET2 is at the mechanics shop getting the coolant leak checked and Emiliano is giving our van a look over to see if anything else needs to be taken care of before we leave.

Layne is buried much of the time in one of two activities, cooking as she feels eating out isn’t worth it in this expensive country, and route planning as she is ready to be on the road.

I get grumpy if you interrupt me while I’m writing these posts and Layne gets grumpy if you interrupt her in the kitchen, so I stay out. “I want my microwave,” she announces to the four walls from time to time. Or substitute “air fryer” tools that run off 110 volts and can’t be plugged in to Uruguay’s 220 volt network.  And the van, our source of 110 volts is now in the shop. When it was parked here she would do half the meal onboard GANNET2 and take advantage of our 12 volt fridge for extra storage space. We both hope GANNET2 will be back tonight or tomorrow at the very latest. 

And then we will start a slow process of reloading our home, tossing out stuff we don’t use and trying to question every packing decision. With luck we hope to be on the road this week. Maria-José is expected back at the weekend from Argentina so if we left Thursday it would be close enough, Layne is climbing the walls. 

Rusty is healed and these days I think he suffers more from arthritic cold and old age more than anything else. We want to tour Uruguay a little more then drive west to Argentina. Our goal is to be in Arequipa Perú by August though how we get there is uncertain. On the map below we have two possible routes, we will have a better idea which way to go when we are on the road.  

We have run out of time to visit Brazil as we have used up our six months and Bolivia is still uncertain even though the post election rioting and road blockades have died down. Also most of the country is over 12,000 feet so winter cold is a factor. 

At any rate the urge to move is upon us. This living in one place is wearing us out. 

Two Old Dogs At The Beach

Layne stayed aboard and cleaned our storage lockers with the cabin heater roaring. I braved the cold north wind with Rusty who ran like a puppy and I tried to do the same. A great afternoon in Uruguay.

The River Plate is fresh water to my taste, I stuck my finger in, but it’s tidal here, complete with sandbars. 

All this 10 minutes from the workshop. 

As we left the cottage I had to get Rusty the Mistrustful into his collar and attach a leash so he would come quietly and board GANNET2. 

He perked up when he realized the destination was the beach and not the vet.  

You can much I enjoyed watching my dog prancing around having fun. His hind legs are a bit weak but we’re all feeling the cold in our arthritic bones.

We were alone on our piece of beach but in the distance there were Others.  

It was windy. Later I saw a kite surfer pounding through the waves all by themself.  

No camping allowed on the beach but parking is wide open and free.  

GANNET2 is in the mechanic’s shop for the weekend getting a thorough check to clear up the minor coolant leak and anything rise that might need attention. Getting ready to drive and go west across the Andes in winter to the Pacific Coast. Can’t wait. 

Rusty took an hour to walk back and forth and here and there and I was glad to see him so energetic and happy. 

Pretty nice houses lining the beach, most of them empty for the winter.

There’s a dog in there either lying in wait or resting in the grass: 

I think he was resting.

When we got home he sat out for a bit then ate a huge dinner of chicken and kibbles and then he passed out and started snoring so I rate this a successful day.

Do we have to go home?