vgabndo - 3-17-2005 at 03:28 PM
Three days before our friends were due to fly in to stay with us, we made another supply run to Loreto. We had been 4-wheeling all over the
countryside, needed food, ice and boat gas, and didn?t want all that in the little Suzuki with two extra people and their luggage. Fifty km north of
Loreto, at dusk, I heard what sounded like I?d run over a beer can. There was no flat can in the road, but there was the smell of anti-freeze. All
systems went into ?OH CRAP? mode. The only good luck was that there was a place to get off the road.
I was distracted looking for the bad radiator hose when I just happened to notice that the fan, fan clutch, driven pulley and half the tensioning
bracket had become part of the radiator.
Second good luck, or so I thought, was that about the eighth car to pass going toward Loreto was an old friend from San Nicolas and his nephew. The
nephew spoke pretty good English, which eased the stress a little bit, and soon the four of us were on our way back to town to find a tow truck. We
dropped my wife at a motel. We chose the Salvatierra because it was close to the mechanic?s and only $23. (One of the two beds was functional, the
shower was WAY marginal, and it was noisy as crap.)
The ?nephew?, Paco, (I?ll change all the names to protect myself, the guilty and the innocent) and I set out on a three hour search for a tow. We
finally found a guy with a two wheel dolly and an adequate truck to pull it. By 8:30 pm we had retrieved my car and had it parked in the junk yard of
Paco?s friend Jose. Paco had been on his way to La Paz and San Jose del Cabo when he stopped to help us. He was sure he could find the replacement
bracket in one of the two places, would put it on a bus, and call us with the schedule. Jose knew he already had a radiator. I gave Paco $50. for
his six hours and 100 km of extra driving to rescue my car. He took another 800 pesos for the parts. At this moment I have not seen him or heard his
voice since. His uncle, who is now much more an acquaintance than a friend, days later would admit that they were not related, and that in fact Paco
had owed him 4000 pesos for a year.
When Jose?s friend Paco was obviously AWOL, he started his own parts search. He found a new tensioner assembly in Viscaino, and when the radiator he
had leaked like a riveted boat, I gave 3000 pesos for a new factory stock Suzuki radiator from Cuidad Constitution. Cathy and I rented a car, went
back to the village, and returned in two days to pick up our friends from the airport, install the new fan clutch, and take the Suzuki. While wife and
friends saw the sights and shopped, I hung with the Suzuki until it was ready to go. It started and ran, but as soon as the engine moved a little
under torque, the fan swatted the radiator mercilessly. Closer examination showed that the mounts were jury rigged, the stock fan was too big, and
actually the new Suzuki radiator was a reconditioned Isuzu. Jose would order a fan that would fit, the Isuzu radiator would ultimately work, and I
just had to be more patient.
We rented a four passenger pickup and headed out to San Nicolas to await word that my car was fixed. The VHF radio in San Nicolas didn?t work, so
while on a tourist trip to Mulege, we stopped at the junction at El Rosarito to have Roberto call my Green Angel friend Filipe to check on the car and
send word to the village. (Roberto and Filipe are real names, they are GOOD men) A day or so later, a voice at my gate informed me that I could come
and get my car any time. Things were looking up. (to be cont.)
Keep 'em coming...
Tucker - 3-17-2005 at 05:34 PM
I think we live in a parallel universe when it comes to Baja mechanics.
David K - 3-17-2005 at 06:59 PM
Sometimes the worst experiences make the best stories! Thanks Perry... and bummer on being ripped off by these (dare I say 'humans'?) locals.
Bruce R Leech - 3-17-2005 at 07:50 PM
cant wait for the rest. hurry
cash
eetdrt88 - 3-21-2005 at 09:51 PM
sounds like you had plenty of cash....credit cards dont help much in baja,do they?
We only occasionally ran the ATM out of money.
vgabndo - 3-21-2005 at 09:57 PM
Actually, it is open 24 hours and was very handy. I'm not EVEN going to admit what my poor choice in not returning to San Diego from El Rosario has
cost me, but it equalled the cost of the rest of a six week trip.