MUNGO EATS Latin America

Do you ever regret thinking anything or saying anything out loud?  Two weeks ago, when we were in La Paz, we were congratulation ourselves on a having pretty good luck , so far this trip.  We were robbed in Mexico, and have had a few driving adventures, but otherwise, the trip has gone off without a hitch.  The van has run quite well, we got to see to see Machu Picchu before the floods closed it down.  Yep, we have been doing quite well. 

When we got to Sucre and found out the dinosaur footprints “slid” two days before we got there, we thought, “Hmm, our timing was a bit off.”  When we got stuck in the mud the other day, we thought, “Hmm, that was unfortunate.”  Yesterday, one of the small awnings we have on the van, was ripped off by the wind, and we thought, “Hmm, that’s too bad.”  Then Kevin noticed that the engine was  losing oil.  So much oil, that it is probable that we need a new engine if we intend to finish the trip.  Now we are thinking, “Man, are we ever having bad luck!!!”

Remember in La Paz, we bought an amulet that was supposed to bring us a safe journey?  I think we  should get our money back!!!  Sara is talking about smashing the amulet!!  Maybe our luck would be  worse if we didn’t have that little creature??!!

I will tell you more about the van in a bit, let me tell you about the good things we did yesterday first.  We are travelling through the south west corner of Bolivia right now and it is really a very large expanse of “not a whole lot”.  There is desert, salt flats, and occasionally a lake or laguna to pass by.  There are herds of wild vicuñas running around, and we often pass large herds of llamas (not wild).  Yesterday however, we saw something new, large flightless birds.  I am not sure if they are called rheas or not, but they are about 5 feet tall, mostly grey, and we saw a “flock” of 5 of them.  I tried to get a picture, but they were pretty far away.  This is the best I can do, see if you can see the large flightless bird in this photo!

We passed through a really cool area with large sculpted rocks as we drove as well.  Remember, I love rocks.  Here are some of the best ones.

Very cool.  We stopped for lunch at one of the lagunas that we passed, and got to see quite a few flamingoes feeding.

Finally, our camp spot was on another laguna,

and we got to see the flamingoes even closer up.  There was no one else around, the sunset was beautiful.

The night was wonderfully clear, there were no lights around anywhere, and the sky was full of stars.  Even though it was terribly windy in the afternoon, it was dead calm at night, and the stars were reflected in the laguna.  It was a beautiful night. 

Still, we went to bed knowing that something was dreadfully wrong with the van.  As I mentioned, it is losing oil, not dripping it, but spraying it as we drive.  Kevin thinks the piston rings are shot, which I don’t pretend to understand, but I guess it means we pretty much need a new engine.  At first, we thought that we would just try to get the van to Chile, get it on a boat, and jump on a plane for home.  We briefly considered getting rid of the van and continuing the trip out of backpacks, but public transportation often doesn’t support dogs (D*** the dog, and d*** you Kelsey for not being my back up plan for the dog).  Who am I kidding, I could never send the dog home!  Not with that face!

We also considered trying to rent a different RV in Argentina or Chile and finishing off the trip this way.  I think now though, we are going to try to see if we can find a new engine to get put in.  Kevin thinks we will have better luck finding an engine in Chile than Bolivia, so as it stands, the four of us (and the dog) are heading back to Uyuni tomorrow, to try and find a vehicle to haul our van to the Chilean border.  Failing that, we will buy A LOT of oil, and try to limp our way to the border ourselves.  Once in Chile, we will try to find a motor and a mechanic to “pop” in a new engine.  If all goes well, we will be ready to continue our journey in a few weeks.  Tonight we are staying in an ecolodge on the edge of a laguna.  We have all had a warm shower and are  feeling a little less sorry for ourselves.  Keep your fingers crossed for us, rub any lucky charms you have, say a few prayers, and hopefully all will go well!