here's the one from the 26th:

> oct 26: And then there were two
>
> This morning I awoke at 6am and inspected the engine work that had been
> done last night.  I immediately saw two Very Bad Things.  First, one of
the
> brackets that had been welded the day before had broken again.  Secondly,
> the alternator had bent down so that the belt was rubbing against another
> belt.  Clearly I couldn't drive the car.
>
> I woke up the mechanic who had done the work the previous night.  He came
> out of his house bleary-eyed to look at what had happened.  He poked
around
> a little, looked at me, and gave a half-hearted thumbs up.  Then he went
to
> work.  I went to breakfast.
>
> When we came back from breakfast, the alternator had been straightened
> somewhat, though it was still a little out of alignment.  We topped off
the
> coolant that had boiled over yesterday and ran the engine for a while to
> check for problems.  Everything seemed fine, so Tyler and I went for a
test
> drive.  I asked Tyler to drive to get his opinion on the vibrations I'd
> been feeling.
>
> In first, everything seemed fine.  Once we started climbing the hill out
of
> the gas station, the engine started vibrating badly.  Tyler looked
> concerned, downshifted, and then shifted up again.  The vibrations
> continued.  "I've never felt anything like this" said Tyler.  Neither had
> I, and until now I'd simply chalked it up to bad gasoline.  If I had been
> wiser, I would have checked to see if others were feeling the same
> vibrations.  (They weren't.)
>
> We learned from the mechanic that there was a volkswagen dealership about
> 15km down the road, in the small town of Caixas.  Perhaps they could help
> diagnose the problem.
>
> We loaded up and headed out.  I drove slowly, trying not to strain the
> engine.  Nevertheless, we had only gotten about 5km before the belt came
> off again.  Jeanne towed me into the dealership.
>
> We opened things up, and they looked at my car for a while before grinning
> and giving me a thumbs up.  They also said that they'd never seen a car
> anything like this.  Every mechanic in the shop gathered around to peer
> into my engine compartment.
>
> We were shown into the VIP Lounge, which featured air conditioning and the
> Pink Panther cartoon series on a television.  A secretary brought us water
> and coffee, and I told the others that I was going home.  Tyler and Jeanne
> spent some time trying to convince me that I would regret the decision,
but
> I told them my reasons for the decision, and I think that they understand.
>
> We went to lunch, even though it was only 10am.  We returned around noon,
> just as everyone at the dealership was going to lunch.  They told me that
> they would return at 2pm, and that the job was nearly complete.
>
> I'd offered Jeanne and Tyler any supplies they wished from my van, and
> while the mechanics were away we rearranged things.  I gave them fuel
> filters, oil filters, a fuel pump, a CV joint & boot kit, one of my spare
> gas tanks, a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin, a tow strap and various other
> small things.  Jeanne had thrown her power steering belt, and Tyler helped
> her reinstall it.
>
> Around 2pm they headed out after collecting Valdir (remember him?) from
> where he had been napping under a palm tree.  As soon as the other vans
> were out of sight, my stomach cramped up with incredible pain.  I was
alone
> at the VW dealership.
>
> The mechanics finished repairing my car, and took it out for a test drive.
> They came back shaking their heads, and told me that my clutch was bad.  I
> could drive the van, but I shouldn't drive it very fast.
>
> So I'm in Caixas.  Tomorrow I'll hopefully get my van trucked to Recife.
> APL is assisting me in getting my van shipped from Recife to Oakland.
> After making all of the shipping arrangements, I'll go home.
>
> I'm not terribly disappointed to be returning home.  I'd made some bad
> decisions in planning the trip.  Things weren't turning out the way I'd
> wished, and frankly I wasn't having fun.  If I do attempt this journey
> again, I'll go without a schedule, without a time limit, and with my
spouse
> as a companion.
>
> Jeanne and Tyler are continuing south, hoping to be in Piripiri tonight.
I
> believe that they intend to continue to send dispatches occasionally,
> informing people of their progress.  I'll keep people informed of my
> progress until I return to the United States.
>
> Ron
>                         /\_/\      ____
> Ron Lussier            (     )     \ _/__                   Lenscraft
> coyote@lenscraft.com    \   /       \X  /       229 8th Street Unit 4
> 1.415.241.0815           \_/          \/      San Francisco, CA 94103
>
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