Kombi in the ER

I've been working on Kombi seemingly from the very first day I've been with her.  Wait, actually from the very first day I was with her. We've made it through some interesting roadside repairs and other more calculated adjustments that I could plan for.  This morning was by far the most intense repairs need thus far.  It was planned, sort of, so with plenty of time I set up to meet with the local mechanic here in San Pedro and go over a small list. 

For about four days or so now Kombi would only start sometimes, then never, then sometimes.  After testing the battery and the alternator it came down to the starter motor.  I removed and disassembled the starter and with the help of Willis(that's the mechanic's name) we diagnosed that it was the bushing that aligns the starter with the actual motor.  The chances of him having the right bushing were slim.  After searching his garage/yard we did not in fact find the right bushing but we found one that was close and ground and drilled it out to fit our needs.   We reassembled the starter, installed the bushing, installed the starter, and gave the ol girl a go only to find out that she runs like a dream. Perfect!  In only a couple few hours Willis and I had fixed yet another problem with Kombi and driving away I could tell she was more than happy, purring as it were.  I felt the need to relay this story of repair and triumph because not only would i forget the details but I have a hot Internet connection and I need to take advantage of it.  

So far on this trip the repairs to Kombi are as follows:  separated shifting assembly, 2 flat tires, broken throttle cable, broken clutch cable, new fuel filter, complete separation of left axle from transmission (on the road) and reinstall with 4 out of 6 bolts(added one more with Willis this morning), installed lighter, and removal of and repair to starter motor and bushing.   I'm one third of the way through the trip, I wonder what's next. 

On the second of January Kombi and I attempt arguably the hardest day of the trip traveling over the Paso de Jama from Chile to Argentina.  We'll spend a hundred or so kilometers above 12,000 feet with our max altitude somewhere over 15,000.  Should be interesting, but I have faith in and love for Kombi and after today I feel the same from her.  I also must give credit where credit is due.  If it weren't for Hoyt I wouldn't stand a chance on this here trip.  So, thanks Dad.  

Talk to you guys soon.

William

Oh and this would have been a great time to take pictures but I suck at that.

"The Road" - Chile (more pictures)

Pictures from the road in Chile.  I posted a bunch more on Facebook(for some reason it's faster).  The last is from a lagoon on a massive salt flat outside of San Pedro.  I'm  not sure if you've had the chance to swim in a salt flat lagoon or possibly the dead sea, but it's a very weird feeling.  You float on top of the water due to the salinity and you can just float there.  Float around on your back and not move a muscle, just look up at the clouds.  There were also flamingos and the whole deal is set in the shadows of massive volcanos.  I'll try to come up with more ways to convey exactly how legit this shit is.  But here's some pics-

Further into Chile

I bid farewell to Arica a few days ago in pursuit of something different.  I'd say bigger and better but that would be setting a bar that would strictly contradict the notion of going with it, no plan: that's the plan.  No set bar: bar achieved.  Unfortunately my surfing for the first part of the trip officially came to a close yesterday morning as I hit the town of Tocopilla and headed east into the Andes.  By this point I know Kombi pretty well.  Her likes, dislikes and so forth and so on. Three things really hurt Kombi:  wind, heat, and altitude.  The Atacama is the epitome of all of these combined.   
This headed into the Mountains of the Atacama desert is going to be something.  The Atacama is the driest desert in the world and I found that out kilometer by kilometer yesterday.  Kombi and I struggled through the second mountain pass in first and second gear on three cylinders for about two hours.  Every 5 kilometers or so she had to take a break, so without question(without a choice) we sat on the side of the road for 20 or so minutes and relaxed.  I got a lot of reading done and Kombi got to take naps on a stretch of road she's probably never seen before.  Win, win I suppose.  We finally made it into San Pedro de Atacama at about 10 pm and stumbled around town on little to no fuel to find a hostel and gas.  I'll have to take some pictures of this city as it is entirely different than any other town I've been to thus far.  I've attached a couple of photos but I'm also posting another group of photos from "the road" in Chile.  Happy new year guys.  Talk to you soon.

Arica, Chile

Happy Holidays people

I ended up crossing into Chile pretty much right away to get to the city of Arica, known for it's surfing culture.  The city is beautiful with the unique distinction of being the driest city in the world.  They average .03 inches of rain per year.  There is an oasis and bird sanctuary that I've yet to check out, but that's on the list for the next day or so.  I've been here for the last few days staying in a surf hostal and getting to know the lay of the land.  Of coarse the first place the owner takes me to surf is one of the gnarliest waves I've ever seen in person, but trying not to look like a pussy I paddled out anyway.  It's a reef break so the paddle out and return is pretty easy.  Within about 15 minutes I was positive that I was WAY over my head and yelled to Kurt (I was sitting on my board way outside the break) that I was going in.  After lamenting to him that i was from Colorado and by his measure probably not even considered a surfer he steered me towards some beaches and waves that were more my speed.  I then got online and found out that the wave he took me to is considered the Pipeline of Chile and continuously F's dudes up.  Whatever.

It was a very relaxing Christmas with other travelers and myself cooking a great meal and drinking booze.  Overall staying in Arica for a while has been a nice change of pace from driving so much.  I don't really have a schedule to keep other than being in the city of San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina for the Dakar Rally the 3rd.  So a few more days here in northern Chile taking in the surf and such then it's off to San Pedro de Atacama for New Years.  Here's a pic of the border and my Xmas dinner of a couple of shark steaks, excellent Guac, salad, and all kinds of stuff. 

    

Three days to remember

Where to begin.  It's been a pretty wild three days.  I kind of posted an update from cerro Azul but the computer i was using there was a real piece of work.  Sorry if this post is long but here's an attempt at a real update:  After three days of chillin, surfing, and sleeping in Kombi I resolved to wake-up early and hit the road for southern Peru.  I didn't realize that I was in for two strait days of driving 10 hours a day through some of the wildest desert I've ever seen.  I've driven through a white out before but this is the first time I've had the chance to drive through a sand out.  Kombi and I drove head on into a sand storm for about an hour and a half going maybe 40km/hr in third gear, downhill.  Wild shit and by the end of it sand had worked it's way into every orifice of Kombi and myself.  If you look at the route I took to get to Puerto Inca from Cerro Azul you'll see that I passed right through where the NAzca lines are drawn.  IF you're not familiar with these things check them out.  Also the desert from Nasca to the pacific ocean where white sand dunes the size of east coast mountain demise right into the ocean.  There's a road right down the gut of this canyon seperates the sea of sand and gives any driver the most spectacular views desert, sea, canyon, and the Andes in the far distance.  I can't write worth a shit so I'm sure none of this is coming off like it should.  Dammit man the terrain itself inspires so much awe that it's difficult to put into words what driving every kilometer solo has done for my concept of my little world.  F.  Again this is a situation that it's better to google for pictures than to rely on mine(most of which I took whilst driving) but I'll attach a few to this post to give you an idea.

Day two of that drive took me from Purto Inca to the town of Mollendo.  I figured I had less KM's to cover and more time, so I really took it easy out of the gate stopping on several beaches and having coffee and lunch and taking it all in.  I probably shouldn't have done that as after a non-stop 7,000 ft accent from the ocean to Arequipa it was starting to get dark as I descended to the coast once more. It made for a spectacular sunset but it also left me with an hour or so of driving at night which is not only stressful but dangerous as hell.  (Edt note:  Kombi's eyes don't exactly point strait.  The right one points strait down and the left off into oblivion somewhere.  I'm going to fix this.)  By the end of these two days I was completely exhausted from simply having to wheel Kombi for such lengths of time.  She's a real hoss on the open road, and even more of a devil when you get into high mountain switchbacks and such. 

Day three was supposed to be a quick jaunt from Mollendo to Ilo in about 3 hours over some dirt roads and pleasant seaside driving.  Wrong again G. Not only did the drive itself take me five hours with the dirt road being more large, permanent rocks than dirt, but Kombi gave up the ghost on the clutch about 30K out of Ilo.  After some quick investigation I found that it was a snapped clutch cable so I finally found a practical application for "Grind em till you find em."  With no clutch I limped Kombi into the outskirts of town and set to finding the parts and such I needed to fix her up.  A few hours later, some ceviche and a beer and here I am washed up and sitting in a Canitna relaxing after a few days of what feels like some of the hardest work I've ever done.  All in all somewhere around 1300KM and several 10 of thousands of feet in elevation gain/lost.  It seems like one test after another on this trip and I'm sure that aspect isn't going anywhere anytime soon.  Headed to Boca Del Rio tomorrow for hopefully some empty beaches and surfing for a few days.  I'm right on the border with Chile and hope to cross sometime around Christmas.   Happy Holidays guys.  Talk to you soon. 

Love, Kombi and Role

Cerro Azul

Lima just wouldn´t let me go!  I was all set to bounce down the highway Thursday morning and Lima just simply said no.  And then said no again. First, I come out to Kombi, load all my gear in and notice something is a bit off.  Round the other side of the van I go and low and behold I have a flat left front tire.  No big deal.  After an hour or so running around town to fix it I climb in start her up and go to give it a bit of gas and ¨pop¨, the throttle cable break right then and there.  Just more tests I suppose.  Tranquilo mi, tranquilo.  It was two or so in the afternoon before I finally broke free of her grasp to shoot down the coast to a sleepy little surf town by the name of Cerro Azul.  It´s only 150KM from Lima, but it may as well be Chile.  The town, people, and culture are completely different.  Right now Kombi and I are staying with a family literally 30 yards from the point break.  They have a small restaurant, cheap beer and an overhang for Kombi to sleep under.  It´s going to be tough to leave this place but the waves have kind of gone to shit and I´m itching for the road again.  I roll out tomorrow morning for a town somewhere south of Nazca.  Who knows, but the sun is out and the wind is dying, waves or no waves I´m going to paddle around and relax in the ocean.

Rolliam

Oh and if shit is misspelled or off at all you can blame it on the lack of spell check.  When I hit that button the whole page turns yellow because it´s supposed to all be in spanish.  I laughed my ass off the first time i tried it.....

Things done changed

So I take it back.  I take it all back!  Give me a break.  I thought the man was trying to test me more and more here in Lima only to find out after banks and taxi rides and waiting, and more waiting, that the Notaria made a mistake and I'm good to go!  While the mistake cost me a day or so of getting to know Lima waiting rooms better that's all behind Kombi and I now.  I leave tomorrow morning for southern Peru.  Not sure what the Internet situation will be on the road but I'm sure I'll be able to keep in touch in some way shape or form.  Later dudes......

Marinating in Lima

OK, so I can dig it.  I can dig that for this trip to really take root and develop into everything I know it can be it's going to take patience, a lot of patience.  But God dammit man this is becoming nothing short of a comical expression of government bullshit.  Luckily I have a good attitude and a good friend or else this may have been a quick two week trip to the capital of Peru and home.  We're heading into the start of week three of buying and titling Kombi.  It's not that I don't like Lima it's just that I'm really ready to hit the high road and head south to check out the countryside and some new beaches, waves, cities, and countrys.  It's going to be a road trip someday....hopefully.   I don't have any pictures of Lima, if you want to see the city just go to http://www.google.com/, they're a lot better than anything I can do, I suck at taking pictures.  Oh and for the record: Kombi hates Lima and the rest of the Kombi's in Lima.

On a total stoke note Robby and I surfed Punta Viejo this morning and it was ripping.  A little big and chaotic for my skill level but I caught a couple and had a really good time.  The highlight was certainly the dozens of Dolphins launching out of the faces of the biggest waves they could find.  I've seen plenty of them jump before, next to boats and such, and it's clear they like to boost but this shit was amazing.  They figured out that if they wait for the biggest waves and then (going with the wave) exit the water at the highest point they get max air time.  It really is something else to watch.  Especially in the water only 20 or so feet from you.  And you can see them just continue to do laps and wait for the best waves.  That would have been worth a picture.

Only one picture that's worth a shit.  The latest piece of paper work for Kombi.  This one has me here for three more business days. 

Random pics so far

Canta,Peru

The love continues.  Kombi and I decided that we'd had enough of Lima for a bit so with some map scanning and google earth I picked out a town fairly deep in the mountains named Canta.  Despite all the technology and bullshit I have at my disposal, as of yet, I'm not able to share that with Kombi, she just didn't know what she was getting into.  The Andes are nothing to F with, the pitch and condition of the road will never be consistent.  Kombi and I figured that out today.  I mean sure any one and their brother would say "well I coulda told you that man" but they're full of shit.  Not till they've driven an 81' VW Kombi from Lima to Canta, or at least my Kombi, can they say they "coulda told me that". The drive was harrowing to say the least and really made me and Kombi work together as a team and really get to know each other.  I have a feeling this is just the start of our short but passionate relationship.  I'm really looking forward to it.   I snapped a couple of pics of Kombi when SHE chose to rest, I really had nothing else to do other than read and wait for her to cool off.  Sometimes it's best just to pull over and let her sort through it on her own, again, this is a relationship so there got to be some give and take.  Kombi pretty much gets her way when we're over 9,000 feet in elevation.

It took me 5 hours to get here only to find out that this town is nothing short of amazing.  I mean if you're into steep mud streets, no running water, room temp beer, and of coarse internet access: this is your place.  I think when every street in town isn't torn up to replace the underground sewage system this place is beautiful.  Right now however, with the rain, it's one big mud pit.  After a walk around town with a warm beer I'm fully satisfied with my choice to come here.  The simplicity and native feel of this Andean town is something that's hard to find where I'm from.  So mission accomplished: completely out of my norm.  But I do however feel completely in my element.  I'll post some pics of the waterfalls and Kombi pouting and such after I get back to Lima.  Word up G's

First post

So i figured Facebook isn't really going to work for the stuff i want to get into detail on...That's where Blogspot comes in. If i get the itch I'm just going to write on this deal.  That way it's published forever on the interweb. 

It's been a roller coaster of a trip so far with things just kind of falling into place as they see fit.  From the start I said I had no plan so it makes it pretty easy to say that things are going exactly as planned.  I've been staying and am kinda stuck in Lima for a bit while I wait for the title to my van to come in.   Not the worst deal though.  I'm shacked up at my friend Robby's place in Miraflores. I met Robby through my friend Chino from Costa Rica.  Robby has been invaluable to my progress towards Kombi ownership and all things Lima.  Without his help (two strait days of driving me around Lima traffic) I would have been F'd in the A with no real way to pull this trip off from the very start.  But alas I'm here, I own a Kombi, it runs, I have a surfboard, and I'm ready to hit the road.  I've been waiting for this trip for about 6 months now and it is slowly taking shape in front of me.  If you're into it, keep an eye on this blog.  If I can convey even the slightest of what see, touch, smell, taste, and feel then it will be worth me writing this.  See you all in a few months...

Rolliam

Oh and I made it through my first two police check points without being waved over.  I must already look dirty and poor enough not to F with.....Awesome