My snarky comment about cruise ships being feedlots doesn’t sit right. Everyone is looking for a different level of challenge. We prefer a fairly high level of challenge all the time, some people want to be challenged at work and have very cushy vacations. We have a friend who ran across Canada, 106km per day for 68 days – which is way too much suffering for us.
Our trips reflect this search for the right kind of problems at our level of intensity. So, I will try not to judge how other people spend their downtime. That said, Marta has a friend who went on a cruise and came back pregnant. Not surprising, except this was a guy!
After we got our van back from the mechanic with a new harmonic balancer, the wobble was still there. I was sick of San Jose del Cabo, but after a few days I knew we had to go back and face the problem. We ordered a new bolt from Vancouver Island, but it will take 14 days to get here (by air!) and we aren’t sure it will get through Mexican customs anyway. But let’s take a look at the problem.
Drive up on a couple rocks in the shade of a supermarket. A cheap ratchet strap, and a little elbow grease, the new balancer comes off. The damage from the loose bolt has been done – the mating surface is no longer flat, and replacing that requires taking off the front of the engine. Will plan to do a timing belt replacement at the same time, when we fly down next year. So tighten up the bolt and drive on.
As we travel, we meet other Canadians / Americans / Europeans in their camping rigs. I’m taking the opportunity to ask how they are handling repairs and getting parts. Only two data points so far. We met Germans in a big MAN truck who were recently stopped for 2 months, trying to import parts into Mexico and the USA. One reason to choose the Mercedes Sprinter van is the worldwide support network. We met a Swiss couple who had a driveshaft support bearing fail in Guatemala, and the local Mercedes dealer needed two months to get it from Germany! They finally got their van repaired in Arizona. So much for worldwide support…
Food is interesting in each country. Nutella is cheaper than peanut butter. Peanut butter includes added corn syrup and vegetable oil. Even apple juice is diluted with corn syrup and artificial sweeteners. We aren’t losing weight. Many Mexicans get breakfast/lunch at little stands like this. Coolers full of empanadas/tamales/burritos cooked that morning. I’m amazed to see gasoline scooters still being made and sold around the world. Little run-abouts like this are the easiest win for electrification and the Chinese cut their teeth on EVs building half a billion of these > 10 years ago. But… Mexico makes these locally, and with even Europe failing at building their own batteries, electrification would be a big loss for domestic manufacturing.Lots of awesome beaches in the southern Baja. There are thousands of whales and they jump for hours. As we go south, the brush gets worse. Cactuses have been largely replaced by dense brush. We hike a hill 700 meters from the car and are at serious risk of having to spend the night out.We are in an arms race with the vegetation. A seamstress added denim patches to the front of my pants. The next step would be a full face mask to get better eye protection but I’m questioning if I really like chopping my way through a dry jungle. Still, the roads are amazing. Renting side by sides is a big business in Baja. I’m always surprised how few people are disturbed by loud engines – my gut feel is that these machines shouldn’t make any more noise than a toyota corolla, but man, they are loud. To the point that they use headsets/ear protection with a built in intercom for everyone. Which sounds quite a bit more expensive than a muffler. After four weeks without a shower (just washing with a cloth), we stay at the San Dionisio Ranch in the Sierra de la Laguna mountains. Next year, we plan to head to mainland Mexico, and staying in campgrounds is often necessary for safety.For contrast, this was our campsite the night before. As long as the ranchers can squeeze by. The campground has tame, massive chickens roaming around.
We met van dwellers from the Yukon. Their summer job – running their placer gold mine by Dawson City. Which they prospected for 10 years to find. Logistics are insane – each year, they buy a B-train of diesel and fly it from the nearest road, 1600 litres at a time.
The south end of Baja – La Paz, Cabo SAN Lucas etc is fed with big ferries from the mainland. 18 hour trip each way. We will be taking this next year – Mexico has given us a 10 year permit to drive/store our van on the mainland!
Marta and Chester's Maleficent Adventures 