After escaping the clutches of the salar thanks to the broken shovel and the amazing Maxtrax, we set on our way alone. The border crossing was closed due to excessive rain erosion of the dirt road, but of course when the border officials saw that standing in front of them was the best 4 by 4 by far, they let us proceed 'off road'. Strangely the rear axle seemed to be loose from the chassis of the vehicle when going around turns on this high mountain road. Just before nightfall, we came across our first car of the day (actually 2 cars stuck in the mud). One was Suzanne & Andre, whom we had met 5 months earlier in Iguazu; the other was Hans & Bente. Suzanne & Andre had been stuck for 2 or 3 days in this spot; and Suzanne was reminding Andre every few minutes that this was the last trip for her ever! After a few minor adjustments such as removing the bent shock absorber and reconnecting the rear axle to frame with a large bolt, we got to work on getting these folks clear of the mud. It was a night spent sleeping on the cold high altitude road before finding an off road track to detour around and make it down the mountain to Salta, Argentina by next nightfall. Got a little reward the next day; new rear shock absorbers and 3 hot baths of diesel and oil to get that horrible salt off.
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Zebra Landy
Always noticed, always full of stories, and always looking for a mechanic! Archives
April 2014
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