October 13, 2007

We didn't have a game plan for situations like this.

And neither of our options – Adrienne staying with the van by while I went for help, or Adrienne going for help while I stayed with the van - was that attractive, particularly with night approaching.

But after a few tense minutes, and with little choice, we decided that I would stay with the van while she jumped into a passing taxi and headed into Oaxaca City to try and find a tow truck.

- - -

It had already been a grueling 10-hour drive from Hogar Infantil, an orphanage just outside the town of Ocozocoautla (close to Tuxtla Gutierrez) where we had stayed the previous night.

(Hogar Infantil welcomes campers and offers bathrooms and a field (overgrown when we there) with concrete pads that have water and electricity.

There are currently 81 kids staying at the tranquil ranch, ranging from age five to university age. The non-denominational organization is supported mainly by funds sent from the US and Canada. It is a cause well worth supporting).

The long drive on Highway 190 - we had spent the morning slowly climbing and winding our way through mountain passes thick with traffic because of a serious accident – was made even longer by the three military checkpoints we went through.

Now that we are heading north, and perhaps because of the recent unrest in Oaxaca City, the young soldiers, who are always unfailingly polite, are far more thorough in their searches of the van.

At one checkpoint, the military man tapped every inch of the van's interior walls and dashboard to see if there were a difference in sounds, and thus hidden contraband.

The driving in the afternoon was more relaxed and for a period of time we followed a snaking river in a canyon that was full of cornfields with burnt orange tops, agave fields and cacti (the first we had seen in months).

It was one of the most scenic stretches of road on the trip.

Finally, as the sun began to wane, we were spit out in the eastern end of the wide and long Oaxaca Valley. This meant that Oaxaca City was now within striking distance.

But 15 kilometres shy of the city, the warning bells and whistles on the van’s dashboard suddenly started going crazy.

And with plumes of smoke shooting into the air and coolant dripping from our rear-end, we knew we had big problems.

After unloading all our gear out of the back so that we could access the engine - fortunately we were on one of the few non-toll roads in Mexico that had a shoulder where we could safely pull over - eagle-eyes Adrienne diagnosed the problem as a broken alternator belt.

Leave it to a woman to get the job done right.

Less than an hour after she hailed the cab, and just as the sun was going behind the mountains, she returned, all smiles, in the cab of a tow truck.

(Meanwhile the Green Angels, Mexico’s auto assistance service for tourists, had also stopped).

In short order, we were towed into town to a modern VW dealership that was only seven blocks from the Oaxaca Trailer Park, where we wanted to camp, and that had a 24-hour service department.

And although it took two days for the garage to fully fix the problem - we stayed across the street from the dealership at Caesar's Palace, another love hotel), the bill was a reasonable $24, half the price of the tow truck drive.

Key Facts & Figures:

-Tow truck: $50
-Service on van: $24
-Caesar's Palace: $38/night