"And what about Pepe?" we hear you think.
When a couple of "last resorts" ended up not working out either (no cojinete to be found in entire Bolivia, a possible VW replacement engine no longer being available, truck shipment way too expensive, etc.), we hit rock bottom, seeing no other option than leaving Pepe behind...
Though exactly at this miserable moment, some serious social media magic happened! Our cry for help on the Panamerican Travellers Forum resonated beyond physical and virtual borders, and travellers, overlanders, and VW enthusiasts alike offered all kinds of advice. Within a couple of hours, the entire VW T3 Club Chile had been mobilised with the clear mission to get Pepe to the one-and-only VW "guru" Don Alberto in... Santiago!
What happened in the days that followed, showcases that - sometimes - human kindness has no limits. We embarked on an epic journey, with Pepe, only made possible thanks to the tremendous efforts of numerous people, many of them we had not even met before!
“Numberless are the world’s wonders, but none more wonderful than man. ”
- First challenge: Get Pepe to the Bolivian/Chilean border. Our friendly Uyuni mechanic, Walter (who hosted Pepe for more than a month at his workshop but found his limits in the absence of VW parts), nearly as eager as us to see Pepe back alive, kindly agreed to tow us to the border at Ollague. So, on an early Saturday morning, right after sunrise, together with his lovely wife and 3 months old baby, we set off for a very scenic trip of more than 250 km on wobbly dirt roads (and a fun mountain bike intermezzo).
- Second challenge: Pass the border and aduana (customs). After all, Pepe's Temporary Import Permit (TIP) was not issued in our name (as we did not enter Bolivia with Pepe), and our friend Pieter had long left the country... More than enough reason for corrupt border officials to make a fuzz! Though our border crossing turned out to be a piece of cake, mainly because we were already in possession of Pepe's original title in our name (so no need to deal with - an often disputed - power of attorney), a process that went extremely swiftly thanks to Guinevere's smooth handling of the Cali DMV and Julie's friend Emma's trusted address in La Paz.
- Third challenge: Get Pepe to the nearest "industrial" city in Chile, the gritty miners' hub of Calama. So we had made it this far, to no-man's land between Bolivia and Chile, the point of no return (and, more importantly, where Walter's Bolivian pick-up was not allowed to continue). But right there emerged Luca, VW T3 owner and enthusiast (and professional philanthropist!), who came all the way from San Pedro to save us and tow us yet another 200 km through Northern Chile (of course, for the occasion, with some terrible roadworks during more than 50 km!).
After a true mud shower and a couple of broken towing ropes, and at times obtaining a speed of more than 120 km/hour (!) (did I mention how scary being towed is?!), we arrived in Calama just before sunset. To our great surprise, there, another T3 Group member, Orlando, and his lovely wife Jill, warmly welcomed us with Chilean onces (a kind of extensive aperitif)! A true delight after an exhausting day!
- Fourth challenge: Get Pepe to Santiago, a 22 hours drive away, on a truck (without breaking the bank!). Upon arrival in Calama, Orlando, who spent his Saturday talking to truck drivers all around the city, offered us a nice list of trucks that agreed to take Pepe to Santiago for less than 250 USD (note: every quote we had obtained in Uyuni was above 3000 USD!). Orlando towed Pepe with his beautiful T3 to the loading point (and we had a lovely Sunday lunch together with the family), and the next day, Jill picked us up to "supervise" Pepe's loading on the truck.
First attempt on Monday morning: failed, because Pepe could not be lifted with the fork lift and did not fit in between the marble blocks. Second attempt the next day: after the truck first refused to start, and extra man (and girl!) power had to be pulled in to push Pepe on the truck, Pepe was finally on his way to Santiago! And two days later in Santiago? Yet some other members of the T3 Group (which is enthusiastically coordinated by Mario), Humberto and Manuel, kindly picked up Pepe at the truck stop and towed the old chap (once again with their own T3) to the famous Don Alberto.
- Ultimate challenge: Bring Pepe back to life! As the preferred course of action (replacing Pepe's engine) turned out not to be feasible, we are now down to Plan Z... Don Alberto is currently working his magic, and we are once again keeping our fingers crossed.
A wise man recently taught us this old saying: "if you try things less than three times, it's a lack of perseverance; but more than seven times is stubbornness." Time will tell... very soon! :)
“Perseverance is stubbornness with a purpose.”
“Even when things are at their worst, there is a little voice in your head saying, “good story!” ”
