The short test drive to Valparaiso proved successful, so there it (finally!) is, the moment we have been waiting for all this time: we hit the road with Pepe, direction south, (hopefully!) all the way to Patagonia! From now on, we are three :)
Pepe 2.0's "maiden voyage" goes pretty smoothly, but he wouldn't be Pepe, if the old chap did not provide us with the necessary excitement here and there! Some highlights from our road trip diary:
- Pepe's first day is right away a Big Day: we head immediately 800 KM south on that same good old Panamericana (which I can pretty much drive with my eyes closed by now!), followed by another 100 KM on secondary roads, all nicely paved... until the very last 20 KM where on-going road works - creating true "off road" conditions - take us by surprise. A very bumpy ride in the pitch dark and a brief engine stalling issue due to a lose (and easily fixed) cable later, we park for the night at our ambitious destination-for-the-day, right in front of the ferry terminal of Puerto Fuy.
- Our second day is full of "firsts" for Pepe as well: first ferry ride on the beautiful Lake Pirihueico, first (and smooth) border crossing to Argentina... and a little later (after a very bad gravel road to San Martin de Los Andes) first - supposedly - overheated engine :) Not taking any risks, we pull over in front of the house of... Bruno, who turns out to be a friendly Parisian! Not only does he provide us with great travel tips for the region, but also with leftover birthday cake, soft drinks, cherries, and breakfast for the next day! Indeed, in line with our favourite travel motto: "Pepe brings people together" :) A little later, it turns out the overheating is false alarm (phew!), though we do notice a small coolant leak, which is fixed by a local mechanic in a matter of minutes, and right in time for a nice sunset drive along the scenic Ruta de los Siete Lagos.
- The following days we get to experience "van life" at its very best: falling asleep with sensational sunsets, waking up to breathtaking lake views, and enjoying the simple pleasures of a hot tea (and hot water bottle! ;) amidst wonderful outdoors scenery. "Home is where you park it"... and for now, that is the splendid Argentine Lake District.
- On Christmas Day, very appropriate for the occasion, Pepe surprises us with some atmospheric flickering red dashboard lights (the oil pressure warning: this one we had not had yet!). Enough reason for a quick Christmas get-together with the local VW guru of Bariloche, who immediately waves all our sorrows away and - with a reassuring nod and very best wishes - sends us further south...
Merry Christmas!
“You can’t buy happiness... but you can buy a camper, and that’s pretty much the same thing.”
“Sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn’t mean to take.”
