After leaving Sayulita and as soon as we got onto HWY 200, we started to overheat. With all my great knowledge it was diagnosed as a bad fan clutch. Because there were no parts stores nearby we decided to keep the Buddha moving to prevent overheating and headed for Puerto Vallarta where we could get parts. We also needed to see about our fresh water tank leak.
After removing the entire salon area we found a crack in the water tank. Because of the plastic it is made out of, we could only try to make the repair. I did so with a soldering iron and used a carb cleaner cap as solder. For now it is holding.
Now came the hard part. The new oak laminate flooring we found at Home Depot would be our new salon. Cutting everything with a hand saw made it time consuming and not very precise, but it did come out ok and we are happy. Especially since we live in the dirt and it makes it much easier to keep clean.
While in PV we pretty much worked, worked and worked. We went out once for some R and R but that was about it. Not much else to say expect that even parts in PV are very expensive.
We headed south again with one stop for lunch at the botanical gardens south of PV. We tried to stop in Chemela but never did see the exit so we continued to where we are now, Tenacatita. We have been here for two weeks now and plan on at least another month. The Aquarium is only 15 steps from the Buddha. We found Paradise. The water visibility on a bad day is about 30 feet. There are no services what so ever here. No phones, no internet, no gas, no LP, not even running water. We do however have delivery service right to the beach for water, fish, breads, laundry, and even beer.
Today is the day our new local friend Jose will put a post in the ground for us so that we can hang the hammock up. We also are getting a ride into Malaque where we will send this post from. We are in the need of a few items to make our lives a bit simpler like a long hose to siphon gas from our main tank to use in the portable generator which has used up the gallon we started with in it. Not bad for two weeks.
For Thanksgiving I BBQ’d up some sausage, ribs, made a potato salad and chicken wings and shared with 3 other couples here. I had to do this on my own because I am the only gringo on the beach. We tried to listen to the Dallas game but our Satellite antenna is acting up. Bummer.
For other things going on, Jo-Ann has a pinched nerve in her back and I have a sprained wrist, and a eye infection and those two coming after a ear infection. I wonder what’s going on. Other than that, we are doing great, very happy, and looking forward to another day in Paradise.
About Us
Ryan and Jo-Ann are "ex-cruisers" who decided to get off a boat and on to land. With a 27 foot RV and a 1978 Jeep CJ5. The RV Adventure that only happens in books. From Mazatlan, Mexico to...???, we hope to see and experience what only a few people have ever seen or done.
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Archive for November, 2008
Posted under Mexico | 
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Last Updated on Thursday, 12 November 2009 08:15
Ok so this life on the land is a bit dif…. give us one more week to update. Here is where we are and loving it. Just came in for a quick “we are still alive”
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 November 2009 08:52
Nov 3 we left Guayabitos and headed for Sayulita which should have been a 30 minute drive. Another long drive. Well, guess what? It was. It took us 6 hours. It’s amazing how even a short run can be so long.
As we pulled out to get onto Mexico 200, we started to overheat. So I pulled over and took a look at things and noticed the fan not spitting out the air as it should. So, diagnoses was complete, a bad fan clutch. We drove north a few miles where I knew there was an auto parts store. I went in and asked if they had one and the guy brought it out and right on the box it showed this was it. Ok, back to the Buddha sitting on the side of the road I pulled it out. Not an easy task in the heat and not being able to reach anything. I took it back with me to match it up with the new one. Here in Mexico nothing is easy of course. WRONG one and they do not have the right one. So, because I could actually drive just fine as long as we kept moving we decided to bypass the exit to Sayulita and head for Puerta Vallarta where we could find the right fan clutch.
We stopped in La Cruz to see Philo and maybe get a cold one but he was closed. So, we then decided that we did not want to leave the Buddha alone on the street there so we then made a run out to Punta de Mita where we thought maybe we would stay a few days, run into PV on a bus to get the part and then move on. Well, after seeing Punta de Mita we were so unimpressed we backtracked to the “other” road that goes from Punta de Mita to Sayulita. 6 hours after we first left this morning, we landed in Sayulita where we are now camped in a VERY nice park on the beach.
On the 4th we got onto a bus which for 1 buck each took us into Bucerias where I remembered a few auto parts stores. That was the start of another long day. Not only where we unable to find the part but we also were unable to get any info on the whereabouts of locating one.
So we kept looking anyway and got back on a bus headed for PV. On the way we saw the new Zaragosa marine store and got off to have a look and to see if they had a Garmin 12 volt plug for our GPS. NOPE. And wow was that store expensive.
So, now we are downtown PV and no hope of finding a new fan clutch. We went into Performance marine store to check on the plug and nadda. BUT, the same guy that sold my father an outboard motor a few years ago gave a name and directions to a place to try to look for the fan clutch.
An hour later we found the area that this store was in but could not find the store. After looking in 5 other stores, one said he could get it in 10 minutes, another said tomorrow. Now it was not looking good. But just around the corner we found the store we were sent to. 900 pesos later we walked out with our new fan clutch and headed for Old Town for a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich. Yum Yum. Thanks Windsong for the introduction to this place years ago.
Back to the Buddha by dark. Had the new fan clutch in within 20 minutes and out for a cocktail.
More
As we pulled out to get onto Mexico 200, we started to overheat. So I pulled over and took a look at things and noticed the fan not spitting out the air as it should. So, diagnoses was complete, a bad fan clutch. We drove north a few miles where I knew there was an auto parts store. I went in and asked if they had one and the guy brought it out and right on the box it showed this was it. Ok, back to the Buddha sitting on the side of the road I pulled it out. Not an easy task in the heat and not being able to reach anything. I took it back with me to match it up with the new one. Here in Mexico nothing is easy of course. WRONG one and they do not have the right one. So, because I could actually drive just fine as long as we kept moving we decided to bypass the exit to Sayulita and head for Puerta Vallarta where we could find the right fan clutch.
We stopped in La Cruz to see Philo and maybe get a cold one but he was closed. So, we then decided that we did not want to leave the Buddha alone on the street there so we then made a run out to Punta de Mita where we thought maybe we would stay a few days, run into PV on a bus to get the part and then move on. Well, after seeing Punta de Mita we were so unimpressed we backtracked to the “other” road that goes from Punta de Mita to Sayulita. 6 hours after we first left this morning, we landed in Sayulita where we are now camped in a VERY nice park on the beach. On the 4th we got onto a bus which for 1 buck each took us into Bucerias where I remembered a few auto parts stores. That was the start of another long day. Not only where we unable to find the part but we also were unable to get any info on the whereabouts of locating one.
So we kept looking anyway and got back on a bus headed for PV. On the way we saw the new Zaragosa marine store and got off to have a look and to see if they had a Garmin 12 volt plug for our GPS. NOPE. And wow was that store expensive.
So, now we are downtown PV and no hope of finding a new fan clutch. We went into Performance marine store to check on the plug and nadda. BUT, the same guy that sold my father an outboard motor a few years ago gave a name and directions to a place to try to look for the fan clutch.
An hour later we found the area that this store was in but could not find the store. After looking in 5 other stores, one said he could get it in 10 minutes, another said tomorrow. Now it was not looking good. But just around the corner we found the store we were sent to. 900 pesos later we walked out with our new fan clutch and headed for Old Town for a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich. Yum Yum. Thanks Windsong for the introduction to this place years ago.Back to the Buddha by dark. Had the new fan clutch in within 20 minutes and out for a cocktail.
Posted under Mexico | 2 Comments
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 November 2009 08:57