The Final Voyage

UPDATE ON APRIL 11, 2017

I am using this very occasional blog in part as a diary, and just today I transcribed the below from the little handheld recorder I bought early on to chronical rovrev adventures while driving... I cannot believe it's been a mere month since my idea of the next piece of life went kablooie!

March 7 at 730 a.m.

Perhaps one day i will go rest in peace by the seaside with the rovrev… [describing peace and quiet and lack of infrastructure in asuncion; ends with] Really hoping, once again, to be on my way from La Paz to Bahia Asuncion. We shall see what we shall see.

March 10 at 8:00 a.m. (on the road since 6:30 a.m.)

I just remembered the wonderful feeling of driving through the mountains by myself, me and the rovrev just tooling along...I think we may drive all the way to Santa Rosalia today if it keeps feeling this easy and fun.

and then...


This is Manny My Mechanic and his worker, who have just changed the oil for LaRoVingReV's final journey and are so sad to see her go...

After having waited to no avail twice for a fella to drive me and the ReV back to Asuncion -- her permanently, me just long enough to find a place to park her until May -- on Friday I remembered who I am, and how much fun we've had for more than three years. So decided to take off Saturday morning by my onesies. Manny said I was in great shape, since I'd just spent 200USD to replace the radiator and another part that got broken in The Great Meltdown of 2017.

We might have known something was up, as usual in my life these days, when the yogurt/fruit smoothie exploded all over the driver side of the cab. We are talking almost unreadable dashboard through the muck, seat upholstery that looked and smelled like someone had vomited all over it, stuff all over the bottom of the cooler that had the misfortune to be in the way of the blast. Thing is, I had been looking for the plastic drink bottle for two days. Have no idea where it was hiding until it had fermented sufficiently to blow the lid off!

Another chaos clue might have been a few days ago, when I broke the passenger-side mirror for the third time. But just look at what I had pasted into the frame! Had forgotten entirely that the new mirror was hiding the fabulous Your Body RAKS logo. Oh well, at least no need to replace the mirror this time.

WAY TO BURY THE LEAD, SUSANA!

On her way to living out her days in Bahia Asuncion, LaRoVingReV apparently had a change of mind/heart, because after six hours of happy driving yesterday, the battery conked out at 40 miles an hour, never to restart. If you look carefully, you can see the top of the RV in this mirror, which was being towed 20 MILES with a rope and chain up and down the hills beside the ever-lovely Sea of Cortez. Such grand plans there had been--she could have chosen to be a haven on the beach for stray dogs, or a library for the English class...and no matter what else her final resting place included, the kids would get to paint her outside however they saw fit!

But NOOOOOOO! Instead, Senor Rescue Numero Uno, a 70ish lech (or maybe I should give my currently hot self more credit? jajajaja) who towed me with a strap--I had to operate the Rev's reluctant brakes and steering wheel  behind his pickup, EEEEEK!--to safety about 3 miles away. THEN, my wouldbe suitor went to 3 shops before he found a mechanic who could take me back and see if the RV could be coaxed back to life. Said mechanic, Ramon aka Senor Rescue Numero Dos, proceeded to serenade me for the full half hour, much to the amusement of myself and Ramon's nephew, who was along tp pilot the RV in case it had to be towed to town. Yuppers. And a minute before the above foto was taken, I signed over La RoVing ReV to Ramon for parts. 

WAY TO BURY THE REAL LEAD, SUSANA!

He left me with four bags at what passes for a bus terminal in Mulege, where I had a 4-hour wait for the next bus to La Paz, part of which time I spent up there in that edifice. Most folks reading this won't know that I have recently been trying to find out how to begin a relationship with la Virgen Guadalupe. I would not have been in her sanctuary by myself at night under any circumstances other than the bizarre ones that brought me to her yesterday.

Took the 9 p.m. bus home, got in at 4:30 this morning, am having a fine day so far. And I do believe I am in shock. What a helluva 3 1/2 years! MIL GRACIAS, ROVREV!!!