bound to happen....

So i guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, but did we really need car problems the day we were going to cross into guatemala??? did meighan jinx it with the last post,or did the phone call home the night before we left jinx us? maybe it was Ruby´s fate to get to Huehuetenango (huehue) and deliver the bag of clothes for Jose´s family...and go no further?

All was ticketyboo when we left san cristobal, but 4 kms from border there was no reverse, and the transmission was really labouring to shift into 2nd (in fact it wouldn´t unless you let off the gas and left it shift down). Not the most comforting feeling getting to the border. Out of mexico no problem,but the crossing into guatemala was pure chaos. no signs, no road really, mountains of garbage, and thousands of people...yikes! we found a car park to walk around and ask some questions. no reverse causes some problems in tight quarters...had to use my foot to back up once. we walked up a huge hill and the border crossing was disorderly, but fairly simple to have someone explain to us. we got our tourist passes and then needed to bring the car up for temporary importation. how the hell was that supposed to happen...luckily it was on a uphill slope so i could just roll the car backward into a parking spot or to get out of the way of all the crazy motocart taxis. All in all the border crossing was smooth,cheap and painless minus the stress of the car. (we did consider leaving the car and just walking through the border as we had cleared mexican customs and received our tourist cards from guatemala...ruby would have been lost in the 4km ´no mans land´, but we would be free and clear in a new country).

so we drive the 2 hours to huehue not knowing if the car will make it, and the transmission acting very odd but at least it was predictable...did the same hard shifting every time. we made it to the hotel and parked the car...wheew! or wait a second...the guy at the hotel tells us automatic transmission are a real problem in guatemala...he imported one from chicago and it was in the shop for 6 months and they still can´t fix the problem with the transmission.

it was sunday, nothing open, so we decided to go deliver our package to Aida Rodas de Recinos y familia. they were so wonderful to us. it was great to visit with the family and more and more people just kept coming to meet us. They invited us back for supper in the evening, which was very yummy and kind of them to prepare for us. It was great to meet such kind people, and good for us to visit in spanish. Families here are so great, they are so welcoming and they have genuine energy about them...everyone from old to young smiling and treating each other as only a family can...very fun for us!

back to the car problem...feeling a little trapped. guatemala is one of the worst countries to leave a car in...possibly a few thousand dollars. the helpful guys at our hotel are so patient and were going to escort us to a mechanic for transmission fluid change (first step the internet says to fixing transmission problems). no reverse, so meighan and the guys push the car onto the street...ok everyone hop in lets go! nope...she died right there and wouldn´t start again. traffic building up with the customary honking in mexico and guatemala...everyone out and lets push it back into the lot. Shit! what now? the resourceful guy at the hotel (bless his kind heart) phones the turista service and in 5 minutes the english speaking tourist service guy (thanks again to another Jorge) speaks english and knows a good mechanic(works at an actual shop not just some ramp on the side of the road) who will come look at the car. Mechanic shows up in half hour and the car starts for him, but no reverso. push him out and he drives around the block. He takes the car to his shop and Jorge the fantastic tourist saint is driving the tourist agency car and will come back at 2pm and take us to the shop to hear to damage...but at least everyone is smiling now! We cross our fingers now and hope we can get the car out of guatemala. the trip agenda may just have changed, but now everyone can stay tuned to see where we go next...Belize, El Salvador, or back to Texas for the scrap yard.

At least things are looking up for us today...bloody hard to find a good mechanic and talk to him without spanish. for the first time we question the destination and the trip, but all will work out for the best...just might be a different trip...the guatemalan chicken buses look like fun and adventure...