07 January 2011

The mechanic shop at the gas station where my car was parked couldn’t help me. Neither could the Goodyear in town. Everyone recommended the mechanic who turned me away yesterday. So I waited around for his shop to open. It was still closed at 11am. By this time I had obtained a list of all the mechanics in town from the internet.  I hobbled ten blocks across town to a mechanic which turned out to be a gomeria which is a tire shop only. I did not realize this which caused a bit of confusion. The guy at the shop pointed me to a mechanic up the street four blocks but I couldn’t find it so I returned to ask for more directions. He said it’s four blocks up and on the right. I went up a few blocks and asked for more info at a soda and snack store. She pointed me the same direction.

I was afraid of getting lost again so I asked a group of people standing around an unmarked building. This building was it, Qui Que’s mechanic shop. The sign on the large rusty garage door was hardly noticeable.

This might be Qui Que's or it might be the tire shop. I don't remember which.

I was told they could look at the car tomorrow. So I had it towed at 2:30. I had to put the spare on the left front tire. Thank goodness we didn’t try to tow with a rope all the way to El Calafate. We wouldn’t have made it and probably would have messed up the rim. While we were getting the car on the tow truck I spotted the girl form North Carolina and her boyfriend. We chatted for a bit and they wished me luck and we parted.

The tow truck was a real flat bed one piece. Yesterday’s tow was a trailer hitched to a pickup truck. The mechanic told me to go to a rental car place next to my hostel and ask for the tow truck. We dropped the car off at the mechanics shop. He said he would call around 12pm tomorrow.

The rest of the day I’ve been relaxing on the internet, resting my blistered worn feet. I will probably do the same tomorrow. I’ll go see Perrito Moreno Glacier on Sunday. Tomorrow I will have to wait for the mechanic to call.