A Tribute to Shwarma Carma

The photos in this Shwarma Carma Tribute mainly document our trip over the Andes from Mendoza Argentina to Maitencillo Chile.  We made a last minute decision, when we dropped into the valley floor of Chile to head toward the coast rather then Santiago.  I love the flexibility of this kind of travel.

With great sorrow and a handful of relief, I drove Shwarma for the last time yesterday...delivering it to it's new owner.  Shwarma was a classy looking car.

It never looked this clean again. 

Notice the handle on the gear shift.  Yes, it occasionally fell off.

Shwarma ended up being quite the adventure.  She took us to absolutely amazing places and allowed us to do things and see things we never could have, had we travelled in buses.

wild donkey (quite a few).

Guanaco (kind of like a tall, sleek and graceful llama)

I added this picture because it gave Kate and I the giggles to see these photos.  This is one example of a school crossing sign.  Each one is slightly different. But it is usually of a body holding a briefcase either walking and often times running across the street.

Big snow covered peak in the background is Aconcagua, the largest mountain in South America.  It is 22, 841 feet tall.  It's also one of the least technical 6,000 meter peaks out there.  I've put this climb on my bucket list.

So awesome!

Happy to return to Chile.  Especially after waiting at the boarder for so long.

This road should be a wonder of the world.

They count the curves.  There are 27.

She also left us in very strange predicaments, like when the radiator hose burst on a main thorough fair in Mendoza, the exhaust pipe broke (again...like 10 times) and it was so loud that we had to drive for 4 hours with earplugs in,

a flat tire just in time for Jaden's nap,

it goes on and on.

We visited the mechanic in almost every city and small town we visited and I learned a lot about cars and Spanish car vocabulary.

But, as I said many times, she was a great car.  The engine was impeccable, minus the huge oil leak.  It would have been a great ride if the rear shocks actually worked....

Selling the car was about as easy as anything we've done in Chile.  A trip to the bank, then to the Notary, then the Registro Civil, then the Notary, then the Registro Civil again, then the Notary, then the Registro Civil and finally the Notary.  It only took 4 hours!  Way easier than trying to get a green sticker that I accidentally ripped off the windshield as it was in the way of the passenger.  I made 10 stops and spent half a day for that little mistake.




Good times shwarma!

Oh well, we've passed the carma on and with it her problems.  Now, the only dilemma we have is how to travel south to the final destination of our trip.  It's between bus and taxi.  We've got at least 400 pounds of stuff, mainly Jaden's and my toys (surfboard, toy truck, paraglider, picture books, stroller portable bed, etc...).  We won't worry about it too much though,

as we've found another piece of Chilean paradise.