6 Aug
We finally got the propane tank empty around 8:30AM so we could take it over to Gasnort. They removed our USA valve and sent it over to the machine shop to have an adaptor made. While we were waiting we took advantage of the time and had the filthy exterior of the RV washed. Roger was happy to see a clean vehicle again, as opposed to the black dirt sides that were a result of a brief drizzle we encountered on the road.
When we got back to Gasnort, the part wasn't ready but there were three new guys that had questions about our travels and RV. We conversed with them for a while and then I asked about places down the road that they thought would be safe places to camp overnight. Unilaterally they recommended Pacasmayo. We got our custom brass adaptor around 11:30, then had to go to the gas station to get the tank filled. When we got back to the shop, I had to light the stove top to check and see if everything was OK. Success! Fortunately it was, so Roger paid the bill of about $70 for our custom adaptor and we left town. We can now get propane at most gas stations in Peru, and according to the guys at GasNort, it will also work in Chile. Best of all, our US fitting is also still fully functional
After we left Piura, the road bisects el Desierto de Sechura. The color of the day was shades of brown, from light beige sand to dark brown scruff trees. At the northern end of the desert, Roger was able to use the cruise control; something we haven't been able to do since we left the USA. However, about one third of the way through the wind picked up and regrettably the cruise control was turned off. We went through several Zona Duna (Sand Dune Zones), and the sky was sandy blue. It was interesting to notice the terrain, sometimes there were small mounds of sand evenly place and other times there were larger spread out mounds of sand, and then we'd come across a flat area of sand. Regardless Roger's clean RV now has a sand dust coating.
Roger drove about 200 miles today, despite our midday start. We made it to Pacasmayo and found a place to park. The police cruised by and did not stop so we thought we were OK. Later another truck stopped by and Roger went out to talk with them, as it was dark. They told Roger that it would be safer if we parked in town and took him to where they wanted us to park. Roger went with them and left me behind in the RV. About 10 minutes later Roger came back and we moved to where the officials wanted us to park. It is in town a half block from the police station adjacent to a town square. Suits us just fine. Note: Roger's Spanish is improving daily. He can get his point across and when he doesn't understand what's being said to him, he comes and gets me. We're never too old to learn.
Random thoughts:
- Gasnort has a 6-day work week. They convert 20 cars to propane a week and 10 cars to natural gas a week. Business is great. It costs about $1000 for a basic car. The reason why people want the conversion is that the fuel is cheaper than gas with a 25% savings per gallon, despite a reduction in miles per gallon.
- We have seen frequent signs: Zona Urbana, and are left wondering how many dwellings constitute a Zona Urbana, because one place looked like there were less than 10 dwellings.
- Street vendors will use any stop to try to sell their wares. They especially like long construction delays and toll plazas.
- Our current peeing on the side of the road count is two digits now. Guys will pretty much stop anywhere to mark their trail.
- So far all construction sites have had at least one guy willing to show his plumber's crack. Sometimes there are multiple exhibitions at the same site.
- The combination of free GPS software that Roger downloaded and my purchased maps of South America seem to help us navi-guess our way without too much frustration. The good news is that there aren't that many major roads. It gets dicey when the PanAm hwy goes through a town and there are absolutely NO road signs indicating turns to stay on the PanAm hwy. Our basic guiding principal is just head south.
- It is frustrating to have to get a new data plan when you change countries. First you have to get a SIM card and then you have to buy pre-paid service. Sometimes this can't be done at the same place. Claro has the best coverage, at a price (just like Verizon.) Voice and text are in the same group, navigation is separate and generally sold in blocks of just 100M. Routinely I request the largest available mobile data plan. I also have learned that text and voice are grouped together, so when you use any voice it impacts on how many text you can send. I learned this yesterday when Sandra called. I'll have to get my phone "recarga", just to be able to send her texts. The phone I'm using has 3 data speed levels. E, H and 3G. I can't use the Internet on E speed.
We finally got the propane tank empty around 8:30AM so we could take it over to Gasnort. They removed our USA valve and sent it over to the machine shop to have an adaptor made. While we were waiting we took advantage of the time and had the filthy exterior of the RV washed. Roger was happy to see a clean vehicle again, as opposed to the black dirt sides that were a result of a brief drizzle we encountered on the road.
When we got back to Gasnort, the part wasn't ready but there were three new guys that had questions about our travels and RV. We conversed with them for a while and then I asked about places down the road that they thought would be safe places to camp overnight. Unilaterally they recommended Pacasmayo. We got our custom brass adaptor around 11:30, then had to go to the gas station to get the tank filled. When we got back to the shop, I had to light the stove top to check and see if everything was OK. Success! Fortunately it was, so Roger paid the bill of about $70 for our custom adaptor and we left town. We can now get propane at most gas stations in Peru, and according to the guys at GasNort, it will also work in Chile. Best of all, our US fitting is also still fully functional
After we left Piura, the road bisects el Desierto de Sechura. The color of the day was shades of brown, from light beige sand to dark brown scruff trees. At the northern end of the desert, Roger was able to use the cruise control; something we haven't been able to do since we left the USA. However, about one third of the way through the wind picked up and regrettably the cruise control was turned off. We went through several Zona Duna (Sand Dune Zones), and the sky was sandy blue. It was interesting to notice the terrain, sometimes there were small mounds of sand evenly place and other times there were larger spread out mounds of sand, and then we'd come across a flat area of sand. Regardless Roger's clean RV now has a sand dust coating.
Roger drove about 200 miles today, despite our midday start. We made it to Pacasmayo and found a place to park. The police cruised by and did not stop so we thought we were OK. Later another truck stopped by and Roger went out to talk with them, as it was dark. They told Roger that it would be safer if we parked in town and took him to where they wanted us to park. Roger went with them and left me behind in the RV. About 10 minutes later Roger came back and we moved to where the officials wanted us to park. It is in town a half block from the police station adjacent to a town square. Suits us just fine. Note: Roger's Spanish is improving daily. He can get his point across and when he doesn't understand what's being said to him, he comes and gets me. We're never too old to learn.
Random thoughts:
- Gasnort has a 6-day work week. They convert 20 cars to propane a week and 10 cars to natural gas a week. Business is great. It costs about $1000 for a basic car. The reason why people want the conversion is that the fuel is cheaper than gas with a 25% savings per gallon, despite a reduction in miles per gallon.
- We have seen frequent signs: Zona Urbana, and are left wondering how many dwellings constitute a Zona Urbana, because one place looked like there were less than 10 dwellings.
- Street vendors will use any stop to try to sell their wares. They especially like long construction delays and toll plazas.
- Our current peeing on the side of the road count is two digits now. Guys will pretty much stop anywhere to mark their trail.
- So far all construction sites have had at least one guy willing to show his plumber's crack. Sometimes there are multiple exhibitions at the same site.
- The combination of free GPS software that Roger downloaded and my purchased maps of South America seem to help us navi-guess our way without too much frustration. The good news is that there aren't that many major roads. It gets dicey when the PanAm hwy goes through a town and there are absolutely NO road signs indicating turns to stay on the PanAm hwy. Our basic guiding principal is just head south.
- It is frustrating to have to get a new data plan when you change countries. First you have to get a SIM card and then you have to buy pre-paid service. Sometimes this can't be done at the same place. Claro has the best coverage, at a price (just like Verizon.) Voice and text are in the same group, navigation is separate and generally sold in blocks of just 100M. Routinely I request the largest available mobile data plan. I also have learned that text and voice are grouped together, so when you use any voice it impacts on how many text you can send. I learned this yesterday when Sandra called. I'll have to get my phone "recarga", just to be able to send her texts. The phone I'm using has 3 data speed levels. E, H and 3G. I can't use the Internet on E speed.
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