Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Our Luck in God’s Office

“People in the province are fond of saying, ‘God is everywhere, but his office is in Santiago.’” - Lonely Planet guidebook

We have been very lucky during our travelling so far: whenever something goes wrong with Casa, help always come along our way very quickly. This time, we were so lucky that we already had the help before we knew about the problem.

This occurred last Friday. Just as we pulled into Santiago de Chile city, Casa started making some really loud and disturbing clunky sound. We had to pull an emergency stop off a highway and take a closer look.

2010-11-05 19h37m44s DMC-LX3 P1010333_RW2

It turned out that Casa’s rear wheel ball bearing was completely shot. So there we were, in the middle of nowhere, stuck again. Fortunately we had pre-arranged couchsurfing for Santiago, and our host Javier was quick to rescue. He called the local BMW shop, and was able to arrange for a pickup transportation for Casa.

2010-11-05 21h06m57s DMC-LX3 P1010347_RW2

When we finally dragged our tired and hungry bodies to Javier’s house later that night, you can imagine the look on our faces when we were immediately greeted with delicious lentil stew and carrot rice. Talking about experiences that money cannot buy. (Sorry I was too eager to eat and forgot to take photos!)

Later on that weekend, fearing that we will be stuck in Santiago for a while for spare parts, I sent out a few more couchsurf requests, and received overwhelmingly positive responses. Thank you, Santiago hosts!

CS Hosts

The truth is that more and more, our travelling is less and less about tracking from point A to point B. The most interesting experiences often happen after the most frustrating incidents. In addition to tourist attractions, our journey are landmarked by friendly faces and warm families. It is incredible.

2010-11-08 21h08m53s DMC-TS2 P1040081

Stuck as we are, we are more than happy to count our lucky stars in God’s office. Thanks, dude!

2010-11-09 19h25m57s DMC-LX3 P1010397_RW2

Finally a big THANK YOU to Chile Moto Rent on their kind offer of test-driving their BMW F650GS. Good luck with your business!!

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