Day 293 - Sechín

This morning, I noticed an oil leak under the engine.

Upon closer examination, I noticed a piece of the engine block (cast aluminum) was cracked. It was right next to the oil drain plug that gave us trouble in Chile. I tried not to cry and think of a solution.

We stopped at the nearest gas station and bought two motor oil cans. Then I placed an empty cup under the leak and waited one hour with the engine running to measure how much oil dripped. It turned out to be 1-teacup. Now we knew how long we could drive before a refill was needed.

From Yungay Nuevo, we drove to Huaraz, then took the #14 over the Cordillera Negra back to the Pacific coast. On top of the Cordillera, traffic came to a halt. A truck was being towed because its brakes had failed. This created a long line of slow-moving traffic. I added oil every hour and monitored the oil pressure gauge.

We had zero visibility for a long time on the West side of the Cordillera due to dense fog. Then it started to rain heavily again. The road turned into a river. I had to navigate very carefully on the slippery ground. Then we briefly met a German couple in VW Camper heading for Huaraz. We said hello and wished them good luck!

The weather eventually improved, and so did the road. It was dry again, and we had a beautiful view. Further down, the road followed a river with corn, sugar cane, and cassava agricultural fields. We also noticed banana, avocado, papaya, and mango trees. Ursula bought a coconut and a bunch of bananas in the next village. Soon we were on a nicely paved road that led through the coastal desert.

We stayed overnight by the archeological site Sechín, near Casma. Ursula was cooking rice and tomato sauce for dinner. Russell, the American backpacker, slept in his tent beside our car.

Stats: Miles 123, Expenses $8.05Read more