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22.01.2020: Cayambe - Lago San Pablo
Just after leaving the campground we stopped in Cayambe where a free drinking water tap was listed in iOverlander. Have I mentioned that iOverlander is our best friend!! It took quite a while to fill up all our various water tanks and bottles and we also needed shopping. So it was well after 4pm by the time we headed out north and ended up driving in the rain. We didn't get very far and stopped just off the main road at an aquatic park by Lago San Pablo for the night.
23.01.2020: Lago San Pablo - Cotacachi - Ibarra
The following day we heard loud noises coming from the rear as we headed for a German bakery in a little colonial town called Cotacachi. Now what! Seems like we're constantly having problems at the moment! We couldn't see the bakery as there wasn't a sign. We knocked on the door of a nearby shop and found out we'd parked right in front of it!! Are we blind or what!
The bakery was about to close and had nothing left to sell but we could order bread and pick it up tomorrow. They also sell at a market in Ibarra where we were planning to drive for the night so we ordered bread to be picked up from the market tomorrow. Super!
We went for a walk around the village of Cotacachi and then went to a restaurant also owned by the bakery for falafel subs.
Driving out of the town there were no more noises from the rear. Only 6 miles later, the noises started again. What on earth is going on?? Is it our rear shocks? They're new so maybe they need tightening.
We got to Ibarra which is quite a large town and stopped at a large park for the night and went for a walk through the park.
24.01.2020: Ibarra
We looked up a mechanic and, after collecting our bread from the market and filling up with propane the next day, we drove to the garage. It was a bit of a tight squeeze to reverse in but it didn't take long for the guy to tighten up both of our rear shocks. Hopefully there'll be no more problems.
We also found a laundry and did two loads for $7-50 and then returned to the park for a second night.
25.01.2020: Ibarra - toll station near San Gabriel
In the morning Kirsten had a few disasters whilst making pancakes. She managed to get flour everywhere, nearly forgot the sugar, dropped the utensil box, flicked butter onto the back of the passenger seat and into the driving compartment, and then flicked banana slices onto the stove top!! Somehow we still got pancakes for breakfast. Yummy! Well worth all the cleaning up ... my job of course!! At least Kirsten managed to empty our toilet without any disasters!!
The road north was very good and obviously new but we heard the noises in the rear again. Darn it, we thought we'd fixed the problem. We stopped for coffee but there's nothing wrong with the shocks. We set off again heading towards very dark skies and low clouds. Then all of a sudden we heard a really loud clonking noise with every tyre rotation.
We pulled onto a petrol station forecourt and I drove forwards and backwards whilst Kirsten tried to see if she could work out what the problem was. But she couldn't find anything. A cleaning lady told us there was a mechanic at the next petrol station so I drove really slowly, clunking loudly along, to the next place.
At the next petrol station we spoke to the people there and they said they'd contact the mechanic for us. So we waited and waited but no one came. We got the mechanic's address just 2 blocks away and drove there but his house was dark and there was no one in.
We decided to drive to the next town. By now it was raining and getting dark. We found a place with a concrete ramp that was still open but it was more of a car cleaning place. Still, the guys took a look, jacked us up to check the rear right tyre but couldn't find anything wrong. So it's not the rear shocks or the rear right tyre.
By now it was fully dark. We clunked our way along and parked at a toll station for the night. There was a very long queue so it was very loud. It was a Saturday night so we knew it would be noisy.
26.01.2020: Toll station - Tulcán - Ipiales (Colombia)
At least we managed to get a bit of sleep and the next morning, Sunday, I drove backwards and forwards again and again whilst Kirsten got on the floor outside to see if she could work out where the problem was. Now it seemed to be the back left tyre but not the shocks - they were still tight.
We drove 12km further towards the Colombian border at a really slow 20km per hour (12 mph!!). We found a sign for a workshop dealing with tyres and pulled over. Despite it being a Sunday, the guy came out and I drove around to park in front of his house. Apparently the rear left tyre was really wobbling!!! We unscrewed the hubcap and saw 4 out of 5 screws hanging out!!!! Jeez, our tyre was only being held on by one of the screws. Had it not been for the hubcap we would've lost all the other screws by now. Holy moly, that was really dangerous! We could've had a serious accident!!
It must have happened when our tyres got rotated back in Quito on Friday 10th January when they were rushing to get it all done. One of the mechanics put the screws in but only tightened one and left it to sort out a different tyre. Then they didn't check if the screws were all tight. But neither did we!! Well we'll never do that again.
So, for over two weeks, we've been driving around for 330km (205 miles) with only one screw holding our rear left tyre in place and somehow lived to tell the tale. A huge shock!!! We took off every hubcap and checked and tightened every single screw and got the man to double check aswell. We paid him $5 - a really cheap life saver!!
It only took us 45 minutes to get to the border town of Tulcán because I could finally drive at normal speed. And, no noises! Yippee!! We parked near the main cemetery and I stayed with the vehicle whilst Kirsten went for photos.
Cementerio Municipal José María Azaél Franco in Tulcán - 360° Panorama
(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
After a coffee break we queued up for our last cheap diesel and found out there was a $15 limit per vehicle. That's probably because they're so close to the border. We drove to the border and exiting Ecuador only took 10 minutes. I stayed with the vehicle and Kirsten took my passport with her and got us both stamped out and handed in our vehicle permit.
The Colombian side was only a short drive away and was very busy. I parked in a car park and Kirsten went off with the papers again. I looked up Colombian Pesos online to see what they look like and it took 45 minutes for the first part of the paperwork. Then we had to drive to the vehicle office. Two women came out and did a carbon copy of our vehicle plate under the bonnet by using a piece of blue carbon paper! I haven't seen that stuff for ages!
We got our vehicle permit and changed $100 US dollars so that we had some Colombian Pesos and drove into Ipiales, the border town, to the Exito supermarket to buy supplies and get vehicle insurance. Unfortunately their system was down so we couldn't get insurance. Hmm. Now what? They told us we could drive within the city limits and come back for insurance tomorrow.
We drove 6km out to the Teleférico Santuario De Las Lajas, an aerial lift where there is a large car park and motorhomes are allowed to park for the night. Our GPS took us along a route with an extremely steep downhill section!!! We'll definitely find a different route back in!! Welcome to Colombia! A new country for us!!
Amazing cemetery in Tulcán & Fantastic church in Las Lajas
