Weekend in the capital
Quite noisy night, but we do not have too much choice , the capital is not very safe and we prefer to stay near a supermarket guarded day and night.
Right next to our bivouac, Christophe finds a "Midas" style garage. The very nice manager asks us to bring him the motorhome to study our problem.
Verdict: there is a leak in the brake system , impossible to continue driving, but he cant make fix it. This requires the intervention of a specialist.
Little cold shower!!!
The night before we found a specialist a few kilometers from our car park.
We go there immediately by taxi and we tell our problem tothe boss.
Okay, but not until Monday morning at 8:00.... how do we get the RV there ?.... His wife makes an appointment with a tow truck on Monday morning at 7:00.
We go back to the parking lot to see that the sliding footstep is having trouble getting up .... The slow discharge batteries (inside the camper) are low ..... New problem and it is Saturday noon!!!!!
We have them tested at our local "Midas", which confirms the end of their lives .... But he doesn’t have that kind of battery and finds us a specialist who could help us out ..
Christophe spends the afternoon repairing the fridge. He has to change the burner and as in all motorhomes, access is very difficult. He had to saw a rusty screw to repair the burner ... what a handyman!! He worked under a blazing sun.
Jean Pierre simply tidying up and organizing the interior ...
Quiet evening.
The next day we visit the small capital, which has not much to offer us except a beautiful museum.
* El museo del Oro Precolombino: a superb collection of decorative objects, jewellery and gold ornaments.
Lunch in an Italian restaurant and return for a sweet evening
Brake Repair
The night was short ... between jet lag and our brakes.
We join the Almacen and explain to the manager our concern. No problem he knows a mechanic.
He’s supposed to come at noon and in the meantime the owner offers us to move the camper near a water tap... Super we can start to clean the inside and outside under a blazing sun.
Our repairman only arrives at 2:30 pm! In fact, he’s a mechanic who arrives with some tools in a basin!!!! He asks us if we have a jack!!! None than we can use for that purpose ... the solution: the motorhome is lifted by a forklift truck !!!!
Verdict: The front brake pads are out of service ... rust and moisture have wiped out our brakes.
Christophe had a spare set.
A repair « Costa Rican way » .... not too much choice .... with rudimentary tools our mechanic changes with difficulty our brake pads and grinds the two discs that are rusted.
Christophe is testing and apparently everything is normal.
Too late to drive to the coast line,we decide to reach a parking lot to spend the night.... yes, but ... the brake pedal vibrates... we are not confident.
We decide to call on another mechanic specialized in brakes and to leave San José once the problem is solved. We won’t take the risk to drive in these conditions.
Once on the parking lot of Walmart impossible to start the fridge .... New challenge!!!
We’ll see tomorrow, it’s dark and we don’t have the energy to do a check-up.
Little consolation we are at the foot of a supermarket where we do some shopping.
Back to our camper
Because of the jetlag, we wake up at 3:30 AM!!!
It’s the D day. How are we going to find our companion . Did it suffer from the rainy season? Was it robbed? .... Full of question marks.
Our first step is to buy a car insurance for two months before going to the "Adouana Santa Maria".
This is where we need to retrieve our TIP (Temporary Import Title) for the vehicle.
Upon our arrival, we are assaulted by the host who makes us understand to wash our hands outside the building (small sink with soap but without towel) .... No indication ..... That’s a good start.
We cannot enter the room together to respect the number of customers .... which one !!! Where are they? Four clerks are present and are working on their files ... We are simply ignored.
After 30 minutes, we are greeted by one of them with whom Christophe explains our request ... She does not seem to understand, but takes our documents and leaves behind on another desk: her computer is broken!!!
After a long time, she comes back and announces that our file is closed and that we cannot claim the 43 days remaining on our TIP from last year... We do not understand and insist heavily on an explanation.
The only answer is that our TIP appears as cancelled and that we have to make a new request at the almacen (security company)
We have to go to the almacen where our little companion is parked.
We are welcomed by the director who simply explains to us that we must go to the headquarters of the almacen. He nicely phones to make an appointment with Jenifer who is waiting for us....
Once there, she fills up our file (in fact a simple sheet summarizing the description of the vehicle and the driver’s contact details).
Back to the "Adouana".
The same lady takes care of us us and disappears again with our documents. She comes back 30 minutes later to tell us that the computer system is broken and that we have to come back 1h30 later... We understand : it’s lunch time !!!
What to do? We decide to go to the restaurant in the meantime.
We ask ourselves many questions about the rest of the day and decide to take a hotel room to avoid us to drive at night in a Capital city famous for its traffic jams. We’ve experienced them since this morning.
Back to the Aduana. Jean Pierre stays outside !!!
It will take this employee more than an hour and three attempts to establish our TIP .... under the control of Christophe
First attempt: Christophe’s surname does not appear but instead his three first names and in addition he is Canadian!!!
Second test: our passport numbers are wrong.
Third attempt: Chirstophe’s passport number is still incorrect but cannot be changed
A manager in an office finds a solution by indicating in PS the error of the number ... We think we’re dreaming. Where are we?
We go to the Almacen to pick up our camper
We have to pay for our storage and ..... the cashier refuses our file ... the file number" "Almacen " doesn’t appear ... the manager comes to our rescue and settles the problem.... We pay and can get to our vehicle.
It is dirty inside and outside and but no humidity or burglary.
As soon as we reach our vehicle, the manager comes running ... We have to go back to the "Adouana" the file number indicated on the document corresponds to our licence plate!!!!
He himself leads us to solve the problem ... and here we are again in front of "Yolanda" the superb employee
« queen of incompetence ».
It’s 4:30 when we finally get back to our camper.
The engine starts immediately and first gear ...Impossible to move forward .... New attempt ... It goes forward but Christophe has a doubt about the breaks ... After several attempts we decide to leave it on the spot and we join our hotel.
What a day ... nothing happened as we thought ... And we are worried about the brakes
ROAD BOOK 094
MAVROS ODYSSEE