Another day, another adventure

For months, the car I have been driving, a Jetta, has been running hot.  Not all the time, mostly going up hill, but every now and then, on a long straight-away, when it really was not working very hard.   I watched the needle all the time and because it always cooled down quickly, within seconds, I just kept going with it.

Finally, I decided enough was enough, it was cramping my style as a kamikaze oaxaqeño driver, so I went in search of a good mechanic, preferably one close to the house as opposed to one in the city or, heaven forbid, the dealer.  I asked around and eventually took a chance and went to the guys directly across the street from me, about a two minute walk at most.   Hey, it was the easiest.  What's the worst that could happen?

Understand that mechanics here are generally in pretty funky spots with lots of no doubt excellent junk surrounding them.  No gleaming work areas or hydraulic lifts.  No spotless uniforms.  No clean restrooms.

I had been practicing how to explain what the problem was.  "El coche es corriendo caliente."  I learned all the necessary terms for thermostat and water pump.  The best laid plans and all that... the mechanic was deaf.

Ah well, with magic marker and white board in hand, we started communicating and when I showed up a few hours later, the car was done, the problem solved.  It was a bad termóstato.  So I feel great.  The car is fixed.  I found a good mechanic and I met an unexpected challenge, a small one, but still, it all went as well as I could have hoped.

Vrooom!!! All for $20 US!!!