Mar. 16 – Another day in Curico

A nice breakfast, with eggs, is included in our hostel room.  The hostel owner is a nice woman, who talks to us about the situation we are in, and then calls a friend who she says may be able to help us.  When he shows up at the hostel, it turns out that he is a motorcycle mechanic at a local dealership, and he tells us he can probably fix the problem if we bring the bike to his shop.

We check by phone with the place in Santiago, and they tell us 10-15 days!  At this point we decide to go to the mechanic’s shop and see what he has in mind.  With the work we did before, the bike is drivable, so we ride it over to Chalaco-Lopez Motos, and they remove the rear wheel, and check out the damage.

They send us to a store a few blocks away, that sells bearings, and, as if a miracle, they actually have the three new rear-wheel bearings in stock right there!  We buy the new bearings for $20, and walk back to the shop.  With some hammering and wrenching, the mechanic manages to install the new bearings in the damaged housing, and assures us the at we are good to go.  Total labor cost – $10!  I ask them to install my new chain, that I bought in Belize but never installed, and when he removes my rear wheel, he says that my bearings are going and should be replaced as well.  Of course, I go shopping and return with three new roller bearings, and get them done, too.  So, for a total of $60 USD, both bikes are ready for the road ahead.  upon re-assembly, we discover that the rear brake pads that we had just installed on Levi’s bike, have been destroyed when the wheel bearings went.  The mechanic can get the pads re-lined, but it will take until tomorrow to get that done, so we leave Levi’s bike at the shop.

We walk to the ‘mall’ and are amazed by the array of fancy, expensive shops and English signs.  Looks like Panama City again!  We find a fancy grocery, and buy bread, cheese, sausage, and wine for dinner.  We get some cigars, too.  We take our goodies back to the hostel, and celebrate our good fortune.  Hurray for Curico, we say.  And thanks to the hostel lady, and Mr. Lopez.