As we arrived into a large service station area to sleep in San Antonio Oeste in Argentina, following a four hour drive from beautiful Puerto Madryn, we had quite a few areas to choose where to park. Driving a large campervan does not always afford one such luxuries, so we quickly compared available spots for perceived safety, comfort, wind protection etc. Would we choose the space towards the front beside the old pick-up truck? Or would we park next to the other campervan right around the back? Or how about right beside the 40ft city bus that had been converted into a campervan, which even had kayaks and bicycles on the roof? Of course we chose the latter and my were we happy with our choice.
A few weeks previously, we had been travelling in a remote part of west Argentina in very high winds. Throughout the drive, we noted how cold it felt. We checked that all the windows in the cabin and at the back of the campervan were all closed, and also to ensure that the roof vents were similarly shut (which they were). Still feeling the cold, we duly donned extra clothing and turned up the cabin heating. To no avail, we could still not get warm, but just put it down to our remote location in the southern hemisphere.
On arrival to our destination Bajo Caracoles that evening, we walked out of the campervan to ensure that we were parked well (as we would often do). To my surprise, when I glanced upwards at our bedroom window which sits above the drivers cabin, the side window had completely disappeared! It had been blown right off in the high winds early in the drive….and we had not even realised! Not to worry, nothing that some felt insulation roll and sticky tape could not temporarily resolve.
A couple of weeks prior to “window-gate”, we noticed a loud bang under the body of the campervan as we drove at high speed (a whopping 80km/ph for us)! We looked at each other, the vehicle still moving without apparent issue, so we thought nothing more of it and kept going. A few days later, our brake fluid liquid warning light came on. Knowing next to nothing about car mechanics, but keen to learn of course, we bought a bottle of brake fluid, located the correct reservoir to fill in the engine and hey presto, the warning light turned off! High fives all round for the quick learners, until the warning light came on again a few days later. Cue us inserting more brake fluid, high fives all round, but a return of the warning light again…
Now back to the service station.
Having slept soundly after our long drive, kindly aided by the protection of the 40ft bus and its array of interesting sports equipment, we ate breakfast and did the usually schoolwork activities with the kids. When this was done, I ventured outside to inspect the current status of the long-suffering felt insulation roll protecting our bedroom window. It had seen better days, and was in need of some repairs itself. It was then that a man approached me to tell me something about our campervan.
So I first began learning Spanish in 2007, just after arriving back from a trip to Argentina. Coincidently, I met Laura only a couple of months later, which obviously hugely helped to improve my grasp of a language spoken in 20 countries around the world. Having said this, my fluency after 16 years is far from 100%. So when an Argentine man approached me that morning telling me about a problem with our undercarriage and solutions for a missing window, I nodded, smiled politely, and ran for Laura’s assistance!
The stranger turned out to be the owner of the converted city bus parked beside us. Gabriel had amazingly noticed that we were in fact leaking brake fluid and had come to inform us. He also noticed our drafty bedroom window, and was providing ideas as to how it could be replaced. Not only had Gabriel converted the bus himself (in his spare time of course – his day job being a secondary school teacher), he had recently setup a side-business with a few friends repairing campervans (his Ikigai)!
We very happily chatted to Gabriel for a couple of hours that morning. He even kindly offered to look at some other running repairs that were required in our campervan at the time (just some small unimportant things such as no hot water, the fridge not working etc. etc.!). While this was not the time or place for such mammoth pieces of work, we agreed that we would contact him when we were closer to his home and business in Buenos Aires.
Later that month, we arrived into the monster that is Buenos Aires. Instead of going to the bohemian cafes, upscale restaurants or trendy bars of the city, we headed straight to meet Gabriel and his colleagues at their workshop outside the city. Meeting them that Saturday afternoon was like meeting long lost family or best-friends not seen since schooldays. The warmth, enthusiasm and genuine happiness they showed us is a lesson that I will remember for a long time.
After the extensive pleasantries finished, we set about describing the issues with the campervan and what we wanted done. No problem was too big or small, too complicated or technical for their team. We, and our vehicle, were treated like royalty that day and for the the 3 weeks of hardwork that followed.
Collecting “Grandullona v2” was like collecting a brand new vehicle right off the production like. Every issue we raised had been resolved and each add-on we had dreamt up had been manufactured. And it had all been done with genuine care by truly wonderful people.
After such events, I like to reflect and ask myself how I would have acted if wearing the other pair of shoes. Even if I had known what the leaking fluid was under another campervan, or if I had the knowledge or experience to replace a window, would I have approached a stranger to offer assistance? Or, if a customer arrived into my workshop late on a Saturday afternoon (when I should have been enjoying a well-earned weekend break), would I have been so welcoming?
These are answers only I know, but I invite you to reflect on such occasions in your own life and how you have acted. What I learned from the winds of Bajo Caracoles, the parking space beside the converted bus and the Buenos Aires workshop, is that there are no chance encounters. Only experiences to learn from to better ourselves.
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