Gemma, Charles and sister Kate were off to the airport early in the morning...probably better that way...avoid Elaine. The other Kate, Mia and I got up to see them off and then went back to bed. After a few boiled eggs thanks to Mia and Kate, I bid the remaining British crew adieu and hit the road to head towards Dune de Pyla, on the Atlantic coast of France, just south of Bordeaux. Thanks for a great time Jim.
It was a gorgeous day with beautiful puffy cumulus cloud streets in all directions. The drive was pretty easy, most of it divided highway with a speed limit of 110km/hr. I was feeling a bit down for most of it, thinking a lot about my dad. I knew these times were going to happen but it doesn’t make them go away any faster.
I arrived near the coast around 5pm and decided to get some groceries before finding a campsite. I strategically parked Betty on a bit of a hill in a small part of the parking lot. After buying my sustenance, I tried to fire up Betty but not surprisingly she didn’t want to go. My first attempt, push her down the slight hill. Pushing a 2.3 ton vehicle by yourself, hopping in, throwing it into 2nd and popping the clutch isn’t always the easiest thing to do and I just didn’t quite have enough speed for the old lady to come to life. Okay, next, pour a big bottle of water on the fuel pump...that’s what the mechanic in Slovenia said should do the trick. Well, she got close...but still not quite. Begrudgingly I pulled out the magic spray and eventually she fired up. Hmm, the oil light’s on. Yes, she’s probably low, but I really don’t want to stop her now to put more in. Let’s see if it goes off as I start to drive (as it has done a few times before) and I’ll definitely put some oil in her when I arrive at the campsite which is only about 7-8 kilometers away. The light did go off within 5 seconds of beginning to drive...cool.
I travelled about 3 kilometers and as I approached a roundabout, I heard a bit more of a knocking sound and knew that she was in desperate need of oil. “Okay Sweetheart, I’ll pull over as soon as possible.” Well I didn’t even get into the traffic circle before she stalled. I threw on the hazards and luckily I was on a bit of an incline and there was a patch of pavement behind me, in the middle of the road, where I was able to roll her back to and it was an area with white paint stripes, so I wasn’t technically in either lane. I popped the hood; opened the oil cap and nasty thick white smoke slowly oozed out like dry ice at a rock concert...not good. Okay, I only have one litre of oil. I threw that in the engine and surprisingly, for the first time this summer, got out my hazard triangle and placed it 10 meters behind Betty (you actually are required by law to carry one in most countries on continental Europe). I looked up on SatNav for the nearest gas station and headed off on foot in search of more oil.
Crippled Betty:
It was just about 2kms to a large Carrefour where I was able to purchase a big 5 litre container of oil (cheap) and I headed back to Betty. I filled her up and held my breath as I attempted to turn her over...nope, she’s not happy. Let’s try the magic spray. After a few attempts she actually started but stalled after only a few seconds - still, more promising than I expected. As I was trying this, I hadn’t noticed a car pull over nearby and by a guy, about my age, standing on the other side of the road, asked whether I spoke French. I responded “Somewhat, I’m Canadian”...hoping that might give him a hint to speak slowly. Christophe, is mechanically inclined and a super nice guy. I explained my stupidity with the oil and we tried turning her over a few times. He heard a sound that to him didn’t sound good. He ran through my options of trying to find a place to park Betty for the night as it was a Saturday and no garage would be open until Monday morning. After returning to his car, where unknowingly to me, his wife and 11 month old daughter were patiently waiting, he returned with the incredible offer of returning with another, more suitable, vehicle and towing me to his place where he had a large yard and I was welcome to camp out in Betty for the next few nights. Additionally, his neighbour was a skilled mechanic who worked on rally cars and he could check her out too. Wow, what luck!
Christophe returned 20 minutes later and we hooked up a tow bar to pull crippled Betty back to his home. He told me that I needed to act as the brake for the two vehicles but I found it difficult to know how much braking to apply, plus they weren’t terribly responsive as without the engine running, the hydraulics aren’t aiding in the braking. We limped back to his place and pushed her into a nice spot beside a van and boat where she could stay for now. Christophe explained to me that he used to be an air traffic controller for the military and now he was working on creating a home out of a structure that used to be an antique shop and a few other business ventures. The outside looked gorgeous although the yard is in fairly rough shape as that will be the last thing to be fixed up while all of this construction is going on. Inside the home, I met his lovely wife Virginie and their gorgeous blonde haired baby, Sasha. It’s a massive building that they’re converting and wow, it’s going to be an incredible home when they’re finished.
The friendly couple invited me to eat with them and we chatted late into the evening. I feel incredibly fortunate to have met these people just when my luck seemed to be heading south...
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