'The Day That The Rain Came Down'

It's not every day that an ant eater crosses the road in front of you. It almost made up for sliding around in the mud for 50 kms.

We decided to miss the second test and, along with David and Karen in the Itala, we devised a plot to take another route through a bit of National Park which enabled us to stay on decent roads. Two old girls of 83 and 106 need to be cosseted a bit. The route was stunning and the road empty. We saw an armadillo, some Rhea, several massive storks, toucans and various other birds that I did not know the name of. We even stopped for a spot of lunch - a first for all of us.

Then the rain came. It wasn't just rain it was horizontal shards of glass type rain. Dramatic rked lightening and the loudest thunder that you have ever heard. At least we had a roof, poor David and Karen were totally exposed. Our car stopped. Water was in the electrics. We had to wait for the worst of the storm to pass and then we ventured out and got drowned whilst we sprayed everywhere with WD40. I held an umbrella over the engine - we got soaked. Then David was having some problems with his running and we were having more radiator problems. W have both limped o the Hotel for the night in Carumba ready to cross into Bolivia tomorrow. The signs say Bolivia Brasil Frontier, not border. It certainly feels like a frontier town; a dump. Adrian has been busy trying to fix our radiator in the dark, hopefully the repair will work.

So a very mixed day. Some lovely moments, lots of anxiety and plenty of laughter. Plenty of other cars have had difficulties today too.

Tomorrow Bolivia! It is illegal to sell petrol to foreigners, apparently. You have to pay and then drive around the back where they fill you up from jerry cans.









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