Vehicle Repairs

James >> Today we woke up to another earth quake, although no where near as strong as the one in Santiago. The sun was shining and day looked promising. With some advice from our airbnb host we headed for Avenure Colón in the CBD of Valparaíso. Unlike in Santiago where there were hundreds of mechanics all in the street there was just a spattering of them in amongst funeral directors, a hospital and industrial food machinery shops. We were armed with a note we wrote the night before with the help of google translate and a few questions.
The first place we went to guided us towards another mechanic. He said we could come back tomorrow but not today. This we decided

would be our backup plan. We went through maybe 3 or 4 other places who either were not mechanics (more like auto electricians or something) or didn't want to do it. Then we met a man who had his head under the bonnet of a police car outside his shop. We spoke to him and he told us to bring the car to him. We did this (after getting a little confused by the one way streets).
Once we arrived he had a quick look and then made a few phone calls. Next thing we know a police man (who looked to be highly ranked) turned up. A conversation with a lot of gesticulating towards us and then the car and its motor ensued. Then in clear English the police officer told us that the mechanic needed an hour to diagnose the problem, but it looks like it was just a hose. We wandered around for an hour or so and returned to a fully repaired VW. Although it did come with the advice (again through the police man) that the engine is getting old and might need to be overhauled at some stage, keep an eye on the oil and water levels daily. Total cost of repairs $2000 Chilean pesos, that is approximately $4 Australian dollars.
Returning to the apartment, Kathryn began to scrub the interior of the car, revealing bright whites and blues. The curtains were laundered and so Azulita appeared ready to really begin her next journey.