rectify

To rectify is an act of correction, like to straighten a crooked wall, similar in ways to justify, it is the root for the use in Spanish that would equate to 'repair'.  This has been the month of rectification in many ways I suppose. We have invested in the tourism industry here, however things, as they usually do, take longer than usual to come to fruition.  In June we realized that numbers were very low and that there was no sustainable income coming in from our tours company, July and Aug should have picked up and they, to date, have been flat lining. We made a decision to return to the states in late August, bought tickets and figured we'd shift gears into being tourists for the last month as the attempts at doing business here certainly weren't working. "Shift gears?" my water pump said... "you shall not" and it promptly, silently, blew a hole in the side and drained all of the coolant from our motor.  This would have been an everyday occurrance and nearly expected had it happened here in the usual way things go in the states, but no, not here in the land of everlasting entropy! Blew a hole it did, and, while driving and in a fashon that we never knew, the water pump drained all of the liquid out in a flash, giving us no indication that the motor had no coolant.  With the temperature gauge hovering in the "i'm nice and happy"' cool zone we drove our sweet 4x4 Isuzu right to the point of destroying the motor. When blue smoke shot from the hood it was a clear sign that something was amiss.  Out of our ten or so friends living up and around with us the majority of us have had major vehicle repair if not blown a motor in the last little while.  Truly crazy.
The culprit.... I don't know, maybe the "mechanic" that put the hose on a month ago.. The fact that I think he is a good hearted guy does nothing to help his skills as a mechanic.  You either get someone with a huge heart who can't fix anything or you get stabbed in the back repeatedly and somehow keep coming back for more... those smiling eyes. Funny, I have found the more honest a person the less skills they have with a car, and the opposite is true as well.  They guys with all the skills learn how to tweak your car so it blows up just as you pass their shop the next time.
Still sweating.

Packing

I have been writing blog posts... but honestly the last month has been the most difficult of they year.  4 1/2 weeks ago a seal on our cooling system in our vehicle blew, causing the coolant to abruptly leave the motor... nothing looked out of the ordinary, we drove down the mountain and the truck started to act funny.  I checked fluids, though not coolant since it was a warm motor, but the overflow looked fine, little did I know that I would cook my motor in the next few miles while the temperature sensor read "all is well".  Now a month later we have been waiting to wrap up the repair and sale of our vehicle.  We have had about every possible set back and had we known it would be 4 weeks we would have left an came back, instead we have been waiting while the string of 3 and 4 day delays turns into weeks on end.  In a few hours I will pack the car and begin our drive north to eventually fly out of CR with a vehicle still sitting in the shop. Crazy days these are.