Category: Wheels

The bike

Ralf, Syd’s brother in law, left for Germany Saturday after several months here.

He had brought his electric bike from Germany to have some adventures exploring Argentina and Uruguay. The bike itself provided some adventures, requiring the German Embassy in Buenos Aires to intervene with the bus company that “lost” it. And then the airport: though the bike had come from Germany on Air Europa just with a plastic wrapping, the Uruguayan employees decided it had to be in a box.

And of course they had no box.

So with airline tape, and the help of four helpful guys who apparently appeared out of nowhere, Ralf scavenged cardboard bits from every shop in the airport.

The end result was equally amusing and terrifying. But OK with Air Europa.

Bicycle packed for air transport, Montevideo Uruguay

Of course, upon arrival in Frankfurt, the whole mess had to be taken apart, which took so long that Ralf missed his train and so, after 25 hours of traveling, had to wait two more for the next one.

Having lived in Germany, I can only imagine what other Germans thought of the mess of plastic and cardboard abandoned in the airport.

 

 

Saab story

On Saturday, returning from the organic vegetable market, we passed an unusual crowd of parked cars on the entranceway to the Ruta Interbalnearia, and glimpsed a collection of antique cars on display in a most unusual and inaccessible area.

Atlátnida, Uruguay: location of antique car show

It was a bit before noon. We unpacked groceries, I checked email, then hopped on my bike with camera to document the event.

Alas, there was nothing there, and no evidence that there had ever been anything there. Gone!

So you get this instead, spotted a day or two later in Salinas:

Old Saab in yard, Salinas, Canelones, Uruguay

It’s got potential, no?

Not German

When I spotted this rig, past experience dictated that its inhabitants would speak German.

“BL” seems like it would indicate Belgium, which has a small German-speaking population.

But in fact it indicates the Bratislava district of Slovakia.

Bratislava, 2008
Photo from our visit to Bratislava in 2008

Pretty well traveled:_____, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Czech Republic, _____, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Gibraltar, _____, Norway. Starting upper left, diagonally down to the right, any idea what those three are?

Anyway, in true Euro travel style, it appears equipped for anything.

I still chuckle when I see these massive fuel-guzzling monsters, remembering this.

 

 

 

Impala, Méhari

Like the fuel to run them, cars are ridiculously expensive in Uruguay. I’ve talked about that before.

1960s Impala, Citroen Méhali in Uruguay

Here’s a decades-old Chevy Impala (I have been unable to determine the year) for sale. Not in very good shape; I don’t even want to know what they’re asking for it.

Approaching is the quintessential cheap-ass-looking Citroen beach buggy, called a Méhari. They were actually produced in Uruguay from 1971 to 1979. So you can probably pick one up cheap, right? As we say in Spanish, jajajajajajaja!

Interestingly, both are named after African animals, albeit two unlikely to cross paths.

 

 

The whine of organ donors

cool summer eve
but holidays
and traffic
and motorcycles
up the coast highway
and the two-lane beach road
many thousand RPM

no police but once
i did hear a siren
and many thousand RPM
went to zero
for a while

(their noise annoys
perhaps more than the neighbors
who cut their lawn
with a weedeater)

but gratitude is key in life
and for healthy young organs
more likely to be shared
at many thousand RPM
i suppose we should say
thank you
in advance

Maseratis in Uruguay

Maserati on display, Conrad Hilton, Punta del Este, Uruguay

You can buy a Maserati in Uruguay in only one place, Punta del Este (natch). Two Ghiblis were on display when we went for the buffet lunch at the Conrad Hilton Sunday (USD 55, but 45 when you pay with foreign credit card and they deduct the “value added” tax of 22% or so — noice!).

So what would one of these beasts set you back in Uruguay?

Maserati Ghibli 350 3.0 V6 A/T – U$S 174.990
Maserati Ghibli S Q4 3.0 V6 A/T – U$S 197.490

Well, considering things like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, those prices didn’t sound too outlandish — until I looked up the prices in the United States (bold):

Maserati Ghibli 350 3.0 V6 A/T – U$S 174.990 starting from $70,600
Maserati Ghibli S Q4 3.0 V6 A/T – U$S 197.490 starting from $78,550

I can’t do an apples-to-apples comparison, not knowing the customization involved with the UY prices.

Being someone who, at age 17, owned a Volkswagen bus at a time when his friends were wet-dreaming Porsches, I can’t imagine any scenario in which I would throw $70-80K at a freaking car. (For the record, we had hella more fun in Bus than any of my friends “cool” pseudo-sports cars.)

But, 150% markup? Where’s the extra going? I’ll give you a clue: starts with a “g.”

 

Seen at the zoo

I saw this crazy-looking vehicle parked at our little local zoo today. There is one very subtle clue of the brand in this view.

1959 BMW 600

Can you guess? And hey, where’s the driver-side door?

bmw-2

It’s a 1959 BMW? The whole front opens?

1959 BMW 600

And then there’s a little door for the passengers in back? I didn’t notice the door arrangements until just now, looking at the photos. I would have sought out the owner and asked for a demonstration….