THE INCA TRAIL

the big South American adventure rally

Day 33: Coyhaique - Lago Posadas (Argentina) (496km)

The Pelly-Fry's Audi still looks fresh as the proverbial mountain spring after all these miles. It has had remarkably few problems despite its lack of beefy appearance

More superb scenery today - pampas, marshland, twisty little gravel roads, and finally sublime other-worldly rocky landscapes framing soda lakes along the road to our lakeside overnight camp. Armadillos, birds of prey and rheas were there with eyes for the scenery rather than the road ahead or the watch and roadbook.

Early on there was drama for Gold medal contenders Paul and Mary Kane. They caught a glancing blow from a speeding ambulance on an emergency call not far from the end of the day's first Medal Section. 'He suffered no damage at all - he's much bigger than us,' commented Paul. 'But he was in a hurry and didn't stop - for that matter we didn't want to stop either.' So they easily came in on time at the end of the section - but their left-hand side bodywork has suffered some remodelling in the process.

There were two lucky escapes on the second medal section. Ted and Judy Howles' Scimitar very nearly went over the edge after losing grip on the gravel: 'We've got new rubber on now - not quite the right size for the car - but better that than repeat our experience. We may not be so lucky next time', comments Ted. They were rescued by Huub Paymans and Bert Klassens and their Toyota Land Cruiser, together with a local truck.

But Bart and Jolijn Rietbergen weren't so lucky. Kermit, the outrageously green Volvo PV544, has to be looking for love: it is spring here, after all. The car dropped over the edge on a sharp bend, landing in a swamp. A local road-grader was near at hand, and with a 4x4 helped haul the damp Kermit out. The episode was over so quickly - and with no serious damage to bodywork or engine - that Bart and Jolijn continued and still came in on time at the end of the Medal Section, keeping their Silver medal hopes alive.

Rovin' around again

At our lakeside campsite barbecue there was the chance to catch up with people's stories as we toasted quietly around the fire. Barbara Smith explained her five-day adventure in Trevor Green's Land Rover Discovery after the rally left Salta.

They had already decided to take the main road route to Catamarca after a long day through the superb scenery of the Atacama Desert from Calama: the engine had been overheating, and they felt it best to take things easy. But the engine began knocking - fortunately for them, just uphill of a fuel station which they coasted into. As they pulled to a halt, the turbo blew dramatically, bringing forecourt staff racing to the rescue with fire extinguishers.

The first truck along was driven by the chief of the local fire brigade. He knew everyone around the town, and arranged a Land Rover specialist to come out. He turned up, improbably enough, in a beaten up old American gas guzzler. After towing the Land Rover about 30 metres, it ran out of petrol ...

Half the village came out to view the Land Rover when it was in his back yard workshop. The mechanic confirmed that the turbo was very, very dead indeed - and that the nearest one was in Buenos Aires. The quickest way to get it fitted was to get both part and vehicle to Cordoba - some 450 miles away. Trevor produced his AA card, and an Automobile Club of Argentina trailer was quickly summoned through the clubs' mutual agreement. Food arrived to see the group on their way, and they began a 150 mile trip to Tucuman, where a flat-bed truck awaited to take them the rest of the way to Cordoba. They arrived at 7.00am, and the part was fitted as soon as it arrived.

Then it was one long game of 'catch-up'. On Friday alone they drove 750 miles. 'Pampas, pampas, and yet more pampas!' as Barbara put it. They finally made it to Bariloche by late afternoon. Having left their friend Gus Gale to pick up his plane home from Santiago as planned, they finally met up with Trevor's brother, Ian, who joined us at Marbella. 'But', says Trevor, 'the Land Rover Discoveries ought to be issued with a health warning: their turbos are renowned for letting go if driven above 9,000 feet.'

The two Discovery Camels are very much back in the hunt: new crew member Adrian Pulleyn flew out to join them at Marbella, bringing kilos of overweight baggage containing nothing but spares. At last, after limping along for longer than they care to remember, they are both singing at full speed. Just don't mention the words alternator or turbo.