A new year and a new(ish) transmission!

So this happened-

The good news is that it needed to. From what I gather speaking with the good folks at Gorge's Tansmissions Automaticos, the problem was with the tranny cooler, not the transmission itself. Im guessing we had a partially clogged line, resulting in varying efficiency of the the cooling system. I(and Jorge) believe all the leaks and shifting problems resulted from overheating and not the other way around. We managed to cook the transmission pretty well from Mazatlan to Tepic; so much so that the van just died all together right in front of the toll booth on the Cuota about 10km outside of Tepic, the capital of Nayarit. Instead of clogging the main highway from Mazaltan, we got a push(literally, a pickup with a spare tire on the front pushed us for about 3km) to the tranny shop.

This was the 4th time in a month that we've had problems with the transmission, so Lindsay and I have gotten some practice of 'going with the flow.' We obviously can't continue to 'fix' the car for ever, but a full rebuild gives us the best chance at finally getting it right.

big beers!

Michoacan sunset

blackberries the size of a golf ball!!

Success! Jorge had to drive to Guadalajara for parts, and when we grabbed a taxi from Tepic to the shop the next evening, she was all put back together. We got some beers to celebrate and camped out behind Jorges shop knowing that the big test was coming in the morning. The area around Tepic, specifically between Tepic and Guadalajara is super hilly and was either going to serve as a victory lap or break the new transmission. With hearts pounding, we nailed it towards Guadalajara(a city of about 4 million in which we got lost for hours back in 2011). The van drove great. It seems the gear ratio(?) is a little different- first gear seems lower than it was and I've got much slower acceleration, but my top end cruises like a dream. We breezed through the city and added another 250km beyond, putting about 450km(280miles) before setting up camp at some hot springs in the Michoacan Highlands(weirdly getting 17mpg in the hills as opposed to our usual 13.5. Weird).

new years eve at the hot springs

This place sure reminded us of home! Parque Nacional Las Azufres is up in the mountains west of Mexico City and was chilly, with huge lodgepole? pine trees and fresh streams. We relaxed in the mineral water and rang in the new year with some Baja Californian wine at about 7pm. Perfecto!

Ever wonder where the Monarch Butterflies head for the winter?? Same place Lindsay and I go!! The mountaintops of Michoacan! We visited the refuge and hiked all over the place looking at huge swarms of Monarchs. The migration takes eight months, but each butterfly lives for only about 5 weeks so they pop out of the cocoon knowing they are on the move, and which way to flutter. Amazing.

camped out at the monarch reserve

this will make your heart beat faster...first time to a city of 20 million 

We will return to Mexico City someday soon, but for now, I was perfectly OK with driving through it on a questionable tranny without getting completely lost. We killed it. Lindsay gets the award for copilota of the year with her quick maps and guides always at the ready. We pushed it down the hill to Cuernavaca for a little pool time, some city wandering and some R&R.