The negative side to bus life.
The amount of times we have broken down is ludicrous. So why would I go on to tell you how bad, old and untrustworthy my home is? Because this is one of the facts of bus life that makes it raw and authentic. Without the ups and downs, it wouldn't be a real adventure.
I can describe the Submarine bus with three truths.
1. It gives us wild unforgettable adventures.
2. It is OLD
3. It has more breakdowns than a prepubescent teenager.
So here it is; the greatest 14 moments of our bus breakdowns saga. The lucky, misfortunate or brave international travellers who have jumped aboard the Submarine adventure recount the events.
Parts on road in Montanita, Ecuador. Isabelle.
In the middle of the highway, on our way out of Montanita, I thought the bus might be doomed when we heard a loud clank and started collecting nuts and bolts on the highway. We handled it well by setting up fluorescent shirts on chairs to warn traffic while waiting for help. Being stuck uphill on the highway and unable to drive at all, some passengers were on lunch duty while others went to seek help from a local mechanic. We reversed down the hill and were towed through the town with a pick-up ute with some bus members on camping chairs in the tray making sure our rusty chain didn't break loose which was towing us. The roll of shame back through town. The mechanics were beneficial and dedicated to fixing the bus. We slept for two nights out in front of the mechanic's house while they worked on the bus at all hours of the night.
Saved by a fork in Peru. Danielle.
After we had pulled over for a toilet stop on the highway in Peru we tried to leave but the engine was not cranking. Two girls from the bus (Sophie & Chloe) stripped of their shirts and stood on the side of the road in their bras holding out jumper leads. It wasn't long before we were flagged down a group of about ten Peruvian guys crammed into their truck returning from work. After a few questions of us communicating in broken Spanglish one guy asked for a fork. He created sparks like magic, and we heard the engine roar. And just like that, he started the motor with a metal fork. Impressive. A fork! Only in South America."
Stuck in the sand in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Nadine
Jyri: "It's getting dark. Let's park just off the highway and continue driving the rest of the way tomorrow when daylight is again."
Nadine: "Sounds like a plan."
Jyri: "Can you get out to see if the ground is hard enough so we can park."
Nadine: "yep."
*Jumps outside into the freezing desert, runs around to check the ground, and returns to the bus to report to Jyri. *
"Yep, it's hard – you can park off the highway until 5m it starts to get soft."
*Jyri slowly pull the bus off the highway onto the sand and gets bogged almost instantly. *
Nadine: "Oops."
Jyri: *rolls his eyes and looks at Nadine with an unforgiving glance.*
"Women."
Nadine: "Beer?"
Bus blocked a highway, Colombia. Barney
We were cruising down the highway, all good. The driver (Nadine) & the expert navigator (Barney) trying to get to the city for Leve's birthday. Nadine decides we are on the wrong road and tries to do a U-turn. Then, as we are turning around, we break down! The U joint broke leaving us in the perfect location for a T- bone and blocking the whole highway for about 1 1/2hrs. The Colombian traffic police wanted to tow our bus away but luckily it was fixed by expert navigator (Barney) - there's a first for everything.
Petrol fail, Chile. Nadine
The first breakdown ever! A few days into owning the bus we thought the battery was dead and the bus was not starting. A mechanic came around to test the battery and jump start it. After many attempts at trying, he asked if we had petrol, and clearly not. It was fixed with $40 worth of diesel. Instantly I thought – jeez, I'm going to need to learn a lot more about mechanics.
Teaching Nadine Manual, Peru. Leve.
I taught Nadine how to drive stick in the bus - the bus didn't break down but everyone else did.
Clutch no more, Chile. Jyri.
I was driving and I noticed that the clutch paddle felt strange. I couldn't change gears with the clutch. I was able to drive it into a parking lot. I had a few cervezas (Spanish for beer,) put on the mechanics overalls and went under the bus. I found the problem; the clutch plate had lost quite a few bolts and was completely loose. I tightened them and added a few lost bolts in. I told Nadine she has to tighten the bolts regularly but she later forgot.
Highway fork breakdown, Peru. Chloe
Has to be when we got stuck in the middle of bum-!@#$-nowhere in the desert somewhere in Peru. No one was stopping so Soph and I danced on the highway with our tops off and then skipped and giggled off to the side when they slowed. Eventually, we flagged down a truck filled with half a village who then proceeded to pile out and line up behind the guy fixing the bus from the inside, down and around the side. Nothing can compare to the expert and professional mechanic skills demonstrated by Peruvians. All he required was a fork, which he wielded with absolute certainty into the giant engine. After a few sparks, the old girl was up and running.
Never take a short cut again, Colombia. Nadine
Barney, the navigator, was trying to avoid paying tolls on the highway. Maps me showed a route that was questionably possible. After asking a local if it was possible with our bus, he said yes. That yes should have been NO!
The road was a super steep decline that made me squeeze the breaks the whole way down. Broken rocks, windy one-way gravel and dirt road was our path. Unable to go backward, there was only one way out – forward and down.The first problem was taking a corner too sharp as we only just fit on the road. The tire slid off the track, and we were pinned against the road and bus. Wedged into a concrete pillar, it took four building workers close by to come and help us perform a 24-point shuffle to get out.
We continued getting more attention as a big (yellow) bus drove through this tiny town. After we declined for half an hour there road began to incline steeply. Of course, the petrol was low and unable to pump enough into the engine due to the hill. The bus started to lose power and we broke down, lack of fuel and blocking the road. A local guy who drove buses came to the aid – the problem was at the angle of the bus the petrol wasn't going through the line and had now created an air bubble that prevented a smooth start. We attempted six bunny hop starts resulting in a foul burning smell and fumes from the motor.
At this point, we had no option but to use the whole town to push us up the final few metres of the hill, where we could rest on the crest and allow other vehicles to pass. About twenty men, women, and children used all their might to help us to the top of the hill.
Barney saved the day by hopping on the back of a motorbike with a very kind local and a petrol can. More petrol and bleeding the petrol line from the air bubble got us up and running again.
La Serena, Chile. Sophie
We had a long-term breakdown in La Serena. Getting everything fixed took quite a while but it almost became our second home. We met heaps of new people with whom I'm still in contact. Even though we were stuck the crew always makes the best of it. Traveling by old bus teaches you patience and the plan is to not have a plan. Jyri fixed the alternator and some other parts. Spending a longer time at the same place was a great chance to connect with locals. It didn't bother me after we knew that sooner or later we could hit the road again.
Petrol Station Burn, Colombia. Nadine
The day after the above story we burnt a connection on the starter motor. We parked/broke down in front of an electro-mechanic, and he was occupied, we drove to the other electro-mechanic 2km away. Needing petrol on the way, we pulled into the closest gas station. As we did, the engine was smelling and smoking, I opened the engine to see the fuse box alight with flames. A fire extinguisher instantly doused it.
Wrong turn through the Jungle, Ecuador. Nadine.
Miscalculated navigation led us off the highway into the jungle. The smooth highway slowly turned into a rocky one-way road, twisting and turning upwards and down. Night time came and we were taking most hills in first gear. 12 km turned into two days of jungle driving. We had to cross rivers whose water rose to our knees and got bogged. After two attempts to get out, we gave up and made pancakes for dinner and slept the night without being able to move. In the morning, we got extra helping hands from locals who got us out. Then we spent the rest of the day driving through the jungle, small creeks, and hills. It was lush tropical jungle scenery.
Gas combustible truck vs. bus, Peru. Nadine
We were driving at dusk and I decided I wanted to pull over at the next stop and sleep for the night. Of course, the road kept going and winding up and around. I was learning to drive manual and my changing gears was not smooth, plus, at this point, we also had a battery that needed replacing. On an upward hill I stalled the bus shifting down gears. Then we had no battery charge to start the bus . we needed to be jumpstarted. We put wood behind the back wheel because our handbrake was not very trustworthy. While we tried to hail a car to jumpstart us, the bus started to roll. Backward. Slowly. Crash! It rolled backward into a combustible truck carrying gas. Bloody perfect!
Eventually, we were jumpstarted and made our way to the police station, nicely accompanied by two police officer. With all the frantic chaos going on, I left Max, our bus member, behind – he rode in a police car behind us. A $200 fine was paid to the truck driver to fix his bumper bar later, and we were all alive and safe. This was when we vouched to never drive again at night!
Driving down hill, Chile. Nadine
Max is driving down the descent after our high incline through the desert ranges off the coast of Chile. We just reached the bottom and the highway had been flat for 10 minutes.
Nadine: "Pull over immediately"
Max: "Why?"
Nadine: *points to the dial, which shows the pressure in our break system was beginning to decline slowly.* "We don't have brakes."
The nut bolt which held the brake line in placed needed to be tightened. It was a quick fix, and we were off again with full-pressure brakes.
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