The tow driver was to arrive at 4pm or so and I was biding my time until then. I went over to an internet café to use my laptop and there was a small earthquake - I don't think anybody else noticed but a few seconds after it was over the internet went down in the building and phone lines too. Kind of cool. Mike still has not written back about the home stay. I hope I can move in soon.
The tow driver arrived a little after 4pm at the hostel and loaded up the bike. He was concerned that I wanted to go to an unofficial BMW motorcycle mechanic (Dakar Motos) but I told him I heard on good authority that these guys were good. It was about $35 to transport.
Dakar Motos is just a resident neighborhood and it is just a medium sized garage filled with motorcycles of all shapes and sizes, and tons of parts everywhere. It is run by a very friendly fifty something guy with a gruff voice. The dude is a born mechanic. I watched him do his thing while drinking strong coffee that was offered to me and he found the problem within a few minutes. "A five-thousand dollar bike breaks on a two dollar plastic part" he said with a smile. I was so happy it was a small problem. I won't get my hopes up because we still have to start her up and test the other mechanics of it. When it broke down on the highway I could not shift into first, which could equate to a larger problem than not having any oil. But I don't think so. The smoke I saw was the large amount of oil hitting the hot engine. He told me to give him a call tomorrow and he will give me an update. I also asked how much he charges and he said not to worry about it- he charges much less than the official BMW dealers here. Great news. So, so happy.
I rode the train back to central Buenos Aires and took the underground to Av. De Mayo - two blocks from the hostel. Only 2 pesos for the ride, insane! Taxi would have been 25. It's not exactly London Underground - but it runs and it's cheap.
While I sit here writing, its 9 pm and they are cooking pizza here at the hostel so that's dinner. Most people here are headed out to a D&B club so I may join in (starts 2am). Chill out and have a few beers now till then.
The above was copied directly out of my hand-written journal
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