Turbo damage on SELMA
Day 4: Lacul Rosu (Ro) – Piatra Neamt (Ro)
After a rainy night and dreams of the broken-down SELMA, we woke up at 07:00 in the car park right in the tourist area in front of Restaurant Panorama at Lacul Rosu (Red Lake). In daylight everything looks quite different, at least the landscape. The engine problem, however, had not changed overnight. With the right tools we gave SELMA a thorough inspection and agreed: the turbocharger is broken… :-(
The Restaurant Panorama doesn’t open until 10:00, but we were already able to order a hot coffee. Accompanied by a team discussion about how to proceed cleverly to get SELMA repaired as quickly as possible. Google Translate helped us organise a Romanian tow service.
While we were waiting for the tow truck, two Romanians independently approached us about ten minutes apart asking whether we would sell them our horse trailer. We didn’t need to do much negotiating, because our horse trailer is not for sale. :-)
Shortly afterwards the tow truck arrived and we loaded SELMA on with care — and in thanks she gave us one last cloud of exhaust fumes before being hauled away. This split our team for efficiency’s sake. Two went with SELMA, two stayed with ALEXA and the two trailers. The other two drove with GLORIA and the trailer down the pass to Hotel Oscar in Piatra Neamt, 70 km away. Once at the hotel they dropped off the trailer and drove back up the pass to ALEXA and the two trailers. SELMA’s trailer, which had been left behind, was now hitched to GLORIA and towed to the hotel as well.
On the drive down from the pass the road led us through a beautiful gorge — perfect material for some great drone videos.
Meanwhile, the car mechanic in Dodeni near Bicaz informed SELMA’s drivers of the diagnosis: turbo damage, a hefty 850 euros for the repair, which would take until Tuesday.
Now we are all reunited at the hotel, freshly showered and looking forward to a delicious Romanian dinner.
Brief summary:
Day four was defined by the turbo damage diagnosis. Lots of back and forth driving to get all trailers and rally cars (except SELMA) to the hotel. We are now in Piatra Neamt but have not yet reached our final destination — the orphanage.
After a day like this with no food, the whole team is ravenous and looking forward to Romanian cuisine. Enjoy the meal then…
Your Judo goes Orient – Team