Well I didn't expect to be doing a blog so soon after putting Cetus up on the hard, because I try to keep this to sailing related topics since it is, after all, a SailBlog.

But when we were making the big drive from Puerto Escondido to Gig Harbor, WA at the beginning of the month we were reminded how great and helpful the cruising community is.

The first day we drove to Guerrero Negro, with plans to make it all the way to San Diego the next day. Our car had different plans and when we started out early that Friday, July 3rd we traveled about 30 miles then realized we needed to turn back.

The 'Check Engine' light started coming on followed shortly by the 'Reduce Engine Speed' light. That wouldn't be good even if it was just the lights, but when that reduce speed light comes on it actually slows the car so you don't travel more than 20 - 30 miles per hour. This is a known problem with Trailblazers and often is just caused by a computer sensor glitch, but it still keeps the car from moving very fast.

So we found a nice English speaking mechanic in Guerrero Negro that took a look at it and the scanner indicated it needed a new Throttle Body (sort of a carburetor). He'd had experience with this problem before so we all knew the new part might not solve the problem because it could just be the computer. But, with this as our only option we set about to get the part.

And that's where the cruisers (and other friends) came into play. The mechanic couldn't find one in Baja -- only in San Diego. Getting the part from San Diego could take the better part of a week for him to get it in. So he looked for a used one, but no luck there.

So I sent a couple emails to cruising friends in La Paz who are also running businesses there and do lots of shipping. Both responded with lots of good info and also began to search La Paz for our needed part.

We found the quickest way to get something down was through a package forwarder -- they receive or pick up the needed part in San Diego and take it across the border and put it on a bus through Bajapack. And we got the name of a reliable guy to contact -- that was his business.

So we were very optimistic -- we'd found the part at an O'Reilly's in San Diego and we would get this guy to pick it up there and we could get it before the weekend was out. Wrong. The guy wasn't in San Diego -- he was across the border in Mexico celebrating the 4th of July holiday weekend. This was going to be difficult to accomplish with everyone off celebrating.

So I turned to social media and posted in a couple groups I belong to explaining my situation and asking if anyone in had any suggestions or knew someone that does this. I got some good responses but alas no one is working that weekend.

Then I received a note from our friend Dave on Free Spirit who gave me the name of a friend of his in San Diego that might be able to help us. I called him and he was ready and willing to help (he is a cruiser living on land in San Diego right now). He would be able to pick up the part for us but he didn't have any experience getting it on a bus. But, our first guy sent a message saying he would try to do it this weekend even though he was already in Mexico.

So the plan came together. Dave's friend Hal Webb picked up the part and then met the package forwarder guy (who's name we got from Albert on Indiscretion) just north of the border and he in turn took it across the border and got it on a bus.

And all the while our other cruising friends, Tom & Jeanie on Eagle provided valuable information on shipping, they searched for the part for us as well as giving the info to us on how to dial an 800 number from Mexico. Whenever anyone has a problem or needs information, Tom & Jeanie of La Paz Cruisers Supply are always ready to help. Though by now they probably wish I'd lose their email address.

So we thank them one and all for their cheerful help in getting us back on the road.

And a funny sidelight to this -- cruisers helping cruisers came about when we got back on our way. Dave from Free Spirit asked us to stop at a little restaurant along the way near Catavina. Seems a prop (that he was transporting to the States for yet another cruiser) somehow fell out of his truck in the back-roads near there. He'd contacted the restaurant and offered a reward to anyone that found it. Well the odds of that prop being found seemed pretty unlikely -- but it was there!

The next question is how to get it to Dave. Well it just so happened he was at a shop getting a new camper put on his truck -- and it was right off of I-5 -- and better yet he was there at the time we were driving by that town. We found that out in the morning and met him there that afternoon. Now that's karma.