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Deep lagoons can ruin your
truck, if not the entire trip
After finally being able to kite, teaching kids how to kite, doing some off road driving on the beaches and dunes, sampling some of the amazing local food, and meeting very friendly people in Atins, it was time to leave this great spot we had discovered and to venture to the lagoons in the Lençois we had seen from the plane.
Unfortunatelly we had to venture back to Barreirinhas first, this time, however, there was no one to guide us through the desert and the “water ditches.” There were no trails and street signs, obviously, and we got lost a couple of times, although getting lost was nothing compared to what we still had ahead of us…
Anyway, we decided to venture to the extreme and to follow our instincts. We knew how to leave the town, and thus we embarked on an off road adventure of the extremes. We had to be very cautious of the “quick sand”, especially in the middle of nowhere. I mean, this region is like a desert with some lagoons in between and that is it. There is no village nearby, and certainly no gas station ready to come to rescue you. To top it all off, there was no way to equip our truck with a snorkel before we left. (Remember that a snorkel keeps the water from being drawn into the engine.)
Our strategy was simple: we took turns checking the dept of the water crossings, and then drove very slowly through the water. If the water was waist-high, than it was too risky to attempt a crossing. However, occasionally there were deep holes in the middle of the lagoons, and these were impossible to avoid.
We decided to film and photograph the entire ride. Vittorio was hanging outside the truck holding the camcorder, while the others where checking the depth of the lagoons. The first one was not a problem, nor was the second or the third. But at some point, must have been the 4th or the 5th ditch, the water seemed especially deep and about 100 meters long. . .which sent our adrenaline shooting up to ultra-high levels! The good thing was that we had satellite communication, so we could at least contact someone to help―unfortunately this would not fix the damage the water would do to an engine. We decided there were better ways to spend our bucks than with fixing na engine.
Anyway, there we were, just about to drive through this 100 meter long ditch. We had already figured out the route that we thought would be safe, but would it work? As we entered the water, the water level was immediately just below the windows of the truck. The first 50 meters passed without any problems. Another 20 meters passed and we were still ok, in spite of some deep holes and some deep dives―I mean, we almost felt like we were doing a river boat trip.
Just three meters away from the other end of the lagoon, though, we drove into a huge hole. The entire hood of the truck plunged under water! Surprisingly, we were able to drive out, but we heard some terrible and strange noises coming from the engine. We immediately cut the engine. This was to avoid any water entering the engine in the event that some had been drawn into the system. If water had entered and been sucked through the entire system, the engine could be ruined entirely.
We opened the hood quickly and removed the air filter to check what had happened. It was soaking wet. . .like really wet! We started to remove and empty all the tubes that lead from the air filter to the engine. We disconnected the main tube from the engine, and even this tube had water in it. There was also some water mixed with the oil. . .and at that point we started making plans on how we could get out of there. Fortunately for us; we had our Globalstar satellite phone with us (perhaps a good opportunity to thank Globalstar for their support). Anyway, it was Saturday, and the only garage that could help us was about 200 km away and would be closed.
We decided to act. We pushed the truck to a little hill. This put the truck at a slight decline so that gravity would enhance the water drainage. There was really not that much water; but we just wanted to ensure that no water had reached the engine. Up to this point we were not sure if it was already too late, but we sort of were hoping that nothing serious had happened. The feeling, however, was not satisfactory at all. I do not need to mention here how much it would cost us to get the heart of our truck fixed, or even replaced. No one really wanted to do that and neither one of us new if there was a garage in the region capable of doing a heart transplant on our truck.
After pointing the truck downhill, we put our hands inside the air suctions of the engine, and there was some water. We decided to take one of the pumps for our kites, invert the connection so that instead of pumping air the pump would suck air, and start sucking out as much water and oil as we could from this part of the engine. It seemed to work, but everyone was nervous. We waited for about thirty minutes because we thought that the wind and the heat could also help remove the water, making thousands of other suggestions in the mean time. We waited. . .and waited. . .started making phone calls. . .and finally sat down to wait more. What else could we do? I mean, this place is really in the middle of nowhere. We could not even tell someone our location, since it was not a road. It was just a trail of sand in the middle of the desert. Luckily, we had taken sufficient water and cookies…
After about thirty very long and slow minutes; we decided to risk starting the engine. We knew that if water had entered the engine, turning it on would ruin it even more, possibly beyond repair. But if it was in fact ruined, than it would be too late anyway, and so we started the ignition. It vacillated for a few seconds, but it turned on. The noise was loud since we had not connected the tubes back to the air filter yet. We wondered if everything was ok, since the noise from the engine was strange and loud. We immediately mounted the tubes, and the noise appeared to be normal again. The engine was running, and we could not believe how much luck we had. Perhaps this is a good opportunity to thank all our friends who gave us the many good luck objects like the “fita do senhor do Bomfin, the teddy bear, the horseshoes, and the Indian necklace we had received from the Indian tribes on the way to Lençois somewhere in Maranhao. It was a situation full of mixed emotions, but in the end everything turned out well, and we were glad that we could continue our adventure without any serious damages. There was much to come ahead of us, many more lagoons we had to pass through, and even some “quick sand.” But luckily, the trip back was all right…and we arrived in Barreirinhas in a safe manner.
But we still needed to drive to the Lagoons...
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