It's been a while since
my last post and although I can't be arsed filling all the details, I
want to at least make a record of some of the events.
I spent far longer in
Tarija than I intended. It took quite a while to get the bike done
and although the mechanic was very good and did absolutely everything
needed it took quite some time, mostly spent riding around Tarija
looking for parts I couldn't identify and spending literally hours
standing around in the tropical sun with nowhere to sit.
After getting the bike
back, I moved about 20km down the road to a hospitage on a vineyard.
The living was much easier without bike stress and although the
facilities in Uriondo were somewhat limited it was nice to chill out
and get stuck into some all day drinking for a change.
Still, I get anxious
when I'm not moving and a few days were enough. The road to Potosi
is variable. Stunning scenery and some very fine tarmac twisties
that make you wish for a sports bike inter spaced with miles on miles
of dirt and mud. When it's dry, it's dusty. When it's wet, it's
hard work keeping the bike moving. Having set off a bit late, I had
to do about 60km in the dark too. That's an experience I don't want
to repeat.
Found petrol without
any problems about half way there. Only paid the Bolivian price as
well.
The bike still isn't
happy at altitude. I had the carbs done in Tarija and it was fine at
2000 metres. A little bit of a cough just before the 7K RPM redline
but nothing serious. I'm now up over 4000 metres and the only way to
describe the air is thin and cold. I'm suffering from altitude
sickness as much as the bike. Walking up a flight of steps is as
much as I can do at the moment and Potosi has more hills than
Sheffield so getting about is a bit of a nightmare. Coca tea helps
but not much.
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