There were two argentinians in my hotel, unfortunately not going to the same place. One of them had the same bike as me. I must have woken them up quite a bit, as I couldn`t sleep longer than 4 am. I don`t have a watch, so I had no idea, when I got up, got dressed, had breakfast and loaded the bike. I had to turn on the tv to fall asleep again, until 5.30am. Its good to be at the border early, as there are no people. It opens around 6-6.30. The argentinian closes at 00.00 while the bolivian one closes at 21.00. Good to know, and I do know that border!
I was disappointed by how much dirt road detours there were due to maintenance. I can`t say how happy I am to drive on pavement instead. The scenery to there isn`t something spectacular. Didn`t even take out my camera. In the end, we had reached such high altitudes that the motor kept turning itself off again, but I learned after many kilometres of patience that if I drove slower than 40kms pr hour, it would keep going. I checked into The Koala den again, sang a bit with some music playing argentinians(its typical), met a couple that I have run into in every country I`ve been to, in SA. – For the first time in Salento, in september. I also met some italians who gave me authentical, home made risotto, wine and dessert, made by the mom of a guy travelling South America, even down to Ushuaia, on a Vespa! He had met the canadian family down in Ushuaia, too.
I couldn`t sleep longer than six am, so I got up and watched the first 1,5hour of the pianist. I`d have to finish that great movie, later. I had to get going to Sucre. Met a nice belgian guy in the hostel who tried to persuade me to wait for him, one day. I was too keen on moving, but I didn`t move too quickly. The carbureator had gotten too dirty for the bike to function right, so what should`ve been a 2,5hr ride, became a 5,5hr long one. When I finally decided to get a car to pull me to where I`d be going downhill, the guys asked me if I was driving solo. I replied as usual that they were behind. The funny thing was that the belgian guy appeared exactly in that moment.
He stuck with me for the rest of the trip and we checked into the cozy El Colon, in the white city of Sucre.
But something more interesting happened. Something I could`ve been without...
Being pulled made me nervous, as the car didn`t have break lights and I would always roll faster then the car and needed to use the back breaks to try to keep the ropes tight, so that I wouldn`t drive on them. The belgian guy said that I was doing a good job. However, for one second, I can`t have been doing a great job because as my front wheel rolled onto both of them, something happened that made the bike tip in 65kms pr hour, and we went down in a crazy crash.
I try to remember what happened, if my instincts had made me use the front brakes, which would explain why everything went wrong. It happened so fast, and while falling, also after, I was just yelling to them if Tornado was fine. I could see him almost beneath the car, wrapped up in the ropes. They kind of assumed that I wasn`t hurt, after that. My body was more startled than my head, as I felt like I had a fever. One of the guys drove my bike for a bit, instead.
I don`t like to write these things that I`m sure worry my family, but at least that was my last ride. How unfortunate that it should have such an ending, but at least there was some nice riding and company. In the end, after going far down and the bike still turning itself off, I decided to put it onto a truck, which costs just 30krs and takes 5 minutes, anyway. I`m just glad the bike can take so many punches. Myself, I got a few scratches and a bruised thumb, which really hurts to drive with, but otherwise is fine.
Tomorrow I have a lot of stuff to do before my 6pm bus to Villazon, where I`ll be crossing over to Argentina, finally! and meeting Sam, my chinese friend, in Tilcara.
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