At the foot hills of the Andes

8 April 2006
Day 21
Salta
Argentina
Distance 2950 km

I am now in Salta which is at the foot hills of the Andes about 200km East of the Chile border.
Last night was spent at a small town called Saen Panez (spelt something like that).
Today started very early in what looked like good weather. 60km out I was riding into a huge thunder storm and debated whether or not to get the rain gear out and continue. I opted for the soft option and turned back to a partially built petrol station I had passed and surprisingly someone was there. He had a big smile on his face and let me put the motor bike inside the building.
In our limited communication he said he expected to see me coming back because I was heading on the wrong road. A lot of people miss the turn to Salta and make the same mistake. It would have beena a harsh mistake to discover after riding into the storm. The heavens opened up for an hour after which I rode off in light rain.

The road in places was bad and full of pot holes which reminded me of a friends warning. “ If you see two long ears on the road don’ t think it´s a rabbit. It´s donkeys ears and the donkey´s inside a pot hole.”

I´ll be here for a few days sorting out insurance and an engine miss that is getting worse. I am guessing it is the same problem we had with the microlight engine. Not comfortable feeling when we were flying. It is probably a clogged fuel filter which I added in the fuel line to protect the engine.

Adios
Ricky
The tired homesick puppy