Friday, July 4, 2008

To Bolivia - 1

Monday 23rd

It´s good to ride again. 5 days in Salta were a welcome break after the road from Mendoza, but it´s time to move on.

Leaving Salta, it´s a surprise to ride into a heavily forested area as we roll towards El Carmen. We climb and the air becomes damper. The woods evolve into semi-jungle and I cannot believe the road was desert just south of Salta! Bird cries acompany us and we catch glimses of parrots amongst the green. The air is so wet here, clouds are pinned to tree tops.



It´s freezing. The moist air leaches heat away and fingers and toes tingle. Cresting the climb, the descent is a blast of steeply banked turns that test nerve and tyres alike.



Left, right, hairpin after hairpin.... The road snakes down to the valley.



We have to camp. It´s so cold in the damp air. We find a picnic area on the border of Jujuy - the final province in Argentina and pitch up for a damp night.

No comments: