Candy Floss is alive and kicking in South America

The information about the road was correct. Thank goodness.

The first 20 kms were under construction, so in a month or so there will be tarmac all the way. There is the usual soft gravel/sand mix that the use as a bed to put the tarmac on. At least this time I didn't fall over in it.

Look at that lovely ribbon of black stuff. It wasn't a long ride and the road made it easy. When you get near to Potosi you start to climb and once you are in the town you climb some more. With the steepness of the roads and the traffic it was not doing the clutch any favours.

I am not sure where they measure the 4,100 meters from but I should think there is at least 300 or 400 meters of difference between the top of town and the bottom!

My hotel is the yellow building on the left. I wasn't tempted by the selection of furniture on offer but I think it is where the hotel gets theirs from.

I splashed out on a 4 star hotel for 2 nights as I really wanted a hot shower and a bathroom I could call my own. $45 didn't seem too bad except the restaurant was closed and the wifi didn't work. Still it did have hot water and heating in the room.

Candy Floss is alive and kicking in South America. The weekend was a big celebration and section of town was closed off for the Carnival. It was interesting to see teenagers taking part and really enjoying themselves. I think English kids are too cynical to be involved in this sort of thing.

I had a look at the bike after its trauma and ran a spanner over all the bolts I could see and managed to re-arrange some to stabilise the screen. The headlamp protector is smashed to bits and I replaced the headlamp bulb - how lucky was that to bring a spare! She had also used a lot of oil and this took the remains of my reserves.

 I asked at reception and they gave me a few Motorbike places to try. At this point I flagged down a taxi. I was not hauling myself up and down this town again. Just as well as we spent about an hour until we finally got some that was close enough to the required spec. The total cost of the Taxi - about £2.

It seems strange to me that you have one of the highest cities in the world but you decide you really need a tower so that you can see the view. No I didn't go up it.

The last task was to fill up with fuel which, having seen the queues at the pumps on the way in, I decided to do Sunday morning. The thing about fuel in Bolivia is that the State subsidises it for the locals to one third of the going rate. I have no problem with paying x 3 but the other problem is that not all fuel stations will sell to foreigners. There are biker stories of visiting many stations before getting any.

I turned up got ushered to a spare pump, filled to the brim, calculator out X 3, directions to my next destination and out of there! So that was a relief. I had also bought some Octane booster as the fuel in Bolivia is on 85 rather than the "usual" 95.

And here is another of the Senoras in her fancy dress. They don't take too kindly to being photographed which is why the pictures are either long shots or from behind!

I think this lady was about 70. Perhaps she is only 30 and this is what the altitude does to you if you live here long enough. I certainly was wheezing my way up and down like a 70 year old. I will be glad to get some relief as my next stop, Oruro is only 3,750 meters.