Well....

Five weeks later and I am finally ALMOST about to be reunited with my bike...!!
The parts I needed for my worn out rear wheel bearing were on back order and when they eventually arrived in Bolivia were seized at customs and held for another week for further inspection.
However the one and only highly recommended, BMW dealer in Bolivia , Andar Motors ( Av. La Salle esq. Guemes, Santa Cruz, tel +591 3 335 3160 http://www.bmw.com.bo ) have been fantastic and did all they could to make sure my unscheduled stop here was enjoyable. Thank you very much to Nicolas Demmer and Pablo Lazzo there for their hospitality and great help and Mario Guttierez, who actually let me live in his house with his lovely family while the bike was being repaired. Wonderful, friendly people, Thank you very much. (sorry if it sounds like the 'Oscars' but just want them to know I really appreciated their help)

I also met Carlos Landivar, who very kindly introduced me to http://motoclubsantacruz.com the Santa Cruz Motorcycle club who entered me into the 'Enduro Oriente' 2 day motorcycle desert race which was a fantastic, challenging experience and a great opportunity to practice in some deep sand before riding Africa.

Whilst waiting for the bike to be ready I went up in to the hills of Samaipata for a week and just hung around with the monkeys and snakes....and a few nice people.

On visiting the animal sanctuary for abandoned or sick animals I was met at the gate and taking for a tour around the complex by Milly, the sweetest little monkey I've ever seen. She took me by the hand and pulled me around showing me all her toys, then took me to a water tap and pointed asking for me to turn it on so she could have a drink....she was gorgeous....!!!! (see video). I then had a 'Howler monkey' sit on my head which was ...'interesting'...and not something that could easily be avoided, this was their space and they made the rules (see video).

I am now about to leave Santa Cruz and head South along Che' Guevara's final route, through the town of Higuera where he was shot, then I'll move on to the salt flats at Uyuni. I have decided to cross the border into Argentina and then hop across to Santiago, Chile,' to pick up some much needed new tyres.
It's been an enjoyable, memorable few weeks on foot, I am however very much looking forward to continuing my journey by bike......

Bye for now,

Mark x.