La Paz, Bolivia, 1st June

I spent a couple more days in Lima than I’d wanted to when I arrived back waiting for my bike to be fixed. Any time spent in Lima is probably a mistake. It’s grimy and uninteresting. Huacachina on the other hand, where I stopped on my first night after leaving Lima, is a beautiful oasis. It is literally a small lake surrounded by towering sand dunes. I stayed in one of the once grand hotels for longer than I had intended. The following morning I stopped to buy some fruit at the roadside in nearby Ica and some bastard grabbed my tank bag containing my camera, gps, some money and worst of all, my journal. After spending some time trying to explain to the police what had happened and getting an official report for my insurance, I returned to Huacachina to make some calls. As well as calling the bank etc., I rang the guys at the BMW dealer in Lima because just the day before they’d said I should if ever I needed any help. I didn’t expect much, but it turned out Luis at BMW had few friends in Huacachina and made a couple of calls for me. I met with Fernando and his mate Tyson (after the boxer) and they seemed to think we might be able to get some at least of it back on the black market in Ica. Nothing turned up for a day and a half. Then another friend of theirs, Manolo, came by to tell me he’d located my camera and gps. The rest he said had gone. Probably thrown away. The filthy thieves wanted $500 US for my camera and gps. That’s not all; I was expected to give the cash to Manolo, who I could probably trust, who would give it to some other guy who was supposed to pick up my camera and gps and give it to Manolo - an easy way of losing $500 I thought. I told them to forget it.
I spent a couple of days in Arequipa buying some things to see me to Buenos Aires - a new camera for one, and some more glasses. Luckily Arequipa seems to be specs shops capital in all South America and I was able to get a pretty nice pair for about $40. So that made me feel better.
All this has made me pretty suspicious of everyone in Peru. It’s not a nice feeling. I’ll be very happy to leave. Bumping into an English guy called Fraser in Huacachina revived some of my trust in people. We got talking and he said, ‘Hey, do you know Kevin and Clara.’ These things still surprise me. Fraser lives in La Paz, Bolivia, rides a bike and they’d been in touch with him via Horizons Unlimited (the website for world-traveling bikers) asking about the roads. He was in Huacachina driving a tour bus and happed to be in Arequipa while I was there too. He gave me lots of useful advice about the roads and towns in Bolivia. I repaid him with half my supply of PG tips, with which being English he was delighted.
I passed an English couple driving a Land Rover on my way here today. I gave them a hoot and a wave as I went by. A little while later I stopped to take a couple of pictures and they pulled up. Paul and Jill and their four-year-old son, Eliot, had driven from Argentina via Chile, having first driven all over Africa in their Land Rover and were making their way north. We chatted for a while as travelers do and brewed up some tea at 4,320 meters above sea level. My PG tips was a hit again.
I had a beautiful ride along the shore of the Lago Titicaca and over the Andes to La Paz yesterday. But last night I was up quite often suffering from something I ate recently. At least I seem to be over the worst now.
Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be stetting off early for Potosi in the south. Mileage; 18109