Nearly a week has gone by since I saw the trauma specialist, so how’s it gone? I obeyed his master’s voice, actually rested for a full four days, took my medication as prescribed; oh, I forgot the hot and cold compresses, and went for a short walk each day. But that couldn’t be helped as stated before, I had to eat! My knee is much better, there is still a bit of swelling but mobility is so good in comparison. I’ve been exercising it regularly, bending it to the point of pain, then a bit beyond. Remember, pain is good, if you can feel it, you know you’re alive.

The fifth day after the doc, I could be found frantically stripping off the damaged items from the bike, at least trying to. Polo, he would be out every half an hour, chastising me for doing too much too soon. Now, I’m sure it’s better to do too much too soon, than too little too late; but I won’t start a philosophical debate on that point. He was right in this case! The next morning I woke up stiff, in the knee joint, and decided to take it easy again. It allowed me time to do gradual stretching exercises, by the evening I felt fine for a walk around town.

The sunsets here are amazing; riding through mountains hasn’t done a lot for seeing many such sights. Even the desert regions I’ve been in have tended to have the horizons obscured by mountains, great at the time; but boy, have I missed those sunsets. Not that it felt so at the time, I was grateful for the immediate darkness and the complete lack of any reflection into the sky. I guess it’s all about being grateful for what you’ve got, when you’ve got it. How well do we generally manage that one?

I like La Paz, a typical small Mexican city, with a hint of tourism. Different form the towns along the peninsula, there is more than one tar macadam road, and no sign of those dry dusty tracks, the only thoroughfares once off the main road. Tonight I walked far and wide, couldn’t find a single unpaved road; shame the pavements aren’t in as good condition. They’re a nightmare for the casual cripples like myself, not that I could see a lot in the areas I was walking. Luckily I’m not limping too much; a cripple with a camera hanging off the shoulder could be a bit of a liability. But I love these type of walks, go one way, talk a few turns into ever darker sections of the city, and after an hour or so start following your nose and find the way back. It’s a guaranteed way of discovering unseen areas of the city, confidence and a dash of stupidity go a long way to keeping safe.

I didn’t take out my camera in the dark dismal places, I’m not that stupid, but tried to capture a bit of night time La Paz. I’m not sure what the business, “Urrea” was; but I think they were taking the piss. I did appreciate the Cathedral, it makes a lovely setting for the city square; it’s bland, even ugly, at daytime. The promenade is the city’s nicest feature, though only in a modern western type of way, the wonky pavements and pot holed roads are the real character of this place. If you’re really unfortunate you even find the odd restaurant on these darkened streets, I did and it charged $40 a meal; rather than the 40 pesos I have been paying. At 10 pesos to $1 that’s some difference!