Peruvian Police - a 'take no prisoners' attitude to fines/bribes was what I had heard from the other bikers - all of whom had been stung. So here I was having been pulled over on my first day in the country for speeding (who me??), I put on my best charm school act and managed to get away with it - along the lines of 'aah senorita...' In fact despite getting stopped twice more in Peru I never had to pay a penny. Having quickly bored of the coast in Peru I was zig-zagging in the mountains, and followed a great dirt track through Canyon del Pato (Duck Canyon in English - not quite as poetic), which goes through more than 40 roughly-hewn stone tunnels as it follows the canyon side - a beautiful ride, so if you're going through Peru look for the track, it is north of Huaraz and leads to the coast.

On leaving Cusco heading towards Lake Titicaca I was caught in a vicious storm - it seemed to be trapped in the valley I was in and I had lightning hitting the ground all around me - at one point only 300 yards away - I was hoping my rubber-topped foot pegs would help in saving me!

Bolivia and the diverse road surfaces it has to offer - I have managed to 'snap' Thelma - the fairing/headlight bit has sheared through and is now supported solely by the crash bars. To add insult to injury I had the hounds of Huari chasing me (a pastime practiced by dogs world-wide as all riders know), however this time with a difference when I felt a searing pain and looked down to find one with its fangs around my left calf - I yelled, kicked it off and sped onwards, so now I have rabies to worry about as well as everything else!

The Salar de Uyuni was beckoning - and in a mini posse I set off with Alon (from New Mexico) on his Transalp and Rob (from England) on his KLR. We had a great time - it really is an unbelievable experience to be riding fast over this huge expanse of white as far as the eye can see, overall the journey to the Chilean border turned out to be quite an epic one but we made it, with Thelma limping across the frontier with 1500rpm and only first gear possible!"