Tuesday 30 October 2012

Day 115: A rest day in .... ummmmm ..... Quito, Ecuador

Greetings all.
They say that a change is as good as a rest. They don't know what they're talking about. I am struggling a bit with this chest infection. Not sure whether it is a side effect of the Diamox or just a random virus. Hic hac hoc might be good beginners' Latin but it is crap with broken ribs. Especially at 3am. Never mind. Shirley sprang out of bed at 7am this morning and I followed. I'm sure you get the picture. (Incidentally, one of the side effects of Diamox is that it makes carbonated drinks taste funny. And I thought there was something odd with Ecuadorean beer!)

We got a taxi and went out to Mr BMW to check on the girls. Goodness me it was a long way! Finally we got there to discover that everything had been done, they have been washed and they are ready to go. My front fork pinch bolt has been replaced so Shirl doesn't have to keep tightening the front axle all the time. And they've been washed - I had forgotten that Ebony was black.

Nice Mr BMW shouted us a taxi to the Panamericana office where we went to purchase our SOAT insurance. Silly boy, I had assumed it was ME being insured against the possibility that I might injure someone. But no, I needed all Ebony's details as well. I said an extremely rude word. Twice. Then we caught a taxi back to our hotel, collected the registration papers that have the VIN and engine numbers and went back. There was a bit of a queue now because - guess what! - in the time it took us to go to the hotel and return, the computer system had gone down. I said an extremely very rude word. Thrice!

While I waited Shirley went out to explore.



This is carrot cake with real fake carrots on top.









And so when she got back we went and had a coffee at the pastry shop - complete with armed guard - and then went back. Success at last. The system had been restored, our insurance was completed and we were charged $3.08. Initially I assumed that this was the cost for the little plastic wallet that the insurance permit comes in. But no, that was it. It only took two and a half hours but now I have a little sticker that I can stick on the windscreen. Or somewhere.

We took another taxi back to the hotel. I was planning to wash the disgusting bike pants that I got out of a pannier this morning but Shirl decided to send them to the laundry. We put them in at 1.30pm and they were back washed, ironed and folded by 6pm. Not bad eh?

We went out for a beer and to check to see if my taste buds had been restored. Almost. Then we came back and because it was so cold and miserable we just had dinner in the hotel and met up with Diana fresh back for her tour to the Galapagos.

And that's about it. Just a quiet day tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll go back to being tourists.

And that was our day. Good night. :-)
Today's run: 0kms
Cumulative: 27,996kms
Tipovers: 6


Location:Quito, Ecuador.

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