16th Jan 2020
I ended up finding a welder on Google, and a very good one he was to. Its a small setup called Welder Salta, owned by Gustavo, who employs a master welder, Walter. Walter can apparently weld anything: aluminium, titanium, alloys. They have a huge Miller welder bought from the States. While refitting the frame, Walter noticed one of the threads was very stiff, so he retapped all the threads. It’s great seeing a true craftsman at work.
Walter at work
Meanwhile Gustavo called Nico, a motorcycle guy he knew. After Walter had finished a most excellent job, it was round to Nico’s for the throttle, plus a look at the chain, which hasn’t been running evenly at idle on the side stand. Oh, and a squeaky back brake. The chain was just mud, and a rusty split link. Nico took the chain off, cleaned it, soaked it in WD40, then put it back on the bike with a new split link, and lubed it. The throttle had a small piece of plastic in it, no doubt from when I fitted the heated grips. Nico lubed the cable too, fixed the squeaky brake, and his assistant Marcelo noticed that one of the bolts on the tail tidy was gone, so fitted new bolts. So a very constructive day. Nico worked on the speedometer too, but it’s still intermittent. It needs a new cable.
Nico
In the evening I visited an electronics shop to see if they could fix a microphone. Turned out they could, but it would take several hours, not the hour they told me. Plus, they don’t actually close at 8pm, as they said. The guy who fixed it (hopefully) was simultaneously fixing 2 phones, working on my microphone, and taking part in two different chats on two different computers. Eventually, at ten past nine, it was done. Not tried it yet.
With running around, I’ve not actually seen much of Salta. Strangely, I am not particularly bothered. Cities and towns were never a target for this trip. It’s isolation, remoteness, and scenery that I wanted. Strange, but I have felt no urge on this trip to immerse myself in local culture, or go to tourist attractions. Perhaps my job as a pilot has made me somewhat jaded when it comes to exploring built-up areas. I did take time for a wander around though. It rained quite heavily in the afternoon.
Iglesia San Francisco
Dinner was at the same place as last night. Cutlets with mashed potatoes. We shall see. Today’s mileage- 17km
Tomorrow I head back to La Cuaranta, Ruta 40. I am really looking forward to getting back on the road.
The hostel