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All I could think of was a bed to sleep in immediately as I crawled the last kilometres to Colcha K. My body needed a rest and it was going to take one for it.

On the way to Colcha K

Neither Jason (the other cyclist) or I slept well. For the first time I wasn’t hungry at breakfast and had to force some calories down. Cycling along the easy road with no wind, I just felt flat. The aim was to power on today to the edge of the Salar and across to the island in tbe middle. Jason didn’t see it happening and wanted to go to Uyuni first. At the turn off to the Salar we split up. He headed directly towards Uyuni planning to stop early at a big town for a rest. I headed towards Colcha K and the Salar, planning to stop early too and start much closer to the Salar tomorrow.

Jason and I

It was 15km to Colcha K from the turnoff on a good road surface. The road for the last 5km wasn’t as good, but still should have been very easy in the grand scheme of things.

All I could think of was a bed. The town was uphill a bit and the hotels that were meant to exist were always just a bit further. One hotel I couldn’t find, another was full. A young boy took me to a hidden guesthouse and the owner welcomed me in for the grand sum of $5.

I put the bike in the room and went straight to sleep (at noon), and I still really haven’t left the bed and it’s 5pm.

Sleep

This is how I feel after a long time at altitude. I was thinking I was going to be immune this time. In India, I just stopped for a day’s rest before Lachuna La, drinking lots of rehydration salts. In Tajikistan I felt like this at Karakol too. My body spoke and I listened. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.