I don't know where he picked up this quote which he attributed to Oscar

I don't know where he picked up this quote, which he attributed to Oscar Galvez: "Wherever a piece of wire can replace a screw, give me the wire, it's safer." Our trousers and hands were proof that we sided with Galvez, at least as far as wire was concerned.Except for a couple more minor spills which didn't damage the bike too much, we continued calmly on towards San Martin de los Andes. Our bike struggled, showing signs it was feeling the strain, especially in the bodywork which we constantly had to fix with Alberto's favourite spare part - wire. We were gone within the hour, heading west towards the lakes. It's a shame it wasn't a good photo, it documented our changed circumstances, our new horizons, free from the shackles of "civilisation".One morning the doctor didn't shake his head in the usual fashion and that was enough. I looked awful; gaunt, huge eyes, a beard whose ridiculous shape didn't change much in the following months. He put me on a course of penicillin which lowered my temperature within four hours. But whenever we talked about leaving, the doctor shook his head and said, "For flu, bed." (That was the diagnosis, for want of a better one.)So we spent several days there, being looked after like royalty Albert took a photo of me in my hospital garb.

We went straight to see Dr Barrera, the director of the little hospital and a member of parliament He received us amiably, giving us a room to sleep in. I spent the whole day in that state, until the evening, when I felt fit enough to climb on the bike and, dozing on Alberto's shoulder, reached Choele Choel. Ten minutes later I was trembling uncontrollably like a man possessed. My quinine tablets were no use, my head was like a drum beating out strange rhythms, and some desperate retching produced a green vomit.

We seemed to breathe more freely, a lighter air, an air of adventure.REMEDY FOR FLU: BEDChoele Choel, 22 JanuaryWE GOT up early, but when I went to fetch water for our mate, a strange sensation ran through my body. However, lying on camp beds, the only beds we'd know from now on - apart from La Poderosa - we looked into the future with impatient joy. The welcome was magnificent but the toll of our first experience on unpaved roads was alarming: nine spills in a single day. Alberto came out unscathed but the cylinder trapped my foot and scorched it, leaving an unpleasant souvenir for a long time because the wound didn't heal.A heavy downpour forced us to seek shelter at an estancia, but to reach it we had to go 300 metres up a muddy track which sent us flying another couple of times.