15Km

Today is a rest, maintenance, and laundry day. Does not seem that there will be any sun and the mist is thick.  I did some research last night to see where we can do some laundry, get spares and have the tire fixed so I was confident that we will have everything done and back for me to give Putin some TLC. The first stop was the laundromat. Nope, they do not have coin-operated machines and nope they cannot do our two small bags of laundry for us.

Our laundry bags.

We tried another place and got the same response. It just affirms my belief that there are more “don’t give a fuck” than “let me see how I can help you” people surrounding us. Oh well just turn things inside out and soldier on, it’s not a show stopper. But Izabel contacts the lady at Duinekroon where we stay and she responds “yes there are laundry facilities you can use free of charge”. Duh!

The next stop is to see what can be done about the spare wheel. It looks quite second hand so I’m not confident we will be able to save it, which we could not so the spare tire I got from Tim in Cape Town is fitted.

While buying some oil at the garage I’m told there is no spares shop in Still Bay. I need some spare vacuum hoses and decide to try the hardware store. While I’m doing this Izabel stays with Putin and becomes the focal point for many people that pass by.

UDF creeping up on her.

And then it’s my turn to answer a few questions.

Typical UDF questions are:

What is this?

Where does it come from?

What size is the engine?

What year is it?

Where are you going/coming from?

Can I take a picture?

What is the fuel consumption?

Back at base, I start doing some maintenance tasks after giving Putin a quick rinse. I found that the GoPro took quite a beating.

GoPro took a bit of a beating.

To-Do list:

Clean air filter

Replace vacuum hose

Check bolts – found one tub strut bolt going in the wrong direction i.e. lefty.

Top up oil

Swap wheels

This must be the best thing I’ve bought for a long time. It is a mini funnel that makes topping up the oil a breeze. Sounds stupid but the oil filler hole on the Ural is a real bitch and without a funnel, it is almost impossible to do. I would normally cut a bottle but this is so much easier and works a breeze. I’m absolutely chuffed with my purchase.

My new funnel.

Izabel is busy doing some journaling while we display our laundry (at least not dirty) in public.

Her journaling skill has improved by leaps and bounds.

While she takes an afternoon nap…

Surkov is at it again. Need to do something about that hair though.

Tomorrow will be a loooong one with 465km to cover so the plan is an early start. The weather forecast is a bit iffy and I think we are riding into some rain but we will have to see.