Both bikes are resting in the parking area here at the Queen's Villa (thumbsup).
We're up early and getting loaded. Breakfast is at 6:30, then on the road. Target today is Desaguadero, Perú, right on the border with Bolivia. There, we'll be poised for an early border crossing, setting us up for the N Yungas Road (the famed Most Dangerous Highway in the World*). Bolivia requires a visa (and $160 USD!) for US residents, but the website repeatedly failed us last night, so we'll most likely have to do the visa at the border, adding time to the border crossing. With a quick border crossing, we might consider doing the N Yungas Road the same day; with a slow border crossing, we'll probably lodge at the far end of it to traverse it the next day.
As for the rest of the trip: we shall see how things go. Best case scenario, by my calculations, the original plan is no longer possible without a week's extension. Even then, things would have to go smoothly -- probably more smoothly than can be reasonably expected -- unless we get a two-week extension. However, we could relax a bit (but not much) and still finish by our planned date if we head straight to Buenos Aires, including a flight down to Ushuaia so that we could at least set foot there.
*The N Yungas Road earned its "Most Dangerous Highway in the World" reputation a couple decades ago. It has since been paved, diminishing its danger substantially. Nick's opinion is that we saw scarier roads in the Cañón del Pato and in the mountains of Perú, where we encountered muddy, rutty roads, sharp cliffs, narrow lanes, and even "toros bravos".
Back before the N Yungas Road was paved:
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