San Pedro de Atacama > Antofagasta, 480km > Caldera, 510km
Retraced our steps back to the main road then headed for the coast which was way more scenic than the main road. We had a late start of 11:30 because our body clocks are still getting used to the 2 hour time difference. It then took us 3/4hr to get petrol because of a queue, so didn’t stop for photos as we just needed to keep an open throttle to get to Antofagasta. The road is good and fast, sweeping corners. Got some head cam shots – back to haze so not too clear
A number of seaside towns along the way
Antofagasta
Familiar
Antofagasta > Caldera – 510km
Was another great ride today, the desert here is so colourful and interesting whereas further north it was flat and grey.
The first gas station was at 250km and that was the first building we came across it is very empty.
A sculpture with nothing around it for miles – Desert Hand
The only way to tell this was a restaurant, was by all the trucks parked outside (not in shot)
With Ecuador, Peru and Chile they each have their own different words for food, so ordering a meal is always a bit of a mystery. We tend to stick with soup for lunch – think this was octopus soup, but not sure
Had to wait for quite a while for these big guys to get to a place where they could pull off and we could pass – there were 3 of them
The seaside town we stayed in, Caldera, is just delightful and very relaxed
Fishing boats
Theatre sports on the beach
Waiting for dinner
Just came across this fact “The driest place on Earth is Calama, a town in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which has no recorded rainfall”. I continue to follow you from my armchair and am so taken and how you maintain such apositive attitude.
Hey Steve
Glad you are still in your armchair with us!!
Thanks for the interesting fact re Calama – we hadn’t realised that, though could certainly believe it as it was soooo dry. Can you imagine living in a place that has no rain 🙁