It was a long but interesting day. Leaving Uyuni, I meant to I take Highway 5 towards San Cristobal but took a wrong turn and followed the nicely paved Highway 21 for about 20 miles before discovering my mistake. I had to backtrack all the way to Uyuni and then discovered why I had missed it. "Highway 5" was just a dusty, hard packed dirt road. It wasn't particularly difficult to ride other than a few surprise sand drifts that would grab my attention from time to time. It was really out there though. A very lonely road that went on for an eternity. I saw several small groups of wild Vicuña which are relatives of the llama but are more sleek and fast. They are much more likely to spring out onto the roadway so I had to keep a sharp eye out.

I didn't have any cell reception for several hours and I only saw a handful of vehicles. It took me about 5 hours to reach the border between Bolivia and Chile. When I did arrive, the border agents had just gone to have lunch. I tried to find some shade while I waited but the sun was directly overhead. I bought a bottle of water in a shop and the lady there let me sit inside. Once the agents returned, they were pretty efficient in processing the handful of vehicles trying to cross. Unfortunately this was just the Bolivian Aduana so I had to do this again just down the road.

The Chilean Aduana was about three miles further. Their agents were very organized and helpful but the whole process still takes time. One of the agents asked where I was going and I said "Patagonia". He said said "Eco es más de tres mil kilometers de aqui" (That's more than 3,000 kilometers from here). Pffff! I thought. That's nothing!

All told, it took just over three hours to clear the border and I still had 140 miles to go. Fortunately once I crossed into Chile, the road was nicely paved.

I thought my journey from Uyuni felt remote but now in Chile, I was bordering the Atacama desert. I didn't see a single vehicle for nearly two hours until I got closer to Calama. The landscape went from dry to parched and the wind bucked the bike and tore at my helmet. I wanted to slow down but I was pushing daylight. As I was headed west, the setting sun was blinding and directly in my path. Yet, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. I'm entranced by these wide open spaces and even though I was getting tired, I didn't want the ride to end.

Now, In Calama, Chile, I can safely say I'm not sure where to head from here. I'm going to sleep on in and see which way the wind is blowing in the morning.