A sleep under the stars makes all the difference and let me tell you, the stars were so bright in the desert sky.

I decided to make a charge for Santiago. There is a Triumph dealer there and I need a few parts and possibly some new tires. I'm hopeful that I can get the bike serviced on Saturday so that I can continue on Monday.

Chile is in a strange time zone. Even though I went west to exit Bolivia, I still jumped forward an hour so now I'm 5 hours ahead of Portland. The result of that actually works in my favor because sunrise is not until 7:10AM. This gives me a whole lot of riding time before sunset at 8:20PM. In Colombia, the sun set at a little after 6PM which always had me a bit anxious to get in before dark.

Today was perfect because it was just getting light when I was breaking camp and my first couple of hours on the road the temperatures were cool and the air was very still. As the day wore on the wind picked up and started to wear on my neck muscles. In conditions like that I have to wear ear protection to keep the roar in my helmet to a safe level.

Northern Chile is a whole lot of dry desert. I'm pretty sure I didn't see a single tree today. I did see several mining operations and industrial centers but actual towns were scarce. At some point I crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. I knew approximately where it would be and I kept an eye out for a marker. If there was one, I surely did not see it.

The high desert plain eventually gave way to a steep downward winding canyon dropping me onto the rocky Pacific coast. The ocean is a different kind of desert but at least the road was more interesting to ride for a while. I would follow along the shoreline for 40-50 miles and then the road would lead back inland, over a pass or two and then back out to the coast.

With the extended daylight it was difficult for me to call it a day at 5:30 but I had covered a lot of ground. I enjoyed the ride today but I think tomorrow will be a bit more interesting. We'll see.