Day 5 – Saturday, January 31, 2026

I woke up next to the Lake of the Incas at the middle of the night, got out and was greeted by a wonderful view...

The morning smiled at me, I was excited about the crossing into Argentina, at 3,800 meters and about 14 km away.. There were, however, some worrying signs. The sky, blue at first, turned more and more hazy. The weirdest thing, though, was that not a single car (bus, truck, etc) could be seen. I first thought that the people are late risers, but having not seen anyone for wuite a while was strange.

Suddenly, after about an hour (having covered about 5 km and 300 meters, so 9 km and 700m to go), was when the pieces started falling together (and things in me falling apart). The voice of the hotel employee saying something about a closure, the forecasted thunderstorm - DARN, I was in a no-go zone!

I hesitated for a while, stopped the only car (of some construction workers) I met, they confirmed my fear and advised sternly to turn around.

In a few minutes, rolling downhill,I met a couple of customs officers with dogs. Not unfriendly, but in an official tone they inquired what the heck was I doing there and where I was coming from. They did not quite buy my story and sent me on a gigantic ramp into a vast immigration area. However, not a single of the 16 booths were manned and some cleaners sent me from one empty booth to another. I got fed up and just left.

I thought I would wait a day and slowly accepted the fact that I would pay €130 for the night (I did not want to camp in a thunderstorm). I tried haggling a bit - and here came another mega-surprise - the receptionist lady offered me an employee room - for free! Wow, you people of Chile!

I got a room with 4 bunk beds and a bathroom to myself, laid down and was thinking why on earth they closed the pass, it was still a bit of sunshine. The answer came around 3 pm in form of heavy rain, strong winds, hail and thunder. I was thankful for having a roof above my head. I spent the rest of the day tucked in the bed, reading a copy of National Geographic about WWII spies - interesting topic!

Not proud to tell that my watch showed me biking twelve kilometers that day..