Day 10 – Thursday, February 5, 2026

After the roller-coaster ride of the previous day, I took some time to start cycling this day. It was a lot "smoother" landscape, yes, there were inclines, but I chopped the kilometers quicly. Now there were two obstacles: having reached the coast again, I had quite a headwind (why is there never a tailwind when biking?) and the sun was super strong. In the late afternoon, I reached the twin towns of La Serena/Coquimbo, with large beaches, a huge, 83m tall concrete cross, land mega churches.

I rode through a tranquil residential area, with pretty and well-maintained family homes - this could have been anywhere in an affluent town in the USA. Dinner was at a cool, hype diner - I was lucky to get a table, a few minutes after me, a long queue formed.

After dinner, I started looking for accommodation. By now I have realized that I am in the Switzerland of South America (thanks to my fellow biker, Sándor) and was hardly surprised to see most places would ask for €100 per night - quite above my budget. I did locate a hostel that charged the half and started heading towards it.

The pretty neighborhood gave way to a rather shabby part of town (I believe this is the historic center) and I felt a bit unsafe. Then three stray dogs started chasing me and I rode by the nondescript, run-down entrance of my hostel.

The first room that was shown made my stomach turn, but the caretaker lady, having some empathy, "upgraded" me to a much prettier room with its own bathroom and a really comfy bed. Moreover, the hostel has a washer/dryer, my stuff is being cleaned as we speak (correction, as I am posting this). The distance was 120km and 1,030 meters of ascent.