Day 15 – Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Similar to the previous day, II had grand plans, meaning to cover lots and lots of miles.
It took me quite a while to get ready, then I had to backtrack to Caldera . There I found a supermarket , where I ended spending over half an hour and bought so much junk,that my bags would literally overflow.
About to set off, at a nice square at the center, next to the church, I smelt freshly brewed coffee- another half an hour gone. Still in town, I saw a queue , not knowing what they were waiting for, I stood in line. A sweet petite lady was serving yummy bakery stuff, I bought something everyone else did- -"folded" it is called.
Finally, I was rolling. Soon thereafter was a sign to "Santuario de Granito Orbicular", about a mile of unpaved road. I took a wrong turn, but then I found what I was looking for. It was a 180 million year-old granite rock formation, with unique orbicular textures (caused by cooling of magma). As luck would have it, a lizard was also paying a visit there, to the joy of the two year-old Michael, son of a lovely couple
Way behind schedule, I then saw a sign for - a zoo,. Who would build a zoo in the middle of a desert?? Curious, I stopped. Then I understood - it was a large firld of granite rocks, which are being eroded by the wind. I made a dozen shots, Nature was being artistic in the afternoon, too. In front of me were sandy,, desert-like mountains. This unique landscape is caused by the combination of the Atacama Desert, the Humboldt Current, and the rapid rise of the Andes mountains.
I had not even biked 100 km when I rode by a place called Hippie Beach. We'll, I am living a bit like a hippie, so I turned around. It was a neat village with a rocky beach - here I found a very friendly family spending their summer in a large tent, with all luxuries (TV, kitchen, bathroom, etc). I asked them if they knew a good spot for camping - they said right in front of their covered patio. So ended my biking day, with 97 km and 800m of ascent - a touristy day. Just to nod again to the Chilean people - after pitching my tent, they invited me in, where hot tea and a nice sandwich was waiting. Gracias, such generosity!