Day 16 – Wednesday, February 11, 2026

I bid farewell to the amazing family, they made sure i had enough water. After a quick ride, I reached the not-so-nice town of Chañaral.

Here I had a choice - I could continue on the PanAmerican Highway 5 ot take a detour through the Pan de Azûcar National Park. I went for the latter, even though this was longer. Oh well.

Leading to the park in this barren area, I came across a covered shrine. With beautiful flowers. There were also beaches with white sand like in the Caribic - and not a single person enjoying. Within the park itself, I marvelled at the abundance of cacti - plus those,wonderful desert-like mountains.

Alas, a visit to the najor highlight if the park - the Humboldt penguins was not possible due to the rough seas, too bad. The area was barren, ll the more surprised I was when I saw a field full of green plants, a herb called quinchihue. Sorry for my soar throat.

I reached Hwy 5 after a big push. However, Google showed that absolutely nothing would be ahead for like 60+ kilometers. Where am I going to sleep in this barren area?

A kot worse was that it was now just a two-lane highway, with the majority of vehicles being huge lorries. Being at around 700m and inclining, there were strong gusts if wind. Now a lorry traveling with 120 km/h creates a whirlwind, where I felt like a leaf n a storm.

I started assessing my options. One would be to stop every time a truck would pass, but even the ones coming the other way meant danger. My other option was to ride on a dirt road next to the highway, but my heavy bike kept getting stuck.

My last viable option was hichhiking. My readers will by now know that Chileans are great- and after 15 minutes, a huge Mercedes lorry stopped. We loaded my bike to the bulkhead and off we rode. He drove me some 50 km and dropped me off at and intersection to a seaside town called Taltal. What if he hadn't stopped? Riding there would gave been a struggle and a no-go...again, muchas gracias!

In town, I found a clean hostel for just €15 (all hotels were sold out). This price is a steal, I have a room to my own sind am looking forward to continuing my trip on Highway 1. See you!