Day 23 – Wednesday, February 18, 2026

DAY (or Catch? ) 22: This might be the first part of my posting, as I have so much to write. Instagram places a limit, so I will trick it by making two posts. The nice thing is you can read both, or just either or none at all - this freedom of choice is provided by no one less than the author.

Let us start with last night (I warned you, this might be long, but then it has been a fun day). So I was loitering at the playground wishing for those kids to stop playing soccer on "my" artificial grass - and with me getting real tired, I made on last effort to find an accommodation. A young couple washing their car on the street (yes, in the middle of the Atacama Desert) made a few calls and I was in a hole of a room. The bed and my luggages filled it completely- the only windows was to the corridor. Granted, it was not expensive, for Chile, I'd say it was a steal (€20).

The alarm of my neighbor woke me at 5:30, I guess all the other guests were mine workers (they are driving red trucks and there are zillions of them). I listened to him makinghis morning preparation, it was not until 8 am that I got ready. Not sure what the source of the water is. but there seems to be plenty of it - there was a well-kept park right in the middle of this settlement and it is flanked by food truck - preparing breakfast and to-go snacks for the mine workers. Here I got a large sandwich to go.

The ride at first was painstaking. The scenery was quite dull, there was quite a headwind and the road had an incline I do not like. Mind you, I ldo like climbing, Mr. Road, if you want to go up, do it properly. This kind of "just-a-small-gradient-you-won't-evrn-notice" is something I detest, but my watch was showing how the altitude jkept increasing. Then there was a change - the road became honest with me, showing its true colors, if was indeed an uphill ride.

At around 2,100 meters, a miracle happened - it levéllel out and from there onward it became a fun ride.

Couple of noteworthy things: I stopped at a restaurant - even though I wasn't particularly hungry - and got a good omelette. Soon after my snack, I heard a loud explosion - and saw smoke rising. Must have been from a mine. TBC

Then, before a turn, came a landscape like on Mars. No coincidence; in a museum in Antofagasta I learned that the Mars Rovers got their training in the Atacama. I was quite impressed with what I saw. Just as I was about to leave, I got a glimpse of what ahead behind that turn. There I saw a very straight patch of road, leading eastward into infinity. That is all good, but at te edge of infinity was a majestic, snow-clad mountain range. Wow, that was a sight for royals!

Now I was nearing the town of Camala, at 2.250 meters, Chile's mining capital and one of the driest cities in the world. A must-do here is a visit to Chuquicamata, a huge open-pit copper mines. Now this visit is free (similar to my visit to the Paranal Observatory), but you have to be registered by sending an email. I did this two days prior, but was told all tours are full for the foreseeable future. Hmmm. Being turned away is no fun.

I tried rectifying the situation. I noticed there was a visitors center in Camala - and rode directly there. A lady guard was (wo)manning it, no help. Then I thought to look up the headquarters of Codelco, the state-run company responsible for operations. I tried both entrances, but the guards would not let me talk to anyone inside. At my third attempt, a lady guard told me she would go seek someone. Out came a gentleman from HR and with Google Translate I explained the situation. He then called someone - and this was the very person who wrote the rejection in responseto my requests. She m, however, said "we will be able to squeeze you in tomorrow!". There you go! So at 10:30, I am visiting a huge copper mines!

I found an OK-ish hotel close to the start of the tour, then rode into the center. It was this organized chaos that navy of us know from developing counties- and array and web of shops, street food, clusters of different services. As an example - one street had about twenty barber shops next to each other (a bit like in Meidling...). It us a fun town.. . So my plan is to start riding towards San Pedro de Atacama after my visit to the mine. Hmmm, I have the feeling I am running out of time. But more about that later.