Ride Day 59: Uyuni, Bolivia to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Channel: Solo World Traveler
Date: 2017-07-18

Full Post & Border Crossing Information: http://bit.ly/2vdR0vT

Onwards to Chile! I will miss Bolivia, the country provided me with some of the biggest highlights of my trip. I will not miss the gas station scamming that goes on in this country though.

The 223 km trip to the border would be 95% off-road, with stops along the way in San Cristóbal (where you must get gas)  and swept along high altitude valleys for most of the way through mainly sunny but freezing cold conditions.

Thankfully there was little to no traffic on this road as I was able to go pretty fast most of the way on the hard packed surface. The only time you need to take care is through towns, which often turns the road into a bog. I would not like to ride this road when it was wet though as it would be as slippery as hell.

There were also only a smattering of towns along the way, Culpina K, Alota and Cerro Tomasamil, the border town is called Estacion Avaro (Border Town) and onto my final destination in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

Although the trip total was 340 miles (545 kilometers) and took me over 12 hours including border time. It was a little exhausting, and I was looking forward to a nice ride into Chile.

Once I turned off the main highway in Chile to get to San Pedro de Atacama, the weather turned nasty and my last few hours were pretty painful, with freezing rain and lashing winds. That last 2 hours, was pretty tough riding, and I was happy when I arrived!