Copiapo to Antofagasta

It started off with an easy ride from Copiapo to Bahia Inglesa which was great as I met another cycle tourist coming in the opposite direction. We stopped and chatted for a while before heading in our own directions. He gave me some good advice on the conditions further north and I did the same for him to the south. Bahia Inglesa was a lovely place with a couple of fantastic beaches. Sunbathing, swimming and a few beers were the order of the day. The next day I woke up with a cold and feeling not that great so it was very short ride into the next town which was a bit cheaper as well. Caldera didn´t have a lot to offer but I needed to rest as I wasn´t feeling brilliant plus they have a lively port scene which was great hanging out and watching all the locals doing their thing.
I felt a lot better riding out of Caldera early the next morning and I had a great day of coastal riding. I was heading for the National Park of Pan de Azucar which was definitely worth the ride. The scenery and beaches in the national park were stunning and I had a fantastic campsite right next to the beach. The peaceful night watching the sun setting was soon disrupted with an all night rave!! It just seemed like totally the wrong setting for a rave plus there was no one around so it was just a bunch of 5-6 local tweakers! As I packed up the next morning I rode out through the rave to cheering and chapping from the partygoers to another days cycling.......crazy eh. This day ended up being a hard one through a lonely part of the desert but I was helped out with some food and water from a local driver. Lucky as the next truck stop (the first I´d seen all day) was still another two hours away. I then had 30kms of straight downhill to Taltal. A port/beach town on the coast but with all the hostels full I ended up again camping on the beach for free. Stocking up on food and water I headed out a bit later than I would have liked but I only had the intention of riding up the coast and spending the night at another beach town. The beach town was a dive so I decided to carry on but the problem was the way out of town was up a very steep dirt and gravel road. That afternoon I only managed to cycle 18kms in 4 hours. It was hard going and I was totally drained at the end of it. Now in the middle of nowhere I started to look for a campsite out of site of the road. I found a spot and had a great night under the stars in the desert. With some water and a little food the next day started out great with lovely calm conditions but a couple of hours into it a strong head wind developed. Then the pavement which I woke up to run out and I was back to the dirt and gravel roads again with some large hills thrown in for good measure. I had to walk/push the bike for some sections as I couldn´t even ride through it. The day was a killer but after pushing my bike half way up one final hill (2140m, highest yet!!!!) it was all downhill for about 70kms. Thank god as I had zero energy left in me. Another couple of stops and some more kind people providing me with food and water, as there is nothing out in the desert I made it to Antofagasta.
The riding has been challenging to say the least but it also has been a lot of fun. Not much exciting news happening but these were always going to be long lonely kms of riding and more riding. My legs are totally stuffed now so I´ve got a couple of rest days in Antofagasta before heading west over the Andes into Bolivia. I´ll go via San Pedro de Atacama which has geysers and hot pools etc so hopefully some more exciting news coming other than riding!!
Riding Stats
> 17th Jan - 86km
> 18th Jan - 6km
> 19th Jan - 123km
> 20th Jan - 131km
> 21st Jan - 80km
> 22nd Jan - 160km

Total to date - 1456km