Incahusi to La Serena (96.32km)

Home Suzuki is becoming just a bit uncomfortable for me. However, for Curt he just loves it. Why? I wish I knew. I don’t wait for alarm anymore as my body aches with laying in one position for a long period at a time. By 6h30 all the nodige are done and this morning it is a bit cold so I put on another jacket to keep warm. The road continues where it left off with a slow downhill spiral and by the 40km mark Curt’s caught up with me. From here the road condition turns out to be a bit nasty with no road run off. Trucks are posing a bit of a problem here and this will continue all the way into La Serena. Once past the town of El Horno the road will begin the roller coaster ride with every hill looking twice as bad as Suiker Bossie for the next 50km or so.  I meet up with Curt just outside the main turn off in the town of La Serena. I am glad to have survived this part of the journey.  Just beyond the main drag it not far to go before the Hostal El Punto. We plan to stay for two nights.

Curt: as the none cyclist it was as though someone had drawn the curtain and exposed a new world. A police checkpoint, which is none other than a few traffic cones is the dividing line between the society of the north and a new world south. Maybe I am just desert hardened and happy to see something fresh, all the conveniences and fresh coffee! This town greets you with the university complex and all its nuances and a society with all the trendiness to go with it. The opulence is almost palpable but we keep an open mind. When you have been deprived of so many basic things like water, showers and food choices, this all seems like too much.

Well El Punto is home for 2 days to recharge and catch up. The instant coffee we bought in Antofogusta is a crowd stopper. It invites immediate conversations and this time I offer a Dutch HR consultant a cuppa and both Eugene and I give our views on work environments and such. She invites us for dinner the following night…but that is another story.