I was 24 when I cycled into the Atacama Desert on my way north from Chile toward Alaska. A sign promised sun, sand, saltwater and wind. What it delivered was Camanchaco — a wind that feels like it blows straight through you. In the Atacama, water becomes strategy, routine becomes survival, and the desert slowly reshapes who you are.

This is a tightened Substack-length adaptation from my book By Bicycle from Chile to Alaska (På cykel från Chile till Alaska). Events and dialogue are told as they happened; editing is limited to structure and pacing for the Substack format.

Read Part 2: https://explorermikaelstrandberg.substack.com/p/chile-2-atacama-the-desert-that-grinds