It's 7am and it's already 20°C, the sun has just appeared. The night wasn't very good: it was very hot and mosquitoes invited themselves in the tent. We leave loaded with 8l of water, our bottles plus 4l more. 5km further we are at the top of a small pass. The descent is good, the air cool us down. We cross a lot of red brick hills, no wonder the houses around here are made of brick. The temperature rises, at 10:00 it is 30 °C. We are progressing quickly on this beautiful asphalt but the heat knocks us.
We arrive at the top of a second pass for noon. The heat is stifling, the bicycle computer's thermometer indicates 50°C in the sun, we've to put our back against the rock to find shade. François is not feeling very well, he cannot stand such heat. We take our time to eat before heading back. François is feeling better, he still pedals well.
At the entrance of Chos Malal we go to the tourist office to find a hostel and fill our bottles, we exhausted our 8l of water, it was barely enough. We settle sheltered from the sun in a hospedaje. Tomorrow we will try to hitchhike to avoid suffering from the heat like today.
The night at the hospedaje went well: no mosquito and an acceptable temperature. We leave late to enjoy the internet and shopping, and finally take care of our Argentina SIM card. We start hitchhiking at the city exit around noon. Nobody takes us but most cars are only going to the edge of the city. Due to this failure we try to take a bus, but they don't accept bicycles. After a short break in the shade of the main square, we go back to the edge of the city to hitchhike. Without more success, at 17:30 we go to the municipal campground to spend the night. A storm bursts and lowers the temperature, it's very pleasant. Tomorrow we leave Chos Malal, by car or on our bicycles.
