Past the lagoons the road keeps climbing into country that has no obvious owner. The Salar de Talar lies on the high Atacama plateau, a flat white pan at well over four thousand metres, ringed by pale volcanic cones and washed with a thin skin of brine. It is part of the vast chain of salt flats that fills the basins between the Andes and the Domeyko range, each one formed when a lake dried up and left its minerals behind. The result is a landscape of extraordinary simplicity: salt, sky and the occasional cloud shadow moving across the plain.
For a rider, this is remote riding in the real sense. The route toward Paso Sico, the high border crossing to Argentina, leads across open terrain with few buildings, very little traffic and long gravel stretches. The surface can be hard-packed and fast, then suddenly sandy or corrugated, and the wind builds through the day. The scale fools your eye, so distances that look short can take much longer than you expect. Keep your speed under control, and keep an eye on the ground for soft patches near the salt flat edges.
The wildlife is sparse but striking. Flamingos gather in shallow lagoons on the salar margins, vicuñas pick their way across the scrub, and now and then a fox slinks off. The sky is intensely clear at night, which is why this region is home to some of the world's major observatories, and if you are camping or staying in a nearby village, the stars are dazzling beyond belief. It is also cold: night temperatures drop well below freezing, even in summer.
Practical issues are serious here. San Pedro de Atacama, a good hundred kilometres or more away, is the only reliable place to refuel, and Socaire has very basic supplies at best. Ride with a full tank, spare fuel, food and water, a basic tool kit and a satellite messenger if you have one, and tell someone where you are going. The border crossing has its own opening hours and conditions, and weather can close it.
Altitude sickness is a real risk above four thousand metres, so give yourself time to adapt and do not push your pace. The reward is solitude, light and a feeling of scale you rarely get elsewhere.