After refueling at the Hualta Picum hotel, and with the electric vehicle fully charged, we said goodbye to Emanuel and left Jachal in the early hours of the morning. The dawn found us in the middle of the road, where it was impossible not to stop and enjoy the colours of the first rays of the sun, a moment of peace and contemplation to gather energy and continue along route 40 where it is necessary to make several speed bumps where the water coming down from the mountains crosses.

After a few hours and in full sun and daylight, we find the remains of a construction machinery that was used for the construction of the road that crosses the country.

Just a few kilometres further on we enter Villa Union, welcome to the province of La Rioja. Here we stop for breakfast at the town’s main service station, where people curiously approach to see the vehicle while the station workers carefully wash it.

As we continue along the road we meet gauchos, these characters on horseback who live off the countryside. The roads fall off the trees by themselves and are left on the road next to route 40, a sign of the calm and passivity of this beautiful place.

Quickly and without much of a break, we continue driving through curves and slopes that lead us through marvellous canyons of reddish-coloured rocks and large cacti, which do not leave anyone’s eyes indifferent. This is right next to the Tarampaya National Park, which, with its vast expanse, makes this route a natural spectacle, seeming to be in a scene from another world.
Almost at the end of this section of the road, we pass a French couple who are travelling by bicycle and had already started from Mendoza with the intention of reaching the north of the country. We pleasantly chatted about both travel experiences and the friendliness of the Argentinean people.

Once we arrived in Chilecito, we were met by Diego Kichu, a motivated and experienced local mechanic who quickly prepared the electrical installations in his workshop to be able to charge the ID4 with the CarConnect charger, which allowed us to charge the car in a super fast and efficient way. All very friendly and very willing to help and solve any eventuality that a driver may have.

After charging we headed to Belén, where friendly people were waiting for us at the EnelX – Hotel Villa San Ignacio charging point, a place that was also visited by the famous actor Ewan McGregor during his electric motorbike trip a few years ago.