Adventure, due south

A courtyard fire warms patrons dining alfresco at the Café Adobe, a rather chic outpost in San Pedro de Atacama.  (Dan Neil / LAT)

The rolling pampas along a section of the Chile-Argentina border can be a welcome respite for those passing through arid landscape on the long road south.  (Dan Neil / LAT)

The Pan-American Highway stretches thousands of miles, ending in Chile at the island of Chiloé.  (Dan Neil / LAT)

A photograph of the author’s wife kept him company on the adventurous driving journey.  (Dan Neil / LAT)

Chile’s string-bean dimensions make for a varied driving experience for auto writer Dan Neil, traversing Volcán Sinbad in a Land Rover.  (Dan Neil / LAT)

Along the Carretera Austral, farmers and ranchers still rely on oxcarts  (Dan Neil / LAT)

Dawn breaks on Lago llanquihue, from the window of the aptly named Bellavista Hotel.  (Dan Neil / LAT)

Tourists walk along the shore of Lago llanquihue in Puerto Varas, in the Chilean Lake District, with Volcan Osorno in the background.  (Dan Neil / LAT)

South of Santiago, the author stops to buy boiled-milk pastries from one of dozens of roadside sellers.  (Dan Neil / LAT)

South of La Serena, following an unmarked, wobbly dirt road west from Ruta Cinco, the author finds a maritime cactus garden ending in cliffs plunging into the Pacific.  (Dan Neil / LAT)

Pink flamingoes seek sustenance from a salt lagoon in Salar de Atacama. The largest salt flat in Chile defines the heart of the Atacama Desert  (Dan Neil / LAT)