Day 2 - Girardot to Aipe

I was ready to go and out of my room at 6am. Andy was in the courtyard too.  Mike was doing battle with a flat he had gotten the day before.  His sealant had done the job and he had not even noticed at the time.  The hole in the tire was quite big and would not hold with just the sealant.

He needed to add an inner tube and then still get ready.  We left the hotel at 8 and those two hours would cost us.

Things got worse when we went to cross over the Rio Magdalena - the bridge was out or under repair. After some turns through a crowded market with fish that looked like they would eat you before they would let you them we ended up back at out hotel. The only way to cross the river was an old railway trestle that had a 2 person walkway on each side. Crossing on foot was the only option for miles. Businesses on the other side were clearly hurting from the closure.

As soon as we crossed we got some breakfast. I introduced the guys to the pan de yucca and everyone liked it.

Once on the road we were moving pretty good until around noon when the heat really started to become a factor. 

All day the road was great. Large wide, smooth shoulder. Traffic was not bad and the drivers were very curtious.  The further we got the thinner the population got and when we crossed into Huila the roadside stands we're almost nonexistent.

After noon I started to really feel the heat.  Andy rode on ahead and got to Aipe a whole hour ahead of us.  We limped into the town square and headed to the first place that did not have blaring music.  It was a cafe that only had Corona but they also jugo naturals.  

We looked up some hotels and selected Hotel CasaBlanca where reviews said it had great air conditioning.  Dinner was at BEER GOURMET AIPE ... good but not fancy with a party atmosphere.

Afterward I was exhausted and layed down and fell asleep.