Day 3 - Aipe to Gigante

I had some heat stroke from the day before.  It was hard to get food down and I couldn't get enough fluids. Fortunately, it was much cooler today.

We were about to leave the hotel just after 6am, the girl had just opened the gate when we heard a terrific pounding on the metal roofing.  It rained extremely hard for ten minutes while we waited under the shelter of the hotel.  Then it pretty much stopped and we rode out of town.  There were occasionally drops and it rained a bit just when we stopped for breakfast, it it kept the heat down and mostly just made us muddy.

Past Neiva the scenery started to become more and more interesting.  We were climbing gradually with the Magdalena.

There was a 6km climb before Gigante which is a cute little town.  

Mike had his usual post ride beers but I could only manage one. I was able to eat a few pieces of fried chicken under the watchful eyes of a dog in the park. He moved in as soon as I left to clean up after me.

The hotel, a block off the main square, let us hose down our bikes, shoes and legs.  

At dinner we went to a place that was high end for Gigante. Mike and I split a couples dish called a picadas and Andy inhaled two chicken sandwiches.  The picadas was random meats: sausage bits, chicken bits, hamburger bits sitting on top of plantains and french fries all covered in cheese.

After dinner I went back to the hotel and fell asleep ... still recovering.