Jeff and Rose had left a half hour earlier than me, but the initial 350 metre drop out of El Bordo and the subsequent flatish section that followed meant that I soon caught them up. We stopped for breakfast at a roadside restaurant, and then parted company there. They were going to do a shorter day, whilst I needed to hit my targets if I was to reach Ecuador before my visa expired. There’s a good chance I will bump into them again in Quito where I will take a week off.

I felt pretty strong cycling today, possibly due to the constant supply of good filling food, or maybe to do with the coco leaf I chewed before leaving. The road was not without its dangers though as this truck driver discovered.

There were some nice hilly sections though, and when I hit the town of El Remolino I had definitely earned the right to call it a day - 82 km with over 1000 metres in altitude again. Tomorrow promises to be even tougher, so rest, food and liquids were the afternoons activities !