DISTANCE TRAVELED: 58.90 Miles
AVERAGE SPEED: 11.31 MPH

          At 7:30, everyone woke up and I was forced to get off the luxurious sofa. I made lunch, packed up my few things and got ready to ride again. (Picture204,Picture205) By 8:30, we began to ride one mile out of the way to a café for breakfast. We got one mile down the road and did not see the café so we turned around and bought breakfast at a grocery store and ate it on the sidewalk. After buying food in case we did not reach Cuba, 90+ miles away, we were on our way by 9:45. We rode on rolling hills until a good descent passing by colorful rocks and large cliffs. A short time after catching up to Lou, we reached Echo Amphitheater where we ate lunch. (Picture206) After eating quickly, we walked up to the Amphitheater and heard the great echo that it offered. It was basically a huge hollowed out cliff shaped like a bowl with many different colors of rocks. Soon, we continued on toward Abique Dam. We anticipated having a gradual downhill but instead encountered steep but short up and downs for at least 5 miles. After a final long uphill, we got to the dam where we took yet another break. We all sat down exhausted having gone 45 miles. After looking at the map, I determined that it would be impossible to reach Cuba that day. This would be the fourth day in a row that we did not accomplish what we had planned to accomplish! We had a short snack break and then rode over the dam along a canyon wall and then away from the lake. (Picture207) As we rode along the beautiful road, lightening started to appear in the distance and soon the rain started to come down on us. It started with a few drops so I put on my rain jacket to keep my camelback dry, and then it poured. It only lasted a few minutes and the cold rain felt good in the hot air. Soon after this great refreshing feeling, an insect hit my chest, bounced off, hit my leg, and the bee stung me! It burned a bit so I washed it off and got the stinger out. The only two times I have been stung have both been on my bike trips! After a few more rolling hills and then a good descent, we reached Coyote where Tom and Marnie were waiting. At the gas station, I bought two drinks and ice cream to help cool me down. At this point, I wanted to stop for the day but did not think we could yet. After a while, Lou arrived and we decided to eat at the only café in town. When we got there, it was locked up but soon a woman came and gave us menus. We ordered and had to repeat our orders a few times since it took a very long time to write down. We then sat around and 1 hour later, the first order came out! Only one meal was cooked at a time so 1-½ hours after we got there, the last dinner was served! We were also the only people in the place! After eating the small but good meal, I planned to go back to the gas station for more food but it was closed. We decided to spend the night in Coyote on a grass patch next to the café. As we set up other tents, the mosquitoes got worse so I grabbed a coke and rushed into my tent to spend the rest of the night in comfort. At around 9:30, I got to sleep and even though we were camped next to a road, there was no traffic for the rest of the night.