10th March Taganga – Bucaramangs 334 miles

Yesterday we spent the day chilling with a wander down to the beach a couple of beers and dinner at our old Hostel with Michel our French friend.
Today we got a reasonably early start as we hope to make Bcaramanga which is some 350 miles away so we will see what the roads are like and how well we average. Once we get going the road is not too bad but there are a lot of trucksand it is challenging at times trying to overtake. This is the main route from the North and the port of Santa Marta to Bogota and Medellin so you would expect a bit of traffic.
After a stop for a fruit drink we seem to be making good progress so should make our proposed stop no problem. On the way there are a couple of bridge issues which cause massive tailbacks, thankfully we are able to go down the outside of the traffic. The issue was a bridge had broken in 3 places and was touching the river bed in the middle, they had put a metal bridge across the top supported off the old bridge as a temporary measure and this was single file hence the hold up. Having zapped down the outside we ended up on the broken bit but managed to cross it without problem. There was another single file bridge but that was just old and they have build a new bridge next to it but have yet to join some road up to it.
Finally we fork left to our destination but the road changes and there are potholes you could hide a small car in plus a loose surface in places so we have to slow down a bit and keep a sharp eye. We are climbing again now, so a twisty road to add to our speed challenges when we come across an almighty traffic jam. I thought it must be an accident because no traffic was coming down towards us, this did help us get right up to the front.
It is a landslip and the road is blocked and diggers are busily moving tons of earth of the road. We are here a good 20 minutes and the sun sets while we are waiting, unfortunately when that happens on the equator it gets dark about 15 – 20 minutes later, it is very quick
We are finally on our way again but let’s take stock, we are now driving at night, it is a twisty road with variable road surface, but the best bit is we come across several places where the road has disappeared all together and we have to negotiate slippery mud whist staying away from trucks who are also sliding around. On one particular point an articulated tanker was trying to get up a slope of mud and was just spinning his wheels, I went by him and as i was nearing the back of his trailer he decided that the only thing to do was reverse, I don’t know how close it was but it was close enough.
Having spotted a hotel we decide that that might be the wise choice but on enquiring at the gatehouse they want our passports and everything before we have even seen the room. The thing that sealed it was that the restaurant closes at 7 o’clock and it is 7 o’clock , we wanted dinner not afternoon tea.
We carry on for the last 15 or so miles and the road did improve from that which we had been experiencing and we arrived in Bucaramanga. Lets not faff around, get a taxi to lead us to our hotel, this works extremely efficiently and we got booked in with parking and all the things we need.
A hard day in the saddle, about 9 ½ hours in total but we made it safe and sound.
We aim to stay here tomorrow and possibly go out and do a couple of trips, they are famous for cigars near here so that is an option.