85,5km – 2246m up – 1280m down – 4689 kcal – 6:30h
Today we were almost all day climbing, with some relieving downhills. At the end of the day we gained a total of 1000m and were awarded with spectacular views from the tops.
We left Chiquimula with the rising sun, which started 
to heat up the chilling morning temperatures and painted our shadows to the cut out walls along the hilly road. The first 18km were easy going and one could enjoy the magnificent views on the volcanoes in the area of Ipala. Thereafter we started into the first major climb of the day; still on tarmac. After a long descent pavement ended and the torture started with an 800m climb on lose gravel, in the burning sun. Some of the climbs were 
again so steep and rocky, that it was saver to push the bike, than risking to flip over. The vegetation and topology in this area and the women carrying all kind of goods on their heads reminded me on some parts in Ethiopia or northern Kenya. However the heat and needed concentration on the difficult slopes made it almost impossible to look around and suck in everything.
The lunch stop was almost at todays summit, at about 1600m and short before the rough downhill to San Pedro. Who thought ‘summit’ 
means the last climb of the day was soon to recognize that this was a wrong assumption. A final, and in its grade unexpected, punishment started 10km before our today’s destination – Jalapa – with 4 very steep climbs of 18% grade. Not everyone had still enough energy to cycle these climbs. ‘Pushing bike and walk the hills’, or ‘find a local who taxi you and your bike uphill’, even if it meant to sit in the back of an open ‘bakkie’ was the motto of the day.
‘Pushing bike uphill’ was only training for what we have to expect on tomorrows stage.
This evening was the ‘burning of the devil’ ceremony all over in Guatemala, a festival where symbolic devils, the symbol of bad luck, are burnt after sunset. However it was too late for me to go and witness it.
