New Friends in El Salvador

Posted by Fin on 8 February 2010

Leaving Antigua Guatemala and heading for the coast of El Salvador meant one almighty downhill section where Alex and I reached our highest speed of the entire trip so far - 89km/h on one section and a massive 150km for the day. Certainly beat pushing our bikes uphill all day,  the week before at 3km/h and 5 hours. The next day we crossed into El Salvador.

El Salvador had been ravished by flooding during the rainy season these last few years. We spent alot of time filming bridges that had been taken down by flood debris (trees and buildings washed down the rivers). By the time we reached the bridges, the rivers were once again dry and we wheeled our bikes over the river beds, skirting around the downed bridges.

Thanks to Japan, all the bridges are being rebuilt. Thank you Japan!! very kind if you don't mind giving up your vote in support for whaling at the IWC or exclusive rights to fishing tuna within the 200nm Exclusive Economic Zone.....(ok forgive my sarcasm - it comes from my time in the Marshall Islands - i understand this particular interest is for rights to build and control passage of a new canal through Central America)

Pedalling back to the coast for the first time since Mexico we soon bumped into Nicholas and Emi, two bikers who met teaching overseas - Emi from Ontario and Nicholas for O.C. California. They started dating in Japan and realised the chances of continuing the relationship were slim unless they made up another plan for a bike trip. They decided to bike from Vancouver until their money ran out and have made it this far and hope to make it to at least Panama. I love their gear - it shows you don't need expensive equipment to cycle tour - tupaware plastic boxes drilled to the side of the bikes and make up boxes and plastic lunch boxes as handle bar bags....awesome. Nicholas also has a white board on the back of his bike, on which he writes fun messages to passing locals...i.e. Que tenga un buen dia!

Alex and I cycled the length of El Salvador with Nicholas and Emi, which was alot of fun - we stayed a few days at El Trunco, a lovely surf spot with cheap bungalows and awesome sunsets. One night when we didnt camp we found ourselves at a cheap roadside motel....for 5 bucks a night - we really needed showers and a fan to cool down...we pulled the curtain back on the garage for our car (bikes), walked up the stairs to our pink room, to find nothing in there but a bed and a cherry flavoured condom. I handed back the condom to the confused hotel owner, telling him we wouldn't be needing it much to everyone's amusement. We quickly realised it was a hotel for hourly business - at the same time the owners realised Alex and I weren't lovers, just two smelly cycle tourists desperately in need of a shower and a bed for the night.

16 comments. Tags: Fin, El Salvador. Location: Leon, Nicaragua