Nicaragua by night and by day

Cattle grazing near the Costa Rican border

I drove on into the Nicaraguan night after the border. The roads were very good. At night if the roads are too rough, or there are too many potholes it can be very dangerous. I can't see the holes coming and if their is a big one it could end the trip. The two hardest things to deal with when night driving down here is rough roads, and rain. Either one can force me to stop all together. Things like livestock in the road, or stalled vehicles and vehicles without taillights while dangerous can be dealt with mainly by adjusting ones speed. At night 40-45 mph was the maximum on these winding mountain roads and gave me time to either slow down or stop when I came upon trucks parked in the middle of the road with no lights on. This happened several times, trucks just sitting in the middle of the lane, broke down with no lights. While not ideal driving conditions by any means, they could be dealt with until I could find a hotel. Again the roads and the weather were so good I did think about driving all night.

A local tends his cattle

As I drove thru different towns looking for a hotel I noticed for the first time disco's and night life like I had not seen before on this trip. Apparently Nicaragua had a bar scene just like anywhere else. People were dressed up and heading into bars that had big disco neon signs glowing above the entrances. I don't remember seeing disco signs anywhere now that I think about, even in the seventies.

I came upon a few auto hotels (the kind that sometimes are rented by the hour and always have a garage in which to keep your car safe) but they were so dark, no lights anywhere, even at the entrance. If a place can't even have a lit sign out front, or lights in the courtyard so you can find your room I just don't stop. These places aren't catering to the weary highway traveler anyway, their on a strictly need to know bases only, probably just by the locals.

Building Windmills in Nicaragua

Finally after a couple hours of night driving I found a well lit place just out of a town. I went in to the gas station convenience store in town which was absolutely packed. People hanging out all over the parking lot, even the streets around the station were filled with people. It was a warm Saturday night in Nicaragua, and this seemed like the place to be. I was unsure where to park my bike, I got it as close to the store as possible and went in to buy some water, corn chips, granola bars, and gum for the next day. Often traveling I would just end up eating one good meal a day, and then snacking a little, riding doesn't burn up much energy. And gum helped with a dry throat. It was hard to carry too much water. When I found a place I trusted like a chain gas station (they have Texaco's down here) I would try to stock up.

As I came out of the store and began to get on my bike, a guy came up begging so I gave him a coin. I over heard another group say something about a gringo. In large groups like this, especially at night knowing how much I stick out its hard not to get nervous or afraid a group is going to confront me. While the fear may not be unfounded, I have yet to actually have something like that occur out in front of a large crowd. And I have been other places as well, Morocco comes to mind. One feels vulnerable, and one is, but it just goes with the traveling part of it. You just have to be as smart as you can, and use that old............common sense.

Its hard to see just how big these were, they were huge

The hotel came to about $20 after the exchange, I don't think I paid any less then that the whole trip. The owner welcomed me and I found a place out back to park and cover my bike. He had some small terrier's, the dogs looked healthy and well fed. They also as Caesar Chevaz might say looked quite "balanced". You can tell a lot about a person or situation simply by observing the animals they keep. If the animals seem happy and content, chances are they are being treated well. If a person can be trusted with animals, they usually can with humans. Animals and their reactions, just don't lie.

As I walked into my room I stepped on a toad, an average size one for Michigan. Here it was a small one. Around the corner I found one that must have weighed a pound or more, and was the size of a softball. The dogs just ignored them, they looked quite poisonous.

The air conditioner in the room was very loud, and overall the place just seemed old and not very clean. I didn't even take a shower in the morning, I just wanted to get going. I had come 70 or 80 miles into Nicaragua the night before and had about 160 to go to the Costa Rican border.

I made good time thru most of this country. The roads were as good as any so far and like El Salvador and Honduras, Nicaragua didn't seem to need speed bumps either. A fact that not only improved ones time, but also just made life so much easier. Not having to slow down and come to a stop 6 or 8 times for every little town and navigate a huge bump, often scraping the bottom of the engine was not missed at all. There were some monster size pot holes to avoid, but these were few and far between, and easily spotted. I'm glad I didn't have them to contend with the previous night.

A little perspective in the size of them

The day was fairly uneventful, I did get lost for awhile at one point and stopped and asked a traffic cop. We did not understand each other so I gave him a pencil and paper and he drew a map of the way I needed to go. He was friendly and showed interest in my bike, and at one point reached for the throttle and revved the engine so he could hear it. He smiled, his bike sitting up off the curb was like many police bikes a small enduro. The oddity of a 750 in this part of the world became apparent again.

As I got closer to the Costa Rican border I came upon a dead horse, not that uncommon on the side of the roads down here, though the first one that I had seen. It looked like it had been killed the night before. I debated about taking the picture or not, or even posting it, but it is I think an accurate portrayal of a part of life, and death down here. A reality not that much different from hitting a deer where I come from, except here it seems there's no reason for it.

Apparently hit the night before, this horse was on the side of the road dead

Finally I ran into windmills again. Like Mexico these were huge, maybe even bigger then Mexico's and many of them they were just putting them together. I'm always happy to see alternative sources of energy go up, it seems so logical to use the energy that is already here in abundance, like the wind.

And then finally the border of Costa Rica. It was difficult to say how far I had come with all the turn around's, and getting lost and everything, but give or take two or three hundred miles I was at about 4000 miles total from Michigan, and with maybe another 200 miles to San Jose I figured the total mileage from the middle of Michigan to San Jose Costa Rica, was between 4200 and 4500 miles. I had planned on 2500 to the Texas and Mexico border, and another 2500 to San Jose. As it turned out the second leg thru Mexico and thru Central America might have been a little a little longer then the first thru the states, but I was planning on 5000 miles each way so this was a little less. It had also taken me about 10 days from Brownsville Texas to get to the border of Costa Rica. And I took two days off in El Salvador to rest. So non stop with hard driving from sun up to sun down, and no road closures and average border crossings (average meaning long waits) and not getting lost, one could probably make it from that part of Texas to Costa Rica in 6 or 7 days. Remembering that that part of Texas is a lot closer then any other border with Mexico. I.E. California would probably be an extra day or two at least because its so much farther northwest of Central America.

Ok last one of Windmills for awhile

So on a Saturday afternoon I come to the Costa Rican border. Getting out of Nicaragua with a handler was maybe $20 or $30 total.Getting into Costa Rica with another handler maybe another $60 or $70. I had to get insurance for my bike. I was told that was $58 for 3 months. And my permit would be another $40 so, I only had a hundred on me, the handler took $80 and said that would work...you sort of get the idea. Regardless of how long it takes, I am not going to be using handlers on the way back. Either way I am in Costa Rica finally, almost three weeks after I left Michigan. That place that seemed so far away, and almost impossible to reach except for plane (San Jose) is maybe 3 or 4 hours away. I don't know when or if the whole scale of this trip will ever sink in, maybe when I make it back to Michigan and reflect on it, but for now this trip is a long way from over. I have all my dental work to get done, I have a 3 or 4 week home stay with Spanish lessons to do, while seeing as much of Costa Rica as I can. A trip to Panama yet and the end of the Pan American Highway from the North American side. And finally the long drive home, heading toward snow and uncertainty with not knowing exactly how far I can ride my bike back north. Yes I have a ways to go.

Central Central America

Honduras and the beginning of Nicaragua

(and also a night out)

Closing in on the Nicaraguan Border

It was hard to leave the Comfort Inn and El Salvador knowing I had to deal with three more border crossings in the next two days to be able to finally get into Costa Rica.

I stopped at a local gas station to fill up. The guys working spoke a little bit of English and wanted to know about my bike and where I was going. I gave them my card with my blogging site on it. Like most of the people I met in El Salvador, they were friendly, helpful, and curious. And in fairness most of the people I have met along the way have been too. I guess here we just had more ties, both in language and in a little more modern perspective.

As I passed more cattle on the road, I thought back to how early on in El Salvador I passed a couple of funerals. They basically consisted of the coffin placed in the back of a pick up truck with the immediate family, I assume standing around it. Followed by mourners walking behind the slow moving truck which was making its way along the highway to the cemetery. No hearses or long lines of cars here.

The hotel where I staid was not far from the Honduras border so it didn't take long to get there. This was going to be a repeat of the Guatemalan border with the handlers "taking care of it all for me" and it ending up costing me about $330 total. At one point I ran out of cash and we had to hire a driver to take us back to the next town and a bank to get more money. The banks ATM wouldn't take my debit card so I went inside. I wanted to cash some travelers checks and they wouldn't take those. They didn't take mastercard so I couldn't use either my debit card or my credit card. Luckily I had a visa card and I took out $500 from that, something I didn't want to do but had no choice. At this rate both my cards were going to get tapped out fast.

The Honduras Border, another place to just wait in the high heat

I paid the driver $20 for the trip, got back to the border and the handler said one official didn't like the copy of my title and if I paid him $40 he would over look it. More B.S. but again I was right in the middle of it all. At this point I had about $600 cash. By the time I got thru this border, the Nicaraguan and Costa Rica borders the next day, it would all just about be gone....

This whole crossing took about 3 hours, in high heat with throngs of people, trucks and cars all going thru the same process, hurry up and wait. There were also 3 wheeled cabs, which were basically motorcycles with three wheels turned into cabs. Two or three people could sit in a protected area behind the driver. Often they were well painted and with decorative emblems and some had political leaders faces on them.It was a dollar to get ferried from one customs to the other.

Honduras, climbing the mountain road to the Nicaraguan border.

With the whole distance across this part of Honduras to Nicaragua about 150 miles, I was hoping to make it to Nicaragua and cross that border by night fall. The roads were good in Honduras, and outside of having to ask directions a couple of times I didn't get lost, and I made good time. I also had one police check point that checked my papers and waved me on, and another one that a young kid was minding that gave me a little more trouble. In fact they were the first ones on the whole trip that asked me to open my bags.

Not far from the Nicaraguan border I came upon the police check point. There were two officers,an older one and a young kid that looked to be no more then 18 or 19. He seemed to have a bit of an attitude, not to mention a gun. They checked my papers, the young one looked at my map I had spread out on top of my tank bag closely perhaps to see if he could find an ulterior motive for me being there.

I unzipped all my bags, they looked at my clothes, toiletries and electronic stuff like my cell phone, headset, mp3 player etc. I was glad they didn't look at or find my laptop. There was a young kid also there watching it all and asked for my gloves, a mirror, my watch, anything I might want to give him. I just smiled and said no, and smiled at the younger officer. Not speaking Spanish I was not sure how he was taking that exchange with the kid, or when they were done checking everything they wanted. As suggested by others in these circumstances, be polite and cooperative, but not overly friendly. I did not like the younger cops attitude, but the older one thru gestures, told me I could leave.

A truck heads up the high mountain pass towards Nicaragua

I arrived at the Nicaraguan border as it was getting dark. Still in Honduras I had to fill up with gas using U.S. dollars, and was given change in dollars, which surprised me. Gas in all these Central American countries was running between 3 and 4 dollars a gallon, about double from what I was paying in Texas, and a third more then in Mexico. By the time I actually got thru all the paper work and into Nicaragua it was dark. While I didn't pay nearly what I had to get into Honduras (either this handler wasn't out to get me as bad, or I was getting smarter, or a little of both), I paid the guy $20 to pay a $3 fee and a $7 one, and that was it. One was for the stamp and maybe another one for copies, I don't remember, I just know he told me one thing was $3, and the other $7. He then asked for his money. I did the addition for him and said he still had $10 left over from what I gave him. He didn't argue and we were done. I am sure that that was just to leave Honduras. And then it was time to deal with the Nicaraguan side. I don't remember what exactly what was charged here (remember this is my 4th crossing of the day, leaving and entering wise) but I know its nothing like entering Guatemala or Honduras was. I am sure there was a handler charge for maybe $10, and a $20 charge for my permit to drive in Nicaragua, and that was it. So the whole process, leaving and entering two countries with two handlers was maybe $50, a far cry from the $300 or so I ended up losing at the other two borders. Still too much no doubt, but better.

So I was now one country away from Costa Rica, and it certainly looked like one way or the other I was going to make it. As I drove away from the border check point into a starry Nicaraguan night, narrowly missing a horse as I saw its behind on my left go by after it suddenly showed up in my headlights standing in the middle of the road, I thought here we go, more night driving. As usual the first town of any size and hotels are miles from the border and also as usual I found myself having to drive at night for awhile after getting thru a border. I seriously considered the possibility of driving all night just to get to the border of Costa Rica and be done with it, having been told its open 24 hours. But I must be getting older because common sense took over at some point, and I realized even if I was able to drive the 240 miles thru the Nicaragua at night, I would be in no shape to drive the next day after pulling an all nighter. It made no sense from any perspective that I looked at it from, but until I could find a town and a hotel, it was still going to be, a night out in Nicaragua.

El Salvador..... Mr. Vulcan meets the Pacific

Pacific Coast of El Salvador

Well the Vulcan 750 has carried us to the Pacific Ocean! I am grateful for that. We have been over some roads and thru some conditions that an enduro would have been challenged with. Just being at the Pacific brings up memories of the past, and makes me think of the countless lifestyles and cultures that make a living at its edge. It really is awe inspiring when you think how big it is, how far it stretches, and the impact it has on the planet and so many lives, animal as well as plant.

I did not know what to expect when I reached El Salvador. I had images of the movie El Salvador, or the book, or of revolutions, or a very militaristic society much like or worst then the two countries I had just passed thru. The one thing I did know was they took dollars, and at the border they did not charge me for bringing my bike in. And that they actually seemed to make an effort to welcome tourists.

Like much of my trip I can only comment on what I experienced. As mentioned before a lot of this trip going down was to try to get to Costa Rica as fast as I could. This trip with dental work and Spanish lessons hoping to be transferred back to school in the states for credit were big reasons for the trip to begin with, and were waiting for me in Costa Rica. So I had to keep moving.

I avoided large cities, I did not have the time to make significant detours to great places like the pyramids for example, or seek them out on this trip. Though going back and doing future trips will be built differently. All I can say is El Salvador felt really good to me. The roads were very good, traffic light, and especially along the Pacific Coast it felt almost touristy, almost.

This was my seventh day (technically hour wise my 6th) since I left Texas, I had put on about 1500 miles since then and had driven really hard, thru some of the hardest driving I've ever done, trying to make some kind of time. To now be on gently winding roads that hugged the coast, and would go thru 400 meter long caves cut out of old volcanic rock, the whole road almost all in shade, it just felt too good. And the problem is looking at the map, El Salvador's coast is not that long, it was not going to last long, so I really did try to make the whole country last as long as I could. An oasis from what came before and what was to come.

A common scene, cows heading down a highway

As I continued on, what looked like a group of bicyclists climbing the mountain, waved to me and acknowledged that I was from somewhere else as well. It was the first time on the whole trip I felt like I ran into other tourists. And it made me feel like I was in even more of an oasis. After dodging a few cows on the road, for the umpteenth time (and I'll tell you, you haven't motorcycled until you've hit a fresh cow pie on the highway going 50 mph, talk abut the shit hitting the fan) I came along a surfers hostel, and a blonde surfer waling down the road with his board, I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore. This area was so nice, it was hard not to stop and take a day to change my oil, do some work on my web site, and just relax. The problem is once you realize you've passed maybe the best place your going to see for 500 miles your already so far past it its hard to turn back. So instead of taking a day off, I decided to just take my time and just enjoy being in this very different space.

Restaurant overlooking the Pacific

So I stopped at a great little place on the hill with a fantastic view of the Pacific. The guy running the place spoke a little English, and they even had their specials in English. We talked a little, and then he put Bob Marley on, "just for me" he said. He was very nice, and he and the lady who cooked seemed to have a long day ahead of them. There were 3 or 4 of these places in a row on the bluff and they were all empty except for me. I had a eggs, beans and tortillas, bottled water and a salad with really good salsa over everything, price, $4.....I left a $2 tip for them both, thanked them and was on my way. I thought, god if only my whole trip was as easy as this day was turning out to be.

I drove thru La Libertad which is on the east end of this coastal part of the highway, still wondering if I should turn back or not and take a day off at the surfers hostel. But I decided to press on, I knew I wasn't going to tackle the Honduras border that night, but there would be more good places ahead to hang out anyway, and on my way back thru, that will be a definite resting spot.

Unfortunately the coast turned away at Libertad and parted ways with the highway. Shortly after that I got lost for awhile, I knew I was lost, and I really didn't care, it was that sort of a day. I really didn't want to leave El Salvador. Guatemalan and Mexican roads had taken a lot out of me.

Common Group Travel, Everybody jumps into the back of a truck

After asking directions once and then having another guy come up to me named Carlos at a gas station offering help in English I got back on track. I could not say enough about people being friendly in El Salvador. Again this was my experience, I didn't go into San Salvador its largest city, or other parts of the country, but where I was I got a sense like at the border I was not only welcome, but that I was almost understood to some degree. One of the upsides to tourism is it not only brings money into the local economy, but also provides local people with exposure to other cultures then their own, and begins to, mainly thru progressive government practices, open minds and opportunities hopefully in positive ways. And we're not talking about bus loads of tourists running over everything they see, and showing disrespect for the culture their visiting. I saw a big difference in a small pocket of a vast area I had been covering due to some apparently progressive policies by its government that helped promote a measure of tourism. It was an interesting contrast to the places that didn't. And to me as tourist of course, felt a whole lot better.

As I was going thru Usulutan I found a place to change my oil, something that was a priority if I could find the right place. I filled up at a station that had a garage next to it and pointed to some oil on a rack and then my engine, saying I wanted three or four quarts and then I pointed to the garage. Actually all I wanted to do was buy the oil, and see if I could borrow a pan to drain it into and see if they would take it. Well he whistled over to the garage and two guys came over. They signaled me to pull it over to them. I tried to tell them all I wanted was a pan, but they started working on it anyway. They took me back to the gas station and kept shaking there heads that 4 quarts would be no good. Buy 5 it would be cheaper. At first I didn't want to, but quickly realized they were right, that's the way I always buy it in the states....

It was $22 for a five quart container. I shook my head at the $5 a quart price. The last one I bought at Walmart was $12. for a 5 quart container. I couldn't believe it was that much. As it was gas in Guatemala and El Salvador were both above $3 a gallon, which already surprised me. I agreed, what else could I do, then the one guy pointed to an off brand which was $7 cheaper. I kind of regret taking it, oil like shoes is one of the few things you probably shouldn't scrimp on, but I took the cheaper one. I had to admit these guys were doing everything they could to save me money.

So back over to the shop, we drain the oil, change the filter which I had one that I brought with me, I should say they do everything, and when their done I ask them how much I owe them, they say nothing, I bought the oil. I can't believe it. I am so grateful just to get this job done and not have to worry about it, I feel I need to give them something. I had two brand new one gallon gas tanks I brought along in case there was a shortage of gas stations (there never was) on the trip. I could really us the space so I just give them both to them. They cost about $5 a piece. So for $10 bucks I get my oil changed.

Last year when I went out east and stopped by a dealer they charged me $85 to change the oil. They had a disposal fee, a standard $45 oil change fee, the oil fee, and a $70 an hour labor fee. These guys came out and were more then willing just to help out. Like the Guatemalan family who for $4 made sure I was full, and I know I could have had more if I wanted to at no charge. Its just refreshing to know there's people out there willing to help that don't expect something out of it. Or their business is not set up to just make money, no exceptions......

So not wanting to be done with the ocean yet, or the day, I took a detour south to a place called El Cuco. I was getting close to the Honduras border, night was coming and I thought well maybe I can find that place on the beach yet. After following a winding road up and then back down to a small local resort village located on the ocean. As I parked my bike by the covered eating areas just before the beach, a pretty local came over and asked if I was hungry, she then pointed to my bike and pointed to a covered area where I thought she was offering me to park it. I said no I wasn't hungry, and I gestured I just wanted to walk down to the beach and take a look. It was a beautiful beach, the village was small and crowded, and it was like everyone was jammed into a couple of blocks. I had not doubt the night would be pretty interesting for anyone staying.

As I walked back to my bike the lady and now a guy showed me some rooms. They actually looked like shower stalls, or just places to change your clothes to go swimming. They didn't have bottoms or tops to the doors. Had just an over head light, and one hammock in the middle of the room. I think there was a common bathroom. They told me I could stay there for $6 a night. It was so close to the path to the beach, and basically the whole town itself partying all night, I couldn't imagine how you could get any sleep (which I'm sure wasn't the goal anyway), or where my bike and all my gear would be safe. I didn't want to offend the proprietors, but I just wasn't ready for that local of experience yet. Maybe my next trip. After a week in the wilds I was ready to splurge on a place with a pool, Internet and some safety.

The new port being built in La Union

So I continued up the road and on to the town of La Union, a city where their building a huge new port which will take most of the freight coming in on the east side of the country. I knew this would be the last stop before Honduras and I know I needed a day off to recuperate. Well I took two days off, caught up with some writing and posting. In fact this was the first Internet I had access to since Texas.

The Comfort Inn in La Union

I was able to do some laundry, eat in the hotel, and work on my writing. That's about all I did for two days. I think the hotel staff thought I was a recluse or something. But I would come out for dinner, just put everything on a card in order to save cash, and then go back to work. At $53 a night it was as much as I paid on the whole trip.

One of "my" security guards. Actually they were all quite friendly and were all interested in the bike. As were most people down here. Many had never seen a bike this big.

The place had 3 security guards with weapons at all times patrolling, I think I felt safe. One day they had a pipe break and some construction guys were working on it out in the hallway till 11 at night. I thought they were going to work on it all night. It was hard to call long distance most times, the phones were tied up. The alarm clock went off and wouldn't stop. The remote for the t.v. stopped working. It just seemed it was kind of one thing after another.

The strange thing was the staff just gave excellent service, as good as any 4 or 5 star hotel in the states. It was almost too good, like their jobs depended on it. In the bar and restaurant I ate to Pink Floyd and Bob Marley, but no one in there spoke English as far as I could tell. I talked to one waiter and he said he worked on a tour ship for 9 years. And you could tell, everything about him was just right. I just kept thinking in the states this would just be a middle to upper end hotel, but here even with all its technical problems there was an air that it was trying to be top of the line. Its like the service didn't match the environment or something. And for El Salvador their prices probably are top of the line for the most part. I'm sure I would feel the same way on a cruise ship, but the whole experience just sort of left me feeling like I didn't fit in, though I used it for what I needed it for.It seemed like the traveling business person is who their catering to, but I didn't see a lot of them either.It all just seemed a little out of kilter, but then again, I'm not an average tourist on this trip either!

Me after my RR ready to hit the road again

http://mail.isp.netscape.com/email/scripts/index.pl

Guatemala the beginning of Central America

And memories of an old friend

Well I survived the night in front of the suspiciously large mirror on the wall, the room with locks on the outside of the doors, and the proprietor carrying around a shot gun as he checked his "guests" in. He was there to greet me as I left, and check the room to make sure I didn't take anything. As I left he just stood their staring, I wasn't going to ask him if there was anything else.....

I was on the road by 6:00 am. I had finally gotten up at 5 and packed and was ready at first light. Little did I know I might as well have slept in. I was not more then a half hour down the road in the morning rush hour (there are some disadvantages to getting on the road early) when I came upon a traffic jam. I had to stop along with everyone else and wait. And wait, and wait, and wait. After about an hour and a half I decided to go see if I could find a bank since I was low on Quetzales (Guatemalan money). I was told it it would only take 4 or 5 hours to cross the country so I didn't change much over, unfortunately both gas and the room were more then I had expected and as it looked I was not going to have much to spare to get across.

An old abandoned VW at the side of the traffic jam

So taking advantage of this traffic jam I went to get something to eat and also look for a bank. For me without speaking Spanish very well, banks have always been hard to locate down here. And really there just isn't that many to begin with and the ones there are are usually buried inside of a town or village with very narrow nameless streets and only hand gestures to guide you from people you ask.

Well I did go into a village, I soon found myself on narrow uneven bricked streets that were crowded. I went a ways, but soon realized I probably wasn't going to find it and I was having a hard time trying to turn around and even come back the way I had come. I did ask one guy but he just pointed back the way I had come and I decided to try to find one later.

I stopped at a family diner (it was a tent tarp over a kitchen with a big fire pit going to cook food with two tables set up for customers) where two young girls were the waitresses. It looked like the dad, mom, and grandmother all worked there as well. The girls giggled that I didn't speak Spanish, and the way my morning was going I really didn't feel like being laughed at as well. You can tell I'm a little sensitive about now.

The father intervened and I pointed to what I wanted, roasted chicken, beans, rice and tortillas, with a bottle of very cold water. I was suddenly in heaven, or at least satisfied. I can eat roasted chicken, rice and beans with tortillas every day. Its a great protein meal, without much fat and just very simple. I used to eat it all the time when I drove a cab in Alaska years ago and worked for a Mexican who owned a restaurant called El Pollo Rollo, or Red Chicken. For five dollars you could have a huge plate of chicken, beans and tortillas, with a coke it was just what I wanted. Here I sat down and had the same thing except with water and was totally happy. The grandmother came over and looked at my bike and smiled. I ate it all and felt good, and of being cooked food I didn't have to worry about any side effects.

For me the big chores of travel on this trip have been finding food that I not only know what it is off of a menu, but is safe and I like. And also as mentioned finding banks to exchange money, sometimes finding gas (not very often), drinkable water, and a decent hotel room. These are like all part of the daily routine that has to be done, and how hard it is to find these things often determines how a big part of my day is going to go.

Well I didn't find the bank but I did find something to eat, and it was really good. And the family was really nice and the whole meal came to about $4. And you know as I'm learning down here. if I had wanted more they would have been glad to give it to me and not charge any extra for it.

Road is still closed, this bus ends up turning around and leaving.

Ok so its been a little over an hour and I go back to my place in the traffic jam and sit again. It has been about three hours now, and there is nothing to do but just sit and wait, and watch the legendary Guatemala buses and vans fly by packed to the brim with people. Mostly young men standing where the open sliding door is on the van because the rest of the van is so full. Then you have the brightly painted old school buses as well. They all go flying up to the head of the line, where ever that is, and then come flying back down blowing their horns the whole way. In Mexico it was the big buses and trucks who drive crazy, here its the smaller local buses. It doesn't matter the situation, how many cars are coming at them, or anything else, they go just as fast as they can and rely on their horn to clear the way. It is crazy, but I came to realize the chances they take, and the way people ride on them and all, its amazing their aren't more accidents then there are. In fact its really a testament to how good of drivers they really are that there aren't more accidents. Its not that their bad drivers, its that their crazy drivers. I really haven't ran into too many bad drivers since I've been down here.

So finally five and a half hours after the jam started, the road opens and we start moving again. This takes half the people by surprise, except me I'm ready to go. Many of them are still way off the road sleeping in their cars or trucks.

The whole time this is happening I'm wondering what could possibly close a road for over 5 hours, it must have been a horrible accident, or perhaps a mudslide, maybe I'll be delayed for days, etc. Well we get up to where it was closed, it looks like there have been fires made across the road in two different places about a hundred yards a part, now there is just ashes left, I drive over them, and thru a bunch of people standing around, and that is it, nothing else. It looks like maybe they had a festival, or celebration or something. I don't know but I am so glad to be moving again. The lines of trucks coming from the other way are miles long.

On the road again in Guatemala

The day turns long and hot, with some bad roads, those never ending speed bumps, and pretty heavy traffic. The drivers here continue to be as aggressive as or even worse then in Mexico. The buses passing, even on corners, coming from the other way are unnerving to say the least. One of them barely misses me going the other way, I had to slow down to let them complete their pass. Another one comes and I have to completely get to the side of the road or get hit. Luckily the shoulder is paved and smooth. If I had not had two hands on the handlebars I think some sort of obscene gesture would have been in order. At this point I think again of Guardian Angels and passed friends who must be looking out for me.

I get to the last big city before the border with El Salvador, Escuintla, and use all my Guatemalan money to fill up my gas tank. It looks like I will have enough gas to get to the border. While getting gas a fellow walks up speaking English and wants to know about my trip. He's from California and spends winters in Guatemala. It is nice to speak some English, and he reassures me that most gas stations do take visa if I need it. I've been trying not to use credit cards because I'm afraid of international charges, but its nice to know.

I make the El Salvador border in an hour or so, the roads are great the traffic light. As usual the conditions change at a moments notice, and what's strange too is the roads are often best, newest and best maintained right by the borders, where most of the countries population doesn't get to use them. I found this true in several countries.

Some local Guatemalans at the river, I waved to them, and they waved back, but I wasn't sure what they were doing.

Ok so I've been without water for awhile now, having been out of Guatemalan money, not wanting to change American. And I know the dollar in El Salvador is one of their currencies, and I'm at the border. Its been a long, hot, dusty and dry day, I've covered all of about a hundred and fifty miles, and I've been up and on the road since 6 a.m. not a blistering pace. All I want is to get thru the border fairly fast and get some water and a place to stay.

A high bluff just before the Guatemalan and El Salvador Border

I get to the border and pay a handler maybe $20 in all to get me thru, another guy a $1, and then ended up waiting nearly two hours to get in. I am so hot and tired, I'm just sitting there sweating and an armed guard is watching me like I might just explode, I'm sort of disgusted at the moment. Finally the guy behind the desk gives me my paper, and I'm done. I pay the handler and I'm off. This was the cheapest and easiest border of them all. They even had a sign on the wall saying not to feel obligated to have someone handle your papers for you. They are more then happy to help tourists. They also gave a number to call if you have problems. I wanted to take a picture of those signs, but wasn't sure how that would be viewed by the guard. I was ready to leave.

As I was driving out into what was now the El Salvadorian night and the last check point into the country, there was a tree, right by the side of the check point and a street light, and there must have been a hundred very large bats, with two feet wing spans flying all over and around this tree, I had to drive right thru them almost they were so low to the ground. It was like they were hunting in a pack or something and were everywhere around us. It didn't seem to be out of the ordinary to any of the border people, just this gringo.

The bike was holding up better then me at times.

I drove about an hour into the night to Acajutla, the nearest place with a hotel and water to the border, and settled down for the night. If there was a day on this trip where I thought about drinking some beers, this was it. But I haven't drank for awhile, and wasn't going to start now. What a day, but I was in El Salvador, one country closer to Costa Rica....

As I got to and passed thru Guatemala, I could not help but think of my old friend Debbie Cole, later to change her name to Debbie Cole Epstein after she married Mike and had Jake and Elijah her two sons. For her friends and family Debbie passed on way too soon, and left a hole in many of our lives when she did.

I met Debbie in Alaska back in 1978 and I always remember her talking about the time she spent in Guatemala, and how much it had affected her. To Debbie I think Guatemala represented so many things she cared deeply about, and gave her passion. Whether it was women's or civil rights, the poor being victimized by the rich, or just the depth and the vibrant colors of a country so different then our own. I think, in a way Guatemala was as much a part of her as Alaska was, where she lived for so long, or maybe even Massachusetts where she spent most of her life.

There's that Indian saying I love so much, it says "there are no goodbye's", and also one that says ,"there's no endings only beginnings". I wonder as that bus came around that corner today and almost ran me off the road if Debbie or even my mother weren't there to lend a helping hand. I don't doubt it, perhaps now they spend their time painting rainbows......