Click on a photo to enlarge it.
We got to see our camping spot when we woke up the next morning. Not a bad place! Then we made the mistake of filling up with petrol. It
wasn't until afterwards that we realised it would have been far cheaper in Costa Rica - the prices have gone up!
We drove down to the beach at Pochomil but the road was really bad. It took us 90 minutes to do 18 miles! It was a steep, downhill, windy
road that was full of potholes. At least we managed to find a shady spot next to a hotel wall by the beach.
We went for a walk on the beach and two ATV's collided and overturned. The drivers were too young and driving too fast and at least five
on each ATV. Fortunately there didn't seem to be any serious injuries. But one of the ATV's landed on two girls that had been sitting in
it before the accident. It could have been far worse and they were very lucky.
It was very hot and it didn't cool down overnight so we had to use the fan. We spent the next morning working out a route as we didn't
want to drive back up the bad road. With the GPS we managed to find another road that started off being very good but then turned bad
for 13 miles. We finally hit another good stretch and drove into León.
There were so many one way streets that it was inevitable we'd end up driving down one the wrong way! The overnight parking area we were
looking for wouldn't accept RVs so we went to the Hotel Austria where we could park at the back on a grassy area for $5.
We walked around the town looking at the cathedral, two churches and the university building. We also found a bakery (of course!). We drove
further towards the border the next day and parked up at a truck park for the night which meant it was quite noisy - barking dogs being
the main problem.
We left early the next morning to try and get through two border crossings in one day - first into Honduras where we had been warned about
all the corrupt police stops demanding money for made up offences and then through into our last new country for this tour El Salvador.
Getting into Honduras took an hour and three quarters because we were there too early and had to wait for the customs to open at 8am. A
new building was under construction and the old one was full of piles and piles of papers from everyone crossing through. They demand so
many copies and then everything just gets left in a pile and forgotten.
The road wasn't very good towards Choluteca where we stopped for petrol and shopping. Very loud music was being played outside and Helen
couldn't resist dancing on the way out with her shopping. Two other ladies behind her even joined in!
Dancing on the supermarket car park.
We drove to the El Salvador border without getting stopped once. It was probably because it was 37 degrees C (100F) and the checkpoints
we passed weren't stopping vehicles - the police were all sitting in the shade! So we were lucky and it only took us three hours to get
through Honduras.
The border into El Salvador took two hours 20 mins because the Honduras side was so disorganised and we kept getting sent from one place
to the next before we finally got everything done. In El Salvador the passports were easy and then we had to drive 2.5 miles further to
get the vehicle permit. Everything was free!!! Wonders will never cease!
It was even hotter the next day when we drove down a steep hill to the little town of San Vincente to see the church and the square with
an attempted Eiffel Tower in the centre. Then we continued to Suchitoto, a nice little colonial town.
We searched for an overnight spot for a while and finally found the Casa del Cultura de Paz where we could stay on a grassy area for a
donation. We even managed to find some shade! That evening we went to a free concert in the Arts Theatre. Now that was quite an experience.
There were quite a number of people there, most of whom had dressed for the occasion. Unfortunately our travelling clothes are starting to
look quite shabby. The concert was supposed to start at 7pm but
we had three "lifted" divas in front of us who kept us entertained until 7-30pm when an elderly gentleman with a stick got up on stage and
made a very long, rousing speech. He seemed to be extolling the pride people have in El Salvador and in particular in Suchitoto. Then we
had to stand up to sing the National Anthem and two other songs.
The concert finally got under way at 8-30 pm with a small orchestra which included 3 violins, 1 viola, 1 flute (the best musician by far),
2 cellists, 1 bass player and a pianist. It wasn't really classical but songs from the 40s and 50s e.g. As Time Goes By from Casablanca
which was the only one we recognised. Not too bad but then it got worse because an old crooner a la Dean Martin got up to sing! Oh dear!
Next came a cello quartet who played ... wait for it ... Metallica!!! Heavy metal played by cellos - now that's a first! They were actually
quite good even though we are certainly not fans of that particular music! Then the old crooner returned with the semi orchestra.
I suppose we could say we have travelled a long way just to see this concert - 6,500 miles! We certainly won't forget El Salvador in a
hurry!
Concert in Suchitoto.
Suchitoto also has a dry waterfall with hexagonal stones which we went to see the next day despite the searing heat. It really was too hot
to do much.
On Kirsten's birthday she was serenaded in the morning by Helmut and Agnes singing Happy Birthday! We drove to a viewpoint to see Lago
de Coatepeque and then drove to the Ruta de Flores. We expected fields of flowers but found coffee plantations instead. But at least we
managed to find a café where Kirsten could have coffee and cake for her birthday. We also got some portions of fries to go with it!!
Another border crossing into Guatemala the following day caused us a problem because we were only given until 16th March on our vehicle
permit. This wasn't problem for Helmut and Agnes who would be in Mexico by then but we wanted to be in Antigua for the Easter celebrations
and parades. Easter would be on the 8th April so we wanted another month.
Unfortunately our vehicle permit is only valid for 3 months and started on the first day we came into Guatemala the first time - i.e. 17th
December. The 3 months continues even though we left on the 28th December and were out of Guatemala for most of that time. The only chance
we had was to ask for an extension which we could do in Guatemala City or at a border. Whether we would get one was another matter. If we
left the country we would have to wait 3 months before we would be allowed to return!
A serious blow to our plans. The border official used his computer that had a Spanish/English translator programme on it to tell us why we
couldn't get longer for our vehicle permit. He typed in Spanish and the computer translated into terrible English! We understood the Spanish
better. I suppose it would have been hilarious if we hadn't have been so annoyed.
At the end of the day we had only been in Guatemala for 12 days and would now only be allowed another 20 days, making it effectively one
month out of three.
Anyway, there was no getting out of it. We had to accept the date and change our plans or try to find out about getting an extension. The
last thing we wanted to do was to drive into Guatemala City and try to argue about an extension. Would they class wanting to stay for
Easter as a valid reason for an extension?
We left the border and stopped at a 400 year old bridge that now has a sewage plant spoiling the photos! Then we tried to get to Volcan
Pacaya to see the lava flowing out. The road turned out to be very steep and then the tarmac ended and it was just gravel. We had to turn
around because it would have been too many miles on gravel and we didn't know how steep it might get.
We ended up leaving the volcano out completely. Our day wasn't going very well at all and then it got worse! We stopped at a Wal-Mart to
do some shopping but the road to Antigua afterwards was unbelievably steep! Oh shoot. We didn't think we would make it because there were
Topes along the way and the road kept going up and up and up!
Helen was literally standing on the accelerator and sweating for 30 minutes. How on earth Winnie made it we will never know. We finally
got to the top and then had to keep on the brakes to get down the other side.
We got to Antigua in the dark and drove along extremely bumpy cobblestone roads into the town. Kirsten got out to go and find the tourist
police station where we had heard we would be able to stay. We finally got there and parked up at 7-15pm. Another long and tiring day.
