San Pedro and Lago Atitlan on our way up the switchbacks
Tony in his element
The picturesque Playa Monterrico
Another El Salvador sunset
The famous point break of El Sunzal
Hard at work
Boogie boarding is obviously much cooler than surfing
Ahhhhhhhhh…….
Tony and Danielle were ecstatic to leave us and head for Nicaragua
After three days of ambling around the picturesque town of San Pedro on Lago Atitlan, our crew grew restless and decided to push on towards El Salvador. First though, the daunting task of driving our underpowered, over-weighted (but ever faithful) van out through the sheer terrain and endless switchbacks. Driving down, our initial instinct was that we had made a big mistake by descending in the first place. We figured that there was very little chance of getting up the hill fully weighted; so the plan was to send Tony and Danielle and two extremely heavy bags out on a bus while Nima and I stuck with the van to drive out, hoping for the best. However, in a last minute effort to save some money, we decided that we would give it a go with the full load…worst case scenario would be for several of us to hitchhike out with packs while one person drove the van out. Why we doubted her in the first place, I will never know, but the van charged up the windy road with no issues (even hit 3rd gear at one point!), and we soon found ourselves atop the rim with some great video footage of the drive!
Winding through Guatemala’s volcanic mountain ranges on the inter-American highway, we opted to skip the capital and head for the famed city of Antigua, built on cobblestone roads in the shadow of a very imposing volcano. Much to Tony’s delight, we arrived in time to catch the second half of the Barcelona – Real Madrid game at a local bar, where apparently the rest of the city decided to watch as well. After the Madrid victory, we set out walking the streets of Antigua, which resembled nothing of the Latin America I have seen thus far. The cobblestone streets, pastel colored buildings, and expensive cars gave a decidedly more European feel. However, apparently we weren’t the only ones to discover this oddity. The streets were teeming with gringos of all shapes and sizes, and the official language may as well have been English. Hopefully we will have more luck when we reach Granada, a similar city in Nicaragua which has apparently still preserved its Latin charm.
Disappointed by our “discovery” and chased by an oncoming storm, we ducked into an excellent local restaurant where we waited out the rain and decided to push on to the coastal town of Monterrico, where we heard stories of empty beaches and an empty, curving horizon. But I guess we forgot to read the guidebook thoroughly…for as we approached the town, our road dead ended into a large, crocodile infested mangrove swamp. Maybe next time we should read a bit more thoroughly because apparently you have to take a ten minute water taxi to arrive at the town. With nightfall rapidly approaching, we opted to wait until morning and camp on the side of the road. After carefully selecting a level spot and popping the top to sleep, I went out on one last quick reconnaissance of the area, and was startled by several flashlights shined in my direction from a distance. Combined with the eerie jungle noises and unfamiliar territory, I retreated to the van and reported my discovery. Within several minutes, a streetlight went out, and we saw shadows of people near the van. Hand on the flare gun, we decided to get out and talk to the neighbor, who generously invited us to camp in his gated driveway. We gratefully accepted, and Nima left his Mexican Cruz Azul jersey with the guy (an avid soccer fan) as a thank you in the morning. Although he reassured us that the area was safe in most parts, some people were recently robbed in our original parking spot, so better safe than sorry. After a night of untroubled sleep, we awoke to a cloudless sky and headed in to take the water taxi to Monterrico.
Extremely cheap and full of locals, the covered skiff motors through some Florida-esque mangroves and small riverside houses before dropping us in Monterrico. To my dismay (and Danielle’s delight), no crocodiles showed their prehistoric heads on the ride over, but it was nonetheless beautiful and well worth our seventy cents. Monterrico consists of a very modest main drag which leads to an empty, picturesque black sand beach, extending endlessly in both directions…choosing south, we walked for quite some time observing the vacant hotels and houses perched above the sloping beach. After a quick swim in the crashing shorebreak and fighting the powerful undertow, we headed back and decided to make a beeline for El Salvador!
We drove the rest of the day and were within thirty kilometers of the border when we were turned around due to a washed out road from recent rains. Five days until it would be fixed! Now this might discourage your average American, but considering our hurricane plagued time in Baja and mainland Mexico, this minor detail didn’t faze Nima and I…without batting an eye, we simply chose to head north to another border crossing. After navigating an extremely windy mountain road (often blocked by semi trucks who had the same idea as us), we arrived back on the inter-American highway and made camp at a Texaco station just shy of the El Salvador border. Rising early in the morning, we made for the border and were promptly greeted by literally fifteen different locals who wanted to “help” us across the border. Imagine our trusty van parked just outside the customs office absolutely surrounded by Guatemalans pounding on the doors and windows insisting that they are the best one to safely bring us across this difficult border. Well we had a different idea. Amidst the pounding and yelling, we formulated a diversion plan; right on cue, Nima hopped out the driver’s side door and jogged several hundred feet in front of the van towards the border. Like clockwork, every single local followed him insisting that we needed help crossing the border. Meanwhile, I easily slipped out the passenger door with our four passports and headed inside, undisturbed. Tony and Danielle valiantly watched from the van. The rest of the border process was extremely simple and almost felt too easy. Apparently as of June, many of the Central American countries do not stamp your passport in an effort to make it easier to travel between the countries; even when we asked for a stamp anyway, they just didn’t have anything for us…so much for the passport bragging rights. Anyhow, in a matter of thirty minutes we were officially in El Salvador without spending as much as an American dollar. Speaking of the American dollar, that is actually the official money of El Salvador, and it has been a welcome relief to our now conversion savvy brains.
Just several days before our departure from Santa Rosa, we were introduced to an energetic couple, Dan and Betsy, who recently made the excellent investment of buying a house on the El Salvador coast. After sailing down through Central America many times, they decided that this was, indeed, the best place to have a permanent residence. So after several great conversations with them in Santa Rosa, they generously offered to have us stay at the house when we arrived in El Salvador. In return (the least we could do), we toted a full sized, slightly cumbersome pool pump (which became fondly know as Mr. Smith over the months)from Santa Rosa to El Salvador for their new pool…he will be greatly missed throughout the rest of our journey. Anyway, needless to say, upon our arrival in El Salvador, we headed straight to the house. Driving through the perfectly paved, smooth mountain roads, the first thing that I noticed was the amount of deforestation that has taken place here in El Salvador. Although much is on the rebound now, it is hard to ignore that many of the mountainsides were once victim to extreme clear cutting. Other than that, the drive was enjoyable and quite scenic, and it took us less than two hours to arrive at the house. In fact, over the past week, we have decided that El Salvador has by far the best maintained roads thus far, although in a way they are the most dangerous. The reason? All of the roads have very small shoulders, and they are constantly filled by throngs of walkers, bikers, children, livestock, dogs, and large buses. The result is simply more typical Latin American driving.
Upon arrival at the house, we immediately headed for the back yard to check out the view. Yep, Dan and Betsy weren’t lying. The house is situated on top of a hundred foot cliff that drops rather dramatically into the rocky Pacific…and the view does not disappoint…it would treat us to a multitude of incredible sunsets and mind-boggling lightning storms over the Pacific within just several days. However, we had a slightly different issue inside the house. Having not been occupied for a matter of months, the thatched roof slowly shed onto the floor, and the result was an extremely dirty and arachnid infested interior. Despite the initial shock, after several hours of devoted cleaning, the house was looking immaculate, and without a doubt, it is one of the most stunning places that I have ever stayed. Once again, we cannot emphasize the beauty of this place, and we will forever be in debt to Dan and Betsy for sharing it with us. Oh, and not to mention there is a world famous surf break, El Sunzal, less than two miles away! Everything from big, overhead sets on the outside, to mellow mushy waves on the inside and no crowds make this a perfect spot for both Nima and I. In fact, Nima stood up several times today, and finally rode one into shore…soon to be a natural! So over the last several days we have been living the life just reading, playing guitar, hitting the beach, preparing amazing meals, and surfing at Sunzal.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we sadly bade farewell to Tony and Danielle as they continued their quest to travel to Panama and back to Mexico City by December 13th. Perhaps we will cross paths on their return trip. As always, though, it was a pleasure to travel with them, and although Tony continues to think that there are mountains and good skiing in New Hampshire, we will gladly invite them to rejoin the journey at any point. In fact, come to think of it, they have been our first official visitors, and hopefully some of our other friends (Bo? Jake? Dave? Thad? James?) will take the chance to come on a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
Despite our absolutely ideal accommodations and perfect locale, sometime this week we plan to make a side trip into Honduras to visit the ruins of Copan and some other historic sites (rough life, I know). We will then return to the house here in El Salvador by November 15th to greet Dan at the airport and hang out for a little before continuing our journey through the rest of Honduras, Nicaragua, and finally Costa Rica for Christmas! Once again, we appreciate everyone who has been following the website, and we would greatly appreciate any feedback or comments on the trip as we plan to soon have a page on the website dedicated to these. Although still a work in progress, the site has come a long way since the start of our trip, and it will continue to expand and become easier to navigate. Thanks again to everyone, but especially to Dan and Betsy for our current “hotel Xanadu” accommodations!
Espero que todos hayan pasado el tiempo muy bien….
(and Happy Halloween!)
Jeremy