Ruta De Las Flores

To say the Ruta de Las Flores is spectacular is an understatement. Even in this season without flowers, mile after mile has manicured roadsides with lush vegetated mountains. 

Not only lush but planned and arranged in patterns of mature plants that checkerboard the hillsides. 

Green, mature, tropical, it was an outstanding ride through what I can see is a special place. The pride in the massive gardens of this area is apparent. It is clean, the roads are good and the people friendly. 

I tend to wave and smile at people as I go anyway but here it was different. Almost every person waved back with a big smile. No looking at me strangely, no turning their heads away but a big engaged grin and wave. In fact they seemed to love it that I was making the effort. The elderly, kids, almost everyone responded the same way.

 The rain had stopped and the roads were dry but it was a grey day with low light. I can only imagine what this place looks like in full bloom and sunshine. How is this not a targeted destination? I think the reputation of El Salvador is a disaster for the country and her people. It’s a place that has come out of its dark times, has great roads and small cities with all the facilities and modern infrastructure, yet the small towns are beautifully simple and El Salvadorian with pupusas – tortillas stuffed with cheese and beans – at roadside vendors. The beaches in the west are full of traditional fishermen and boys, with the surf waves building up along the centre of the coastline, attracting surfers from all over the world, to the long empty stretches of clean breaking surf to the east. Tricky to get access but worth the effort.

 The Ruta de Las Flores was ending so I stopped to buy bananas from a woman and her grandchild with a small table outside their house. She was just so lovely with a big warm smile and she kept taking my hand to shake it. I put the little guy on the bike and they took a photo with their phone. 

They were so chuffed that she gave me two fruits with big seeds and pink flesh, like a custard apple. That generosity again!

El Salvador - Santa Ana

It was getting towards the end of the week and I wanted to meet up with some BMW riders from Santa Ana (El Salvador) who I had met in Guatemala. I rode away from the coast and headed into the mountains and back to the west. I took the opportunity to check out Lake Coatepeque, another stunning volcanic lake with volcanoes in the background. 

I went for a ride around the lake then up to the hills around it, meeting some locals along the way. 

I took a turnoff to Cerre Verde, a national park up at the top of one of the volcanoes. It was a relatively clear day but as I climbed higher it became cloudier.

I arrived at the top and was taken on a guided walk to see a view of the lake and the adjoining mountain. 

As we started the walk a large cloud moved in to obscure the view. 

It was still a beautiful walk through the rainforest with old trees, 

but eventually I walked back to the bike and headed downhill towards Santa Ana. On the way it rained a little, then I noticed that my trusty steed was finally run in.

By the time I was down at lake level the rain had stopped and I found my way to La Casa Verde in Santa Ana. It was a top-class hostel, friendly, clean and cheap – with inside parking – so I booked in.

The next day went wandering through the lively little town.

I left the Green House and owner Carlos after two nights to meet up with David. After a couple of failed attempts at directions and finding his restaurant I gave up because I didn’t have phone connection, it was starting to rain and I was riding in circles. I headed towards the Ruta de Las Flores, one of many specified routes in El Salvador to explore unique features of the country. I eventually found my way to the smaller roads through the mountains.

El Salvador - The Coast

I didn’t travel far, only about 80 kilometres and stopped at a beach Playa Los Cobanos that I had marked to visit. It was a small fishing village right on the beach with a ramshackle series of thatched cabanas adjoining each other. The bike got lots of stares and I really just wanted a coffee but all that was on offer was instant and I have some of that with me. Eventually I asked about a hostel and I was directed to a nice place down the beach with parking behind a large fence and steel-sheet gate. It had a pool and was right on the beach. The rooms were $59 but they had a dorm for $10. I was the only one in the dorm.

It was a busy beach with lots of fishing boats

I hired some snorkling gear for a couple of hours to swim around the rocky reefs but it was low tide and looked like this most of the time.

I followed the very interesting looking road along the coast with its bends and tunnels and local agriculture.

While there is a genuine attempt to educate the population on recycling there is still some way to go. 

I stayed a couple of nights in El Tunco, a renowned surfing beach. While I was there a brown stain washed down the river from a recent thunderstorm and at the time it made it not very nice to swim in but over subsequent days there was a huge fish die-off due to lack of oxygen and I heard that for the following two weeks the place stank of rotting fish. Real shame for such a nice place.

Black sand

El Salvador - Parque El Imposible

It was a short ride to the little town of San Francisco Menedez on the river of the same name and the entrance to the El Imposible National Park. I just liked the name. 

I walked to the office/house nearby and after negotiating the entry and deciding I would camp, I told them I wanted to go for a walk in the park in the morning. $6 to camp I thought was a bit expensive but not sure how it all works here yet. 

I was let in and rode fifty metres along some smooth river stones that lined the roadway and I set up camp amidst a group of guys playing soccer on a dirt and rock flattened pad just off the road. They stopped playing for a while as the main owner/caretaker came over and showed me the toilets, river nearby and the showers. 

I set up my tent to the inquisitive stares of some ten or twelve guys aged from around 16 to 40, and a couple of young kids. It was humid and I was hot after taking my riding gear off and erecting the tent, so I assembled my chair and their faces were gold. They had never seen anything like a fold up aluminium chair before and in fact it had amazed people who know about such things. These guys were simply amazed. 

I sat and watched them run fearlessly barefoot over the rocks and dirt kicking a very hard small soccer ball. The kicked it hard. These guys are tough. 

Didn't think to grab the camera unfortunately.

It is always received well when I say I’m from Australia and I can tell my story about where I’ve travelled well now. They had questions and we had some laughs. I told them that every time I meet local people they are working hard for their families, houses and food and family being their most important priorities. Belonging to a community is very important to them as well. It concerned them that I was away from my family and they were shocked when I told them I have no home or house and everything I own is with me on the bike.

It was a great conversation and they eventually headed off as it was getting dark. I think we all had a mutual respect for each other and they didn’t see me as any sort of threat nor I them. A few guys stayed around as I pulled out my fuel stove, lit it and started warming some beans and tuna. They were captivated by my little modern firemaker. 

One guy asked if I had tortillas and once he realised I didn’t, he ran off to his house, returning a few minutes later with two piping hot, freshly made tortillas. They watched me eat for a few minutes and almost as if they suddenly realised that they were just standing and staring, they had a quick discussion between themselves and all bade farewell with big smiles and handshakes.

Half an hour later the young guy who had brought me tortillas returned and sat for a while. We chatted about his family and life and the community. A lot of people lived along the entranceway to the national park, many families. He lived with his parents still and he was 25 years old. He pointed to a house where his grandparents live and explained that all his uncles, aunties and cousins lived in the area. He wasn’t related to everyone there and he told me that there were plenty of girls to choose from in the area but he was single at the moment. He didn’t work because there wasn’t enough work for all the men.

The next gesture really surprised me. He was carrying a pair of shoes and he offered them to me. I didn’t fully understand the story with the shoes but he was concerned that I was walking in the park with my sandals and that these shoes were tougher and a lot more suitable. I tried them on and they were a perfect fit. He wanted no money for them and he wanted me to keep them. After a while he left and I didn’t see him again.

In the morning I made some breakfast and packed up a few things to go for the walk. I wasn’t sure how big the park was or how long it would take so I left my tent up. I was nearly ready when a woman came up to me with a National Parks shirt and cap and told me her name is Ana and she will be my guide. My guide? Why not I thought. 

I was ready in another five minutes and we started up a rocky path that became steeper as we went. 

We passed a small village of houses but soon were in the park boundaries where no-one else lived. Ana spoke no English but I was able to understand a lot of what she was saying. She described many of the trees and bushes with their local and scientific names and explained what they were used for. The jungle is a complete pharmacy and she knew all about them. It was fascinating hearing her impart her knowledge.

After 5kms including a river crossing across rocks and changing trails several times, we reached a small track leading to a lookout with great views to the ocean. 

She described the boundaries of the park and what we were looking at in different directions. There was no possible way I could have found this alone. We made our way back and she explained that there was a donation involved for the guide, normally $10. I gave her $15 because I enjoyed the tour and she was very knowledgeable. The jungle here is in beautiful condition with large numbers of species of animals and plants but apparently that is a rarity in El Salvador due to land clearing.

El Salvador - Border crossing from Guatemala

El Salvador has long been of interest to me partly because it has a history of violence and civil war that it is healing from and partly because there are not so many people I meet that have come here. People often tend to go through Honduras and Nicaragua and pass by here because I think the name conjures up some fear with the reputation of the notorious M13 gang and the violent history. The more I read about the country the more interested I became. Once again my attitude is to be a friendly smiling face who will talk to anyone and show respect for them and their culture. So far that approach has created nothing but positive interactions with people along the way. I don’t expect El Salvador to be any different.

I approached the town of Pedro de Alvarado looking for the Aduana. It was easy to find due to a long line of trucks that I rode past to the front of the line. I was waved on to a security guard who checked my papers and sent me to the immigration office in the same building. I made a new ‘friend’ who wanted to help me and was explaining how many copies I needed of what and where to go. I found that my Spanish has improved enough to move through the process quite easily and the friend soon realised I was capable of sorting out myself. He still hung around like a seagull for chips but in twenty minutes I had my passport and temporary import permit stamped for exit, photocopies of everything and smiles from the helpful officials. No costs, no approaches for bribes.

I rode the one kilometre to the border and was directed to the immigration building in La Hachadura. A man with a little English met me and explained that I needed photocopies of my documents. He was the photocopier owner. He was correct and the copies were a couple of dollars as El Salvador uses US dollars as it’s official currency. I went into the Aduana office to a window where they took my copies, checked the originals and started the entry paperwork. In about 45 minutes all was finished and the last process was to stop and give a very attractive female attendant $5 for entry into the country. Every vehicle is charged this. Less than two hours and I was riding through El Salvador. Easy, friendly, painless and honest.