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.
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