El Salvador - A Bit More Coastal Therapy.

After Ruta De Las Flores I turned towards the mountains and Sonorata. It was a ride up the big roads again to the mountains then easterly back towards San Salvador. I made a turnoff to wind through the mountains and small villages again but it was getting later in the afternoon and I needed to get to the beach and find accommodation so after half an hour I turned back towards the six lane highway heading to the airport.

 It was a great downhill run with largely empty roads being a Sunday and I clicked Ziggy into sixth gear to give her a bit of a run. Oops. I was waved over by police who showed me that I was doing 106km/h.

‘What is the speed limit?’

‘In all El Salvador the maximum is 90.’

‘Sorry I didn’t see a sign.’

‘There is a sign at the top of the hill’.

 Ok I was busted. But as usual they were interested in the bike and I explained to the policeman who spoke to me in English that it ABS with the brakes and tyres in good condition and although I was speeding it is quite capable of stopping quickly from that speed. He was a bit amused but he was also friendly and seeing my papers were in order and that I was a traveller from Australia I guess they concluded that it was pointless fining me because I was leaving the country soon. They let me go with a caution, one that I heeded now I was aware of the speed limit. I really hadn’t seen a single sign since arriving and I was often overtaken.

It was approaching 5pm as I pulled into the town of Playa San Marcelino. I rode around the town and there wasn’t much in the way of hotels and no hostel. I was stopped by a spruker as I rode towards the beach and discovered that hotels start at US$50 a night. I had a chuckle and kept going. I rode a bit further down the coast and found another hotel that was a bit rundown and not so inviting but right on the beach. Same price. I decided that I would have to go to another town to find a hostel.

 The hotel attendant asked me what price I was looking for. I explained that I was a traveller on a budget.

‘My budget is $15.’

He shook his head a few times so I took my guide book out of the tank bag and started looking at nearby options.A couple of minutes later he approached me again.

‘Come with me. Follow me. Bring your moto.’

He led me three doors down to a large white concrete wall with a metal gate where an armed guard answered his knock. I followed them in but Ziggy decided to not start. No lights on the dash, no power anywhere. I was thinking that it was the battery, hoping it had not suddenly given up without warning. I rolled her inside and an old semi-derelict resort opened up in front of me. Jose led me to three rooms, opened the first and said,

‘I can see you are different, you can stay here.’

‘What is the cost here?’

‘Whatever you think.’

 There were beds with linen, electricity and airconditioning but no water. Jose then invited me to come to the other hotel later to use the internet. I walked to the other end of the property and an extensive, amazing, empty unspoilt beach opened up in front of me. 

I was right on the beach and I started having visions of opening this place as a hostel and wondering who owned it and how much I could get it for. 

Strange thoughts for a nomad and first time it has happened to me. This place is paradise. I walked along the beach in both directions for a while and it soon became apparent that it is a privilege to have beach access. It is all private access with houses and hotels built up to a line back from the beach. No obvious access for the public.