El Salvador - More bike issues! Beautiful La Palma

Leaving La Tortuga Verde, I was all loaded up, turned the key, clicked into neutral, pushed the start button. Click…then nothing. Battery again. It’s not an easy thing to remove my seat to access the battery with the way I have the luggage set up so I had to undo all of my strapping down to get in and jiggle the battery terminals, then pack it all up again once it started. I had to go to San Salvador and get this sorted, and I needed to fix the burnt out headlight wires. My plan to visit some other places including a nearby waterfall had to change and my plan NOT to go to San Salvador also had to change.

San Salvador didn’t really endear me with crazy traffic, crazier roadworks, thick air pollution and lots of noise. I found the recommended hostel but I can’t forward on the recommendation because I didn’t find it very friendly or welcoming. However when I met with Rafael the mechanic at San Salvador BMW, who spoke English, I was reassured and the bike was booked in to get fixed. 

He tested the battery and told me that I will probably need a new one but I could just see how long it lasted. I didn’t heed the urgency. 

The next day I rode out to Suchitoto by an enormous reservoir, Lago Suchitlan, and as I arrived Ziggy died again. I found my way to a hotel and decided to return to San Salvador the next day and leave my luggage at Suchitoto.

In the morning on the way back to San Salvador I broke down on the side of the road for the first time. 

I was stranded. Fortunately there was a delivery truck nearby and the guys used their phone to call Rafael who sent out the recovery crew. Three hours later I was back in San Salvador with Ziggy on a trailer. Such a sad sight. 

A couple of hours later we found a new battery and she was up and running again. The guys at San Salvador BMW were great and didn’t charge me the earth. 

I rode back to Suchitoto and stayed my second night.

 It was an interesting town with difficult to find views of the lake which was a shame because when I did find them they were spectacular. The centerpiece of the town was the large white church in the town square. 

There were a lot of Spanish-looking buildings and a good selection of eating places, the ones near the square being real tourist prices but a couple of streets away a Fonda served ‘typico salvadoreno’ food. Cheap and delicious. Napoleon and his family at the Los Sanchez Hostel/Hotel were excellent hosts with a great place and cheap prices. Parking for the bike but no Internet. There was wifi nearby so not a problem.

The next morning I rode a short distance to the lake to take the ferry across to go to a town called Chalatenango. They advertised $4 for motorbikes for the crossing but he charged me six, saying it was a big motorbike. It wasn't exactly booming business.

I tried to negotiate but he was surly character with too many years driving the ferry, so I paid the six and got on my way. 

It was a hilly rise away from the lake and a pleasant ride leading to great views for the twenty or so kilometres to the town. 

Chalatenango was not easy to locate, then harder to find the centre and when I did it was thick with traffic and hot. I stopped for some lunch but the place didn’t grab me so decided to get closer to the border of Honduras and check out the town of La Palma.

 Now La Palma did grab me. The town was painted with colourful murals with the centre square being the centerpiece of the art. I walked the town and took fifty photos, every mural outshining the previous. 

I spoke to a few people and told them how good it looked and they were happy to hear it. The La Palma Hotel was similarly coloured and the owner was very welcoming and friendly, providing a beautiful setting for my last night in El Salvador. There was good security for the bike, Internet, a restaurant and it was quiet.