El Salvador

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We left Zacapa via this wonderful bridge over the river to rejoin the main road. My strategy on narrow bits of road like this is to ride in the middle so that there is no opportunity for anything to pass. All the traffic behind us was happy to wait (it also explains why the road ahead of us is clear).

We passed by this little stall which made incredibly creative use of old tyres. Zoom in to see the detail of their creations.

For the first time in ages we were surrounded by hills. They were also quite dry as it is a couple of months until the rainy season starts. We were energised by the change in scenery.

We had picked up these treats as we left town and savoured them at the top of a climb. Pastry, custard and fried plantain. Delicious.

It was another hot day as the salt marks in my shorts testify. We regularly pop into pharmacies to buy sachets of rehydration salts to add to our water. Although it is hot, we have noticed that the humidity is lower. This makes the heat easier to deal with. It also means that we can wash our clothes and they dry overnight - in humid areas they would just remain damp despite the heat.

Glorious tree lined roads.

We found a touricentro after Quezaltepeque that had a swimming pool and asked if we could camp. They let us stay under a big sheltered area with access to the pool. After a refreshing swim it was time to change the oil in the rear hub after 6 months /10k Km. I had forgotten to bring an oil change kit with me when we left but a relative of a warmshowers host in Mexico (Alonso) had travelled to the UK for work while we were there and brought a kit back with him that I've been saving until the service interval was reached. The oil change is easy, it just needs a good space to work in and a bit of time / mental energy to do it 

The roads to the border continued to delight.

This is a coffee growing heartland and we saw several of these. Alan G did a bit of research for me and the beans have been washed too remove the pulpy outer and are being sun dried. The huge beige area is coffee beans.

Crossing borders is always super exciting. There is an indescribable thrill when leaving one country and entering another. The road stays the same, the landscape stays the same, and here, the language stays the same but things are different in all sorts of subtle ways.

One of them is food. We are in pupusa county. They are a bit like gorditas but the filling is integral. They are hand patted, then some filling is put on top before being covered by more dough and then cooked on a hot plate. It also seems as though a side serving of salad is the norm (rather than salsa as in Mexico). The salad had oregano and cilantro and was dressed with lime juice - we loved it.

We carried on riding to the shores of Lago De Güija where we set up camp under the shade of trees with a view of the setting sun. We had an evening swim and another before starting the next day.

Not a bad place to have breakfast.

Our destination was Santa Ana. It had been 9 nights since our last rest day and we were feeling ready for a break. We also need the odd day here and there to do route planning, catch up on admin and chill out. The town has this stunning cathedral which is illuminated at night. There are restaurants all round the central square and we had a huge pizza overlooking the cathedral. (I know that pizza is not authentic local food) but it makes a great change and is always a great way to ingest lots of calories.

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