The friendliest people

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Our two days riding from San Salvador to San Miguel (near the border with Honduras) had been remarkable because of the wonderful encounters we have had with people along the way.

First up, we met Oscar. He and his other police buddies were buying supplies at a shop we stopped at. He greeted us with a beaming smile and was incredibly interested in our tour. He asked if we had souvenirs of our time in El Salvador. I explained that we don't have room for extras but we have an El Salvadorean flag on the bike that we will take home with us. He seemed very pleased that we had his country's flag on our bike.

While we were sitting outside the shop, Ernesto and Katherine who run the shop brought us a litre each of jocote juice and would not accept any money for it. It was delicious.

Further along the way we encountered Norma (2nd from right) and her friends. They were hugely amused by us and wanted lots of photos. I started making daft faces for them which just increased the level of humour. It was a delight to see how happy they were hanging out together and running their roadside stall.

The fun wasn't over for us though. When we stopped for an afternoon drink we met Edwin (second left) and his family who run the shop/cafe. We had a great chat with them and they wanted to know all about our experience in El Salvador. We told them just how much we have been enjoying ourselves and it was clear that they were glad as they evidently have a lot of pride for their country. They gave us a bottle of water and some fried plantain chips with salad and salsa for free.

Finally we found Elvis. The El Salvadorean Elvis is a tour guide who lets travellers camp on his patio. 

Not long after starting the next day we met Clement and Gaia cycling the other way. They are from Switzerland and are riding from Panama to Cancun in Mexico. We had a great 20 minutes chatting to them. As they were riding the opposite way to us we were each able to share highlights that would be forthcoming. We made a note of their recommendations.

We had a dip in Laguna del Jocote. I can't say it was cooling as it was nearly bath temperature however it was nice to lounge in the water for a bit and see lots of families enjoying time together at the lake.

This guy had two live iguanas that he was trying to sell to passing motorists. They didn't look very comfortable. However, I take my hat off to someone who can catch one with his bare hands as they are fast and fierce.

The final mention goes to Manuel and Dennis, father and son who run a vehicle upholstery shop. They kindly repaired the zip on Rachel's frame bag. They did the repair in 15 minutes there and then and would not take money from us. They too were very proud of their country and were glad that we were visiting and enjoying it. Like so many others we have met, they really stressed just how much safer and better the country has become in the past 5 years. As a leftie liberal, I'm very aware of the human rights issues involved in locking up 40,000 gang members but there is no denying the positive impact it has had on the country.

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