Day 30 - Hotel Ponderosa del Luis, Antigua Guatemala

The border with El Salvador would be the big challenge for us today. The slight hangover and ridiculous humidity were just adding to the pressures of a big day in front of us. We got a relatively early start, all things considered, and headed south, towards the border crossing town of Ciudad Pedro Alvarado. We saw the base of a large volcano on the route, but as the clouds were covering the top of it, we didn’t even bother to stop and take any pictures. Whilst I wasn’t expecting too much of a mission at the border, it was bonkers hot and humid, and we were sweating buckets as soon as we pulled all the gear on. The route to the border was not very exciting, a lot of highways and the queues of trucks as we neared the border town was crazy. As we approached the border, we pulled into a gas station, and I mentioned to Jorik that I had lost 5th gear a couple of times whilst riding. I think the first time was back in Mexico where it just slipped out, not into neutral, just out of gear. Each time I had grabbed the clutch and then popped it down to 4th and then back up to 5th, and it was fine. But it made me think that something might be amiss. It happened on the way to the border a couple of times. I have been a bit sceptical about going into El Salvador as the press hasn’t given it a particularly good review in the past. I appreciate that things change, and our research had told us that it should be fine. I was more concerned about Honduras, and we still have to go through El Salvador to get there. As luck would have it, the border crossing was super easy and whilst it did take about an hour, getting through was not too much of a drama. The guards at the border were actually very helpful and directed us to the stops along the way. Once into El Salvador, I was surprised by the quality of the roads. We did travel on the main road and to be fair, El Salvador is not a very big country, but the single carriageway route was in good condition and plenty wide for the most part. The scenery was great and very lush. We were aiming for a surf town called El Tunco, which had been a spot that some people ahead of us had recommended. We got some great information on the border crossing from their blog, so if they suggested that El Tunco was a good town to check out, it would do for us. About an hour, maybe less, outside of El Tunco, we were riding along a gorgeous coast road and came around a bend to be confronted with a ‘shack bar’ on the side of the road overlooking the coastline from a position on a cliffside, it was super cool. We both said into our comms at the same time “that will do nicely for a beer break!”. We pulled over where there was a little orange Honda NAVI parked up, which is kind of like a scooter. We climbed off the bikes, pretty knackered after a long day with very little to eat, a border crossing which is always a bit tedious, and the heat and humidity was draining, peeled off our riding gear, and climbed the steps to the terrace. There was a couple on the phone video calling what we assumed was their family. As there was nobody else in the place, except for the lady that worked there, and they were on the phone in the open, it seemed a bit intrusive for us to be listening in. When they finished chatting on the phone, they had clearly heard us talking, and the lady turned to Jorik and asked him where he was from as she had clocked the South African accents. It turns out she is originally from Zimbabwe, currently lives in Mackay, north of Brisbane, Australia, but her partner, Gary, and her are in the process of buying a 6,000sqm plot of land near El Tunco to set up and run a new business from. They will be moving from Australia to El Salvador permanently. I had to tip my hat (helmet) and acknowledge that it was a pretty gutsy statement to make. We ended up having a great chat with them and when we asked what El Tunco was like, they mentioned that there was a Junior World Championship Surfing Tournament on, and it was crazy in El Tunco. They were staying at a great spot in El Zonte, a little town a few miles before El Tunco, and that they were pretty sure that the hotel would have a room with 2 beds. So, we agreed to follow them back to the hotel, albeit very slowly as the little orange Honda NAVI was carrying both of them. We gave the NAVI a head start whilst we put all our gear back on. There was something seriously going on with changing gears and I mentioned to Jorik that when we got into the hotel, first job must be to check the adjustment on the clutch. As we approached El Zonte, a relatively small town, certainly smaller than El Tunco (my gear changes were a real problem), signs for Surf City were popping up along the route, which I figured must be to do with the surfing comp. we pulled off the main road, followed the NAVI to the Beach Break Hotel and Sports Bar. As I was parking, I completely lost all access to my gears and only had 1st gear. No neutral, nothing. I did manage to park it, but it was a bit of joke and sure enough, the clutch adjustment nuts were completely loose and just needed a quick adjustment to sort out the problem, which subsequently is no longer a problem. The hotel had a twin room for us, a very nice room, and a great hotel with not 1 but 2 swimming pools. It did cost us a US$100, which is way outside our budget, but we had really enjoyed meeting Gary and Robyn and it kind of seemed like it was one of those chance meetings that if you don’t do something about it, you won’t get the full benefit of the opportunity. So, we booked in, jumped in the pool and got chatting to our new friends over a few bevvies in the pool. Not a bad afternoon after a long ride. It was happy hour at a beach bar, so we popped along for sundowners and a spot of dinner. Our conversation with Gary and Robyn was great, and they very kindly paid for our dinner, which was completely unnecessary, but we were very grateful for.  We then headed back to the hotel and jumped back in the pool with  few more beers to end our first evening in El Salvador, a great country.