Saturday, March 1, 2014

Honduras and El Salvador-Hot God and Surf's Up!

In both Honduras and El Salvador even while riding a bike one could blink and miss the whole country. I was only in Honduras for three days and in El Salvador for six days. 
The people continued to be friendly but not as friendly as in Nicaragua. However in Honduras the men were a bit friendlier always trying to get my attention by making an annoying hissing sound and/or whistling at me (which I ignored). 
The atmosphere in Honduras was as if it were dangerous but I never felt in danger. I was used to seeing armed guards in Latin America in banks and other places that handled a lot of money but in Honduras and El Salvador they were in fast food restaurants!For instance, my first night in Honduras I went into a Wendy's fast food place to use their wifi and there was an armed guard in there. I often saw them in the local fast food chicken places too. It was common to see armed guards accompanying trucks on their long or short distance runs. I saw a group of three semis traveling together and the drivers from the semis were eating lunch inside a mini mart/restaurant where I had stopped. When they left I saw them walk up to their individual trucks which each had an armed guard inside. I saw propane delivery trucks driving down the highway with an armed guard mounted in the back.
Maybe living in such an atmosphere made it necessary for religion to be strong. I noticed a lot of small churches in El Salvador. Unlike in Nicaragua they weren't elaborate and ornate cathedrals but rather small and modestly decorated churches-and they were everywhere.
While I was in El Salvador I stumbled onto a surf competition taking place in a small beach town I rode into by pure chance. I was able to take advantage of trying my new camera's speed settings on the surfistas (surfers) in the waves.
 






A snapshot showing some more Gringolandia influences. There were American fast food places even in Honduras! But just because businesses exist that have American names doesn't mean they are pronounced the same way. While asking for directions a man referred to something as being across from an "estaciĆ³n Teckako." A lot of times I don't fully understand the directions I am given so I was looking for a gas station with a name similar to how he pronounced it-"Teck-a-ko" and realized the pronunciation difference when I came to the Texaco station. 
It was the off season at this seaside town. This was a nice bay off of the Pacific Ocean full of mangroves.
I really liked this colorful room which cost 250 lembiras-Honduran currency which equaled about $12.25 USD. Prices in Honduras were about the same as in Nicaragua but the exchange rate was worse in Honduras making rooms slightly more expensive for what I would get.
Church of Apostles and Prophets seems harmless enough...
...but does it really have to be protected by razor wire?
This room cost the equivalent of $10 USD with the bath outside in a separate building in the courtyard.
Courtyard and bathroom/shower house of the guest house for the room in photo above. The food in the street stalls just outside of this guest house was really good. I had some great tortillas in Honduras and wished the style carried through in El Salvador but I didn't see them like that any where else.
What little I saw of Honduras was pretty.


These are the dried hibiscus flowers that are used to make the cold drink called Jamaica (pronounced "ha-mica" and shown in my blog on Nicaragua) which is popular in Central America and Mexico.


El Salvador had some houses that looked like they were owned by the affluent and also had th every basic type huts (photo below) as well.
This home was located right next to the one shown in the photo above. My guess is there aren't any home owner's associations here! :)
What do you know, more volcanoes!
I met Kyle an American cyclist who was traveling with some other cyclists (since Mexico) but had separated for a short time so he could extend his visa before catching back up with them in a town further south. His bike was towing a Mexican made trailer with his gear on it. I tried it out and rode a short distance on his bike but it was super wobbly to me with the weight centered high like that but I guess you can get used to anything.


This is hands down my favorite sign in all of my trip! Sometimes a hot dog had a completely different name in Spanish like "salchicha" and sometimes the word was a direct translation of the American word like "perrito caliente" which uses the word for small dog and is modified by the word meaning hot. But this one was truly unique because it combined Spanish, English, and dyslexia! What a combo-your very own Hot God and a Coke for only $1.50. And yes, El Salvador uses USD as their currency.
This hotel was called "Hollywould Inn" so I felt I had to stay here. It was owned by a guy who had lived in the USA for a long time. He originally went there as an illegal alien but ended up legal and served in the US Army. He returned to El Salvador to run the hotel which his mother could no longer manage. He told me I should not be out in the streets after dark (which sucked since night came early this close to the equator). It was very funny the way he eluded to it not being safe. He said that after evening time people should be inside with their families.
Once again I found myself in a room that rents by the hour as well as the night. There was a fair amount of activity in this place. Rooms with fans are $3 for two hours and the same room with an air conditioner is $5. The sign also advises "Pay no more than the above prices, otherwise inform the reception and your stay will be free."


 In between towns there wasn't much development in El Salvador and there wasn't even the spotting of houses or shops like there was everywhere else on my trip. I actually felt on my own quite a bit but didn't feel safe enough to camp.
I loved this aspect of culture in El Salvador. I often saw men giving a ride to women, sometimes their sweeties and sometimes what looked like their mothers or another family member. Unlike India where the whole family could be seen on a single bike, here it was like the guy was just giving the female in his life a ride.
It is hard to tell here but there was a lot of karst rocks and outcroppings.
Rough shoulders but very wide ones. I wasn't complaining.
I caught the end of a parade in a waterfront area in La Libertad. It might have been the start of the festivities for the surf competition that was being held that weekend.



El Salvador was very surfing oriented. This sign says to "Reduce speed, surfers in the way/road." I noticed people wearing a lot of Hollister t-shirts starting in Honduras and then north for awhile probably because of the surfing emphasis.


La Libertad beach was more like a rock garden.
La Libertad pedestrian way.
I liked this little surf side community.
Booths were set up along the water front. I don't know if they were set up only because of the surf competition or if they were a regular part of the tourist business.
And where there is surfing, there has to be Corona.
Care for a photo in front of a big wave?
Yummy, ceviche!
Attendants to the surf competition.
There were surfers from all over the world. I heard them announce Australia, Hawaii, and Nicaragua to name a few.






The surfers were competing in heats of four people at a time riding waves.


The seaside neighborhoods looked quite upscale.


There were a lot of up and downs in El Salvador-it was a workout I wasn't used to but I really enjoyed the coast, it was well worth it.
Bird's nest.
And a not so lucky bird's nest.
Windy roads, nice shoulders, greenery...If you can't tell, I liked the riding in El Salvador.


The tunnels in El Salvador were a lot more rustic than in South America and not list at all, but fortunately were short since I never had my headlamp at the ready like it should have been-since the robbery stuff was more put away in my panniers now.
Melon stands galore on the sides of the roads here!
Common results of the rainy season.
I had a boyfriend from El Salvador once. He always told me that it was a scenically beautiful country, I have to agree.


Notice the runoff of mud from the rivers creeping into the ocean-again, results of the rainy season.
This guy was a long way from home up high in the hills.




The sign for this hostel caught my attention on the highway so I followed the dirt road which took me closer to the ocean and eventually to this sign at the entrance (building is not the same property). I asked about the rates which were high ($30/night) but was able to get a discount down to $10 from the owner via phone call.
This seemed like a room that was not quite like the rest of the property-maybe it was an owner's room? Either way, it was sufficient for $10 with a bath in the room and a pool on the property. The restaurant wasn't officially open but the attendant there cooked a basic local meal for me for cheap.
A perfect way to end the day.
This was the beach across and through an alleyway from the hostel. The whole area was pretty deserted during this season.
I would love to perfect the skill of balancing things on my head like some of the indigenous people often do. Most likely she did not have to hold on to this tub and has mastered balancing it.





This is a map of my route through Honduras and El Salvador corresponding with the last photo for this posting in Corozol, El Salvador. As usual the orange line indicates where I rode my bike and the black line indicates where I used other means of transport.



This blog post brings you up to date on my travels through July 11th, 2013.


Photos and blog posts to come:
Guatemala
Mexico and total bike trip statistics
North to Alaska