September 14th - 21st, 2004
September 14th, 2004We bike to Santa Ana where a spiraling road takes us down into town. A walking vendor sells us a hot and spicy maize drink called Atol Chuco, there are beans in the bottom and spice on top. After some internet we adjourn to the hotel California. Directions from the hotel guy send us looking for dinner up the road. We end up in a full sized American mall. We venture inside but are soon running away from this spectre of imperialist evil screaming “we will not consume”.
September 15th, 2004We roll out of Santa Ana with a stop for a pupusa breakfast. Traffic is harsh. We bust our butts and in the rainy afternoon begin to climb a long steep hill beside four lanes of traffic. Near the top a man named Victor stops to talk to us, as he chats with Johanne who is astride her bike at his car window, I talk to the national TV camera man who has also stopped. They want to do a piece on us. Victor follows us the rest of the way into Santa Tecla, blinking his warning lights. This town on the outskirts of San Salvador is a perfect spot for us to stay and avoid the chaos of the capital.
We stay in Santa Tecla for three days, on El Salvador day Victor and Lillian come to pick us up and take us past the parades to visit the best of the Salvadorian countryside. They’re very nice but unfortunately the heavy rain and fog keeps us from seeing the stunning mountain landscape. We drive to the beach and a treated to a wonderful seafood soup.
During our time in Santa Tecla much energy goes into trying to find an organization to interview. Nothing comes up but we do visit an organization in downtown San Salvador to talk about social movements and become more acquainted with the country. Unfortunately it is too late to use this information to find an org. We must be on our way. We ourselves get interviewed at an independent radio station and talk about our trip and the project for thirty minutes live broadcasting to 17 community radio stations, we’re nervous as hell but the interviewer is really nice and relaxed in all goes well. We head back to our hotel in Santa Tecla excited at this new experience. I barely have time to begin washing my dirty socks before Victor arrives to pick us up and take us out to eat again. We join Eliane, their daughter Helen, and Eliane’s mom for a pizza. The food is good and we have a great time. If only it could be said that they became our great friends…
September 17th, 2004We bypass the city and head towards the coast. The first half of our day is a swoop. We burn it past trucks down a 25km hill. Near the coast we can’t help but notice that it is damn hot. We enjoy the flat terrain and as usual cross many rivers. One time we see a mare and her little foal wading through the water of a smallish rio, we stop and photograph this beautiful spectacle thinking of Johanne’s niece Aurelie who loves horses. Upon arriving in Zacatecoluca a gas station owner drinking beer with his buddies in the air-conditioned road shop with the lights off tells us we can sleep in his private neighborhood across the way with a security guard to watch over us. The guard lets us into an empty two-room house but it’s too hot and after tossing and turning and sweating for a couple hours Johanne wakes me up and we set up the tent on the lawn.
September 18th, 2004We’re a bit tired but the road is flat. We see tons of other cyclists during our day including some who carry firewood or ride load-bearing bikes with big racks. We arrive in El Transito in the evening and have pupusas again for the second time today. Later the gas station attendants tell us we can camp on the lawn under the watch of armed guards once the place closes. The rain and a drunkard arguing with the guard about stealing our bikes keep us from good solid slumber.
September 19th, 2004We ride ten kilometers on an empty stomach before finding a place to eat. We’re tired, the people at the restaurant are really nice and offer us a hammock to rest in. We spend some time talking to a grampa. The houses by the roadside are lower than the road, have colourful painted walls, interior courts and tile roofs. We climb away from the coast all afternoon. In the heat o75f midday a shirtless guy with a short mohawk speaks to us in unintelligible English about food. He seems to be living in an almost nonexistent shack on the roadside. We arrive on our last legs in San Miguel. The city is aggressive with dust, traffic, and idiots who scream “wassup”, “gringo”, and whatever other catch phrase they can get their racist minds around.
September 20th, 2004We find a hotel with a really nice hostess, Elizabeth who lived in Vancouuver for 20 years. We crash and wake up rested. We take some easy and decide that easy is what we need to recuperate our lost strength. Walking down the street to the Internet café gives us headaches so we sleep some more.
September 21st, 2004The guys from 4 vision TV take us out to the road and conduct an interview. They film us riding down the road for a long time. The clip is supposed to air tonight but it doesn’t.
