I left the hotel around 9am and was on the road. Traffic was packed, so I had to maneuver my way through as I worked my way towards the border. I also had about $20 of Quetzals left in my pocket that I needed to spend on the way out, so I was on the hunt for a gas station close to the border.
The weather was perfect today. The region is just coming out of the rain season, so it is warm, but not too extremely hot. I felt very comfortable, except for the fact that my body is covered in bug bites. It might be mosquitos, but I am thinking it has more to do with the bed I slept in the night before the hotel sadly.
As I rode on, the roads ran through small towns so you would start to pick up speed and some flow, and then run into speed bumps and traffic jams. It is not like America where the roads flow between towns with exits that allow traffic to continue on. You are forced through each city, and these small towns are all very similar, though slightly better than what you find along the road in Baja Mexico.
As I neared the border, the money changers started coming out of nowhere. In El Salvador, the National Currency, is the US Dollar. It felt great telling them I am from America, so why would they even ask if I need money from my own country?!
There were so many people hounding me that the border, I couldn't believe it. This was to leave Guatemala, not even to enter El Salvador. If you are ever crossing these types of borders, just remember that the only people you have to talk to, wear uniforms and have name badges. Everyone else is just like a fly on a pile of dog poop :)
As I was getting all of my things together, when I realized I was parked behind two of the bikes from the Moto Camp in Antigua. It was the couple riding to Ushuaia from Jalisco Mexico. They had been talking to the local motorcycle club, and the club had organized for them to be escorted by the Guatemala club to the border, and the El Salvador club to take them from the other side to their destination. Because I happened upon them, I got to go with them too lol.
We got through the Guatemalan side and headed across a really cool bridge that separates the two countries. As we got to the other side, the group was held to the side so that they could process all of our paperwork. We had to have an original and a copy of the following items:
- Passport
- Passport Stamp leaving Guatemala
- Driver License
- Bike Title
- Importation documents that were filled out at the border
- Export docs from Guatemala
After we submitted everything, it took the border office around an hour to get everything submitted and approved. The total time at the El Salvador entry point was around 2.5 hours. It really felt out of order, and I can't imagine how it would have been to be there with a line of other people waiting for the same thing. Once we were done, members of the Santa Ana MC received us and escorted us into Santa Ana.
As we rode into El Salvador, I had a flood of emotions. I had served a full time mission for my church here 12 years ago. At that time, I had dreamed of returning on a motorcycle, but it felt more like an outlandish dream than a goal I would ever achieve. As I realized this dream today, I felt very accomplished, and excited. It is very hard to put into words, but it was definitely the highlight of the trip so far for me.
We rode to Santa Ana where we took photos in front of the cathedral. From there we all said goodbye and I headed off alone towards San Salvador. Traffic was moderate, but I was just taking it all in. The hour ride from Santa Ana flew by, and I was at the Hostal in La Zona Rosa before I knew it.
I parked the bike and unloaded it so that I could run down to my favorite pupusaria before it was too late. If you do not know what a pupusa is, make sure you look it up. It is basically a very thick tortilla that is stuffed with beans and cheese then fried on a grill. In San Salvador, there is a small secret, they offer a rice version rather than corn meal, and it is 10x better in my opinion. I will probably go there every day until I leave town.
After dinner I ran home, parked the bike inside it's cage, and got to blogging. Tomorrow I will head to church then out around the country to see some of the places that I used to live.
Goodnight!
We rode to Santa Ana where we took photos in front of the cathedral. From there we all said goodbye and I headed off alone towards San Salvador. Traffic was moderate, but I was just taking it all in. The hour ride from Santa Ana flew by, and I was at the Hostal in La Zona Rosa before I knew it.
I parked the bike and unloaded it so that I could run down to my favorite pupusaria before it was too late. If you do not know what a pupusa is, make sure you look it up. It is basically a very thick tortilla that is stuffed with beans and cheese then fried on a grill. In San Salvador, there is a small secret, they offer a rice version rather than corn meal, and it is 10x better in my opinion. I will probably go there every day until I leave town.
After dinner I ran home, parked the bike inside it's cage, and got to blogging. Tomorrow I will head to church then out around the country to see some of the places that I used to live.
Goodnight!
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