Stage 12: San Salvador to San Miguel

Riding in El Salvador

 

I did another century today! My route today did not take me on the highway, instead I was treated to a “Ruta Panoramica” for the first 30 miles or so, which wended its way through several towns with houses featuring well-treated lawns and floral arrangements. This was also mostly downhill, which I also enjoyed. The latter 70 miles were also fairly pleasant. There was a large shoulder and not a lot of traffic. I arrived with some daylight to spare, but as I go further south I can feel the heat rising. Although I’m in shape enough for the distance, the exposure to the heat is having a noticeable effect. I had planned a rest day in San Miguel, as well.

On the road to San Miguel

At the pupuseria with Lissette and Cesar

 

My hosts are Cesar and Lissette. They live in a small compound with several rooms. They described the location as being ideal for the space and privacy, even though it was located in a poor part of the city. I asked if that also meant that it was dangerous, but they said there were no problems with security, just the roads were in bad shape or nonexistent with no plans to fix them.

They took me to a pupuseria for dinner and then we went to a park located in the center of the city. There was a lot of activity happening in the park, people working out, playing soccer and volleyball and people like us, walking around the track in small groups just talking. All of this has been great for my Spanish, as my last couple of hosts have not spoken any English whatsoever. I am managing to keep up as much as possible, with some assistance from Google translate, of course. Cesar works in sales for a snack company and Lissette works in sales for a medical supply company.

Rest day in San Miguel

Dinner and a walk was pretty much everything I could handle after a century. The next day, Lissette offered to take me on her work errands, which would take us out to the mountains. I could go on a hike and check out the river that flowed into the mountains. Both of these seemed interesting to me. She drove around the city first, dropping off medications to clients who had placed orders. Then we drove out of the city, continuing the same errands, but in much more rural areas. These were medications that weren’t typically carried by regular pharmacies, and the clients in these areas got them delivered directly.

View from from the road, delivering medication

She dropped me off at Valle San Lucas. Even in the mountains it was over 100 degrees. I wasn’t sure how much of a hike I could handle, but fortunately it wasn’t much more than a mile and I came to the river. The mountain stream was cold and refreshing. I just got in it and sat there for about an hour. I was mostly alone in the woods and it was quiet and peaceful. It was an excellent time.

The stream at Valle San Lucas

Lissette picked me up and we headed back to San Miguel. We stopped at her place briefly to change and pick up Cesar and we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant, followed by a night on the town with about 10 of their friends. We started at a relaxed outdoor bar. There was a dance floor they played mostly what they called “regional” music, either typical El Salvadoran music Latin folk or cumbia. We hung out with their friends a while at that bar, until everyone wanted to go to a more upbeat dance club, so to the Discoteca we went!

A mural at the club

The club wasn’t particularly packed, and they played the typical club bangers from Latin artists - the music was exclusively in Spanish. There were some great dancers at the club and I danced with the people in the group that I came with. It was a fun party and we left around 3. Which was a reasonable time so I could get out in the morning.

Tomorrow is a shorter day, compared to a century. And I will be crossing another border into a new country, as well.