Well, it wasn’t exactly the Kwai river, but I really liked that movie! So, we entered Nicaragua with a full tank of gas but only 0.25 USD plus 4 Cordobas in our pocket. The plan was to get more Cordobas once we get to the next town with an ATM. But shortly after the border there was a bridge and we were supposed to pay 1 USD as a crossing fee. At this point we were 0.65 USD short on the money and the only ATM we were aware of was located some 70kms in Nicaragua, East of the bridge. And that guy at the toll did not want to let us cross the bridge without paying his fee. So eventualy we had to cross the river without using the bridge. We got back, went through a village, crash in a pile of trash while trying to reach the water, get the bike up again on it’s wheels, cross the river, ride some 1km through the river bed looking for a way out, go through a forest, a village, and finally after 1.5 hours we managed to get back on the Panamerican highway 750m after the bridge. But we saved 1 dollar!
The bridge over the river Kwai
El cambiador
“El cambiador” is a person like this one who makes a living by exchanging currency at border crossings. Please note the stash of money he uses for advertising. However, he was unable to exchange our Romanian Leu :))
Fixing a flat tire
Where might be the best place to have a flat tire if not in the neutral zone between El Salvador and Honduras? No shop around and no towing service of course. Fortunately, I´ve got the skills and the tools to change a tire. Plus, there were a few truck drivers willing to give a hand so it took me only 2 hours to finish the job, down from half a day last time I did this. After this I deserve a picture with the truck! The lesson I learned is don´t be lazy and do the tire change yourself or else the cheap shop that is doing it for you might puncture again your tube…
The weapon of choice
So: in Mexico every security guard had an M16 hanging of his neck. Then in Guatemala it seems you can´t go very far without a maceta. But down here in El Salvador for some reason the weapon of choice was the shotgun. Wondering what´s comming next…
The Salvadorian Military Museum
This is the only museum we visited while in El Salvador. The collection was limited, but they had some interesting items: a numismatic collection with Saddam Hussein´s face on the bills, a Romanian military uniform (from Irak) and even a popemobile!
