In any vacation there is a time for shopping. That´s what we did while in San Salvador. A new pair of dual purpose Pirelli Scorpion tires plus 4l of Repsol 15W50. Then we went to a smal shop to have everything changed. A decision that I would regret, later the same day.
Shopping time!
Thank you, Raphaelo!
Once in San Salvador we got to the BMW Motorrad dealership. Remember the ABS light was on since Guadalajara? Raphaelo, the BMW technician found the problem and fixed it in 30 minutes. I can tell for sure his skill saved our trip: only 2 days after this, while we were riding through a village, a child suddenly started crossing the road in running. I saw him only at the last moment, as he was hidden by a stopped bus. The speed was around 80km/h and I think I saw him when he was less than 5m ahead of me. Without ABS we (and possibly the kid) would have been history. I literally missed him by less than 10cm… Thanks again, Raphaelo!
Lake Coatepeque
Close to San Salvador there is Lake Coatepeque. After 30 minutes of riding through a dusty road we finally got there. Funny: all the dogs that we saw there had very big ears!
Entering El Salvador; Tazumal
Tazumal archaeological site is another example of Mayan civilization. Even if it was closed, since it was Monday, we got a pretty good view from outside. There was also a statue with a plaque mentioning that the site has been visited also by Che Guevara, sometimes in 1954. In the last picture you can see the booth of the Salvadorian immigration office at the border with Guatemala, an example of present day Salvadorian architecture!
Volcan Pacaya
As we reached the Pacaya Volcan, a guy jumped from the bushes and stopped us. With a maceta in his hand he informed us he was a security guard and we can’t proceed unless we are accompanied by an authorized guide. Immediately, out of nowhere, a peasant with a horse showed up, claiming to be an authorized guide willing to escort us for 100 quetzales (around US$12). We proceeded and, after about 2 hours we got to a place where the rocks were really hot and the lava was gloving from underneath. However, no lava was flowing above 🙁
