Day 123 - Guatemala City

Having spent the morning sitting in the BMW garage, (which is now becoming past time), i was told that the front wheel bearings were cracked, the brake calliper bent and the steering head bearing cracked! Not that i didn't believe them, but the dealer do have a way of over dramatising things, i asked to see all the broken parts. They were all broken of bent! - this will be the second set of bearings since i departed, so much for the BMW adventure bike! I was told that the bike should be ready for tomorrow morning. There was only one thing to do, find somewhere to stay and look around the city.

I really enjoyed Guatemala city, it has a good feeling and the people are amazingly friendly. 

view over the city

pineapples 

fried bananas 

Day 122 - San Salvador - Guatemala City (Guatemala)

Distance travelled (by bike): 12,650

Leaving San Salvador behind i stopped at Joya de Ceren to see the Pre columbian Maya farming village, the only UNESCO world heritage site in El Salvador. The village was preserved under layers of volcanic ash, the site was discovered in 1976 and is still being excavated. Though the site is small in comparison to other sites it was worth the visit, especially as i got a tour with two of the archaeologist working on the site. So far over 70 buildings have been uncovered, most still not open to the public. 

part of the irrigation system 

looking out from the museum 

From Joya de Ceren it was an easy drive to Guatemala. The border crossing was amazingly easy, friendly and quick. Even though i had to wait at the Guatemalan side for someone to process the bike the combination of freshly squeezed orange juice, some local music, friendly people and a working fan meant the wait was no problem, enjoyable even. Cleared into Guatemala i headed straight for Guatemala city and the BMW dealer. The front brake calliper has been wearing into the brake disk, not good and dangerous, but i was told that it should hold until Guatemala. 

Guatemala is beautiful, the contrast between El Salvador, its unbelievable, green, lush and interesting scenery. The road just kept getting better the further i drove. Arriving at the BMW dealer i left the bike on its stand, it proceeded to fall off the stand. Not a good first impression! As the dealer is slightly out of the city i decided to stay in the area rather than get a taxi into the centre.

the only vehicle at the Guatemala border crossing

Day 120/121 - Leon - San Salvador (El Salvador, via Honduras)/San Salvador

Distance travelled (by bike): 12,400

Long day, setting of from Leon at 5.30ish i arrived at the honduras border at 7am, from what i heard i though it would be the worst crossing so far. Not so i was cleared within 45 minutes, with no help. Having been stopped by the police 4 time for paperwork etc i arrived at the Honduras/El Salvador border, this took more time the office were 4km apart. 

It was here, looking back that my signet ring was very skilfully stolen. With lots of people trying to get me to use them as 'helpers' and been incredibly hot and sweaty in hindsight was easy for anyone who was shaking hands etc. to have subtly removed the ring. I didn't realise it was gone until i took my gloves of at San Salvador. I was livid, upset and gutted. I now have a personal grudge against the Honduras / El Salvador border!

Once in El Salvador i was going to stop for the night in San Miguel, but i was enjoying the ride so i continued on to San Salvador. I know I was told by many people, but on my journey through i agree that El Salvador hasn't got much verity to offer, however the people are amazingly friendly. As i arrived into San Salvador i was greeted with a huge storm, spurring me on i soon found somewhere to stay and dry out. 

leaving Nicaragua 

the mist over the rural lands

lone bike at the border (nicaragua/honduras)

hi & bye

a tiny bit of honduras (between the police stops)

the bridge over to the El Salvador customs

could be anywhere in the world!

Storm brewing in San Salvador

Day 117 - San Salvador

After the epic day yesterday i decided to stay in San Salvador. A relatively lazy day wandering the city. San Salvador is the third largest city in Central America, surrounded by volcanoes and prone to earthquakes, so i'm told. Luckily it was cooler today 33 degrees, still not a pleasant temperature for me though. A very western city, hugely US influence (currency is dollars), you can see the development of the city through the architecture and the expanding suburbs. The Business district is all newly built with guards on every building, Mc Donalds and other fast food outlets on the corners. I was warned about the crime here, i was told in some areas the gangs run the streets, this is apparently the same in Santa Ana 50 miles north. I decided to play it safe and avoid those areas. 

National Theatre, one of the national icons

the icon of San Salvador - the saviour of the world icon

looking at the volcano on a good day

views over the city

Day 117/118/119 - Granada - Leon/Leon

Distance travelled (by bike): 12,150

Day 117 -

Opting for a very early start (to beat the heat) i left Granada. Following the map (not trusting the gps 100%) i thought the route was quite straight forward, and it should have been. Unfortunately somewhere i managed to take the wrong turn. After a 100km detour i was back on track. Passing through Managua, (the capital city) i briefly wiggled through the city but decided not to stop. Cruising along the road i was trying to stay within the speed limit as i had been warned by other travellers about the police pulling over tourists, (luckily this hasn't happened yet in Nicaragua) but ignoring the local drivers who are speeding. Arriving at Leon i met up with Ben (a fellow biker i met in Costa Rica),  he had lived in Leon so know where to go and where to avoid. This is the one of the first times i have had to leave the bike on the street overnight. The security guard advised me to remove everything that could be stolen, i did. 

(*images are low quality as the internet connection is really slow)

driving into leon

the cathedral 

Day 118 - 

Relieved to wake up and find the bike was still parked outside with everything still where i left it. Having lost track of days i didn't realise it was a sunday, so a very lazy and quiet day locally.

However, Ben, having lived in Leon told be that sunday was cock (rooster) fighting and gambling day. The locals gather at a venue, attach razor blades, hooks, etc to the legs of the cocks, antagonise them, then let them fight to the death. This i had to experience, getting a taxi to some part of town where we were the only gringo's (feeling quite glad i hadn't shaved), then paying $0.50 to enter someones back garden, which had the 'arena' in it. A lot of locals (all looking quite rough) were betting on which bird would win, length of time to the kill etc. There was even something resembling a roulette wheel. The cocks were in small cages, before the fight the owners attached their weapon of choice to the animals leg, using another bird they would antagonise it/them, then both birds released and the fight began. 

Lasting about 5-10 minutes they were really quite brutal, massively bloody and to the death, or near enough!

Armed with beers we took our seats on the dusty planks around the 'cage' and watched as the brutality began.

attaching the razor to the birds leg

antagonising one of the birds

sizing each other up

fighting

the very bloody winner & proud owner

Day 119 - 

I decided to stay in Leon one more day to get paperwork and insurance worked out for the some of the countries i would be passing through in the next month. Upon hearing it was a national holiday I was relieved i decided against going to the border this morning, would have been hot and hellish. I think today was the hottest day i have experienced so far, nothing to do but stay in the shade and drink a lot of water. As the day wore on ben ventured out to go and retrieve his motorbike from the local mechanic and i set off to do some more sightseeing. Early start tomorrow, hopefully i'll be able to get to the border, cross into honduras, drive across Honduras and clear into El Salvador by tomorrow evening - long day!!

lion outside the cathedral 

bells of the cathedral 

cathedral 

one of the many murals around the city