to Acajutla: winding and hilly road

June 18, 2017

One look at the map and graph for today tells us the first 50 kilometers are not going to be easy. The road squiggles along the coast, up and down into valleys and around headlands. None of the climbs are very long though and the grades are gradual.

We get an early start as usual, it is overcast for most of the day and the temperature is moderate with the humidity off the scale though. It is a Sunday morning and we see many cyclists out riding. Some have a car behind them, for safety probably, some are in larger groups. There were 5 tunnels today. At the second tunnel we met a group of women cyclists Bike Girls SV. We stopped to don our headlights for the tunnel, talk with them and take some photos.

A little later we meet our first cycle tourer in quite a while: Philippe is a guy from Germany on a ride from Cancun to Panama. He is on an old bike he brought from home and will leave behind at the end of the ride. He is using flip-flops to ride, to make it easier on his feet he has wrapped the pedals in padding material.

Not fifteen minutes later we see another loaded cyclist. This guy is Martin from Spain. He has been living in Guatemala for the last five years working on climate change projects. He has been an armchair cycle tourist for quite some time, knows of CGOAB and even used our journal to research his route.

Our goal for today was Mitzal, but when we get there early we decide to go further. Since we set our October deadline to get home we are "on a schedule" with more miles than we have days left. We will have to take some more buses. Anytime we can make up some time by going further helps. One more hill after Mitzal, then the road flattens out, with a long steady uphill to the junction with the main road to Acajutla. The clouds we have seen building over the Ocean catch up with us though and we get a good soaking.

At the junction with the road to Guatemala is a hotel/restaurant. The Kilo-5 Hotel is actually quite nice. It has a nice restaurant, garden and even a pool. The room is a little expensive (again) at $32, but we get AC, cable channels, a pool and breakfast. Since we leave so early they agree to give us breakfast now to tie us over until dinner tonight.

There are many hills and five tunnels on our route today.

Nice views along the Pacific. Dark clouds are building over the Ocean.

This coast is popular for surfing. The waves see too rough for swimming.

There are many cyclists out for a Sunday morning ride. We meet this group of women from San Salvador.

Some redneck engineering. How to load a disabled trailer on a pickup truck.

There is a bike wheel in here somewhere.

We meet Philippe, a cyclist from Germany on his way from Cancun to Panama. He is riding a $150 bike he brought from home but will leave behind after the trip.

Not twenty minutes later we meet Martin from Spain. He has lived in Guatemala for the last five years.

Today's ride: 74 km (46 miles)
Total: 33,501 km (20,804 miles)

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