We spent two days at our unintended stopover of Concepcion de Ataco. It mainly revolved around relaxing, eating Pupusas, drinking hot chocolates, and browsing the local wares.
Tom managed to fix the problem with the bike (a dodgy wire connection under the seat, don't ask me what is was for) so we head off on Sunday for the coast. We wound down the Ruta de Las Flores which was truly beautiful; lush and green and winding. We then reached the coast and meandered around the headlands towards El Tunco. In some spots the road strangely reminded us of the Great Ocean Road in Australia, the way it hugged the coast with ocean on one side and rock face on the other. Having been happily tucked up in the hills we forgot just how hot it was down at sea level and were quickly back to dripping with sweat. But the ride was worth it and only took 2 hours. El Tunco was a cute little beach town with very little going on - apparently it comes alive at weekends but we got there on Sunday! We stayed at a very well-equipped hostel called Papaya Lodge where we enjoyed chatting to some other travellers; there was an older couple travelling from Texas by car, a young Swedish couple journeying by Nicole (!) and an American man who used to own BSAs. A pretty interesting bunch!
If you don't surf El Tunco doesn't really offer much, so we enjoyed kicking back in hammocks and swimming in the pool for a couple of days before heading back inland. For a lot of travellers El Tunco is one of the only stops in El Salvador which is a shame. It's perfectly nice but to us really doesn't compare to the authentic and quaint hilltop towns. Ready to go back to the hills we geared up and went to set off. However no day on the road for us is without problems, and after Tom kick-started the bike the kick-start lever just hung limply on the floor. The spring had gone that kept it in position, so now every time we start the bike I sit on the floor and put the lever back in place after every kick, until the engine roars to life. We then have to strap it up with a bungee. All part of the adventure! So we headed into the hills, looking forward to the temperature dropping a bit. Three hours later after a spectacular road that wound all the way up the volcano (and it was paved, yahoo!) we arrived at El Salvador's highest town - Alegría. We found a hostel comprised of 5 basic but cute cabanas around a gated courtyard - perfect for us. We had a yummy local dish of chicken and various veg and tortillas perched on a balcony overlooking the vast plains below. We then walked to the mirador which was even more impressive - 180 degree view of lakes, volcanoes, hills, fields... and just as the sun was going down, basking the vista in a golden glow.
The wind picked up and we watched in awe as clouds swept in, so quickly that in a space of ten minutes the view went from being totally clear to completely grey. Watching the clouds swirl in in front of us, totally obscuring the view, was quite something. We were right in the cloud, and yet there were patches where we could see under the black mass to the golden plains below - it was quite a sight. We retreated back to our cabana in the nick of time before the rain started plummeting, It didn't stop all night. So we made ourselves cosy in our little tin-roofed shed, ate biscuits, drank hot chocolate and caught up on Game of Thrones (Battle of the Bastards, what an episode)! In the morning it's on to the Honduran border. We've heard pretty bad things but hopefully our luck will continue and we'll have another easy crossing!