Apparently some special permission is needed to cross from Nicaragua into El Salvador with the motorcycles, and this can only be drafted by a lawyer. No big deal, as it would give us the chance to have a longer wander around the city and enjoy a leisurely lunch somewhere.
The ride down from the Caribbean Sea to SPS was mostly sealed highway that could be taken at more than 100km per hour. Only a brief stop is needed at the border to stamp passports and get moving again. The Honduran immigration building is rather hilarious as it looks capable of processing thousands of people per day. Clearly this is not the case nowadays, as we were literally the only customers, and judging by the bored expressions on the faces of the staff we were likely to be the only ones that day.
There was one light hearted moment as we left the border area. Immediately outside the immigration area are a handful of money changers waving enormous fistfuls of cash to tempt you to change currency with them. Ty rode past one or two quite closely and pretended to grab a wad of cash. There was a bit of a mad scramble backwards to get away from the crazy gringo.
It is tempting to forget that you are not at home on these roads - at least until you come over the crest of a hill to be confronted by two semi trailers traveling side by side and directly in your path. Or when you are overtaking a bus, and it then swings wildly over onto you to overtake a truck itself. Perhaps it's just as well that here are often visual reminders to be extra careful. This is not an uncommon sight on the side of the road over here.
It seems that other vehicles are not the only mobile obstacle over here. During one sweeping bend, a brightly colored bird swooped out of the nearby jungle and clipped by mirror before slamming into my shoulder. No damage done (to me) except for a big scare, but it has spread blood and entrails all over the front of my jacket. Ty has asked me to leave it in the sun at the next stop to cook properly.
We celebrated arriving at the Carribean sea (the town of Omoa) by stopping at a roadside restaurant with a million dollar view. Amazingly, a double story property in good condition that is directly on the beachfront can be purchased for about $100,000 AUD. There seems to be quite a large expat community of American retirees that have realized the sensational value of these properties and have developed quite a nice little community here.
Just waiting for the lawyer to prepare our paperwork now before heading further south to stay in the Cloud Mountains this evening.
Location:SPS
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