Río El Zonte

We drove off the volcano top (not stopping at any of the miradors due to reports of armed robberies) and almost immediately were back in the hot and steamy conditions. We had a quick pit stop at a supermarket and we were delighted to see the high prices of Guatemala a thing of the past. A couple of hours of easy driving (great road surface not a tope/reductor/tumulo in sight) we hit the coast.

This whole coast is famous for its surfing, and we picked out a nice sounding spot thinking we would stay a day or two before meandering on along the coast. However, what we hadn't bargained for was an amazing camp spot, with two pools, hammocks everywhere, great WiFi, free electricity, and even a terrace overlooking the surf beach (which had a soaking pool). All of this for 10 bucks!

Inevitably one day turned into a week, whilst we whiled away the days hopping between pools and hammocks. Lunch invariably involved some delicious pupusas, and would have amounted to a couple of bucks each (if it wasn't for the large beers that accompanied it). At most we stretched ourselves to walk a massive 800m to the end of the cove, but many days we didn't even manage that! To be fair it's stinkingly hot (35C+) and really humid so you can't do much, and there's really not much here (half a dozen rustic restaurants). I doesn't even cool down much in the evenings and we are thankful for the air con.

Beach life is dangerous to the belly so we eventually hauled ourselves of this beautiful spot and on south towards the Honduran border.Read more