A French Connection in El Salvador

Another early start got us most of the way to a Warmshowers host's place in San Jose Hualoso before the worst of the heat the next morning. Karl's lingering stomach bug flared up so he had a hard time with the only hill of the day, but we still arrived at Jose and Maria's big house by 10 am and were soon relaxing in the shade and being plied with cold drinks and delicious food. Jose's mother had taken him and his 11 siblings to Montreal during the civil war in the early 1980s, so he grew up speaking French, and when he decided to return to his home country he did it by bicycle, so is excited to host passing cycle tourists. We spent hours listening to stories about El Salvador's tumultuous history and broken political system, and sharing cycling and life stories from Canada and Central America. We also got to join Jose for a trip to San Miguel where he buys everything from concrete to toilet paper to maize for the small stores he runs in two adjacent communities. We really enjoyed our time with Jose - he is definitely an example of someone who is working hard to achieve his dreams, including building a beautiful home for his extended family and passing cyclists. A full day off the bikes relaxing in hammocks gave Karl a chance to work through his stomach issue so he was feeling far better before we had to ride in the heat again. We had one more extravagant crepe breakfast (with real maple syrup from Canada!) and we said goodbye at 7 am.Baca selengkapnya