GRAB A BEER OR COFFEE AND HEAR ABOUT MY DAY.. ITS A GOOD ONE

DAY 60
1/3/2012
Woke up no energy just feeling drained and a little fever/ cold sweat going on. Oh man, push through pack up the bike and get on the road. I headed out had to back track about 15km till my turn off toward the El Salvador Border, I made it there fast no problems. I am well over 5k miles now!

(Okay grab a beer or Coffee, I am going to tell you a story.. The rest of the day is Hilarious.)
I drive in to the border barely any cars to be seen and no lines at all, even better no buddy milling around hassling you to let them help you. “YEAH THIS IS GOING TO BE FAST AND EASY!!” I get off my bike walked to the police, nothing going on not a check point I guess. I get back on the bike ride through the check point, “whistle whistle” look back cop wave at me but he is waving at me to keep going forward. What the hell? I wave back to him if he wants me to turn around; nope he waves me to keep going forward. I go to the next check point, guards on his radio and sends me back to where I came from. I laugh and head back. Talking to them I find out I need to get 2 copies of all my info, title, lic, reg, passport, and three copies of my permit NOT THE RECEIPT. They send me up away from the El Salvador border for copies, nope no power. I head back and then they send me down toward El Salvador border, I get all of the copies and head back. “Yeah I am going to be on my way quickly this is great”. Officer looks at my copies, “where is your permit and copies?” “You copied your receipt not your permit” Oh okay I will go make right copies. “Ugh where’s my permit?” After 40 minutes of searching through all of my stuff, back tracking my steps, and making sure he doesn’t have it either, it’s confirmed that I do not have my permit... CRAP!!! Now what? He looks worried, he gets on his radio for a while then asked where I came through, which border from Mexico? “Wait what; I have to drive all the way back to the border?” “No no we are going to try and get them to fax a copy it may or may not work and will take a few hours.” “I am in idiot, what did I do with it!!!” He takes me down to the station and they start to work, I sit there for about an hour and then the officer says they are done. Sweet! No w I have to go back up to the office for a stamp on the Permit declaring it is the right SN and bike, then I can go to El Salvador. I go get my stamp; we are making jokes getting a good laugh. Alright let’s go to El Salvador, I get to the check point, “Where’s your stamp out of Guatemala?” “I don’t know they told me I was good and handed my passport back, is there not a stamp?” “Nope go back get a stamp.” So I go stand in line for 20 minutes and get my stamp, I make sure that’s all I have to do and then head to the El Salvador Office to get my  stamp and permit. I make it up to the Passport desk and a security guard walks up telling me I have to go back to Guatemala side and get my permit stamped. “What I already did this? Anyone speak English? Oh cool you do please help me, ask him why I have to go back?” Okay I head back at this point this has turned into a pretty funny joke, anyone with a radio is just laughing with me. A security guy tells me where to park, and then we make jokes as he takes me back into another office and I get checked out of Guatemala finally able to go. I go back to El Salvador Border and a security guard with a radio walks out points to where I should park and points to where to go first and then where to finish up. I get through the Passport check quick and head to the next window. The guy is speaking very fast; I look at him dumbly, and then say POCO ESPANOL!! Hahaha he just looks at me and starts to laugh with me. He gets a guy to come over who speaks English, he asks me some question, and again I say Poco Espanola. “Oh okay, but you can read in Spanish right?” “What no.” He rolls his eyes and walks over to my bike and fills out the paper in 5 minutes. After waiting 30 minutes I am giving my permits and sent on my way. YEAH I AM IN EL SALVIDOR!!! Only took 3+hrs!!! BUT I AM IN EL SALVIDOR SO SO RAD!!!

I am making good time and the roads are way better here than Guatemala, glassy smooth and fast. I get into San Ana, and get well lost for 20 minutes. Finally third time is the charm asking for directions, this time from some nice cops who got me out of there with in 3 minutes. I make it to the coast take a left and head south down the 2. I am just flying now, holding 75mph laying down some sweet turns and I should be in Playa San Diego with in a 1.5hrs. I come up on a great view and decide to stop real quick for a picture. I pull off onto a nice dirt patch and take a pretty good picture. Get back on and go through a little town, not much there. I am about 500 meters from town and my back tire feels weird. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! HAHA I stop and yup she’s going flat quick. A kid tells me that there is a shop in town okay grab I turned around no to flat to risk messing up my only tire. I stop and she is really flat and lose my balance and down we go.. (Picture time?) Yup. I get her back up and put her on the center stand. Put my bags on the front bars and get the back off the ground. I look up and a guy had walked down from his house and is just watching me. Right as I get my tools out and start to go to work he crouches down next to me and grab some tools and goes to work with me in silence. We get the tire off quickly and start going after the tire with my irons, in perfect Spanish I ask what his name is..haha. Antonio. All of a sudden another guy maybe in his early 20’s shows up wearing a flat brim hat kind of in gangsterish clothes and starts to help as well. We change it but all I have is an 18” tube, (that’s all I could find in Baja when I blew my other one, no 17). With the 18” tube we had a hard time with such small irons trying to get the last bit of tire on it. So the younger guy says he will take the tire into town and get it fixed, I give him 4 bucks and he puts the tire in his lap and went to town. “I look at my bike with no tire on it, man I really hope he brings back my tire..haha” 20 minutes later he shows up tire on and 25psi in it. Yup that will work, we quickly get the tire on and as through the luggage on yup there goes the bike again to pavement.                  

Finally all set to get on the road. I hand the young guy 10 bucks for helping he is very thankful, I call up to Antonio at his house he walks down and I meet him half way with 10 bucks for him he smiles and thanks me. They really saved me. But now it is almost 6pm, sun is setting quickly and I have no where to stay, should I set up camp in Antonio’s yard if he will let me. At this point I still don’t feel great, and since I have been feeling under the weather all day I hadn’t felt hungry so I hadn’t eaten. Now I am getting hungry and want a bed, so I jump on the bike and start ripping down the coast. I am now in a new country riding at night, well done Fletch well done. Haha I cut through a few towns, I feel safe nothing sketchy. I stop and ask where this one town is and they tell me to keep going, nope it was right where I asked oh well too late. I stop and get gas right before I ran out and asked how far to Play San Diego, 7km. I ride down a dirt road for 10 minutes get to the beach, and then get pointed in the right direction to the Hostel El Robel. Down a dark dirt road through some fields come to a big gate with the name on the wall. I ring the bell; an English guy opens a door. I look at him and ask if they have room, “yup come in I got a free beer with your name on it” “you had me at beer”. He opens the gate and lets me in, shows me around and gives me a beer. I take a nice cold shower and feel much better, I sat down for a huge family dinner style and it was delicious and spicy. Mushroom soup and rice with ground beef. Perfect. Went to bed nice hard sleep.