The road out of San Salvador started as a 4-lane Highway but quickly narrowed to 2-lanes that was under construction and with no shoulder. It soon started to rain making matters worse. This continued for about 20 kilometers till I reached Cojutepeque where I stopped for lunch. The usual crowd gathered around and one of the spectators spoke English. He had lived in Vancouver for a few years. He was very impressed with my trip and offered me $5 dollars. I carried on down the Highway and camped at the side of the road that night.

         The next day, the ride started downhill but I was unable to take advantage of that as the road was in such bad shape. I reached a valley, which was at sea level, and the heat became extreme. I stopped on the bridge that crosses the Lempa River to take a picture. It felt like I was in the middle of nowhere but, before long, a large crowd gathered as I set up my tripod. As I continued on, the climb started again. That night, I camped in a field beside the road.

         In the morning, I found that giant red ants had gotten into the pannier and had eaten through my zip-lock bags to get at the food. I spent the next half hour cleaning out the pannier and salvaging what food I could. That day, the climb continued, the traffic was heavy and the road conditions deplorable.

         I reached El Triunfo by mid-afternoon. I decided to eat in a restaurant and had the usual chicken. While there, some men sitting at another table invited me over for a drink. One of them, Oscar, was an English teacher. We sat around talking for awhile then Oscar invited me back to stay at his house for the night. He lived in Nueva Guadalupe about 10 km down the road. I rode off on my bike and he followed me with his motorcycle. I parked my bike in his garage and met his wife who was about 8 months pregnant. She prepared us a fancy meal and we sat around the TV watching Jurasic Park II in Spanish.

         In the morning, Oscar's wife prepared a breakfast of scrambled eggs with vegetables, refried beans, bread, and a hot chocolate drink. We ate in front of the TV and watched a Sunday morning movie. After breakfast, I thanked them for their hospitality and headed back to the Highway. I soon reached San Miguel and found a nice hotel with satellite TV that brought in some English channels. I watched some news on CNN and heard about Bush's plan to attack Iraq. I went to a Pizza Hut for supper and, while I was there, Oscar and his wife appeared to buy a take-out pizza.

         I spent one day in San Miguel resting and then continued on towards Honduras. The heat was oppressive and I stopped frequently to cool down and drink water. The traffic was constant with buses, mini-vans and pickup trucks all transporting people and all constantly blowing their horns to attract the customers. I stopped at the turn off to San Francisco to decide which route to take to Honduras. After studying the map, I decided not to take the mountain route into the interior of Honduras but rather I would enter on the coast and ride up to the capital. It meant less time in Honduras but, I had to sacrifice one of the countries if I was to finish this trip in my life-time.

         When I reached Santa Rosa de Lima for a rest and a drink, a crowd gathered around to look at the bike. Someone from the local cable station asked to do an interview and he shot some video of me on the bike. Then two of the local kids led me on their bike to a cheap hotel. The only thing I could find for supper was more chicken. The next day, I was very nauseated and generally feeling rotten so I decided to spend another day resting.

         On September 4, I felt a little better so decided to move on. After stocking up on food and water, getting my sandals fixed and finding the post office to mail a letter to Rubidia, I made my way to Honduras.