HELLO FROM LEON, NICARAGUA!

This town has cast its spell on me, i really like it, it has the largest cathedral of central america, plus many other beautiful churches, and colonial buildings, around it are some impressive volcanoes and 20k away some famous beaches for surfing and relaxing.  It's so romantic i really wish Silvia was here with me:(, but thats a good reason to return.
I've been ridding non stop since i left Tapachula, Mexico on Nov 5, so in eleven days i traveled a bit over 1000k, going through Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras and part of Nicaragua.
I left Escuintla, Gua. on the 8th after about 55k i was in Chiquimulilla where the bridge was swept away in a storm so i had to take a detour on dusty dirt roads through some really nice landscape,the rivers around here are really clean, i went of the main road to visit the town of Taxisco, very steep climb in, but what a quaint little town up in the hillside, very nice people.  Before this i had a great really fresh breakfast in a semi-town., i kept pushing towards the border so i had a standard lunch at the only place i found, a gas station.  I made it to Las Lisas a town only 14k from the border and fownd a really cheap room and food, at a little roadside restaurant.  The owner, Emerita, was a very friendly hardworking woman, with 3 kids, whom entretained me while i passed the hours before heading to bed, i playe guitar for them and they liked it a lot! One of the local kids, Fernando, told me his mom left to the USA when he was five, and he hasn't seen her since, he is 11 now, but she sends him and his gtrandma money and he is in school and likes to play the drums.  Today was a hot but lovely 90k ride!
The next day i crossed the border Guat-Salv, whith no hassle and rode 90k to Playa Dorada, where i saw the Pacific at last, had lunch and camped at the hotel for $4 set up my hammock between two palm treas about 30feet from the waves,a couple arrived to camp there also, in a toyota 4wd with a safari tent on the roof, his name is Helio, he is from Portugal and his partners name Ana, she is from Holland, wonderful people and we spent the evening talking while having some beers, he has been traveling non stop for 15 years, 6 of which with Ana since they got together, they've traveled Africa, Asia, Australia, Europa, and now the Americas!  Great stories, better than a movie!  We exchanged emails so we can stay in touch and meet again in Colombia or Peru, they will be going right through Puerto Maldonado, my final destination.
The next morning we went for a swim in the strong currents, it was nice having them with me, great company, we said good bye, they were going to stay for a day, so i kept going, following the coast line, but it was very challenging, in and out and up and down till La Libertad, then it got flat again, but i couldnt find a good place to set up camp, so i keept going till ireached San Luis and a police officer directed me to a motel close to the airport, i made it just as the sun set, it was a dive but clean and had its own bathroom, in the bar there was kareoke and a bunch of "girls" working their "clients" so i chated with everyone a while and went to bed.
I really liked the Pacific coast of El Salvador.
I made it to Zacatecoluca by mid morning the next day so i entered the town and had some coffee and cookies in front of the cathedral, while i chated with a bunch of locals.  One stood out and did a lot of the talking, he was 71years of age, he told me he had been to Arizona where he met Poisoned Knife an apache, who's father was grey bear and grandfather brown bear.  He said that in 2013 aprox, all cell phones were going to explode because of cosmic radiation, and by 2016 great catastrophes would happen because of deforestation and pollution.  After half an hour i was on my way again, i crossed the Lempa river, and had lunch in San Marcos Lempa, after paying two kids to help me get my bike up the 13 steps to the hanging bridge over the river, since this bridge had been washed away also! I made it to Usulutan where i got an over priced room, but its all i found that looked safe, and had a swimming pool which i enjoyed!
Next morning i passed through El Delirio, were the road headed south to the pacific, and around the gulf of fonseca to honduras, or, the rout i took, up to San Miguel a large city of El Salvador, From were i could take rt7 or ruta militar towards Santa Rosa de Lima, a little town just before the border.  I had some coconut water and talked to the vendor for a little bit, then headed towards San Miguel, minutes before arriving a man stopped his pick up truck to ask me where i came from and where i was headed, I was a little suspicious at first, but he explained he had done the bicycle trip from Montreal, to NY, to LA, then down to El Salvador, were he is from, he lived in Canada for many years and is aldo a Canadian citizen,  But longed to return so in 2003 he headed south, he had some great pictures of his trip, and now owns two convinience stores, on the Pacific, one in El Cuco and one in El Tunjo, both in the direction i wasn't headed, so i passed on his invitation to stay with him, many bicytourists have stayed with him though, he's a really nice guy, his name is Jose Ines.  In San Miguel i had lunch in a little place run by Nora, a blond, blue eyed local, who just gratuated from Psychology, and wants to get her teaching degree, i had some great cheese and bean pupusas, salad. and fresco de urchata, which is a wonderful bevarage made from the dry roasted seed of a gourd called jicaro, which in Colombia we call totumo, i think hot it would make a great substitute for coffee.  She gave me a litlle bag whith the powder so i could prepare it on the road.  I made it to Santa Rosa, were i found a room, largest i've had so far, with shared bathrooms, but nice and relatively clean, the town was peaceful and quaint, my room also had a hammock so i had the best sleep, since i camped in my own, so the next morning i was ready to takle Honduras.  After a good breakfast next door to the hostel "EL SALVADOR" were i stayed, i headed out a bit late around 9:30am, passed the border at El Amatillo, Honduras, around 10:30am, with no delays, but i was feeling a bit weak so i decided to stop at the first cheap location i found, i made it to Nacaome, a large town, but the hotel was too expensive and after having lunch i headed out again, towards San Lorenzo, but after only 7k i found a restaurant/hotel, in Jicaro Galan, tiny room really run down, with shared toilet and bathing area, cuzz u took water from the tank and poured it over you with a bowl, nice clean well water though!
After putting everything in my room and a bath i headed to were the family was hanging out in a room next to the restaurant where they had a litlle food store or "tienda", very nice and simple people, The matriarch was Dona Catalina and the patriarch was Don Julian, they lived there with their youngest son, out of four, who all lived near by and stopped in often.  We talked about faith and good will and had a great time, Don Julio insisted i est With him at the family table, and then showed me his crops, gave me samples of the delicious fruit that was ripe and showed me around, then some neighbours stopped by for some evening chat, i brought the guitar out and we had a great evening, i think the fourteen year old girl was falling in love with me, she was so cute, telling everybody to be quiet so she could hear me sing!  Then the young ones went of to bible study at the church and i went to bed, the next morning i said my goodbyes and headed out in the cool morning mountain air. I thought i would make it to Choluteca and that would be it, but the time they told me it would take was way off, it was only noon so i ate and puched towards the border of Nicaragua, i entered at Guasaule, were they charged me $13 entry fee but the receipt said $2, i mentioned it and could see trouble so i decided to not argue, too tired for that, and finally i made it to Somotillo, a crappy little town were i spent the night in a crappy mouldy tiny room, were i barely slept.  So i was happy to leave early and i rode hard, 135k, passing through Chinandega the first town in 72k of no urbanization, it had banks and hotels but was very comercial and noisy so i continued, though totally tired, when i arrived to Leon i couldnt of been happier i loved it right away, the energy, the people, the architecture, just really nice, here i found a pretty nice colonial hotel, with wifi, so i decided to spend a rest day and stay two nights, this is were i am right now, heading out to pick up my laundry, and do some more sightseeing of this lovely nicaraguan town!