We could not really see our hotel last night because we arrived late in the dark ... all we knew was that it was in the middle of a National Park and that the architecture was pretty cool.
Today, we woke up to a great site ... the view from my room was directly to the Santa Ana Volcano ... I felt I could touch it ... the architecture of the whole place was incredible ... modern, functional, great feng shui, with spectacular views, windows, floating balconies, all in the middle of and in commune with nature.
After a nice breakfast on a glass enclosed restaurant on a floating platform in front of the volcano, we headed down the mountains ... again from 6000ft to sea level on narrow tertiary twistie roads through farms, villages, mountains. A very zen downhill voyage. Reminiscent of Cuba and Romania at times (I can explain : )
The mountains of El Salvador actually drop straight into the Pacific Ocean with no plateau or flatland before the sea. The coastal road follows these drops (ala Big Sur) around the coast with interminable turns and a few tunnels. A nice ride with the Pacific Ocean on our right the whole way.
We stopped at Beto's (a well know restaurant with great views) for a nice seafood fix lunch. After lunch we went to the famous "Surf City" ... apparently surfers from around the world are beginning to talk about this beach. Interesting but anticlimactic ... maybe it was not wave season : )
On our way up the mountains to San Salvador we also stopped at a well air conditioned Starbucks for a quick cappuccino to wake up and cool off. The road up to the capital was a brand new 4 lane concrete highway apparently paid for by the Chinese. A nice fast curvy road.
San Salvador was surprising to me. The infrastructure was better than expected ... freeways, buildings, signage ... modern, clean ... and, of course, heavy traffic as expected any capital city.
After crossing the city we went up the hills to the Parque Nacional El Boqueron where our hotel for the night was. The views of San Salvador from the hills from our hotel were very cool ... especially as the sun went down and the lights began to turn on. In these hills there is also an amusement park called Volcatenango ... ferris wheels, dragon rides, castles, hobbits, restaurants ... all with an incredible view of the city below.
It is interesting to think that a day like today ... seeing and experiencing all new places, new people, unseen nature ... on a motorcycle ... all causing you to intensely live every moment ... learning, feeling, thinking, connecting ... a full 10-12 hours of being on ...
I wonder if there is a way for this intense connection and presence could ever be made to be on always? Is this what enlightenment would be?
After resting a bit, we walked down the street to have dinner on the terrace at one of the restaurants in the area and called it a day. Wow, again.
Starbucks en La Libertad - just chiiling!
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