The Adventures of Moose & Squirrel: "Downhill" Mountaing Biking in El Salvador

After a long, supposedly relaxing week in Honduras, we headed back to El Salvador. We had a very quick flight from San Salvador to Roatan (just over an hour by plane). However, to get back to San Salvador on a week day (Friday) we had to take three flights and spend most of the day in airports. Our first flight was a little bit scary. We thought that planes were supposed to be aerodynamic. Does this square plane look aerodynamic to you? It also did not have any air conditioning or ventilation. AT reminded me that it’s “always an adventure” with me. :-)

I had such a great time in El Salvador with Habitat for Humanity, I wanted to take AT there so that he could see the country as well. We spent two nights in San Salvador, experiencing the city life, and one all-day adventure in the mountains with my favorite touring company, Akwaterra. Julio, the owner, picked us up in the morning from our swanky hotel (we thought we would splurge and stay in the 5-star, $99/night hotel). He drove us up to his wife’s family’s coffee plantation high in the mountains. During the 2+ hour drive, he was an inexhaustible source of information about El Salvador. (AT came prepared to fill the time with lots of questions about the economy, the people, the government, and the culture.) We got to Akwaterra’s “home base” and adjusted our mountain bikes for the ride ahead. Even though I had booked us for a relaxing “downhill mountain bike ride” that ANYONE, regardless of their physical condition, could do, Julio asked us if we cared to do an intermediate ride. AT said yes, because we “could use a good workout”. Now, I had experienced the pleasure of an “easy hike” just a week prior.. the one where we had to have a car come and pick some of our team up because the hike was so treacherous! But I went along with it because AT really wanted the intermediate ride.

Let’s just say that there are no photos about this adventure because it didn’t go very well. The downhill parts were scary because the “roads” were narrow, uneven, and covered with dirt as fine as sand. It was hard to stop or slow down without fishtailing or skidding. My hands were sore from clenching the brakes to avoid plunging down the mountain to my death. The uphill parts were very taxing, as we were at a high altitude, and in the very hot sun. (at least, that’s the excuse we agreed upon). But seriously, we are two people who are used to regular cardiovascular activity, and this ride kicked our butts! We were too proud to turn around before the halfway point. However, after growling at Julio for trying to kill us (and for telling us that a group of 60-year-old French women had no problem conquering this very trail a few weeks prior), we gratefully took the ride in the truck that was waiting for us before the last big hill. Later, we would look back on this moment and remember it fondly. At the time, not so happy.

Back at the (literal) ranch, they cooked us the best darn BLT I ever had in my entire life. Seriously. It was THAT good. Then we headed over to Apaneca to fly through the air on the new Zip Line (canopy). It was my first time and AT’s second time undertaking such an adventure. At first I was nervous, as the platforms are high and very small. But after my first line, all fear was gone. It was SO MUCH FUN! Now THIS is my kind of adventure.

After the zip line, we went to gastronomical festival at Juayua. It was close to closing time, so we didn’t get to sample too many exotic foods, but we did find a few tasty treats and a nice cold beer.

We hung out there for a while, joined by Julio’s wife Gabi, their daughter and their two very big dogs, then headed back to San Salvador. Eliel, one of Julio's tour guides that I had met the weekend before, drove us back to the city, and we practiced our Spanish the whole way home.