San Salvador to León

It was time to track back towards Costa Rica. We drove a bit further north and east in El Salvador to see more of the country. It is a small country, and we drove from San Salvador to San Miguel in one trip, taking a route via Chalatenango and then going south. We were crossing mountains and seeing beautiful lakes. We crossed El Rio Lempa.

After spending the last night in El Salvador in San Miguel, we had a look around the city and carried on to cross the border with Honduras at the Amatillo boarder crossing. It is not possible to go overland to Nicaragua from El Salvador. There is a ferry from El Salvador to Costa Rica, but taking that we would have missed a lot of Nicaragua. The crossing wasn't too bad, and after a few hours we were back in Choluteca. It was like returning to a place we knew something about, and we went back to the restaurant Los Próceres were we again really enjoyed a great meal.

We spent the night in Choluteca, and then we had to cross the border to Nicaragua at Las Tablillas. This is a true nightmare crossing, we don't understand how it is possible that Nicaragua can't get it organised. This time someone stole a wheel nut while the car was parked and we were fighting our way through the process. We have talked to Nicaraguans about it, and they don't understand either.

We drove to León a different route this time, via Chinandega. It was yet another messy city, but they had some sort of festivities going on, with horses and people everywhere. They know how to play loud music! Once in León we stayed in the outskirts of the city this time, and after a quiet night we were ready for the next step.

It is mango season, the trees are full of fruit that is still not ready to eat. Pity!