Juayua – Sonsonate

It was time to move on and explore the northern half of the Ruta de las Flores. I was hoping to be able to do a loop from the top of the Ruta through Parque Nacional El Imposible where I was told there was a bus that could take me through. I wasn’t entirely sure if this was true as some maps show a road and some don’t. Plus locals were in two minds as well. Still, I thought I’d give it a go and see how far I could get. Worst case scenario, I just retrace my tracks back down to Sonsonate. 

  
I caught the bus to Apeneca, the next town on the Ruta. As we came to the outskirts of town, I noticed a sign at a fork in the road pointing left for the town centre and right for the Ruta, so got off the bus. Mornings with bronchitis are brutal for me, so it was a slog walking into town with my pack even though it was only a slight incline and a reasonably short distance. I was well and truly done by the time I found the town plaza and thankfully plonked myself on a wooden bench at an adjacent comedor. I croakily ordered breakfast and took a leisurely break before slogging back to the main road again. I didn’t have to wait long for the next bus and to find out that had I stayed on the previous bus, it would have taken me straight into town further down the road! I had to have a chuckle over this.

  
I had found out about an amazing plant nursery which had a restaurant attached at my hostel in Juayua, so got the bus to drop me off there next. One of the girls that was also staying at the same hostel was there so I joined her for a coffee. She kindly offered to give me a lift into the next town which I gratefully accepted as I was fading fast. A quick look around the beautiful grounds of the nursery and we were off further up the Ruta to Ataco. 

  
I don’t know why they chose this particular part of El Salvador to call the Route of the Flowers, as I had travelled in many other parts of the country with the same beautiful flowering plant vistas, but it certainly did live up to its name as it traversed through gorgeous little cobbled stone towns, all with the ubiquitous Salvadorian liberal splash of vibrant colour. Ataco was no different, with a beautiful white and azure trimmed church in the main plaza and a matching one further down the road, nestled in front of a hill. An impressive water fountain took centre stage of the plaza and immaculate gardens lined the paths cross crossing its centre. 

   
I was taking some photos of the plaza when I came across the skinniest street dog I had ever seen. It was literally almost all skin and bones. I’m usually pretty good with street dogs in that it does pull on my heartstrings when I see one sick or injured, but I reconcile myself with at least they are free to roam and that one can’t save them all. This dog, however, was not one I could walk away from. I got directions to the local supermarket, bought a small bag of dog food, and returned to feed Delgado (skinny in Spanish…). By this stage, I had also picked up another street dog who I’m pretty sure was blind. I fed them both and got water out of the fountain using a discarded foam cup lying around. I don’t what the outcome for either dog will be, but at least I was able to do something for them in the meantime. 

  
I got direction to pick up the bus again and finished travelling along the Ruta. I had to change buses in Ahuachapan to get to Tacuba where I hoped to find this elusive bus through the national park. I often wonder whether places like this are made deliberately beautiful so that when you finally reach a certain point in your journey only to find that the road doesn’t continue where you want it to and hence you need to retrace your steps, at least you can appreciate the scenery from the other direction. That’s what happened in Tacuba. Still, I had travelled out to another remote Salvadorian outpost and experienced some more breathtaking mountainous countryside. 

  
Back down the Ruta, I was starting to feel I knew the southern part particularly well now as it was my third traverse – on foot, via pick up and now via bus. On we continued though to the city of Sonsonate, a big bustling place that appeared to have a faded colonial charm in places as we roared through. It was dark by the time we arrived at the bus station and as I had no map of the area, and hence no orientation, I decided to get a taxi to the hotel I picked out of the guide book. Unfortunately, it appeared that that hotel had closed down and there were no other cheap hotels in the vicinity. I asked the taxi drivers where I could get a room for around USD10 – 15 and they bustled me into a taxi to take me to one. 

  
Out along the main highway, the driver asked which place I would prefer to go to and rattled off a few names. I told him I hadn’t been here before so didn’t know any of them. El señor driver then decided to turn into Hotel de Tres Ases, a brightly lit expansive highway motel. He drove into the property and pulled into a ground floor garage. I was a bit confused and asked where reception was. He said just go up the stairs and knock. Hmmmm. I went upstairs straight into a motel room. A closed door led into an ensuite bathroom. Another closed door was locked from the other side. I ran downstairs to find the taxi gone and garage door closed. I found the switch for the door, grabbed my pack and went to find someone who could explain this strange set up. 

  
I found a security guard who took me back up to the room and explained how this place worked. One had to ring reception and payment (by the hour…) was made via a small wooden box with a cover which rolled both ways. Everything was extremely discrete and it didn’t take me long to work out the real purpose behind this illustrious hotel. A menu offering items such as condoms, lubricants, extra sheets and a suit cleaning/pressing service; not to mention the on tap porn channel, the roll of tissue on the wall next to the bed, and the super sized mirror adjacent to the large bed made it all too obvious. Still, it was cheap (USD12) and probably the flashiest place I had stayed at thus far. As the door was locked from the other side, I made sure I locked all my valuables in my backpack, just in case, but had no interruption during the night.