Day 44 - September 15th

After a couple amazing days in the countryside, it was time to continue onward to San Miguel. We packed up our things, geared up and hit the road - only to be stopped by a parade two blocks from the house. September 15th is the day of independence for Mexico and most of Central America - hence, lots of celebrations. We turned around and went back to the house to wait for the parade to be over. Eventually, we managed to sneak between the two parades and take the only road out of town. we drove for a couple of hours, stopping to see some sights along the way. We stopped on a bridge over Rio Lempa, the largest river in El Salvador, to look at the view, and we were approached by some guys from a motorcycle group. Rougher looking guys from the El Salvador Rebels walked up to us, but it turns out they were just stoked on us and our bikes. After a quick photo op, we hit the road again.
After we got to San Miguel, we parked the bikes in Orlando's garage and went for lunch. A quick bite of chicken wings was super tasty and refueling. Then it was time to head to the beach! We all hopped in the car and drove to Playa El Cuco for some ocean swimming. Jesus, Orlando, and the two of us all swam out farther than we should have and body surfed on the waves for a while. quite a lot of fun! After hanging out in the pool nearby for a bit, it was time to head back home. About 15 minutes from the beach, we drove up to an accident with a huge police presence. We found out the next day that it had been a targeted police shooting by one of the major El Salvador gangs, and had happened under half an hour before we got there. The gang had driven up behind a truck full of three off-duty police officers and shot them off the road, killing one, and hospitalizing two more. Scary stuff. I think it's time to call it a night.