Sunday, 3 November 2024: A White-Knuckle Return to Antigua from El Salvador

I was pleased when my cell phone alarm went off at 3:25AM – not that I like getting up at that hour but I was just pleased that the alarm went off at all.  I had been having trouble with my cell ever since waiting for my flight to Guatemala in Fort Lauderdale.  I kept periodically getting messages that there was moisture in the charging port and when that happened there was a noisy alarm and a message telling my to unplug the charger immediately.  It was acting up again in El Salvador and there was barely enough of a charge left to keep it going until the alarm was supposed to go off.  In defense of my cell phone, it’s old and used to Colorado’s low humidity.

I was out at the gate at 3:55AM for the driver’s scheduled 4:00 arrival.  Four AM came and went, so I did yoga poses on the dark street in front of the gate to pass the time.  Finally, he arrived at 4:45 and muttered some excuse that I didn’t understand.  As I opened the door to the front passenger’s seat, he objected but so did I, insisting that I wanted to sit there to see the scenery.  He relented.  He was in a big hurry because he was so late and probably didn’t want me up there freaking out or puking while he did his sports car rally thing.     

He picked up two more passengers in El Zonte, then two more a couple kilometers out of town.  He took the dark and nearly deserted curvy highway like a fighter pilot but I could tell he knew the road and was a skilled driver.  He did the 106km trip to the border in 1½ hours (it’s supposed to take 2).  Two birds died along the way (they came out of nowhere) but no dogs or human pedestrians were harmed and there were quite a few of both.  Dawn arrived at 6:00AM just before we reached the border.  This time we made it through the El Salvador exit post and Guatemalan entry in ½ hour.   

We arrived in Escuintla at 8:10 (3 hours 25 minutes).  From there, It was a slow uphill back to Antigua because of numerous trucks heading both north and south.  There were nice views of Volcán de Fuego to the west and Volcán de Agua to the east.  We were in Antigua by 8:45AM, the 250km trip having taken only 4 hours (it usually takes at least 5 depending on traffic), and I was back in my Antigua home 10 minutes later.  Travelling early on a Sunday morning was definitely the way to go.

La Hachadura, El Salvador early on a Sunday morning.  The Guatemalan border is just ahead.

Yes, drivers in Guatemala pass on solid yellow lines.  I suppose they assume that Jesús Cristo and La Virgen María will guide them around safely.

Not so close, Señor Chofer, por favor.  I’m not wearing my flame-retardant clothing today.

You probably don’t need to speak Spanish to translate this, but I’ll help anyway:  “What is done in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas.”   This is an advertisement for a “love motel” named “Las Vegas” east of Escuintla, Guatemala.  Cheating husbands and wives bring their lovers to these motels for their naughty trysts, and they are all over Latin America.  I first learned about them forty years ago when I was in Costa Rica.  You can rent rooms by the hour.  

Another love motel near Escuintla.  Here’s how they worked in Costa Rica 40 years ago:  You drove up to the gate, pushed the buzzer, and the gate would open.  The gate would close, you pulled up to the office, stayed in your car, and put your room payment into a slot (preferably cash so your spouse couldn’t see a mysterious charge on your credit card statement).  The desk clerk, who couldn’t see you, then put your room key through that slot.  You pulled your car into a garage (see the garage door facing the gate in the photo) that adjoined your room.   You and your amante frolicked for an hour or so away from the prying eyes of your suspicious spouse, his/her detective, or nosey neighbors.      

I actually spent the night in one of these no-tell motels 14 years ago in Brazil.  The couple I was travelling with wanted to stay there because of all the security or so they said.  So they got a room, and I got a separate room all by my lonesome.  There I was with a mirrored ceiling and walls, jacuzzi tub, vibrating bed, a selection of “marital aids”, XXX movies on the TV, a well-stocked mini-bar that could have kept me sloshed for a week, and no one to share it with.  Alas………

Just east of Escuintla, Guatemala.  On the left:  Volcán de Fuego, 3765 meters (12,352 feet), currently very active; on the right:  Acatenango, 3,976 meters (13,045 feet), inactive since 1972.

In the top center of the photo, you can see a small plume of grey smoke above the white cloud.  That’s just Volcán de Fuego doing one of her regular eruptions. 

 

View of an impressive lava flow (the linear grey feature) on the southeast side of Volcán de Fuego.

Cultivated field south of Antigua and east of Volcán de Fuego.  Guatemala is blessed with rich volcanic soils where an abundant variety of fruits and vegetables are grown.