El Salvador

Border crossing to El Salvador was an adventure. I showed up about 6 PM and after sending all the border vultures* to hell I completed my Guatemalan paperwork and headed to El Salvador.

It was dark already and when I left the last Guatemalan checkpoint the scenery changed, most of all the road lights disappeared. Entering no man’s land made me feel like Charles Marlow from „Heart of Darkness” or Benjamin L. Willard from „Apocalypse Now”. And I am speaking of the moment when they are already far up in the river.

I rode my motorbike slowly, expecting daemons** jumping out of the forest; the daemons were only in my mind though, but this is kind of excitement you can expect from late border crossing in a forgotten part of Central America.

The story of processing through El Salvadorian border is fascinating but long. If you want to hear it ask me the next time you see me. The only thing I can say is that the world of official institutions in Central America differs to what I learned in Europe. And borders here leak as hell.

* Border vulture is a hustler that tries to exchange your money for bad ratio. He can also try to help you with border crossing paperwork, not for free.

** Despite all the daemons I have really positive first impression about El Salvador. Just look at the crossroads in Ahuachapán.

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