The Wanderings of busman7

Life at Las Brisas IS GOOD!!!

I am sure most of us have all dreamed of retiring in a tropical paradise but never taken them seriously.

I know for a fact that had you asked this ole farm boy, from Quebec’s Eastern Townships, ten years ago what his retirement plans were he would have laughed & said he would never be able to afford to retire.

Well times change & we either change with them or drop by the wayside. I was given some excellent advise by a successful businessman, when I first started out, he told me “The secret is knowing when to get out!”. So when a local bus company with around a hundred buses sold, I saw the writing on the wall!

To make a long story, that has been told elsewhere in this blog, short, I bailed, traveled for a couple years & find myself living at Las Brisas in Playa San Diego, El Salvador.

However in his wildest dreams this farm boy never realised the reality of living in paradise, which consists of owning not one but two houses, one of which is occupied by the caretaker & his family, who for a negligible amount of money are looking after cooking, laundry etc.

Like it’s been drilled into the heads of us peasants that only the elite are able to live life with live in help in paradise! Yep but it was all a big lie to keep us down, staying in a frigid country paying outrageous energy costs & merely subsisting on the pittance handed out by social security!

The truth is that anyone willing to find the truth can not only live well in a number of countries, but also provide a living to a local family, on that social security check!

This week has been spent, getting to know my caretaker & his family, making a couple renovations, getting a fridge etc. Wouldn’t have bothered for myself but as mother is 90, did break down & purchase a toilet seat + suicide heater for the shower. Internet stick & satellite dish from Claro working fine as is Tigo’s cell phone.

All in all it’s even better here than I had anticipated, friend of the caretakers installed the shower heater this morning, he will do the toilet seat in the morning while I hang a few pictures, then it’s off to Compalapa to pickup mother who is due in at 16:00 on a medical flight by Air Nunavut. Now that’s different!

Hit the El Salvadorian border (the last one) about 4:00 pm on day 29 & the fun began!

Seems that on my Guatemalan vehicle entry papers they had given me one day to transit the country but I had taken 3, so a letter stating why the delay was in order.

Next The Ministerio de Hacienda (Aduna) had a cow over my van being a tad too old (actually 9 years too old), so that took up a couple hours, especially when I didn’t have the address of the house I bought. Managed to find my lawyers iphone # & got that straightened out.

Next step was to completely unload the van so everything, being brought in, could documented (had been expecting this so no biggie).

Finally 5 hrs later I was cleared to enter my new home country. Have to say that both the inspecting officer & her supervisor were very professional & pleasant throughout the process, with the supervisor constantly apologising for his poor English. Now as it was way past dark & the prudent time for a gringo to be driving in CA, the officers allowed me to park on their patrolled lot for the night (took the extra precaution of hiring a local, who was watching a few trucks, to keep an eye on it also.

Then after a night spent in a local hotel. half a block from the compound where the van was parked, I commenced the final 3 1/2 hrs of my epic road trip! Stopped at a roadside “Mirador Tourista” with a small open air restaurant & had desayuno of huevos, frijoles y platano frito while overlooking the Pacific Ocean with the smell of the sea in the air.

An hour later I pulled into La Libertad, hit the ATM at Biggest then out to Playa San Diego & El Roble Hostel for a much needed cervaza to celebrate the end of a 30 day road-trip!

30 days on the road from Peterborough ON, via Chicago, US Route 66 to the Santa Pier, 14 days & 5020 km with the side trip to Roswell NM. This was followed by a tour through San Diego CA onto Douglas AZ where I entered Mexico for an 8 day excursion through that country, 3 days in Guatemala with an overnight in my beloved Antigua. Arriving at the El Salvador border with the trip meter odometer reading exactly 9,999.9 km, that has to be some kind of an omen!!

Finally arrived at Playa San Diego with 10,138 km wracked up driving solo in a 1993 Ford E350 with a Thomas Minitor body & a 7.3 litre International diesel.

Only repairs on the trip was a muffler in Holbrook AZ. Added 1/2 litre of oil + 3/4 litre tranny fluid.

Spent Friday afternoon arranging for internet (can’t live without that) & a satellite dish. Kind of out in the boonies, 2nd house from the end of the road so no cable available, a Canadian couple staying at the hostel, while awaiting fund transfer, have also purchased a house here in Playa San Diego, but on the beach so I joke with them that they may have`the beach but I have the cows.

Saturday found a bed & a couple things needed for the house but stayed another night at El Roble as mama was cooking her to-die-for popusa’s for cena, one would have to be a fool to miss that & my mama didn’t raise no fools LOL!

So after unwinding for a couple days at El Roble that has just made it into the new edition of Lonely Planet, Sunday I finally moved into my new home, Las Brisas (The Breezes) at Playa San Diego, La Libertad, El Salvador!! 🙂

Three countries + 3 border crossings are now history & there is light at the end of the tunnel & I am pretty sure it’s not a dirty big ole train.

Made it out of Mexico without incident, spent the night at a great hotel only costing 250Q & now it was decision time. Do I take the low road along the coast straight to El Salvador or the high road to Antigua then to El Salvador via Esculinta?????

Kind of a no brainer as I love & have friends in Antigua so not knowing just how steep the mountains were we, Ferddy (the Ford), (you must remember that I had been on the road for the best part of a month in a vehicle with NO radio or A/C & had just lost Tommy lack of maps so only had Ferddy to talk to) committed ourselves to the high road via San Marcos, Xela etc.

The first indication that the high road decision may not have been the most prudent was having to stop 3 times to keep Ferddy from overheating on one, seemingly, never ending hill going into San Marcos. Once in the city we only got lost 3 times before finally making it out of town, same with Xela (might of only gotten lost twice there).

Couldn’t make the approximately 250 km journey before dark so spent one last night on the road before making Antigua where I renewed old acquaintances & spent another night before attending the ex-pat breakfast & spent a couple hours with my old Spanish teacher.

Only got lost a couple times in Esculinta & made it to the Salvadorian border in about 4 hours.

To drive in Guatemala one needs to be a completely insane Montreal taxi driver, by this time I fit the bill perfectly!!! Also have to be a mind reader as road signs are lacking at critical points. However must say “It was an EXPERIENCE!!!!!

A few miles south of the city things started changing again as we got into the mountains where it was impossible to make any time, loaded as I was. Towns big enough to have accommodations were virtually nonexistent, resulting in my first nighttime driving experience outside Canada or the US.

Firstly, narrowly missed a herd of 5 deer in the deepening dusk, then there were the other hazards of cows, horses, bicycles etc to keep one on their toes. Not a pleasant experience & one I didn’t wish to try again. (little did I know it would be repeated the next evening).

The following morning found the route going through flatlands again. Here I noticed a change in the people. Should any graduate student be looking for an interesting subject for a thesis, I would suggest a comparison of the similarities between cultures according to latitude. Reason being is it seemed as if I could of been entering SE Asia here in the Americas. Also when traveling through northern Finland, I spent the night in an older hotel in Kemi where if it wasn’t for the labels on the liquor bottles & the language, one could have very well of been in northern Ontario, right down to the mannerisms of the people.

Towards the end of a day of boring scenery, punctuated by a couple road train rollovers, I neared the last good sized Mexican town, where I intended on spending the night before crossing Guatemalan border. However entering the town the border crossing touts were out in full force (12 km before the border), from them I learned that it was necessary to cancel the temporary vehicle import permit, there before arriving at the border, also that there was a holiday the next day & the border was closing to traffic requiring inspection at 7:00 pm for a day. So instead of spending 2 nights on the border decided to pay the price wanted by the touts + some facilitating fees on both sides (didn’t really want to unload the van) to enter Guatemala that night.

Did I get ripped off? Likely a little but the alternative wasn’t appealing!

One gets a different perspective driving through a country than merely taking the bus but it seemed that Mexico was more prosperous than my last trip a couple years ago. The intercity buses seemed newer as did the majority of private vehicles. Roads were being upgraded & there was a major antilitter campaign from one end of the country to the other.

All in all I spent a very interesting & enlightening days in the country, where I was treated very well in all the varying price ranges of hotels, from the $17/night to the $40+ (likely around $120 for comparable in the US).

There is something I have to get of my chest concerning the false perceptions of this country, fostered by subtle government interference of the western news media, which skews the reporting so it is actually propaganda, limiting the average persons understanding of world affairs to match that of the countries foreign policy. And the truth be damned!!

Saw the same thing this past April when I was in Bangkok during the “Red Shirt” demonstrations. The North American news reporting bore NO resemblance to the reality of the situation!

Same goes for Mexico where the propagandist manipulation of the 15 second news bites, makes a few border incidents + some drug gang related killings are presented in such a manner that it appears the whole country is a crime ridden, unsafe place to visit.

This scenario is blatantly false, as my 8 day trip proves, but when this is pointed out to certain people, I am accused of being rude & ignorant! Oh well some North Americans, Canadian especially deserve the government they get, & most likely never bothered to vote for!!

End of rant.

TomTom Tommy took me east along the border for the first half day after a basically painless crossing at Douglas then turned south through some gorgeous countryside. The first night brought me to a motel that the $40 US got me a room that would have cost 3 times that in the US. It was also the last night that I encountered anyone who spoke English.

The next 3 days was through much the same sort of ranch country, Tommy’s maps were severely lacking in this area & the American Automobile Association map I had acquired with the assurance that it was really good, was missing a lot of state roads. The price one pays for being independent!

As I started nearing the industrialized cities things got busier & the land friendlier with smaller farms replacing the huge dry land ranches.

Approaching Mexico City things became as rushed as any other North American city, so because of my inferior American made map, I relied on Tommy to get me through, which he did with splendid success. Must say though that my comparison of LA area drivers to Montreal taxi drivers, which is true, them Mexico City drivers would have to be classed as crazy Montreal taxi drivers. However Tommy & I met the challange & came through unscathed!

To be continued

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Well we didn’t have one of our finest inspirations when we left Santa Monica Pier shortly after 5:00 pm on a Friday evening!

There was a hotel just up the street from the pier but it was a couple hundred /night so decided to pass on that figuring an hour or so down the Interstate something would show up. WRONG!!

Three hrs later found a not bad priced one, in hindsight the smart move would have been to take the coast highway, where at least we would have seen something other than brake lights & likely would have come across accommodation sooner. BTW Southern California drivers behave similar to Montreal taxi drivers. Good thing I learned to drive truck in Montreal with the taxi drivers so learned how to intimidate them, this skill returned quickly!!

The next day the Interstate was still a zoo, all in all it was around 5 hrs from Santa Monica to San Diego so we just said screw it & headed east towards Yuma where we found a bit of warm weather.

After spending the night in Yuma, upon checking the map, to make sure Tommy couldn’t pull any fast ones on me, discovered that the route to the border at Douglas, passed through Tombstone AZ. Bonus, we even get to see the OK Coral!!

A while after leaving the San Diego area one goes through some hill country then emerges into the flatland desert where with a little irrigation some great hay is grown & once again factory dairy farms are seen.

The smell of new mown hay mixed with the desert sagebrush is kind of unique, especially the end of October. We ain’t in On-turkey-O anymore Dorthy!!

Just before entering Tombstone one comes to the Boot Hill Cemetery, which for the couple dollar entry fee is well worth a look. The downtown part of Tombstone is restored old buildings, similar to Dawson City in the Yukon.

On Oct 26, 1891 the infamous gun fight began in the 18-foot-wide lot behind The Coral which is set up with mannequins placed where the Earps, Doc Holiday & the Clanton/McLaury’s. In the 30 second fight, nearly 30 shots were fired which resulted in the death’s of the McLaury’s & Billy Clanton. Virgil & Morgan Earp were both seriously wounded, Doc suffered a superficial hip wound & Wyatt walked away unscathed.

Definitely a cool stop & worth half a day, unfortunately I arrived at 4:00 pm but did spend the night & had supper in one of the restored saloons.

The drive along I-8 then I-10 through California & Arizona is somewhat interesting although nothing spectacular. Although the kind of desolate but rolling countryside south to Tombstone much better & one can see the attraction to people who lived outside the box, like the Clantons, Earps & Doc Holiday who sounds quite a character, as is a distant relative of his, whom I have the pleasure of knowing.

An hours drive the next morning brought me to the Mexican border.

California wins, hands down the prize for the absolute worst stretch of Interstate bordering the Mother Road in it’s entire length. In fact the Route 66 old alignment is in better shape than California’s stretch of I-4O.

When you cross the bridge over the Colorado River which is the border between Arizona & California you wake up in a hurry as the interstate is barely fit to drive on & can do serious damage to your vehicle!

Also after the New Mexico & Arizona visitor information centers with their free state maps + a guide of places of interest on Route 66 in their states, California makes no effort to welcome any visitor, let alone the Route 66 traveler. Not to mention that fuel is the highest price I encountered since leaving Canada.

After spending the night at Needles at a chain motel as the couple original ones didn’t look that inviting I fueled at the highest price of the trip & headed uphill to the old alignment which was a better road but most of the old towns are just a memory. Just before returning to the Interstate stopped at Ludlow Cafe where I had an order of the best biscuits ‘n gravy I have ever tasted.

As the old road followed I-40 into Barstow & passed through a Marine Base, I took the interstate, getting of at the business loop & the old road for a few uninteresting miles before getting on I-15 to San Bernardino & Kumar’s Wigwam Motel. As I had brought TomTom Tommy out of the purgatory of my briefcase & was giving him another chance, had missed a turn in construction, I gave Kumar a call when I thought I had missed the place but it turned out I was only one traffic light away. Tommy isn’t 100% on street #’s.

Spent an enjoyable evening talking with Kumar & went out to dinner at a great local Mexican place to celebrate finally having only 1 more day to go ( or so I thought).

The next morning I took off with directions to Citibank to wire the funds for my house in El Salvador. Turned out that they would have to wait 15 days for the draft to clear but as the draft was through Wells Fargo, a fact I had missed (as had the teller at Wells Fargo in Holbrook AZ), they gave me directions to Wells Fargo’s nearest branch in Fontana.

Walked into the Wells Fargo branch & met the most hospitable & professional bank staff I have ever encountered. Turns out that I would have to open an account to deposit the draft in, come back the following morning to send it & yes they would be happy to do this even thoug I wouldn’t be using the account again.

Turns out there was a method to this apparent madness!

While the representative was doing some paperwork up front, the manager came up & introduced himself saying if there was ever anything else I needed to call. When opening the account the rep had explained the various accounts + the free (yes Dorothy I said FREE, were not in Kanada anymore) services provided. When all was arranged I said I would sleep on the account info & return in the morning to send the wire.

Needless to say I called Kumer to tell him that he hadn’t gotten rid of me just yet & arranged a room for another night. Which resulted in another interesting conversation & dinner at a fine Italian place this time.

The next morning on Kumer’s recommendation I had breakfast at Corky’s where the biscuits ‘n gravy were pretty darn good, then made m way back to Wells Fargo to complete the wire transfer. My rep had an even better account deal than discussed previously that even included 2 free (there’s that 4 letter word again, well to Canadian banks it is!) transfers to El Salvador per month. So I left the bank with everything in place to get money to El Salvador in a free & hassle free way. Something impossible to do from Crapanada!!

Oh did I mention that my Wells Fargo’s rep was a nice, smart lady whose parents were from El Salvador!!

I now programmed Tommy to go to the Fair Oaks Pharmacy in Burbank where I had promised a forum member (sorry can’t remember his name) I would stop in & say Hi on my way through. That was a very good decision as not only was the conversation interesting but it was lunchtime & I had, undoubtedly the Best grilled sandwich on sourdough bread ever!! The fries & ice-cream soda at the old time soda fountain were great to. If you ever pass that way stop in, guaranteed you won’t regret it!

It’s a good thing I got directions, at the soda fountain, to Santa Monica Pier as TomTom Tommy had a snit on & refused to direct me there.

Finally at a 4 in the afternoon, 2 weeks & 5020 km after leaving I arrived at the conclusion of my bucket list trip, driving US Route 66. Found the sign on the pier marking the end of The Mother Road.

Near the sign was the booth, operated by a great couple (names once again escape me) selling Route 66 memorabilia. Stop by, say Hi & pick up a reminder of your trip or just chat a while.

Returned to Route 66 at Clines Corners which consisted of a service center whose humongous store contained the largest collection of kitsch & junk  pertaining to  Route 66, or anything else you could think of, west of the Mississippi.

Did meet a retired Saskatchewan farmer there, by the John Deere stuff, going to Texas for the winter, seems Sask. is about as bad a place for seniors as Ont., only colder.

Pretty much followed the Interstate as it runs parallel to 66 most of the way. Followed the business loop, old 66, into most towns & discovered a to die for wrecking yard & car, truck, tractor & toy collection at Lewis’s in Moriarty NM.

Decided against the alignments to the north or into Santa Fe due to time restraints (2 weeks definitely not enough). Did venture into Albuquerque on the old road where I found a clean but shabby looking Motel, the Desert Sands for $35/night.

Found Citi Bank in the northern part of town but it turned out to be just a call center (at least it’s in the US).

Also discovered where the “Jackalope”, combination Jack Rabbit & Antelope (only Orono residents knowing a contributor to the local paper would understand) has disappeared to. It’s alive & well running a store in Albuquerque!

Entered Arizona & took a drive through the awesome Painted Desert & Petrified Forest. In a tossup between the Grand Canyon (which I had previously visited so bypassed this time) I would have to give the edge to the Painted Desert.

Muffler on the van decided it had done it’s duty, going into Holbrook so had it replaced at Thompsons, who had one in stock & was on my way in just over an hour at a fair price.

Once again took I-40 taking the old road through the towns until getting off at Seligman, a town with the most old alignment tourist places I had seen in one place. As it was lunch time, just couldn’t resist eating at The Roadkill Cafe, however seeing as I had no roadkill for them to cook, settled for a menu item.

Next stop was Kingman & a visit to the Powerhouse tourist info center & the interesting Route 66 museum. Here it was also decision time on whether to follow the old alignment over the pass to Oatman or the last one following I-40 to Topock, the Colarado River & California. As it was 5 pm, raining off & on + time restraints, rather than spend the night in Kingman & carry on to Oatman, which I had visited before, I decided to push on to Needles & spend the night there.

Sorry folks have been having a great trip & neglecting my blog, full details to come, however spent a night in Albuquerque NM, Holbrook AZ after seeing the awesome Painted Desert, another bight in Needles CA, 2 at the Wigwam in San Bernardino.

Finally got my wire transfer done at Wells Fargo in Fontana & arrived at Santa Monica Pier, end of the mother road Friday afternoon, 2 weeks after  started my trip.

Now in Tombstone AZ an hour away from the Mexican border at Douglas.

Shall fill in the blanks later.

That’s the best word I can find to describe Roswell NM. It doesn’t feel like a city, more like a friendly small town. The wide streets combined with low buildings, gives it an open & free feel, the auction barn just a couple blocks off the main Street is a business you would never find in an eastern city.

The free zoo & park where one can spend a couple leisurely afternoon hours, after an all morning visit to the UFO Museum & lunch at a neighboring Mexican restaurant, give the city a low key family feeling.

Even the 200 odd mile trip down from the mother road is interesting, what with passing through Clovis then Portales, which must have more Holstein dairy cows than found in the whole of the Eastern Townships of Quebec, & all the related industry.

Sure a sight I won’t soon forget, “the bigger is better” fallacy when applied to agriculture (especially on that scale) is a recipe for disaster, sooner or later!!

Am certain there will be more interesting sights on the return, think that 285 hitting the mother road between Cline’s Corners & Wagon Wheel will be the best route as 66 pretty much follows I-40 from Santa Rosa to there anyway.

That should make for a leisurely Sunday drive to the outskirts of Albuquerque so I can hit the one & only branch of Citi Bank between Illinois & here to wire the funds for my casa in El Salvador. Here’s hoping that it goes better than the last Canadian fiasco!!