San Blas to Costa del Sol. 98 miles

After saying goodbye to our guard and Bianca, we set off for the middle section of coast and supposedly one of the most pretty. This should have been a short 1 and a half hour drive but we are learning. We stop at La Libertad, a large port to shop. There is a very nice supermarket here, full of fresh produce, items we need and clean. As Tom packs away the groceries, I give Winston a quick walk and we tell him today is a short trip. Ha!! Once again God is tracking us and laughing. About 20 minutes out of La Libertad there is a detour. No problem. We ask the guard if our RV can handle the side streets. No problem. We follow a bus with no problems until... a rushing river! Uh oh, huge problem. Part of the bridge has collapsed and there is no temporary or repair in progress. We look at each other. There is absolutely no way we can get through. Not only is the river flowing quite deep and rapidly but there is no exit point on the other side. Some of the village poeple urge us to try it - I think they are bored for entertainment! and the others are telling us it is not possible. Tom and I agree. We back out and head back through the village. Now what? We find a place to park and check our maps. The only other road down the coast is to go north through San Salvador. Again, something we don't want. A trip through a capital which has no circle route, so all driving has to go through the city centre. Tom groans. I tell him it may not be too bad, while in my heart of hearts I know I am not telling the truth. Well, suffice to say we survived it. It wasn't pretty but we manouvered our way through the city center and somehow managed to get on the right road for the beaches. Again, the quality of the roads are far superior to Mexico and Guatemala and less pothole avoidance does help the shattered nerves. After that it was clean sailing to the Costa del Sol. After a 70 mile, 3 hour detour we arrive. The Costa Del Sol is actually a peninsula. You drive in and out on the same road and we had decided to drive to the end, turn around and head back after scouting out places to stay. Our first stop was a Comfort Inn which is closed Monday through Wednesday but the vigilante guard and his wife assured us there was no problem and we could park for the night. We had the hotel grounds to ourselves. Gorgeous, sparkling pool, great beach and Winston was happy. And we were able to hook into power. The next day (Thursday) we drove a little further and stopped at the Tesoro Beach Hotel. If we had known about the place, we would have stayed here the night before. The Tesero is a Spanish ranch style hotel which is gorgeous, with beautiful grounds. We were allowed to park next to the pool, plug into power and... because this is the off season, had the place to ourselves. Winston roamed, Tom played in the ocean and I lazed by the pool. We eat in the restaurant that night under stars and it is remarkable. We reflect on the complete beauty of the place and are utterly sated by the food, the view and the fact...that we really do have it all to ourselves!