El Salvador

Hmm some tea like substance seems to have eaten through half of my notes. I am assuming it is the heat from the remaining pizza after I ate a two for one at Pollo Campero on my own simply because I can.

After sleeping with the guards overnight I was eventually kicked out when I had overslept the 5am wake up time I had promised them. Stumbling through the car park in the twilight, surrounded by incessantly loud, but kind of cool birds screeching and singing, I went in search of a bus. Having eventually found one (very cheap, less than $1) and having saved on the taxi I was whisked off to San Salvador. Being used to the habit in Guatemala and Mexico of dropping you off in the middle of nowhere when you arrive in a town, I was a little disorientated to be dropped off only one square from the centre of town. Now apparently this is a dangerous town as well. Did not feel it. I have begun to suspect that travellers and hippy bums fear anywhere that has more than 2000 people as inherently deadly. Maybe they are just forced to confront reality a bit. Still confirmed to me that the major difference in the world is between the city dwellers and the rural folk. I have more in common with someone from Buenos Aires, Tokyo or Kigali than I ever would with someone from some random village in Cornwall.

I walked around for an internet cafe to contact my potential surfer. Though I was knackered and sick so ended up not calling them. I ate breakfast at a 'bigger' and walked across town to another neighbourhood to find a guesthouse with $7 a night rooms. It was $9 for hot water but I was aiming to stay on budget. To this end for the next few days I would buy a lot of baguettes with tubs of cream cheese as they provided a cheap way to stay on budget. My guesthouse was accessed by an alleyway that according to Lonely Planet can be highly dangerous, but looks like the kind of alley you would use to duck through the park near my house. In the hostel was a Northern Irish girl and some quiet Candians who had come to assist with English teaching. All of them were too lazy to walk anywhere so I left them behind. Met an Aussie in the internet cafe who persuaded me it might be possible to do a bit of the Mosquito Coast in Honduras. I am still weighing this up now and depends what happens for my third Guatemala visit. That day I spent writing up the last part of the blog and every 14th day seems to be half sucked out by writing now. Oh well saves some money and gives me a rest day. In the evening I went to see Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Really enjoyed this film. It made me want to go back to New Orleans and the South for a bit when I finish in Buenos Aires. At least before I head to New Zealand anyway, but then another option is to backpack around Europe again. Ah too many options. Will see where I am but at least I am forming options. Its tough when the whole world is your oyster. The sicko pound means it really costs like an oyster as well. Hmm this new Bruce album is not bad. Those southern accents really are sexy as well. I firmly believe any southern woman can have me at the word y'all. There was a Danish surfer (a literal one. Everyone seems to have a board in El Salvador) in my room when I returned. He had a couple of good stories. He'd once been detained with his girlfriend on the Nicaraguan border and been ordered to pay $350 each for overstaying his visa. He got away with $110 but was detained at the station speaking no Spanish for many hours. Never once did he think to call the embassy. Made me realise how useful the basics of a language are. This morning I had to deal with Guatemalan border officials in Spanish and then assist an Australian who was having many problems. Cleared everything up with one simple sentence. It also had me shitting myself when the border guards crossing from El Salvador to Guatemala refused to give me a passport stamp as the central 4 countries seem to have a mini Schengen. Luckily my Spanish got me through easily. If anything its difficult for me to switch back to English in Belize. I keep saying everything basic in Spanish. Not that I understand a word they are saying here anyway. This Patois/Creole is difficult because only every other word is real English. The other story he had was about an Argentine he had met. He had crossed through the Darien Gap over the period of 2 weeks with drug traffickers and had been assured safe armed passage as long as he carried a huge bag of drugs with him. Hmm I think I will stick to the fishing boat. Apparently he had not been entirely sure what he was signing himself up for at the time.

In the morning I was feeling sick, so I decided to head out to the town of Suchitoto and the lake out that way. Its a pretty little town (with not much to do) next to a very beautiful reservoir (which you can walk to and back in around an hour). I did not have much energy so headed back home and got accosted in Spanish by a hotel owner on the bus. When I am sick and when I am tired, Spanish is very difficult for me. On the plus side I was managing to find two papusas (local El Salvadorean equivalent of a taco) and a bag of water for less than $1. Quality cheap eating, even if I don't like Papusas that much. I found out we had resigned Robbie Keane on deadline day as well. We really need to get moving up the table. Back at the hostel I met an Israeli guy who had just completed 3 years military service. Shit thats a long time. Much longer than the 1 year for the Swedes. Still not sure why we don't have that again or some form of communal service where you go and work in a third world country to develop some sense of self sacrifice and community. I had some more cheap food for dinner and went out with the Israeli to find some stuff. He also told me an interesting story of how he had once been robbed at gunpoint while having sex with a Swiss girl on the beach of Costa Rica. I am beginning to think my book could just be an anthology of other people's stories. Getting quite a few good ones on this trip. I got raped again by the flies in the evening. Its a terrible sensation in that hostel roof. You just drift off to sleep, when a loud buzzing wakes you. You try to fend off the attacker, but you cant see him and more of your blood goes. Its like this all night long. The fly just abusing you and although you hear it, you can't do anything about it. Scary stuff.

My third day in San Salvador saw me go on a customary long walk to see the monuments, sites and some random suburbs. I was well under budget for most of my first 2 weeks back on the mainland. Saved 2 days to go with the 2 saved from february being a short month. Would utilise most of the saved cash for ATM caves. I like San Salvador and by the time I left I liked El Salvador a lot. It creeps up on you unconsciously. Firstly there are no main attractions. Then you realise that San Salvador has so many modern city utilities. Everything you could want. Then you realise they never try to rip you off. Ever. Then you realise living standards are good. Then you realise that noone is hassling you or forcing crap items down your throat. Then you realise its peaceful and beautiful. Finally you realise the people are really friendly and will say hello on your walks and you only hear the word gringo once in 5 days. Its a creeper and a relief compared to Guatemala's incessant hounding. I got some bread and water for breakfast (learned from the Swedes and prisons everywhere) and it looks like I have written Tom Petty. Because I have no mp3 player and I don't know what he looks like, I imagine I actually wrote town pretty. The ethnography museum was a little expensive and you realise what you really like when you have to budget lol. So I went to the modern art gallery, that initially thought was closed and wandered round that. I had received nothing back from the couchsurfer that evening, so wandering round some neighbourhoods near the university I came across some areas with lots of security cameras and barbed wire tops. This spoke to worse times or fear of crime in some parts of the city. All those security trappings say to me is 'Please rob me, I have something worth stealing'. Far better to leave minimal protection and then people assume you have nothing worth robbing. I thought about seeing Yes Man but it was in Spanish, so I arranged drinks with Georgina for 2 days time in Guatemala City and chilled in the evening.

The next morning I woke and grabbed some eggs and papusa breakfast before grabbing a bus off to the west and the Ruta de las Flores. It starts in a town of Sonsonate. I took a bus looping up to Juayua, a main (relative) town halfway along the route. It is undoubtedly pretty and there are flowers, but not as many as the name of the route suggests you are likely to find. I had realised both the internet places the day before had undercharged me. Hey my luck was resuscitating. I found out from Gigi she was too sick to make drinks and from Sean that Tom had been buried and was a Watford fan (I remembered him as a Manchester United fan). The hotel had no dorms left, only a private room for $15. Nasty thump out of my budget. Its a really pretty mountain town. I liked this region a lot. Tranquil and beautiful. I hiked out to a local waterfall and hydroelectric plant that required some skillful negotiating of rushing waterfalls over the pathways. It also involved trekking down dutbowl tracks through coffee fincas. Very pretty, but the wind was strong and whipping up dust tornados like sandstorms in the desert. Whipped my eyes. Afterwards I got on a bus and headed to the town of Apaneca. You have three trails here. Two to different lakes and one to a viewpoint. I thought I could make 2 in the remaining time so opted for the right hand lake (Green lake, lago verdes) . Its a steep windy road past many friendly locals and you get some spectacular views. The right hand lake is much higher than the left and subsequently at the top you can see the other lake. You also get a great view of the valley. So if, like me, you only have time for one, opt for the right hand lake. Was very peaceful up here. Got a lot of time to think and smile like a moron. I love walks in the wilderness and was loving my freedom again. My happiness had jacked back up to where it normally sits again. The winds had picked up to an almost gale like velocity by the time I got back to Juayua. I bumped into the Northern Irish girl again (last time I saw her she had invited me to a strip club. Oh yeah shame the Cardinals lost to the Steelers in the final) and could not be bothered with conversation. Had my first really hot shower for ages and read a bit before falling asleep. The wind sounded like it would knock down the building. Had a freaky dream that night. A very vivid one of home for the first time. Still dreaming in England, so everytime I wake up confused as to where I am and annoyed I would have to spend so much on a flight to rejoin my trip. Also why had I gone home. Then I realise where I am. In the morning I chatted with some random Aussies/Yanks/Brits and took a bus to the frontier, where I got lost in the almost border town and the guards refused to stamp my passport causing me to worry. I had come back to Guatemala and entered the 3rd of what would be 6 unique border crossings I would use on this trip.