Feliz a dia de San Patricio!
Hope everyone is enjoying the celebration of St. Patties at home.
We stayed one more day at El Roble, and boogie boarded a bit in the morning. We lounged by the pool and read all day then hung out at the beach in the evening. We met a fellow from Port Alberni, named Grandpa Chuck, he is a friend of Darren and Secas from the hostel. He lives right on the beach and we had some beers with him. We all walked back to the hostel for the best damn curry Ive ever had. We celebrated the last night with some drinks and went to bed pretty late.
The next morning, Kelly, a young lady who works and lives at El Roble, told us she had to go to Guatemala to register her car, (there are too many stipulations in El Salvador). She said we could all come along for a small amount of gas money which was about half the cost of the shuttle, but triple the cost of the bus. We decided it was worth the extra comfort. We all said our goodbyes to Darren and Seca (I even teared up) and piled in the Explorer for the trip to the border. I dozed off and awoke to a roadblock. Kelly looked a little worried and explained the she had accidentally left her car papers at the border the day before, since she was there trying to figure out all the paperwork for registering her car. We all handed our passports to the officals, and after some interrogation they told us to follow them to the border (only about 7 minutes away).
Once we got to the border they continued to interrogate Kelly and us, asking where we were going, for how long. Kyle got some flack beecause for some reason the offical at the Honduran border only wrote 9 days instead of 90, but we were only there for transit for a total of 2 hours. Plus, these guys were from El Salvador, what did they care about Honduras? They searched our bags, and asked us some more ridiculous questions. It was really great Kelly was there to translate the Spanish for us. She was feisty! She found the fellow who had her papers, and presented them to the police. They were pissed off because they still felt like she was doing something wrong, but everything was smoothed over by the Salvadorian immigration. We got off with no fine, no bribe, no nothing. Phew!
We ended up having to wait at the border for 5 hours because Kellys papers were filled out incorrectly the day before. The border was fine, just a little boring and really hot. We got there at 3:30, and didnt leave until 8:30. Driving through Guatemala at night wasn't the safest idea, but there were 5 of us, and we were told not to stop for anybody for any reason, because it wasn't safe. We drove for 2 hours through Escuentla and stopped at Mcdonalds. We saw a couple car accidents which looked pretty rough, but drove on. The weather was nice and cool, a refreshing change from the 35 degrees on the coast. We arrived in Antigua at 11:30, the first hostel was full, but Kelly knew of a lady who had rooms for cheap. Estrella was the name of the place, and they gave us a room for 5 bucks each. We had a nice hot shower which was just what we needed after the long day we had. We slept like babies!
This morning we awoke to a little rain, and went for crepes at La Luna de Miel (Honeymoon). I had a smoothie because my stomach was feeling a little off. We switched hotels and are currently staying at "The Yellow House" which is awesomeeeee. They have this nice rooftop chillout area, solar hot water, free internet use, free breakfast and really helpful staff. It's about 8 dollars a night. We went for lunch at Cafe Barista and had a fabulous sandwich which was too expensive but still good. Antigua is pretty gringofied and a little pricey, but that is because it is so beautiful and colonial. I am heartbroken without my camera here as there are beautiful photo ops EVERYWHERE. I want to go explore but my stomach is acting up so I will just have to wait it out. Tonight we will go out to the Irish Pub in town and celebrate St Patties! We will probably stay until Sunday afternoon when we will go to San Pedro, on Lago de Atitlan for our spanish studies.
Not much else to report. Wishing I had my camera. Thats about all. I guess I should take this as a learning experience, to enjoy the moment and not always feel the need to capture it through a lens. I am excited to be here for the weekend since we didnt have much contact with the outside world in El Salvador. But sometimes, that's just what you need.
Hasta luego, amigos!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Playa San Diego- El Salvador
Well amigos,
I have sad news. While we were out swimming in the ocean, enjoying our first Salvadorian sunset (and what a beauty she was!), a rogue wave came up and swept away my purse, clothing, beer, shoes, and mi amigo, Kyles, lens cap. It was a tradgedy. My the time I got to it, it had gone through two waves. I am pretty upset that I will be unable to post anymore pictures. But at least the memory stick was saved and I didnt lose any previous pictures. Greg has his camera so we will not miss out, but he doesnt have the cord to upload them so you will. I have tried to dry it out, and save it, but to no avail. The lens wont retract and keeps saying there is an error. The more I try the more upset I get.
BUT ANYWAYS, im not letting materialism get to me and Im going to continue to enjoy myself (but I understand if no one wants to continue reading).
El Salvador is amazing. We checked into this hostel, El Roble, recommended by our friends, Madison and Gavin. Upon arriving, we knew we had found paradise. Our original plan was to spend 2 days here, and 3 days in El Tunco, a surfing village about 20km west. When we got here, we knew we werent leaving. We decided to splurge on a $30 dollar room for a couple nights, for some privacy (finally). We didnt realize at first that along with the $30 dollar room, they also fill up the other pool for you. So not only is there one pool, there is two. Happy hour is from 7am-5pm and drinks range from $1-$2. Breakfast is free and consists of fruit and fresh buns with delicious jam. Mangos are everywhere (and free!) and you smell them as soon as you wake up. We havent done much outside the hostel since the town has really nothing to offer. Yesterday we did sweet FA, mostly read, swam, lounged, ate.
We watched Fargo after eating Pupusas for dinner, and went to bed. We have been UNDER budget the last couple days (even though we splurged on the expensive room). We realized that El Salvador uses the US dollar so things SEEM expensive, but they are really the same.
The Salvadorians are great. They are hard faced people but crack a smile with a simple "buenos!" The beer here is Regia, or Pilsener. Its good and cheap. The most popular thing to eat here is Pupusas. They are like perogy pancakes, usually with beans, cheese and bacon. They are served with tomato sauce and coleslaw. They cost 30 cents each and 3 fill you up nicely. Weve eaten them two nights in a row now.
El Salvador seems a little wealthier than Nicaragua. More people speak english, most have swimming pools (whether they have water or not is another thing), there is less garbage, nice cars, big shopping malls, and lots of fast food joints (which are pretty pricey). It is so easy to navigate. The bus station is modern with signs instead of people yelling (although they do that anyway). We are finding ourselves shorter on time everyday, since we get stuck in places longer than we expect almost every time. We have changed our route, so instead of going up north to Copan, Honduras, we will go west, to Antigua, Guatemala and the beautiful Lago de Atitlan, then North. Saves a couple days of overland travel, which we desperately need, since we have friends flying to Belize in 40 days, and friends flying to Mexico in 50!!
Today we took a bus trip to El Tunco (since we decided to stay here 5 days and just bus there instead of stay there) and we were so glad we decided to stay here, at El Roble for 5 days. El Tunco is VERY gringofied, VERY expensive, and VERY hyped. There was nothing more than some overpriced beachside restaurants ($12 dollar seafood soup! and drinks were $5!! Good thing we made it back to the hostel in time for happy hour!) and a couple overpriced surf shops. There were so many rude tourists. We feel very humbled to be the only white people on the beach near our hostel, which gives us a much more authentic feel of the real El Salvador.
Everytime we get to a place I make the mistake of falling in love, and staying for too long only to realize that we will only have less time in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Mexico. We will leave in 2 or 3 (or 4 or 5) days and go west to the Ruta de las Flores which is supposed to be one of the nicest places in El Salvador. We will go to Juayua for the food fair over the weekend then on to Guatemala City and Antigua.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Greg and I are thinking of boogie boarding til Noon on this beautiful 7km stretch of deserted beach. No houses, restaurants, nothing. Just palm trees, sand and surf. After noon we will enjoy happy hour til 5 beside the pool. Maybe paint a little with Seca. Maybe have a bonfire in the evening. Our hosts Seca and Darren and there fabulous staff have spoiled us and waited on us hand and foot, and we are so blessed. El Roble is definetly somewhere we will have to come back to (with Gavin and Madison!!).
Anyways my internet time is up. I wish I could post the pictures of the hostel and the BEAUTIFUL sunset, but you will all just have to wait. Until then, Buenos noches, mi amigos!!
I have sad news. While we were out swimming in the ocean, enjoying our first Salvadorian sunset (and what a beauty she was!), a rogue wave came up and swept away my purse, clothing, beer, shoes, and mi amigo, Kyles, lens cap. It was a tradgedy. My the time I got to it, it had gone through two waves. I am pretty upset that I will be unable to post anymore pictures. But at least the memory stick was saved and I didnt lose any previous pictures. Greg has his camera so we will not miss out, but he doesnt have the cord to upload them so you will. I have tried to dry it out, and save it, but to no avail. The lens wont retract and keeps saying there is an error. The more I try the more upset I get.
BUT ANYWAYS, im not letting materialism get to me and Im going to continue to enjoy myself (but I understand if no one wants to continue reading).
El Salvador is amazing. We checked into this hostel, El Roble, recommended by our friends, Madison and Gavin. Upon arriving, we knew we had found paradise. Our original plan was to spend 2 days here, and 3 days in El Tunco, a surfing village about 20km west. When we got here, we knew we werent leaving. We decided to splurge on a $30 dollar room for a couple nights, for some privacy (finally). We didnt realize at first that along with the $30 dollar room, they also fill up the other pool for you. So not only is there one pool, there is two. Happy hour is from 7am-5pm and drinks range from $1-$2. Breakfast is free and consists of fruit and fresh buns with delicious jam. Mangos are everywhere (and free!) and you smell them as soon as you wake up. We havent done much outside the hostel since the town has really nothing to offer. Yesterday we did sweet FA, mostly read, swam, lounged, ate.
We watched Fargo after eating Pupusas for dinner, and went to bed. We have been UNDER budget the last couple days (even though we splurged on the expensive room). We realized that El Salvador uses the US dollar so things SEEM expensive, but they are really the same.
The Salvadorians are great. They are hard faced people but crack a smile with a simple "buenos!" The beer here is Regia, or Pilsener. Its good and cheap. The most popular thing to eat here is Pupusas. They are like perogy pancakes, usually with beans, cheese and bacon. They are served with tomato sauce and coleslaw. They cost 30 cents each and 3 fill you up nicely. Weve eaten them two nights in a row now.
El Salvador seems a little wealthier than Nicaragua. More people speak english, most have swimming pools (whether they have water or not is another thing), there is less garbage, nice cars, big shopping malls, and lots of fast food joints (which are pretty pricey). It is so easy to navigate. The bus station is modern with signs instead of people yelling (although they do that anyway). We are finding ourselves shorter on time everyday, since we get stuck in places longer than we expect almost every time. We have changed our route, so instead of going up north to Copan, Honduras, we will go west, to Antigua, Guatemala and the beautiful Lago de Atitlan, then North. Saves a couple days of overland travel, which we desperately need, since we have friends flying to Belize in 40 days, and friends flying to Mexico in 50!!
Today we took a bus trip to El Tunco (since we decided to stay here 5 days and just bus there instead of stay there) and we were so glad we decided to stay here, at El Roble for 5 days. El Tunco is VERY gringofied, VERY expensive, and VERY hyped. There was nothing more than some overpriced beachside restaurants ($12 dollar seafood soup! and drinks were $5!! Good thing we made it back to the hostel in time for happy hour!) and a couple overpriced surf shops. There were so many rude tourists. We feel very humbled to be the only white people on the beach near our hostel, which gives us a much more authentic feel of the real El Salvador.
Everytime we get to a place I make the mistake of falling in love, and staying for too long only to realize that we will only have less time in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Mexico. We will leave in 2 or 3 (or 4 or 5) days and go west to the Ruta de las Flores which is supposed to be one of the nicest places in El Salvador. We will go to Juayua for the food fair over the weekend then on to Guatemala City and Antigua.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Greg and I are thinking of boogie boarding til Noon on this beautiful 7km stretch of deserted beach. No houses, restaurants, nothing. Just palm trees, sand and surf. After noon we will enjoy happy hour til 5 beside the pool. Maybe paint a little with Seca. Maybe have a bonfire in the evening. Our hosts Seca and Darren and there fabulous staff have spoiled us and waited on us hand and foot, and we are so blessed. El Roble is definetly somewhere we will have to come back to (with Gavin and Madison!!).
Anyways my internet time is up. I wish I could post the pictures of the hostel and the BEAUTIFUL sunset, but you will all just have to wait. Until then, Buenos noches, mi amigos!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)