Pictures from El Salvador

Here are a few pictures from El Salvador,
I didnt get many, as my camera went through a wave during that sunset.
A couple days later, it dried out, just in time for Antigua.

Sleepy boys on the bus ride to the Honduran border

Everyone about to feast, at Mayaburguer

The infamous Mayaburguer

Priyas bus buddy

The bar at El Roble

our beautiful casita

our private pool!

El Roble, Heaven on earth

beach time

This was the sunset that I lost my camera

me feeling sorry for the loss of my camera

Antigua, Guatemala

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!

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!!

Crossing borders

Hola Amigos,
Another freaking fabulous day in Central America. Today I am writing from San Salvador!
We celebrated our last night with amazing pizza, beers and margaritas. We left Nicaragua at 3:30am on Thursday the 10th. We bussed to the border at Guasale, 2 and a half hours, and watched the last Nica sunrise from the bus which was breathtaking. The border was easy so early in the morning with not too many touts trying to tell you that you need their help. It cost 2 dollars US to leave Nicaragua, and 3 dollars US to enter Honduras. It was a little frusterating since we were low on cash and there were no banks anywhere. At least there were moneychangers around. The border officials were great, which they always are. We walked across the space between Nicaragua and Honduras which we dubbed "The line on the map." The young boys at the Honduran entrance were incredibly intriuged by my tattoos. They were young and giggly (and had guns) and let us by without a fuss. We then took a minibus for 27 lempiras ($1.50) to Choluteca, the largest town in the south of Honduras. We got on another bus (41 lempiras) to the border El Amatillo, at El Salvador, I met Walter, 39 year old Honduran fellow on the bus and we shared chips and he bought me some water. It was hard to converse as my spanish isnt very good, neither was his english. The El Salvadorian border was a breeze, with officials in actual uniforms helping you along. No cost to exit Honduras or enter El Salv. We needed to get to the first town possible with what little money we had left so we took a bus to Santa Rosa. El Salvador uses US currency, and the bus cost a dollar. We were all frantic to find a bank and after walking to about 5, we were all a little bitchy that we couldnt find an ATM. We finally found one that worked for us, and Greg decided to go across the street to the Scotiabank, which ended up eating his card. I really felt for him since he was trying to be so positive all day. We tried to explain in spanglish to the teller about the card but it was of no use as the security guard said they would need a technician to open the machine. Bon Voyage Coastcapital bank card.

We got some food in us and REALLY had to pee after 7 hours of travelling. We discovered there were no working public toilets in the town (it had no plumbing), which was fine for the boys but us ladies were suffering badly. We walked by a hardware store and I desperatley asked the lady working if she knew of a bathroom. She led me to the back of the store to use hers. YES! RELIEF! I tried to give her 25 cents but she laughed and said no way. She motioned for us to stay a few minutes and pointed to the sky. About 30 seconds later the thunder and lightning came for about 25 minutes. The rain was so hard the streets looked like rivers. She pulled some chairs out on to the covered deck in front of her store and we sat and enjoyed the rain. After a frantic day of travel it was very relaxing to just sit.

We got on the next bus, bus number 5 of the day. It was a beautiful old greyhound bus and we were the first ones on it. The fellow told us it was $1.25 which we thought must be a mistake since it was playing movies and had air-con and was nicer than any bus back home. Slowly we got going to San Miguel and the bus started to fill up. It really did only cost $1.25. We met a fellow, Carlos on the bus, who told us we werent going to get to our destination that night. He told us he knew of a good place to sleep that was cheap and safe. We then shared some cashews and I fell asleep. We arrived and checked into our hotel but were all wayyy too tired to do anything. We watched a couple movies and fell asleep around 9pm.

This morning we woke up and Carlos showed us the Mercado where we ate good cheap breakfasts. We decided to spend the day in San Salvador since we were tired of busses. Carlos told us it was a good idea and asked if we had heard about the Earthquake tsunami in Japan. We hadnt but turned on the CNN bulletin after breakfast and noticed they were speaking to the Presidents of Chile, Ecuador, and El Salvador. They said to expect a 2m rise in water levels between the next 24-48 hours so I guess the subconcious decision to stay in the city overnight was a blessing. We caught the bus, 2.5 hours to San Salvador (5$) and then into a cab to the Blvd de los Heroes, the safe university district of San Salv. We got to a nice little place called La Estrancia and the woman, Doña Ana, opened the gate and said "Welcome home!" It definetly felt like the right place to be. Hot water, free water, TV, cheap dorm beds (although more expensive than Nicaragua).
We went to this little burger van called Mayaburguer, recommended by my amiga, Madison, which was amazing. A big mac replica only better for $1.75. El Salvador is definetley fast food CRAZY. You can stand in one place on the street and count 2 Burger Kings, 2 Pizza Huts, 2 Mister Donuts, a Wendys and thats only the american fast food. Theres even more than you could imagine. We then walked to the biggest mall in Central America, but just for window shopping, we didnt spend anything.

We are now back at the hostel waiting to hear more news on CNN. My heart goes out to all the people stranded on the rooftops, as this image is becoming more and more frequent but never hurts your heart any less. We might go to the beach tomorrow, as we dont want to live in fear but would rather be safe than sorry. My sinus infection seems to be worsening. I have had a headache in the front of my head for over a week now which only worsens in air conditioning (which is everywhere). I think I will go see a doctor. I just dont want to take the time out of my vacay :(

Tonight we will go find cheap Guiness since the beer in El Salvador is just OK. I am craving something dark and delicious. Anyways, I hope everyone is feeling extra love and extra grateful for their family and friends today.  I know I will be celebrating life in this beautiful city tonight, wish you all could be here! XO
(No new pictures to post, busses are boring.)

Last day in Nicaragua-Ash Wednesday

Hola Amigos,
Today is Ash Wednesday in Nicaragua, the celebration of the beginning of Lent. Everyone is in church and you can hear them singing from the streets. We are back in Leon because we were going to go Volcano boarding for our last day in Nicaragua. Unfortunately the tour was booked so it looks like we will have to stay one more day, and go tomorrow (bummer). Sigh. I dont care if we ever leave. We ate cotton candy for 25 cents and im about to have a nice cold coca cola. We are staying at a beautiful hostel called the Lazy Turtle. 
They have this amazing honour system in which you dont pay anything until you leave. The bar is self serve, and you just write it down on your sheet and pay later. We took the bus this morning from Las Penitas. David, the owner of our favorite restaurant, made us Borscht for breakfast as sort of a going away gift, which was amazing. Im still feeling a little sinus headache, day 6 of it now. Not much else to report. Posted a couple pictures from the last few days. I am finding this place ridiculously hard to leave. I think Nicaragua is definetley a place I can see myself volunteering in the future or teaching english. If ever you want a true cultural travel experience but don´t have much money, this is the place to be. I am just so in love. The Nicas are true honourable people with hearts of gold. I have never felt more safe, even in my own country. Everyone is just so laid back and everything gets done. It makes me sad to think of the pace in which us North Americans live our lives. Always rushing, road raging, never having time for strangers, working too hard. I guess Nicaragua knows something we don´t.

Buildings in Leon

Sol Y Mar, Our B&B in Las Penitas

Sunday, locals day at the beach

Borscht!

a band we listened to at a beach fire

Goodbye Corn island!!

Our guard dog, Muchacha

Ridiculously beautiful sunsets every night

Siesta for Greg

Our $4 whole fried fish dinner, beer included

Leon-Las Penitas

Buenos dias, Chicos!
Back on the Pacific and LOVIN IT!!
We left the Corn Islands early Friday morning. The trip wasnt bad but I had a terrible cold and flying makes my ears feel like they are bleeding. Not to mention no sleep because Priya insisted on partying RIGHT outside the room until 5am and we had to be at the airport at 7am. It was a short 1.5 hour flight with a stop in Bluefields to pick up some more passengers. We landed in Managua and got a shared taxi to the bus station. We got on a microbus to Leon and it was bad as I was falling asleep which was causing me to have bad nausea. Luckily I was fine, and we arrived in Leon around noon. We checked into the Bigfoot hostel, which is pretty ok. I slept the afternoon away while Greg and Priya explored, waking up only for a huge $2 burger in the Parque Central. We had an early night as I am trying to get rid of this cold as fast as I can. Being sick when you are travelling just feels like you are wasting time.

I woke up around 7am for a pineapple smoothie and went back to bed until 10am when I couldnt sleep anymore. Greg and I went and explored the town and met this really great local named Jerry. We talked for a few hours, mostly about Canada, and had a traditional nicaraguan lunch with him. We then went for massages across from the hostel with the Seeing Hands Blind Massage. They actually teach blind Nicas the technique of massage, and then employ them to keep them off the streets. It was very cheap ($10 for half hour full body) and very relaxing. We then sat in the pool at the hostel with a couple beers. Another fellow, Kyle, also from Victoria (!!) had just checked in so we sat with him from a while at the bar. After a couple hours of walking around looking for something other than fried chicken and rice and beans to eat, Greg, Priya and Kyle made delicious guacamole and salsa. It was a nice change because it feels like Im always the one that cooks. I called it quits early, and Greg and Kyle went next door to ViaVia, the other hostel for a few more beers.

Yesterday morning we all shared a taxi (sans Priya, she wants to wait for the Swedes in Leon) to the coast, a beach called Las Penitas. It isn't really a town so much as a road with a couple restaurants and stores. The hostel was full but we saw a Bed and Breakfast with a Canadian flag. Turns out it was run by two Nicaraguan-Canadians, $25 bucks for 3 people with breakfast, in their beautiful family home right on the beach. It is a welcome change from the noise of the hostels and so homey. There are great Canadians at the B&B, so lots of good conversation. Our room has a salmon pillow!! We went to the store for supplies and got a 6 pack of ginger ale, 4L of water, 2 ice creams and a 2-6 of rum for $15! Yesterday was locals day off so everyone went to the beach, and it was awesome to watch the Nicas play in the waves together. We had two sunsets yesterday, one in our hand and one on the beach. While we were having our own little happy hour, Eric a fellow we had met a couple weeks ago on Ometepe (who went to Panama to get his dream girl) WALKED BY ON THE BEACH! It was pretty awesome to see him so we went for another happy hour at the hostel. We went for tacos for dinner and ended up meeting the owner of the place who is also Canadian and it was awesome to talk with him for a couple hours about life in Nicaragua. We decided to go back to the house for the rest of the rum, some good conversation and the sound of the waves. We went to bed around midnight and woke up to a fabulous traditional Nicaraguan breakfast.

Greg and Kyle are surfing right now as I write this, but Im still only feeling about 70%. We will probably have the amazing tacos again for lunch and a nice fried fish for dinner which is apparently the best on the Pacific for only $3. We might stay an extra day, then its back to Leon for Volcano boarding to celebrate our last day in Nicaragua. I will be so sad to leave but we have to move on. Nicaragua has been so good to us, the people so friendly and just such a beautiful country. I wish I could post a few pictures but this computer is strange, so maybe Ill add a few in the next post. Off to El Salvador Wednesday of Thursday! Love and miss you all! I truly do wish you were here!! XO