El Salvador...one place I though I'd never go but so glad I did!

Sometimes when I sit down to right these blogs, I wish there was a way to insert sound effects. This one would definitely start with a long and relaxed [sigh....].

I am back from El Salvador and can honestly say I can’t remember a time I was more relaxed for 48+ hours straight in my life. I think there may have actually been times when my heart rate was so low that it just stopped beating for a while. So...let’s back up to Saturday morning and recount the “Adventures of El Salvador”.

So about 30 seconds after I sent off the last blog post, I raced out the door to catch a silver shuttle down to El Salvador. What should have been a 4 hour smooth ride to the beach didn’t go exactly as planned. First off, 3 of the other volunteers on the program were so drunk the night before that they were actually still a bit tipsy when the walked on board...interesting way to start the morning. I sat next to perhaps the most interesting character I’ve met so far. His name was Bruce and he has pretty much been surfing his way down Central America for the last 4 months. I’m telling you all that if that guy was keeping a blog, none of you would be reading mine because his stories are FAR more interesting.

About 2 hours into the ride and about 15 minutes from the border, we stopped at a market. Suddenly all of us were buying and eating watermelon off the back of a truck and cheesy tortillas from a stand...perfect for those with the hangover.

Now that everyone was feeling a little less green, it was off the the strangest border crossing I’ve ever seen. It was literally pretty much optional to get out of the car and swipe your passport...a far cry from the iris scanning, liquid inspecting, fingerprint inking line in the US. The only real reason I got out was in the hopes of an El Salvador stamp but no such luck...

About 5 minutes after we crossed the border, we got stuck behind a slow truck. Our driver tried to illegally maneuver around it and within seconds, we were pulled over by the cops. For about the next 2 hours, we sat in 90 degree heat dripping in sweat awaiting the police to give our driver back his keys. Needless to say, not how I envisioned starting my beach weekend...but we did get there, eventually and it was all worth it.

We stumbled out of our silver shuttle and the driver actually had the guts to ask us for a tip...only in El Salvador would a driver that basically gave us all severe dehydration would ask each person for $1. So we handed over the dollar (yes...dollars! They use American money in El Salvador...bizarre) and walked wearily to our what would be our home for the next two days.

So considering that for the ENTIRE weekend (two nights stay, shuttle up to the beach, etc., etc.) cost me $80, I wasn’t exactly sure how this “beach house” would go...but it was FABULOUS! The house was on the beach and about 40 feet above sea level...I would try to describe the view but it is impossible...so here are a few pictures!

The beach sand is completely black because of the volcanic ash and the beach is littered with smooth black stones (for any of you who have ever had a hot stone massage, I swear that this beach is where those stones come from...). Our little casita was complete with 3 hammocks, 5 lounge chairs, 1 wading pool...and LOTS of stray dogs.

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned the stray dog situation on this blog yet. Rachel—if you are reading this, you may want to stop now... There are dogs everywhere here and El Salvador was even worse! Stray dogs are just everywhere you look and many are not exactly ready for the Purina Dog Show. But this weekend, I think I found the most pathetic one so far...we lovingly called him “One-eye, 3-legs”. I think you probably can get the picture, but just in case you can't, here he is:

Anyway, the rest of the weekend went something like this:

Wake up. Eat a granola bar. Mosey over to a hammock. Take a 2 hour nap. Stroll down the beach to one of two restaurants in the entire town. Eat lunch (3 choices: Carne asada, Pollo asada or Pez Asada—basically grilled meat or grilled meat). Take a dip in the ocean. Take a dip in the pool. Do a crossword. Lay back down in the hammock. Play Scrabble. Go to dinner at the other of the 2 restaurants. Meet some crazy El Salvadorians. Have a beer. Go to sleep. Repeat.

We went out dancing one night and that was a blast. I am definitely discovering that there is a whole world of wandering travelers out there that somehow manage to find each other and have a pretty good time together!

Funny story...so I was walking on the beach (right in between eating at restaurant #1 and taking a dip) and decided I should get a picture of the moment. And figured that this would be a good time to give me Spanish a whirl with the locals. So I found a local and asked him in Spanish to take my picture. He looked at me completely blankly. No response. I asked him again, this time slowing down and making sure to conjugate my verbs just right. Still no response.

Finally, the guy looked at me and said in a perfect American accent, “Did you want me to take a picture of you?” Turns out, the guy was from Chicago...didn’t speak a word of Spanish.

Anyway, that is basically El Salvador in a nutshell. When the weekend was over and I started stuffing my sandy bathing suit and damp towel into my backpack, I found myself thinking how nice it was going to be to return to Antigua. It’s amazing that after only 9 days this place really is starting to feel like home. Speaking of Antigua, here is a picture that I took on Friday on my way to school. I think it’s my favorite picture I’ve taken so far:



Not a bad place to call home for 7 weeks...

xoxo, Debra