Taking it on a technicality

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Ok, my stop in El Salvador was in fact only 49 minutes while waiting for my connecting flight to San Francisco. However i did play a song on ye olde guitar to a rather bemused collection of American business travellers and some El Salvadorian airport workers. Hence i feel i'm allowed to blog the place.

Also i managed to nearly get arrested in the airport despite my breif stay for.. carrying toothpaste. Yep, apparently although taking umpteen TACA airline flights before, because this one was bound for the states, all of a sudden we were not permitted to "..gather in groups of more than 3 people in any area..." ooo! Also my innocent Colgate toothpaste was suddenly deemed a security risk. However after negociations as to the actual risk toothpaste poses, and demonstrating that it was in fact toothpaste, the examiner reasoned i probably wouldn't try and brush my teeth with plastic explosives and let me pass through.

So yes, this blog is a cheat. And yes, this blog is mainly so it looks cool that i've blogged another country..but since i started i said i'd only blog, and i'd only allow flag stickers on my guitar, from countires where i played a song. Granted this was a short and unreceived performance (i'd have put 'not well' received but the response was much too mute to warrant that) but it was a technical performance none-the-less. For the record it was a rather hurried version of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (Led Zep) as a farewell to all kinds of things. Speaking Spanish, Latin America, 'real' backpacking, being warey of all buses, all water and all 'kind offers' of any kind..lots of things i've grown starngely fond of.

Off to the states next making sure to gather only with one friend at a time. It seems now i'm only allowed that many buddies.

marc

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Photos

Waiting at San Salvador
Pondering my close call with the authorities

Playing to bemused business men
Who all seem to have laptops. It's the new (or i guess quite old now) yuppie style accesory. No me gusta really.

Beofre leaving San Jose
With time to kill i thought the best thing was to grab a beer, set up the guitar and play to all the people arriving. Got quite a lot of waves and thankyous. No money though..

After checking in the heavens opened
And how, some poor souls were working at in this rain

More rainhem
hmm..speaking spanish for so long my word plays aren't so good