Suchitoto, El Salvador

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Day 4: July 28
Awoke early and left Honduras via Guatemala to cross into El Salvador.
El Salvador was never in the plans until we arrived in Central America, so visiting here was unexpected. The political problems in Honduras meant we needed to make up 4 nights, so why not hit up El Salvador.
One of the ladies on our tour got very ill and threw up on the bus. Poor lady.

After a long day of buses, we arrived in the small town of Suchitoto. Not to many years back, El Salvador was in the midst of a bloody civil war and the country was off limits. Suchitoto itself was almost completely depopulated during the conflict as it was a base for the FMLN (one of the sides in the civil war). Today El Salvador and Suchitoto are safe again, and the people are very friendly and grateful that you are there. Suchitoto, is what "El Salvador was like before the war" say the locals. It has colonial charm and cobblestone streets. We spent the afternoon exploring the town and took a trek down to the Lake (Embalse Cerron Grande) about a 45 min walk away. Ate some lunch at a lakeside restaurant and then headed back up the long, steep road... until we were picked up by a pick-up truck. Rode in the back until we arrived back at the hotel.

Ate dinner with the group in a nice little restaurant and partied it up on the rooftop of our hostel as we watched lightening strike and listened to thunder rumble in the distance.

Day 5
Awoke very ill. Not a hangover, but food poisoning. Spent the ENTIRE day in bed or in the bathroom. Couldn't eat of drink anything without barfing. Gross. Lisa was very ill too. We think it was the spinach in the pasta we ate the night before, but who really knows. Luckily this hotel had air con. Missed out on a hike to a waterfall and chilling by the lake.

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Photos

There no sign welcoming you to El Salvador
This one is at the border but it is not a welcome sign

AltaVista Hotel
Thank god for air con

Comments

[Diane Coghlan]

Questions about Suchitoto
Hello, my name is Diane and my daughter, Sarah and I are going to Suchitoto at the end of May 2010. She is going to live in Suchitoto or the area for two months to do a project for her graduate program in Public Health. I am going with her initially to help her with some equipment she needs to take along. Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell me if you got shots( Hepatitis a, malaria med etc. before your trip. Also what was the public transportation like? Buses, cabs?And finally, would you recommend the Alta Vista Hotel where you stayed? I appreciate any feed back. Thank you. Diane

[Diane Coghlan]

Questions about Suchitoto
Hello, my name is Diane and my daughter, Sarah and I are going to Suchitoto at the end of May 2010. She is going to live in Suchitoto or the area for two months to do a project for her graduate program in Public Health. I am going with her initially to help her with some equipment she needs to take along. Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell me if you got shots( Hepatitis a, malaria med etc. before your trip. Also what was the public transportation like? Buses, cabs?And finally, would you recommend the Alta Vista Hotel where you stayed? I appreciate any feed back. Thank you. Diane

[Double J]

Reply
Hi Diane, I am so sorry it took me so long to get back to your questions. I got a typhoid fever vaccination, and had my hep A & B shots. I also took malaria medication. As for the Hostal, very nice staff, rooms are OK. Air con, separate washroom, very clean. As for public transport - i walked or hitched a ride in the back of a truck. Good Luck!