El Salvador the unconventional way...

A tough day, ad-hoc travelling....
Up at 6 and just time for a street breakfast before the 7am bus to Retalhuleu, we are only guessing this is the place to go and change bus, seems right on the map... We arrive about 9 and are quickly helped onto another bus to Escuintla at 9.30. The progress is great! The second bus is quite luxurious as it has real seats and not American school bus style where they cram as many people as possible per bench. We are just relaxing into our seats, and realise we are lucky to be girls. A young bloke is moved from his window seat so that a couple and two children can take both seats, just as he gets comfy, he´s moved again to allow a young woman to sit down instead, it´s now standing for him for the rest of the journey! What does excite us, if only briefly, is that there is actually a chicken on the chicken bus!!! The excitement soon fades when it starts relieving itself in the plastic bag it´s sat in, the smell is horrific!!!
We arrive in Escuintla at 12, sweating like mad and tired out. We see the light, the golden arches!!!! So we stagger down to Maccy D´s for some familiar food, air con and decent toilets! No-one seems to know about buses to the border, even after asking 5 people. One man claims we should wait on a random corner, so we do, for about 30mins. Then 3 other men run up screaming, taking our bags and putting us on another chicken bus. That is the good thing here, you tell one bus screamer (the guy that yells the destination from the moving bus door, and apparently nothing else) where you want to go, and they ensure all others know, so even though we had never seen these guys before, we knew they were in the know.
We are crammed into the front seat even though a bloke is already on it. Proper chicken bus style, it´s not full if there is a bench with fewer than 3 people and the man can collect fares easily. We are on this bus for over an hour when we stop in a back alley and everyone, including the driver, gets off. We are told we are leaving "ahorita", right now, but actually wait 45minutes!!! Finally at the border and told the walk is long so we need a tuk tuk! We are shattered from all these buses so just pay and get in. It´s not too far but it is hot and our bags are heavy. The border is easy as Guatemala and El Salvador share a visa so no stamp out or in needed. Unfortunately there are no buses though and none that would go to the beaches anyway. So we negociate our last money on a taxi to El Zonte and 2 beers!
1 and a half hours later we arrive at the hostel in the book. We opt for the cheaper room, $15 between us, a shack with bathroom! We have no money and the nearest cash machine is 40mins away by bus in the morning, I luckily find my emergency dollars to save the day! There is no-one apart from the key holder in sight, he tells us of one restaurant where we are the only people. The place looks amazing but completely deserted. Not where we will be staying long!

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