Dirty Lettuce

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Geo: 13.7942, -88.8965

Our arrival in Suchitoto yesterday turned out to be a rather fortuitous occurrence - I wasn't quite sure where to get rid of the Barbie Butchers' bodies, until today, when I got a closer look at Lake Suchitlan. It's always interesting in developing nations, particularly from an environmental standpoint - in the case of El Salvador, there is some truly stunning natural scenery, and a cruise on Lake Suchitlan is a must if visiting Suchitoto, both for the bird watching and for the beautiful views.

There is a problem, however - as lovely as Lake Suchitlan is, it's also heavily polluted, being the final destination for the Lempa river. At its source, the river is considered pristine, but once it passes through San Salvador, it picks up all manner of ... organic material from the city's inhabitants, shall we say? Our guide put it best - "Suchitlan may be beautiful, but I would never put my face in that water!"

Lake Suchitlan is taken over by what locals jokingly refer to as "lechuga" (lettuce), which I think is a type of water hyacinth, floating plants that are flourishing with all the waste in the water. It's so thick on the lake that makes a cruise a bit like navigating a maze, with our captain having to stop several times to survey the lake for a path through the plants, and us frequently taking circuitous routes to get anywhere.









At times, we tried ramming our way through the plants, but you could feel a significant increase in drag on the boat, and also the outboard engine bogging down as the propeller chewed its way through the plants. More than once, we worried that the propeller would get so tangled up in the weeds, that the engine would die, and we would get stuck on the lake. Luckily that didn't happen, so we didn't need to hop out and swim back to shore through that filthy water!

There was a definite benefit with all this greenery floating on the lake - it provided a perfect hiding spot for the Barbie Butchers' bodies! It would be absolutely perfect, because you'd never be able to spot a floating body here even if it was right in front of you, since the water plants can stretch out as far as the eye can see. And all that organic material in the water surely results in all manner of bacteria that can quickly dissolve of any dead bodies that are floating around!

Peace out,

Lil B

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Photos

Looks Are Deceiving ...
... Lake Suchitlan might look clean, but is highly polluted.

Cute Granny's House ...
... which is essentially the English translation of Casa de la Abuela, a very cozy and homey café that also functions as a souvenir shop, and small guesthouse. We hunkered down here for most of the morning, buying souvenirs and just generally chilling out, hiding out from any more would-be assassins.

The Best Part of Casa de la Abuela ...
... wasn't this coffee ice cream, but the fact that we were able to break our $100 bill here! It's usually a bit challenging getting any change in developing countries, and especially funny here - sometimes you can't even get change from a shopkeeper from a $20 bill, for $18 worth of goods.

Centro Arte Para La Paz ...
... an arts centre for kids.

Better Yesterday ...
... breakfast at the Hotel El Tejado this morning was nowhere near as good as yesterday's lunch. Overall, there was nothing exceptional about this tipico, but the fried plantains were pretty awesome.

Burnt French Toast ...
... aside from the slightly acrid taste, the French toast was surprisingly decent, considering that it was made with something similar to Wonder Bread - it was actually moist, eggy, and fluffy.

Hotel Los Almendros ...
... highly-rated on the Tripadvisor, we were disappointed with our meal, for the most part. But that's what you get for trying International food in a country like El Salvador - it's best to go for the local stuff! This olive tapenade was surprisingly tasty, since it didn't have a very strong olive taste, but a lot of garlic and salt that masked the olive flavor.

Caprese Salad ...
... we didn't expect much of this, given that mozzarella cheese isn't commonly found in Central America - and this one wasn't all that special, since the cheese was more like a gouda, and the salad was crying for some vinegar or acidity.

Tough and Stringy Rabbit ...
... with caramelized onions, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. The onions were the best part, by far.

La Posada de Suchitoto ...
... known as a restaurant with a view, it was far too dark for us to see anything. The appearance of a slice of Wonder Bread to start the meal reminded us of a Kitchen Nightmare we had years ago in South Africa, in a hotel in Port Elizabeth.

Tasty Veggie Soup ...
.. accompanying the meal, this was a better start than the bread - a rich, thick vegetable puree.

Gallo en Chicha
... definitely not a fan! We've had the Peruvian drink chicha before and thoroughly enjoyed it - obviously, this was a different type. I made a mess all over myself with the dark, sweet & sour gravy, that had a very off-putting flavour.

Sopa de Gallina ...
.. this chicken soup was quite tasty, however - loads of veggies, in a flavourful broth that was chock full of chicken and rice.

Yuca con Chicarron ...
... the fried yucca was the best part of dinner - moist, salty, and crisp, and especially good with the shredded cheese. This was very reminiscent of a Brazilian late-night snack after drinking, except for the addition of the tasty fried pork.

Pupuseria Raquelita ...
... the biggest pupusas we've had anywhere in El Salvador, a single one would've been enough for a meal! Their rice versions weren't as good, but the corn ones were killer, particularly the salty, chewy cheese inside. Funny to say, but these were also the most expensive we've had, at the exorbitant price of - $1 each!

Dedicated Daniel ...
... I don't think Raquelita is used to serving 7 people at a time, so Daniel jumped up and helped them sort out the orders, and also helped serve us.