El Salvador

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Buenas!

After an early morning run on the black sand beach, a freshly brewed coffee and a breakfast of granola and yogurt, we opted to drink fruit smoothies and eat fresh coconuts whilst basking in the tropical sun with the awesome Pacific hammering the shoreline in front of us. The playa at El Tunco was not a bad spot for a bit of beach-bumming.

Just for the record, Dave did the running....and did he run! We were traveling with a nice Aussie guy (also called Dave) who was in El Tunco with us. When Dave invited the other Dave out for a run, little did Dave know that Dave was a former military exercise trainer. He had Dave doing pushups, sit-ups and drills of sprinting, all at 6 in the morning! Dave was walking a bit funny for a couple of days, still happy he got some excercise though! haha!

The lovely restaurants along the lagoon close to the beach were great for meals. But the stench of the lagoon told another story. We found out that raw sewage gets dumped into the lagoon (which is a river in the wet season and normally flows quickly into the sea). But during the dry season, the river dries up into a stagnant hot and murky large mud puddle. So as you browse the restaurant fronts, you are confronted with the smell of stewing stools. An unnerving juxtaposition.

Just to add to this unpleasant fact, we watched in amazement (shock) as a young couple changed their baby´s diaper (nappy) on one of the dining tables (on the table cloth) in a restaurant as others ate their meals at the other tables. We are always being reminded of being in a developing country. What is ironic about this situation is that some of the restaurants were showing posters of proper handwashing and hand hygiene (including diaper changing). So, slowly, there are signs of some form of basic health education... We think this couple missed reading the posters.

The capital city, San Salvador, was a typical Centroamerica city. It was a bit rough around the edges but we stayed in a nice quiet area in a friendly guest home. We spoiled ourselves by hitting the cinema and watching an English movie (Tower Heist) with Spanish subtitles and ate pizza and chocolate. Then we got prepared for a long bus journey from San Salvador, El Salvador to Granada, Nicaragua.

Stay tuned! Hasta la proxima!

T y D

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Photos

The Mighty Pacific
What an awesome body of water...

Playa El Tunco
Early morning light

Fruit smoothies
At Playa El Tunco, we drank many fruit smoothies and ate fresh coconuts.

Our Chirpy Neighbours
From our Hostal in El Tunco

His New Job
Apparently, the Italian cruiseship captain has found work as a fisherman of the coast of El Salvador...

The Alignment
The inner planets start to align. With Mercury and Venus clearly visible, although the picture does not do it justice. From the Pacific coast.

San Salvador Skyline
The El Savadoran capital.

Reflections
San Salvador

La Avenida
San Salvador.

Eating Chocolate Dinosaurs
San Salvador

Comments

[cuz]

Dave, carefull, chocolate dino's bite back!!! LOL Now I'm jealous, nice here, today - 10 spring is slowly coming......another 30 days to go! Have fun, beware of jellies!

[Eric D]

I've only ever been to Costa Rica among the central American countries. Your blog is making me think I've been missing a lot by only going there. Is it fair to say that even the small countries still feel "big" once you're in them?

[Crannster]

El Salvador
Hey Eric! We are in Costa Rica at the moment. And the other countries are different than it, more so due to the less infrastructure and less westernization, which is a good thing in some ways. You get a real flavour of culture and the latino way of doing things. Costa Rica has had such an influx of ex-pats from N.America that it is comfortable, but something is lost through this. Stay tuned for our future entry on Costa Rica....