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Published: September 9th 2010
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The Main Square At Suchitoto
The view from Rene's restaurant Suchitoto
One of the guide books describes
Suchitoto as being like
Antigua in
Guatemala before the tourists arrived. It has the same kind of colonial feel as
Antigua with the cobblestone streets, the central square and no new buildings in the centre. It’s another of those small towns where everybody is really friendly to us and with a relaxed laid-back atmosphere. Our hotel, the
Posada Del Sol, is just two minutes walk from the main square and right next to the post office {
but, somehow, I again fail to find and send postcards during my couple of days here}.
We meet our guide for our next couple of days, the excellent
René. René owns a restaurant on the main square as well as his tour company. When he is not organising stuff for us he is happy to sit with us drinking beers and talking to us all about all things El Salvador. {
Then again, he should be pleased. We’re drinking beers at his restaurant!}
René has a couple of websites and a Facebook page advertising his tours.
Vista Conga Restaurant and Tours and
Suchitoto Adventure Outfitters are his websites and his Facebook page is
here.
On the surface
Suchitoto doesn't have
We Saw This Design On A Lot Of Houses
"En esta casa queremos una vida libra de violencia hacia las mujeres"
"In this house we want a life free from violence against women" a lot of attractions other than the "feel" of the town itself.
But on a half-day tour of the town and it's immediate surroundings
René finds plenty of interest for us. Firstly there is a visit to a house where the women still roll the cigars in the traditional way. Apparantly there are now just four women in the town who make cigars this way. Our host tells us that she is 91 - that's a lot of years of making cigars and a lot of cigars! Of course we have to have a go at rolling cigars too. The house we are visiting is also of interest because of some of the items of furniture there - there is
Suchitoto's first ever fridge and an ingenious water filter.
Just off the town's other square is
Restaurante Villa Balanza where there is a rather strange collection of artworks made from relics of the civil war including the "balanza" of the restaurant's title.
A bit further down the road, towards the lake is the restaurant
La Posada de Suchitlán. A small group of us go here to celebrate my Barclaycard birthday {
That's a long story!!} courtesy of Barclaycard.
The Cigar Lady
She tells us she is 91 years old We get there perhaps just a little too late to appreciate the views over
Lake Suchitlán. Unfortunately on the day we go we are the only diners - the restaurant is obviously capable of catering for a large number of people and we feel a bit lonely dining on our own.
René also arranges for us to visit the home of
Alejandro Cotto. Don Alejandro is a famous El Salvadorian cinematographer, artist and writer. He is also an art collector and seems to have been building his house over the years as a combination of a work of art and a museum. He is bequeathing it to the state and is happy to show off his collection and the gardens with their wonderful views over the lake. The furniture of former Cuban dictator,
Fulgencio Batista is an unexpected exhibit which catches my eye.
A short drive out of town are the
Los Tercios waterfalls with their unusual hexagonal rock formations which make them look more like a piece of modern art than a natural feature.
A further short drive takes us to the town of
Aguacayo. This used to be a highly populated town but is another
Ruins Of The Church At Aguacayo
Services are held in the temporary shelter at the back of the places which suffered badly during the civil war. We visit what is left of the church destroyed in a bombing raid in 1981. Inside the area where the church used to be is a make-shift shelter which is what is now used for church services.
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