Friendly People

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Geo: 13.5928, -89.8275

I just finished my steps for today. We had a tour that I thought would involve a lot of walking, but I had logged only a little over 4,200 steps by the time we got back to the ship so I finished the steps in the room. I have made my 10,000-step goal every day but two so far.

Today, the ship docked in Acajutla, El Salvador. The notes that I made at home showed our shore excursion was scheduled from 11:00 to 3:45. When we got our tickets on board, the time had been changed. We met for the tour in the Cabaret Lounge at 12:10 for a 12:30 tour. We did not get back to the ship until 6:15.

This morning once the ship was in position at the dock, a large show started for the passengers. I could hear music from our balcony, but we were on the opposite side from the dock. I went up to Deck 10 to look out to see the musicians and two sets of dancers performing different shows at the same time to the same music separated by about thirty feet. It was a big group, possibly the biggest welcome group I have seen at a cruise port. One of the other passengers said that this is the first time a Princess ship has stopped here. I did not hear anything about that from Princess, and it seems like an important piece they would promote, so I am not certain it is true. However, what is certain is that they are putting on a big welcome.

The tour was interesting and worthwhile. After boarding the bus and accounting for all the passengers, we were off for a drive through the country to the San Andrés archeological site passing by volcanos that the guide, Moses, pointed out and passing by homes, businesses, and many people out for the afternoon that he did not mention. From the bus, I also saw: a family of white chickens with the mama and seven or eight junior-sized young ones with her running along the side of the road; a skinny Brahma cow sitting down on the shoulder of the Pan American Highway; a truck/bus that was carrying passengers who were standing in a wire cage that was built where the bed of the truck would normally be; tons of trash piles and litter along the way; long sections of hand-built stalls to use as markets as well as single tables set up all over selling a few fruits or other goods; an eighteen-wheeler sized truck stacked with crates full of live chickens; beautiful red and yellow flowering trees. What a colorful country.

The San Andrés site was the first of two Mayan settlements we saw today. Both are small and less impressive than what we have seen in Mexico, but they were interesting in their own ways. The second site, Joya de Cerén, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and special since it is older than other known Mayan sites and was a place for regular people to live. It was not a religious nor ceremonial site.

Our guide today was so very talkative. The drives today were one hour and fifteen minutes to the first site; twenty-five minutes to cover the five kilometers as-the-crow-flies between sites; and one hour and thirty minutes back to the port. Moses talked nonstop including a long lecture about pupusas and why they are much better here than in Honduras. We could tell that he has an enormous amount of national pride by the way he pointed out why things were better, not just that they were better.

El Salvador is the smallest country by area in Central America with the densest population. The areas I saw had lots of people everywhere and the traffic was thick and busy, particularly on our return to port. When we arrived there, another show was in progress. This time there were people in costumes representing statues, I think, and a children's orchestra performing pop music. A cadre of young adults were surveying returning passengers on their experiences in the country using smart phones to record the answers.

Tourism is young, but growing in El Salvador. I found the people to be friendly and welcoming and not jaded by the influx of ugly Americans yet. At the San Andres site, there was a large group of teenagers in school uniforms arriving as we departed from one of the pyramids. So many of them said, "Good afternoon," as they passed by. The path down the pyramid was only wide enough for one person, but many of students, prompted by our guide, moved over onto the grass to give us the right-of-way.

We called Erin when we got back to the ship, then went to dinner. I thought they would have open seating since so many of the tours were late returning, but not tonight. We were able to have dinner in the dining room even though we were about an hour late. They did make an exception to the “no late arrivals” policy. We saw others arriving late, too. If they would cook and serve quickly, I was happy to eat quickly so the second seating at our table could start on time.

Word for the Day: Pupusas. The national food of El Salvador is pupusas. They are corn tortillas with something else mixed into the dough before grilling—cheese, beans, or meat usually.

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