Blogs from El Salvador, Central America Caribbean - page 11

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 ... read more

January 20th, 2012 El Salvador We left the Ticabus terminal a little late and arrived at the El Salvador border around 5 in the afternoon. It took well over an hour to clear the border, with us simply following along and doing what our fellow passengers were doing. We also converted our remaining Guatemalan quetzals for US dollars, the currency in use in El Salvador. Of course, the money changers try to take advantage of ignorant tourists and offered us only $21 US for our 300 quetzals. They used fancy math on their calculators to justify their offer. They were using a simple trick, but I had checked the rates on the net the night before and knew what we should get, and we finally settled for $36. Quite an experience! We arrived in San Salvador ... read more

Today, after two and half great weeks, we finally left Guatemala for El Salvador. I'm currently sitting in my hostel in El Tunco on the Pacific coast, the first time I've seen the ocean since Tulum in Mexico. Due to its notorious reputation and some previous advice, I hadn’t planned to go anywhere near El Salvador but travellers I’ve met out here said it couldn’t be missed. In my first day on the coast I've been greeted by a stunning sunset, friendly locals (who sang British songs to me in a restaurant and invited me to a local festival) and a huge meal for just four dollars - so far so good. This time last week we (I'm still travelling with Amber and Rob) visited the Guatemalan mountain town of Chichicastenango. Every Sunday they hold a ... read more

It felt like my head had barely touched the pillow as my alarm went off at 6am. Wide awake with the nervous energy that usually precedes an international flight I showered and packed my bags before heading up to the bar for breakfast. Due to the fact it was so early, only bread rolls, coffee and hot water had been put out. I had to make do with the slightly dry, sickly sweet rolls and Coca Tea until I got to the airport. My secure taxi had arrived promptly at 7.15am and even though I could have haggled with an unofficial taxi for a cheaper fare, it was too early in the morning to run the risk of something untoward happening. Alberto whisked me through the city, taking as many short cuts and detours as he ... read more

After our breakfast in the Hotel, we boarded our NPH bus to see the Mayan Ruins of Tazumal. Our tour guide was old (maybe late 70’s-early 80’s) yet very knowledgeable, confident, passionate, and proud. He led us through the museum and explained the eras, the artifacts, culture, and the people. He wanted to make sure we knew that this historic site was one of the two most important in the Central and Latin American area and beyond. Authenticated by North American archeologists, who were amazed at what was discovered, the Tazumal site in El Salvador was one of two most important in the world. He led us into the very large courtyard outside to show us one of the palaces, which lined up from this site to the highest temple several miles to the foot of ... read more