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Published: December 9th 2012
We did not know whom to expect for a driver to San Salvador as the person with whom we arranged the drive spoke very little English. We were expecting someone at 9 and precisely at that time, a gentleman, who spoke absolutely zero English showed up with his car and off we went. Simply, Clay said, “Dos personas San Salvador?” Answer, “si.” That was the total sum of the conversation before we got in a car with this complete stranger. He delivered us safely.
Before we left the Hotel Alamendros, we had a filling “tipico breakfast” of eggs ("tibios" for soft boiled), black beans and plaintains and OJ. Every place we have been thus far, breakfast is always included in the cost. Importantly, it is not “continental.” All of the juice we have gotten in CA is fresh squeezed, right then! We briefly met the two owners (men) who had been away for a few days, along with their royal dog. The French owner had a connection for us in Marakkesh and we took his card. Again, small world!
San Salvador is a BIG city. The Wife owner of our hotel, Gretchen, told us that Salvadorians consider themselves “Americanized,
if you know what I mean.” Indeed, coming into the city, we saw familiar fast food signs – Burger King, McDonald’s, Quiznos, China Wok and even Mister Donut (really didn’t know this still existed!). This is the land of the most impossibly tight jeans, muffin tops, bro-hawks and horn honking. Everybody honks, even though it will do no good whatsoever. Pedestrians DO not have the right of way at crosswalks or otherwise. Don’t look and die.
On the other hand, everyone is really friendly and most everyone smiles if we smile. We have seen absolutely NO white people so we can definitely feel the “looks.” But, we are used to it. The hotel, Morrison, Hotel de la Escalon, is super great (www.hoteldelaescalon.com). Everyone here is as nice as can be. They made sure that we had a comfy room and we got here before 11 a.m. and they let us check in. They do laundry here, too, at $5 a load! So, we set up the laundry, did some setting up of our room and went exploring.
Before exploring, we asked the owner how far the local market was from the hotel. She asked her staff the walking
distance (there is a bus for only 35 cents, but what fun is that!). The woman said about 2K, kilometers, which is NOT far (about 1 mile). About an hour later down the road to the market, Ann was really irritated. It was REALLY hot and REALLY sunny. We were both REALLY hungry as it was now about 1:00. We found the market about 5 minutes later. It was craziness. Imagine the Ramona flea market on its busiest day, but spanning about 5 square miles. Now add to the normal stuff you would see being sold (clothes, Christmas decorations, toiletries, home-made items) every kind of food imaginable, both uncooked and cooked. Now, crystalize that vision, and add about the same number of people roaming around Chinatown in San Francisco or New York during the peak sales of the day. We really were overwhelmed and had no idea where to begin. Some people yelled out the prices, some touched our arms to get us to look. It was not frightening, just unbelievable sights, sounds, smells and visions in overdrive.
Eventually, we decided upon a taxi and asked the driver to take us to Don Pedro, which the hotel owner said
was “famous” for local food. We decided to eat in the market the next day as for now, we were starving. Don Pedro’s is an outside restaurant offering either cafeteria style or sit-down. We opted for the latter. We had tacos, which were corn tortillas with meat and onions grilled in a wonderful marinade. On the side, we were served little bowls (not paper or plastic) of salsa, avocado, refried beans and lime. On the side was the most challenging salsa picante yet - - a green dream of eye and nose-watering bliss.
After this meal, we walked back to the hotel. Once we checked the GPS, we realized we had walked almost 6 miles in extreme heat. Our sunburned faces were the testament to our journey. We took a little siesta and our hunger kicked in again. Off to find beef - - our hotel owners suggested Las Palma Restaurant featuring Argentinean beef. We could not get inside the restaurant due to a wedding, but we ate outside in a glorious breeze. The area of town is called Zona Rosa and it is more upscale than the market area. Here, people were visiting bars and restaurants and having
a good old time. Our tenderloin meal with all of the trimmings, soup, salad and a coconut flan to finish it off was a whopping $30 (not including the two cocktails we had at $5 each). We could not finish the meal and gave our leftovers to the security guard at our hotel. Did we mention the Constantino wire and burglar bars everywhere? Our guard has a revolver, but most of the stores have guards with larger guns.
After a wonderful night’s sleep (Ann has not used a set of earplugs yet, though we bought one for each day), we decided to tackle the market again, this time armed with ideas for lunch at a stall. We also decided that we wanted to get dinner from a grocery store, so visiting a store nearby was the first order of business. Interestingly enough, we saw our hotel hosts at the store too (just a block away from the hotel) and they were looking for some Christmas decorations for the hotel. The store had some great produce so we decided on a salad for the evening. But that would have to wait.
The jaunt to the market was not as
difficult since we knew what to expect. We easily moved through the sellers like we were pros (though we do not look local at all). Eventually, we happened upon a few stalls which were cooking some meat looking things and spreading the roll upon which it would be placed with avocado, peeled right there. Lots of locals were eating this stuff, and we were hungry, so we got seated on the bench in front of a stall. Sinco minutos later (everything here is 5 minutes), we had a hogie looking sandwich with avocado, some various meat, cheese, lots of sauces and pickled onions. Oh, my, what a treat. We were locals!!! Ann had a water and Clay a coke in a bottle. We sat and enjoyed the scenes and the food was really good, but still we do not know its contents exactly. Our bill? About $2 with drinks included. Yes, we know, much less than our $30 filet, but you have to try things, right?
A quick aside about our trip to this country. It is small enough to drive from one end to the other in one day. It has a mall like the Avenues in Jax.
People are a bit impatient, especially in traffic. Food is served her at a faster speed than anywhere we have been. We have not felt even one bit disliked in a land where we do not look like anyone. How wonderful is that?? It is really hot during the day and the sun beats you to death. But, the evenings are breezy. We have suffered NO bug bites here. Crime must go on if you consider the burglar bars and wire everywhere, but we have walked the city from end to end and …. No threats.
This part of the blog is written by Ann. So, we go to the grocery store and buy produce galore. It is so beautiful and inexpensive, I cannot believe it. We purchased enough produce to make a huge salad for the staff of the hotel. Clay is cutting up things as I write. We bought capers (less than $1) and olives (less than $1). We have Andre Bocelli playing our favorite tunes, the same ones that we would normally have on during cooking adventures at home. The staff is snooping in on us every now and again to see what we are doing.
Is it because Clay is the one cutting things up? (a guy). Is it that we are strange or because we are just enjoying their culture? Truth is, we are just having a good time doing what we do. Clay just asked me to test the guacamole to see what it needed. We will be the famous super-stars of the hotel! The staff was wowed by our culinary talents. They wanted to take some of the food to their families! Those that know us know the good feeling that we have giving people a taste of our food skills. So, for tonight, we are happy sharing ourselves, however strange we are to these folks.
San Salvador has brought us a brand new feeling of freedom and the need for acceptance between all people (is Clay really signing off on this?). The people here are accommodating. We are clearly different, but are not treated as so at all. In the grocery store, we failed to weigh and price some limes. Stupido! People laughed with us and were okay with our stupidity and smiled. Travelling is enlightening in so many senses, but we will take away a bit of this little
country with us just as we have the countries before. It is an independent and confident place for its smallness. Clay’s barber trip, the detail of the cut fruit and vegetables, and the attentiveness of our hotel, showed us that pride in work is all around.
Tonight, we eat our wonderful salad, look at the beautiful tropical plants around us, listen to Andre, and discuss the people we love. You know who you are! Our hearts are full with you as well as our new friends made on this journey. Yes, we have hearts…. And they are apparently, super big - - does absence make the heart grow fonder? To Scooter and Joe Wilson, we miss you dudes! To Anna Marie and Marissa (Melissa), we miss you, chicas.
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Sandra
non-member comment
Great Post
Wonderful to see how much fun you are having!