Comfort Inn San Salvador

... when I left in two days time so all I had to worry about now was to find a place to stay. The guide book recommended a few other places around the north of the city near Boulevard Los Heroes so I caught another bus up there and managed to find a half decent hostel for a much cheaper price in a semi decent area. That evening I went out with two American guys who had been travelling up through central america and were heading to Honduras next. We went to what is ...

... as there are nice smallish but frequent waves. I am going to have a lesson tomorrow and see if I can improve on my attempts to surf 3 years ago in Mozambique. The water is warm, the sun is hot, the palm trees, that fringe the beach, still and the beach is black(?!). A weird phenomenon in this part of the world, the Pacific beaches have black sand, so my feet resemble granite, coated in sparkling dark sand. There is a huge smile beaming from my face. And as the sun ...

... take care of him. Raymundo´s mom and three little brothers and sisters live in San Juan Opico, and although Raymundo has lived at Casa Concordia with the Olmedos for a very long time, his mom still visits him whenever she can. From Wednesday through Saturday, Cruz, Raymundo´s mom, and his little brothers and sisters were staying with us and visiting Raymundo. So, on Saturday we brought them home! San Juan Opico is about two hours away, and it was ...

... Banco Azteca uniforms. The whole place looked like the 1970s were desperately calling and we enjoyed our meal at a formica dinette set complete with white top and silver metal trim. A mirror ran the full length of the comedor and I could watch everyone digging into their meals. Food is something so universal and enjoyable while traveling.

The comedor was called Cafe New York Deli and was one of those holes in the wall that are awesome to uncover. I am ...

... he was so sweet. He spoke a little English and like to practice with me when I was here last summer. I just couldn't believe it! And now there is no one who is consistently taking his place as the chaplain.

After the NA meeting, we served lunch to about 50 people, Thursdays are the last day in the week that the shelter is open, until Monday again. There aren't ever as many people on Thursdays as there are on Mondays, so I'm sure Monday we will feed ...

... the sky darkened with clouds, it began to rain, and then to pour. Disturbingly, only one of the bus's windshield wipers worked, and we passed at least one vehicle coming the other way with the driver reaching out his window to wipe the windshield with his hand! All this on hilly, winding narrow roads. It gives the road-side crosses a certain legitimacy. I called Leonel to tell him we were coming to Juayua, and was confronted with my poor ability to communicate in any language ...

... at a roadside stand and had some chicken.  There was the mother , a woman in her early forties, her younger brother in his 30's, apparently unemployed, and their probably grandmother in her 70's  and some of the great grand kids about 4 and 8...  The guy in his 30's spoke to me and basically what I understood him saying was "Oh you are rich because you are from the United States.   You have lots of money, right?  Which is ...

... reading a Backpacker magazine, so need to look for a book tomorrow. I ran out of minutes on my cell phone while talking to Lisa tonight. Juan doesn't think I can recharge it without going back to Guatemala. He let me use his blackberry to finish my call and said I can use it again tomorrow. Lisa and I will try Skype tomorrow. Hopefully, that will work ok. Carlos, Juan's dad, just fixed the shower. I ...

... we could help out. Tonight there is a community meal event so we will most likely be handing out food to people around the neighbourhood. Tomorrow there is a beach day planned with some of the children, so i hope that we have fun. Right now i am a bit depressed, since Mom, Dad, and Amber arent here anymore, and since we feel the culture shock. I am sure that by the end of the week, we will be doing great here.

... le*st some) common sense. As noted *bove, I *rrived l*te on Mond*y night. The "hotel" I st*yed *t w*s in * niceish residenti*l *re* (Wogs - it w*s right next to the Est*dio N*cion*l!) but * quick w*nder found nothing open within * couple of blocks - not even * pl*ce selling beer or * pupus*, which is *pp*rently the n*tion*l dish of El S*lv*dor. Every block seems to h*ve * pupuseri* or two consisting of * few simple t*bles *nd * couple women m*king ...