Hotel Balche San Salvador

... south the trend of people scratching a living off the side of the road continued, normally taking the shape of a barefooted teen tending half a dozen head of cattle making sure they don’t wander out under a bus.

Most of our journey today we were flanked by Volcano’s which have been every present since we got into the southern region of Guatemala. We stopped for gas and shared some food with some locals who could all speak English and were a good laugh. We continued on ...

... which really all sell the same things). I found some items made from the seeds of the trees that grow in Las Delicias. I was partially successful in bargaining, although I would guess I'm not as good at it as others!

Monday, 8/24
-Today was eventful... although not at all as planned! When the doctor picked us up to head to the clinic, she said that there was a protest downtown so that we would be driving another way to the clinic ...

... is it that perfect strangers sincerely wanted us to have a nice trip out of their town.

I can report that Suchitoto recently received its first money god in the form of an HSBC ATM. There is still no bank branch of any sort here though. This white and red plastic and metal device stood in all its glory in front of the the tiny shop that looked to be the town's version of a general store. It was carefully protected by a wood cover emblazoned with HSBC, and ...

... would record the number Pat dictated, Joanne would hand out the specimen cups for a medical visit next month, Gale would take the old empty bag they have to return each month, and Dan would hand out the new bag full of supplies. It was fun interacting with the families as they came up.

Megan has been the hit of Santa Ana with her blond hair and the fact she looks like Katherine Heigl! I had little girls come up to me all excitedly, pulling ...

... quicker through Central America. So, last year, we built them a house with Habitat for when their house has to be left because of the train. Another example of globalization, and foreign direct investment at its finest! There is already a huge slum of people who live in an area they call "Blessing from God" and they've all lost their homes to the train tracks that have been re-started. I would really like to visit Benedicion de Dios ...

... We learned their favorite songs and we taught them ours. After that we had a little lesson. We were working on their English, it was great! We had these great materials to work with and the kids loved to learn.

Finally we played games and things like that. For example red light green light or vollyballl. It ranged and all depended on what the kinds wanted to do.The kids came ...

... from outside but inside was cool, check the photos I can´t describe it properly. We walked back to the hotel from there without any hassle or feeling scared. The guidebook says how everyone is armed and there are 10 violent deaths a day in the country but we saw maybe one gun in San Salvador, a security guard, and Guatemala you can see someone armed almost all the time. We went for a beer in a nice little local bar where they brought us bocas which ...

... I really have come to like this country of El Salvador, its rugged beauty, beautiful beaches, and western clothed friendly people. I liked the colorful clothing of the Guatemalan folks, and they were very friendly, but there is some unidentifiable thing about this country and its people that has me in its grip.wish we could stay longer. Tomorrow is exiting El Salvador, entering Honduras, riding through it and trying to exit Honduras before dark. Wish us luck!

... had the day off and spent it in the central park. The parades were all small, school-run affairs so you had girls of all ages dancing and boys of all ages playing the trumpets. The oldest boys took on the big bass drum and looked very important with it. It was pretty cool to see. We couldnt resist the pull of the beach and headed back to the coast the next day. El Zonte is a surfers paradise just a few kilometres along from where we spent the weekend. We found a hostel with ...

I really do wish I could come up with more original titles. Anyway, where was I? Well after finishing up my last blog entry, I made a phonecall to Carlos, the Salvadoran gentleman that I´d met on the bus. Although it was a somewhat awkward affair, mainly due to my imperfect Spanish coupled with a ****** reception, we managed to arrange a meeting at the local mall later that day. Upon my arrival I spotted his beaming face in no time and, after a donut and cup of horchata (local cinnamon ...