Juayua, El Salvador
Monday, April 20, 2009
I'm safe and alive! Mom, you can finally sleep again, not having to worry about my being gunned down and all! Left later than expected on Saturday morning. Once I got into Guate City I got a taxi to Zona 4 from a really nice guy, and from there took the bus going to San Salvador. The border crossing was typically sketchy and the money changers were particularly aggressive. Met a really nice Belizean guy on the bus too (Belizean = English). I was supposed to stop in a town called Ahuachapan, but I missed the stop (I did ask the driver to stop before we got to the town, but he forgot and I wasn't brave enough to say anything. Got to Santa Ana, where I was directed to take a bus to Sonsonate. At the steaming hot terminal in Sonsonate, I waited and made friends with a strange couple who were coming back from working in the city. Definitely an interesting bunch. The guy had some crazy eyes and asked me how long I was staying in El Salvador like 4 times, each time acknowledging an understanding of what I was saying. The nice couple happened to be going to Ahuachapan and so we took the same bus (see map), telling me where to get off, saving me a seat. After getting to Juayua (finally, about 4 hours past expected time), I sought out Hotel Anahuac. $7 US a night, great people, great atmosphere, clean, etc. There were mostly Europeans when I arrived, an Irish guy, Spanish guy, two Slovenians, German girl, etc, but the common language, luckily, was English. The world's funny like that. After an early night I had a slow morning and finally made it down to the famous weekend food fair. I tried some not so great paella, came back and rested. Later I ventured out again and tried some frog (rana). I sat down on a bench in the packed central park, but some really friendly guys called me over and gave me a seat. Soon enough they offered me a drink. The frog was great and at 3 in the afternoon, I was tipsy. Wisely, I went back to the hostel for a bit and hung out. For my last outing I went to visit the church, a beautiful building which also houses a 15th century carving of a "Black Christ", a Jesus figure carved out of dark wood and made by the same guy who made the one in Esquipulas. In this neck of the woods, there was once a strong and prominent indigenous population and the Christ figure often symbolized a redeemer of the oppressed, their Christ. Beautiful chuch, though. After I met up with the Spaniard and the German and had some delicious rabbit. Tame night again and watched Voces Inocentes.
So, besides all of the factual stuff, there's a lot else to be said. Saturday morning before leaving, I was literally shaking. Why? A combination of excitement and fear, I suppose. I hadn't expected that. Even bussing through Guate and El Salvador (air con and a crappy Al Pacino and all), I just couldn't calm down. It's not like this was all completely new to me, no not really at all. After some long thought about it, I think it was the terror of diving straight into something uncertain, unsure and completely variable by myself. Wow, before leaving I remember literally feeling sick to my stomach. Saturday was a tough, tough day. I met some great people, though.
So, what's my plan? Today I'll be slowly making my way to Santa Ana, hopefully spending the night. I'll possibly be climbing (or partially) a volcano tomorrow or the next day too. From there I'll be heading straight to La Libertad, where I plan to spend about 2-3 days on one of the beaches. Wish me luck.
