Week 2

El Salvador continues to be wonderful, but my time here is coming to an end. Since I last blogged, here is what Ive been up to...

Back in Juayua, we met a local tour guide who took myself and the 4 other gringos on a grand (walking) tour. First, we headed to Chorros de Calera, beautiful waterfalls just a few KM outside of town. We saw 4 waterfalls and went back to the first one to swim in the fresh, yet freezing cold water. After the falls, we took a bus to Apanecha, another tiny town where we walked uphill about 4 KM. The top was beautiful and we had a view of all the towns below us...although it was a bit foggy. We were surrounded by coffee plantations, new and old ones. Our tour guide told us that someone who works in the coffee field only makes $24 a week! CRAZY! So, make sure you know where your coffee comes from and make sure its FAIR TRADE!!! Our guide, Manuel walked us through several different towns where the majority of people work in agriculture and walk around with their machetes in hand. The views were beautiful, but after a full day of walking up and down hills, we were beat.

The following day, our group split and we parted ways. Laura and I went to Santa Ana, the second largest city in El Salvador. We came across another traveler on the bus who we had met before, so the 3 of us stuck together in the bustling city. We spent our first afternoon checking out the main plaza where there is a beautiful cathedral and theatre. From there, we went to eat papusas...which is the typical food here. Essentially, its a tortilla stuffed with one or all of the following: beans, cheese and/or meat. They are quite tasty...but you can only eat so many papusas in one trip! The following day, we headed to the nearby lake and spent the day relaxing at a restaraunt while swimming, drinking smoothies and eating delicious food. Life was rough that day...

From Santa Ana, I headed back to San Salvador on my own. I stayed at a nice hostel which caters mostly to Peace Corps volunteers. I met lots of wonderful people and was even invited to stay with one girl at her site (which is where I am now, waiting for her to get off work). From San Salvador, I took a bus to Suchitoto, a small town in the north. The bus ride was, well, quite interesting. Ive never been on a bus with so many people packed on, there were people hanging out both the front and the back door. I had a seat, but I offered it to an old woman who got on the bus. Another woman got on with a baby, must have been 3 months old. The woman had to stand, and so another woman offered to hold her baby while she stood. At the same time, the old lady who I had given my seat to, offered to hold my purse for me, which contained my life (money, bank cards, passport, etc.). I started to feel nervous for a second, but then I saw how relaxed the woman next to me was, with her baby in a strangers arms.

The woman who was holding the baby, Reina, I had met right when I got onto the bus. She lives in Suchitoto and had invited me to stay with her and her daughter when we got there. Upon arriving into town, she took me to her home, a cute place on a corner just a block from the main square in Suchitoto. Suchitoto is a small picturesque town, similar to Antigua...but without all the tourists. Reina took me on a grand tour of the city and the following day, she took me to the nearby lake. My 2 days in Suchitoto were great and it was good for me to spend some time with some locals and to see how they live. El Salvadoreans really put a lot of effort into their image...the way the dress, hygeine, makeup, etc. They always look nice.

As I said, today I am in La Palma where Im waiting to meet a girl who is in the Peace Corps. Shes going to show me around her village. Im looking forward to seeing some life outside of the weathlier cities.

Signing out for now. Will add pictures later.

El Salvador

El Salvadoran Family, me and Laura in Ataco
One or many murals in Ataco
Road tripping friends in Ataco
La Playa in El Tunca
Me and the beach in El Tunco

Alas, I made it out of Guatemala and into El Salvador...such a wonderful country. Last Sunday, I caught a ride with Joey, a native Tennessean who drove all the way down to Central America and is on a mission to make it to Argentina. With an awful map of Guatemala, we made our way south and to the beach of El Sunzal in El Salvador. We spent a few days there trying to survive the unbearable heat. I spent a morning attempting to surf with an English couple...but the waves just surfed me instead! It was fun while it lasted. I took a day trip to San Salvador with a French couple on Tuesday. Yes, I just find couples to tag along with...I love being the third wheel...aka Im desperate for friends! Haha. It was the first capital Ive been to in Central America. We were warned of the dangers, but we had nothing but a good experience checking out the parks and churches. On Thursday, Joey and I moved over to a hostel in El Tunco where we spent the rest of the week. We passed our days at the beach and at a lovely resort with a pool with some people we met from Salt Lake City. Oh travelers, they are so wonderful and have so much to offer...like a day at a pool in a hotel we would never be able to afford. During my stay in El Tunco I met three girls...2 from the states and one from England. We somehow managed to convince Joey to drive all four of us and our luggage to Juayua, a beautiful mountain town. But what guy would say no to four awesome ladies?! He obliged, put our backpacks on top of his economical car, and off we went with maps in hand. Im becoming a very good navagator. Juayua is absolutely beautiful and the weather is just perfect. We got here yesterday afternoon, just in time to eat at the food fair they hold every weekend. The first thing that was offered to me was rabbit...and I dont know if you all know about my love for bunny rabbits...the cutest things ever. My jaw dropped and I walked away. There are other strange foods...like frog. I wasnt too brave and went safely with the chicken tacos.

Today the 5 of us hopped on a local bus and headed to Ataco, a town nearby. It was one of the best days I've had on my trip, words probably cannot describe the beauty I experienced today. On the bus, I met a really nice woman who is El Salvadoran and now lives in Canada. She was with about 10 family members and she was very friendly, but we parted ways when we got off the bus. When we got to Ataco, a cobble stoned street city with beautiful murals painted on most buildings, we wandered the streets, looked at the beautiful churces, murals and walked up to a mirador, where you could look out and see all of Ataco. We then went into the main part of the town where there were some different markets and music playing in the park. Laura (the Brittish woman) and I talked to local after local as they continuously approached us. One old man asked me if he could take Laura home with him in his pocket...and when I say old, I mean old! The locals here are so friendly and excited to have tourists here. They thank you for being here and say that you are welcome to come back anytime. Later, we ran into the family that we had met on the bus and they invited us over for a photo shoot with them. It was such an amazing moment. I almost asked if I could go home with them! Next, Laura and I headed to a nearby cafe where a man was playing the guitar and singing. We took a seat and just cooed over him and how talented he was. He even took requests from us and as he was about to play his last song, we asked him to play more and he obliged. We chatted with him afterwards, writing down some of the songs he played so that we can find them in the future. Laura and I headed back to Juayua to meet up with the rest of the crew.

It has been a lovely week in El Salvador. I cannot express how wonderful, friendly, genuine and beautiful the people are here. After all the hell this country has been through, no thanks to the USA, it shocks me everyday how welcoming they are to us. This country feels much more westernized than Guatemala did. Almost all the people dress in western clothing, they dont cover up the way people did in Guatemala. A typical meal here is a Papusa...or many papusas as you can typically get three for a dollar. They are thick tortillas stuffed with beans, cheese and meat if you want. They are absolutely delicious...but you can only have so many in one day.

Speaking of food, it's dinner time. Ill post pictures as soon as I have the patience to upload them. Adios!

Caye Caulker, Livingston, Rio Dulce

Fresh Conch

Giant gecko!!

Caye Caulker

Snorkel Tour Guides, ma and Fatima after rum punch

On the sail boat to go snorkel

Sorry it´s been so long since I´ve blogged....Here´s what I´ve been up to...

Alex and I took a bus to Belize City and took a boat out to Caye Caulker Island. It was my first time to the Carribean, and I was blown away by the glowing turqouise water, palm trees, white sand and all the beauty. After dropping our belongings off at a hostel, right on the ocean, we headed strait to the beach where we parked ourselves for the rest of the day. The following day, I signed up for a snorkel tour around the great reef. We left at 10am and sailed to our fist destination, where we were told to get in the water and that we had 45 minutes to swim around and figure out how to use the snorkels, but not to go too far from the boat. We hopped into the warm turqouise water, buddied up, and went on our way. We floated around and saw coral and some pretty fish. It was a tease into what we were about to see. At our next stop, we were broken up into groups and taken out with our boat guides. We got out, swam around and saw some more colorful, flourescent fish, coral, the reef and so much beauty! Our last stop, which was the highlight, is called Shark Ray Alley. There, we swam with nurse sharks, sting ray, sea turtles, baracudas and fish that I don´t even know the name of, but are so vibrant and beautiful. After our last stop, we got back on the sail boat, blasted the reggae and were fed all the rum punch we could drink....good times. The next 2 days, we relaxed on the island, layed on the beach, wandered around and enjoyed the garifuna culture. It´s unbelieveable how different Belize is from Guatemala. Everyone speaks English...like you Bob Marley, the population is very diverse with blacks, Chinese, Indian, Maya and Mestizos. People are friendly...almost too friendly somtimes. We spent one night in Dangriga, a city in Southern Belize. It´s a large city, but we were there for Easter when all the people leave to go to other places. It felt deserted and we got some much needed rest.

From Punta Gorda, Belize...we took a boat to Livingston Guatemala. We picked the wrong day to take a boat across the Atlantic Ocean. As we boarded the boat, a local stopped by to warn us about the weather and the ocean. We should´ve listened! But, we got on the boat, gray skies above us and were handed bright orange lift vests. We headed out to sea, and in no time it was pouring buckets of rain, while waves were splashing over us. It felt as if we were going to flip and sink into the ocean! Low and behold, we made it to shore after what felt like an eternity, but was only an hour. We were drenched from head to toe, and had to go through immigration before being able to warm up and dry off. We finally made it...to a hostel...which partied until 8am (we were unhappy campers!!!).

Livingston is the only Garifuna city in Guatemala. It´s similar to Belize. Lots of people of color there and the Garifuna culture. We spent our full day there going to Siete Altares, a creek with waterfalls in the jungle. We walked along the ocean for 2 hours to get there, very beautiful.

Yesterday, we took a boat from Livingston to Rio Dulce. The boat ride was unbelievably beautiful. We saw all kinds of birds, people fising in the river, lush plant life. We even stopped in the middle of the river so that our boat driver could buy some fresh shrimp from a fisherman. Classic! Rio Dulce was alright. It was so humid and muggy there, everything is moist. I stayed just one night in a crap hostel...got no sleep...seems to be the theme in my travels. It´s hard to sleep when you arent in your own bed!!

I found out yesterday that I was accpeted into the University of Washington Masters of Social Work Program. I am REALLY excited and a bit in shock. I have some big decisions to make in the next bit. I have 3 weeks to decide, and I´m still waiting to hear back from Portland State. Should be any day now...Anyone out there want to fund my Masters tuition?? Its only $50,000 for the next 2 years at UW!!!

Today I came back to Antigua to get myself together...a shower, do laundry, run errands. Tomorrow, Im heading back to Lake Atitlan to meet a friend for the weekend...then Im REALLY leaving Guatemala.