I entered El Salvador via the border crossing near La Palma, which is my first place of stay on my transit to meet back up with Louise. I discovered during my crossing the border however, that my visa was nearly exhausted (travelers are allotted 3 months to split between Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador) so I'd need to try and renew it in San Salvador, and if I wasn't able to, get to Mexico or Costa Rica as soon as possible or else face a hefty fine. So I stayed the night in La Palma which was a lovely little town that offered much art and
After the night though I'd begin my journey via local bus to San Salvador, which was easy enough to accomplish. It got a bit difficult once in the city however, as I then needed to work out how to get to my hostel, across the city. They don't make a map of the bus routes, so I began asking around. It proved as usual to be quite straightforward, as locals always tend to be very keen on helping. I planned to see the city while I was here, so after finally tracking down my hostel I headed back out into the city to nose around. Over the next couple days I would begin my application for an extension on my visa as well as some light exploring. The consulate told me I needed to return in a few days to pick my passport up again, so I embarked to meet up with Louise and her mom in Juayua, a small town to the north.
Though I didn't know which hostel/hotel she was staying in, by chance I ended up in the right one (I didn't find out until after putting my bags down and checking my e-mail). I went out into the town where their weekly food festival was taking place, in an attempt to track down the English duo. Without much trouble I ran into them, and the reunion was complete. Over the next few days we would be spend some time wandering about the town and taking buses to nearby villages on what's known as "La Ruta de Flores". Soon enough however it was time for another departure, as I needed to return to San Salvador for my passport, and they needed to journey closer to the airport (conveniently located near the coast) for Louise' mothers' flight home. So I broke southeast and they broke southwest, I having one night in the town of Santa Ana before making it back to San Salvador.
Conceding explanation of my time in Santa Ana to pictures, I'm now back in San Salvador. Fortunately, I had zero issues with my visa renewal process, and when I came back into the consulate it was ready for me. I did manage to see some of the local art, architecture and culture during my time in the capital. Though El Salvador is another extremely dangerous country, second worldwide in murder rate to Honduras, the danger never felt as obvious as in Tegucigalpa. There were some very dense markets that, generally speaking and no less so here left more susceptibility to petty theft, but other than that I was walking around the streets at night going out for pupusas (granted it was in a more affluent area) and was not in the least concerned.
Passport and new endorsement in hand I was ready to head west once again and meet Louise at the coast, in a seaside village called El Zonte. Louise had had an unrelenting resolve to catch up on some surf while in El Salvador (that's right folks, the English do surf on occasion) so she was determined to find the best waves in the country. El Zonte was well regarded as a very good beginners area, with an additional option being nearby Sunzal that is much more popular and crowded. So four buses later and I found myself back in the sticks, trudging down the path towards the small
hospedaje Louise had picked out for us.
Despite the realization that the waves may have been slightly more...powerful...than expected, Louise was bent on making due with what we had. So, we rented boards and paddled on out. Well, that's an overstatement. I paddled out while Louise quickly became swept by the surf, her tiny mass offering little compared to the buoyancy of her board. She was sent into the rocks, breaking a fin. I went in to help her from getting beat up, as the sets proved too erratic and close together for her to recover her board safely. Beat up and exasperated, we sat on the shore defeated. Out of sheer naive determination, Louise would insist we try going out again, but with a result not unlike the first, we called it a day. We decided to deal with the crowds at Sunzal, as the shore is not nearly as rocky. A couple days later we did head over to Sunzal, and as expected, the crowds were dense...after a couple hours of play we again ended our search for good waves, for want of better conditions and fewer pedestrians (or in this case, latent victims).
So we put thoughts of surfing behind us, with the notion that at least we gave it a stab and could take comfort in that fact. The next day we decided to head back for San Salvador, where Louise would do a bit of research on the music of the country, more specifically on Radio Venceremos, an instrumental hand of the revolution that broadcast support for the rebels, everything from anti-government propaganda to false information about rebel plans that allowed them to mobilize surprise attacks on their US-backed enemy. Though a great tool in it's heyday, following the rebel victory in the war, it would eventually become commercialized, losing a fundamental part of it's character and becoming in many ways merely one more radio station being run for the purpose of profit rather than expression.
This last time spent in San Salvador (my third visit at this point) would be our last stop in El Salvador. One early morning we would board a TicaBus that was to take us through Guatemala and into Mexico.
La Palma, an El Salvadorean town near the Honduras border
La Palma, rightfully known as a town of art
La Palma, El Salvador
San Salvador is home to a very nice, very modern national museum
Inside a museum dedicated to the revolution of El Salvador, started by a founder of Radio Venceremos. This is a replication of the work station of Radio Venceremos during the war, which was broadcasting from caves in order to avoid capture by pro-government forces.
El Rosario cathedral in San Salvador
El Rosario cathedral in San Salvador
A dollar can buy a lot in El Salvador
A park in Ataco, a small town on "La Ruta de Flores", a few kilometers away from Juayua
A mural in Ataco
A view of the church in Ataco
The cathedral of Santa Ana, El Salvador
I love models, don't ask me why
The facade of the cathedral is currently under renovation
More deliciousness, this one from a very arty cafe in Santa Ana
The view of the place we stayed in El Zonte
The view from the deck in El Zonte
Louise lives in a perpetual state of annoyance at my photographing her
The yard of the shanty we stayed in near El Sunzal. The dogs here ate the hat I had bought in Guatemala about 6 months earlier...cute little bastards...
For a bus driver in El Salvador, your mojo is measured by how many accessories you can fit in your driving space. It's obvious this guy is of some status, as he managed to fit a fridge among the usual unused LCD screen and stereo amp.
The fish market at La Libertad. We got some tasty shrimp here for cheap, which were a nightmare to clean.
The beach of El Sunzal, the morning we left.
