Estamos en El Salvador

Monday morning, 9 April 2012
We left Antigua, Guatemala and our delightful traveling companions on Saturday morning bound for El Salvador. Sandra, Jane & Shana waiting outside with us anticipating the arrival of our shuttle. We were the first loaded so we had seats right behind the shuttle driver, a good thing for avoiding motion sickness, but not so great for staying calm with a crazy maniac driver. He couldn't stand to have any vehicle ahead of us and the road was overcrowded with people packed in the back of truck beds heading for the beach to spend Saturday. Speed limits and no passing signs are merely suggestions, we were passing on blind curves and approaching hills, nothing stopped this shuttle from being ahead of the pack.
The temperature rose as we decreased our altitude. The border crossing was easy and our last quetzales were turned over for US dollars, the currency used in El Salvador. It took a little over three hours to reach the border and a little under an hour to reach the crossroads where we were left on the side of the road to catch a bus bound for Sonsonate.
An older man from Sonsonate had come on board the shuttle and he insisted on helping us get on the right bus, even paying our bus fare of $.35! The ride was only about 30 minutes along many cattle farms and tended fields. Palm trees were among the path, it was green and scenic. It was nice to be on a nice, slow bus ride!
In Sonsonate the gentleman directed us to the correct gate for our next bus, he wouldn't leave us until he found out what the fare would be and asked a little family waiting there to help us! It was completely unnecessary, but he felt it his duty and repeatedly told us he had nowhere to be except back home relaxing. We were literally dripping from sweat, it was super hot and humid. There was very little breeze, no one else looked as miserable as the two gringoes in the crowd!!
The bus took us up a very steep narrow road into the Route of Flowers where you could see down the mountainside into the valleys and across to the coffee fields on the other mountains in the distance. It was pretty, but filled with litter, plastic bottles and plastic bags everywhere.
We arrived in Juayua in the early afternoon and walked through the famous weekend food festival to our hotel.
Our room here is very private, a little casita with interesting artwork & great hot water pressure, super comfortable! The gardens and sitting areas are inviting.
Keith immediately made friends with a young couple, lawyers from NYC, and off we went to sample food. Mangoes, spicy cabbage salad, root vegetables, chicken tacos, and nachos with black beans were our choices for our late lunch. For dinner we ate off the street, pupusas, little fried tortillas filled with beans. We chatted with a woman working there who was anxious to practice her English skills. She explained how the change of currency some ten years ago here adversely effected most people. We have found the prices of food equal to the prices in the states with gas prices higher. The average person makes $150. a week causing one to only imagine how they survive!
On Sunday we visited various churches though service are broadcasted on competing loudspeakers, impossible to avoid the Word of God! Being from SLC we were guests inside the LDS meeting house easy to spot by the fenced yard surrounding the church, basketball court & satellite receiver. We attended a Baptism in the Catholic cathedral which borders the main square and is the only building that you can see from anyway in this small town. Our favorite service of the day was at the Assembly of God, WOW, what a three piece rock band they have there! There service went on over three hours, we bowed out after about 20 minutes.
Our Easter dinner was very delicious, a work of art! I had a chicken breast, BBQ style, served with pesto, a tomato salsa, rice and pita-style bread. Keith's lasagna was put together just for him, loaded with giant mushrooms, beef & hot dogs, yes you read that right, hot dogs! He loved it!
After a power walk of the town we sat in the center and did some people watching. It was a relaxing day. We have one more night here in this super comfy Hotel Anahuac. Today, Monday, we will get some more money and then we are off for a day trip to some of the other Ruta de las Flores towns before we hike to the waterfalls for an afternoon dip.