They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are fat, others have really protruding bellies. Some have decayed a bit with age and are crumbling around the edges. Still others are double-breasted. A few are quite bright but most tend to be quite grey and blend in with the surrounding. Central America, and Guatemala especially, seems to be obsessed with sleeping policemen. They appear everywhere, whether it’s on a dirt road or on a highway. Sometimes they appear from nowhere, other times they prefer to stay in groups and slow your progress every 100 meters. Their most common characteristic is that they are insanely annoying.
Showing posts with label El Salvador. Show all posts
Showing posts with label El Salvador. Show all posts
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Transit Woes
One would think that getting from point A to point B in Central America should not take long. The distances are short and the bus services are quite regular. So the logical conclusion is that times should also be short. Unfortunately, this would be a grave misconception.
El Salvador: Cost Breakdown
Surprisingly El Salvador was the cheapest destination to date. We did not expect this since our first perusal of accommodations in San Salvador seemed to indicate prices of $75-95 for a triple room. However, if you were to add my two robberies into the calculations, it might prove to be less affordable.
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Sunday, March 13, 2011
Snatch-and-Grab: My iPhone Woes
So I traveled with Julita and Paulina for a month without any incidents. They left and within a few hours I was attacked by a machete wielding bandit. Then I met Colin and Dave; traveled with them for 4.5 days without any further problems; I left them and within 1.5 hours I found myself once again heading to a police station. Apparently I should not be traveling on my own.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Lago Coatepeque and Santa Ana: Volcanoes from High and Low
Like Laguna de Apoyo, Lago Coatepeque is an insanely picturesque yet not easily accessible lake. It is a volcanic caldera and was formed during a series of major explosive eruptions between about 57,000 and 72,000 years ago. The crater lake now found within this caldera is one of the largest in El Salvador and offers fantastic opportunities for swimming, kayaking and paragliding.
Tacuba and the Impossible Park
We left Juayua with the intention of spending the night in a neighboring town but Ataco proved not to live up to expectations. The guys had checked into their hotel and then offered to drive me to my hostel. What seemed like 20 loops and circles later, in a miserable attempt of following the various Spanish directions we were receiving, we managed to track it down. However, it turned out that the cheap and highly recommended
Chicken Buses #2
Were you late getting up and did not have time to have any breakfast? Did you forget about your nephew’s birthday and are now rushing there empty-handed? Are you feeling a bit under the weather? Did you have to stay at work late and now need to head home in the dark? Or maybe you missed your Sunday service? Well, no worries. All that you might desire will be provided for you. Whether it is a cold Fanta, a breakfast snack, a meal comprised of chicken with rice, a kid’s toy, a flashlight, some vitamins and even a 20 minute sermon, all of this can be found on your local chicken bus.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Juayua: A Gastronomic Highlight
As I’ve mentioned in the earlier post, every weekend Juayua plays hosts to countless visitors, both local and foreign, as it celebrates its acclaimed Fiesta Gastronomica. It is amazing that something like this would take place all year long, weekend after weekend, as opposed to just for a month or two in high season. Yet it does, the food seems to be endless, the quality fantastic and the prices super cheap.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Juayua: A quiet friendly town where you might be able to negotiate with robbers
Friday, March 4, 2011
La Libertad and the Beaches of El Salvador
Whether it deserved this highly acclaimed status I do not know since I do not surf. Overall the beach was nothing exceptional but it did serve our purpose. We swam in the warm Pacific Ocean, avoided the massive waves as much as possible, sprinted across the scalding sand to our sun chairs, and had strawberry smoothies and lobsters.
San Salvador: People Packing Heat
A few weeks ago upon finding out that my friend’s boyfriend was from El Salvador, I asked for recommendations of places to see and things to do in this country. The response I received was a recommendation not to go there. This seems to be the prevailing sentiment and many of the backpackers I had met along the way had opted to skip El Salvador. I tend not to be deterred by such options and consider that with a bit of caution, awareness and with the avoidance of any unnecessary risks a country that is not at war or under revolt should not be skipped simply because people claim it not to be safe.Sunday, February 27, 2011
Chicken Buses
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