Aug 6, 2009
San Salvador, El Salvador to Leon, Nicaragua
I have spent the last couple of day at the beaches of El Salvador where the surf is supposed to be amazing. I don't know what I was thinking but wanting to learn how to surf at a place with world class point breaks is really not a good idea.
All fellow travelers can a test to the importance of a guide book (the bible as some call it) as part of one's journey. It determines where you go, where you stay and how to get from town A to B. Now there are times in which the guide books are right on with the advice given and you can't imagine not following it, then there are times where you do a double take and wonder if the authors were even in the country described at all.
There is this little town called Ataco in El Salvador, on the Route de Flores, where the book described it as having a strong indigenous influence and is what Antigua, Guatemala was like before tourism hit. We went there one day. Let's just say that the guide book authors needed a way to describe the town and that was the best BS they could come up with. One down for LP guide for El Salvador.
After a few days at the beach, 4 of us heads into San Salvador so we can all head out to our next destination via Tica Bus. The guide book lists 2 departure points for the Tica Bus, one of which is said to have a hotel as part of it, making it convent for early morning departures. Sounds perfect as our bus to Nicaragua leaves at 5am. When the cab pulls up to the hotel, there are men with guns standing outside of it and it is clear that we are in a very sketchy part of town, I begin to doubt my El Salvador guide book for the second time. There have been plenty of men with guns all through Mexico and Central America, for the most part they have made me feel slightly safer. However, given the looks of part of town we are in, and then there are men with guns outside guarding the hotel/bus stop?! Ok, don't feel safe at all. Time to re consult the book and see what other options there are. Oh look, there is another terminal listed in a better part of town, let's go there. Oh look, there is a hotel attached to it as well, why the hell didn't the guide book tell me about this option? Tica bus terminal in city center is only for those who wish to be robbed in order to have a complete Central America experience while Tica bus terminal in Zona Rosa is for those who would like to sleep in a clean bed with a hot shower.
In one of the "Boxed Text" for my guide book, it talks about women guerrilla fighters as part of the FMLN. Women made up over 40% of the guerrilla fighters and after the end of the civil war some did not want to re-enter into the traditional role of women and home maker. The hostel we stayed at in Playa El Sunzal is run by a women in her 40's. She has two small children, one with some sort of developmental problem. I don't know if there is a husband as we did not see anyone else in the three days that we were there. She is always nice, always pleasant, never in your face or invading your space, yet when it came to time to tally our tab, it is immediately clear that she has keep an eye on you this entire time. Her ledger is impeccable and charged us down to the last cent for everything we had to eat, drink, used and slept in. I was impressed to say the least. This woman manages to run a 5 room hostel and raise two children with such efficiency that I wondered if she was once a guerrilla fighter or was raised by one.
