El Salvador

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We left Lanquin pretty early in the morning which is no big deal for us as Nev is usually up at around 6 am.  Our plan was to head to Guatemala City so we could catch an international bus to El Salvador.  I found a place in a residential part of Guatemala City that was near a big park and zoo.  It ended up being a bit of a pain since we were pretty isolated from any resources we needed such as banks and laundry.  Plus it turned out that it was a holiday so many things were closed.  In the evening we did head over to the zoo.  Being that we were in Guatemala City and we were planning to head into town to try to find an atm I left my camera behind.  We went to the zoo first and found an atm so we didn’t need to go further into town which was good as the taxis were a bit expensive.  We walked around the zoo until it closed ( a few hours).  This zoo has got to be one of the best zoos I have ever been too (if not the best).  They had so many different animals; lions, tigers and other cats, camels, giraffes, monkeys, lots of birds, many other tropical species.  The thing is that you were able to see all of the animals and they looked really alert and happy.  It was not like a lot of zoos I have been to where you could hardly see the animals because they were hiding out in some dark corner of their “cage”.  These animals were sitting out in the open, walking around, the monkeys were swinging around like crazy.  I don’t know what they are doing but the animals looked comfortable and ”happy”.  Unfortunately I did not have my camera.  I was pretty bummed by that.  I know they would have just been zoo pictures but I think I could have gotten some good shots of the animals. 

We left Guatemala City on the best bus I have ever been on.  Their regular class seats were like first class seats in an airplane.  They also had first class seats on the bus which had even more room!  There was wifi on most of the trip plus when we crossed the border to El Salvador we did not even have to get off the bus for immigration, they got on the bus to check our paperwork.  Of course it was more expensive than the other options but the convenience was well worth the cost, especially because Nev slept right through the border crossing. No need to wake him up and walk across the border with all our stuff.

We arrived fairly late in San Salvador and had a taxi driver take us to a hotel near the bus stop we needed to get to the coast.  The hotel was interesting to say the least, geared not so much for the traveler but maybe for the guest who prefer an hourly rate.  However, it was convenient for what we needed and it felt safe considering the guy at the front desk was packing a pretty large hand gun (many people are armed in this country).  The next day we headed to the bus stop and started to get our first real experience of El Salvador.  The people here are very friendly and helpful!  Many people who saw us wanted to tell us where to bus stop was.  Although many were wrong in where we needed to be standing their intentions were all good.  We finally got on the bus and it was extremely crowded to say the least.  We did not make matters any better with our massive backpacks and a surf board but the people did not seem to be bothered.  All the seats were full.  Carissa got a seat with Nev on her lap and Micah and I made seats in the aisle with our backpacks.  After an hour we had to switch buses to a less crowded bus.   This took us to Playa El Zonte were we found the great little surf camp/hostal recommended by Allison and David from Panajachel, Estancia Nativa.  We stayed here for a few nights.  Micah got to surf and Nev and I spent a lot of time in the pool.  The beach was not super friendly for kids since it was really rocky but there were lots of kids for Nev to play with.

 

Our last night there Nev got to participate in a birthday party.  They had a piñata and they let Nev swing first without a blind-fold.  All the kids started chanting his name when he started to hit the piñata.  This kind of embarrassed him or something because he put down the stick and walked off.  He warmed back up when he watched all the other kids swing at the piñata while the others chanted their names.  In the end he got some candy and some cake.  A night full of sugar! 

El Salvador blew all the stereotypes we had about it.  We had the impression that it was a pretty dangerous place and probably one of the rougher places in Central America.  This did not seem to be the case from what little we saw of it.  The people seemed very happy, friendly and helpful.  The city seemed like one of the most Americanized cities we have seen so far (not that this is a good thing).  However another thing that gave an indication they were not so primitive was the roads.  The roads were in pretty good condition.  They seemed even better than in Mexico.  Another misconception we had was the cost.  We thought it would be cheaper than other countries but at least from our experience this was not the case.  It was a bit on the expensive side.  Maybe this is because they use the U.S. dollar there.

In the end we wished we had stayed longer.  I would love to see more of this country so hopefully I will have the chance to return.

 

Lanquin, Guatemala

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Lanquin, Guatemala

We took a shuttle bus from Panajachel to Lanquin with a stop over in Antigua.  We had a 2 hour lay over in Antigua so we spent that time exploring the city.  Micah spent a week here a few years ago and doesn’t care much for the colonial cities such as Antigua.  The buildings and streets all look very similar and he gets lost easily.  However, it was helpful that he had been here before so we did have an idea on where to go.  We headed to the Mercardo and walked around.  I got to steal a little bit of time to myself and explore around the ruins of an old school built in the 1700’s.  I didn’t have a lot of time but it was fun taking pictures in there.

When our shuttle arrived to pick us up we learned that there was not a seat for all of us.  Even though we paid for a ticket for Nev we were told he would have to sit on my lap because the bus was full.  It was extremely full and it was a very long ride.  One thing that has been frustrating for us is when something like this happens people just shrug us off and tell us this is the way it is take it or leave it.  The idea of getting a refund for something is pretty much out of the question.  Needless to say we were pretty tired and frustrated when we reached Lanquin.

Since Micah had been here before he also knew where we could stay.  That made things easier when we arrived.  The place was quieter than the other places in town but it lacked some amenities we prefer such as internet and hot water.  But the place was cheap!! And  people who run it are super nice and helpful.

The highlight to Lanquin is the Semuc Champey.  This is a drive down a pretty rough dirt road for about a half an hour.  We hired someone to take us there and guide us too.  The Semuc is a river that flows underneath a land bridge that was formed by a prehistoric land slide.  The river now flows under the massive limestone slab and the streams from the adjacent hillsides flows down and collects on top of the slab creating the most magnificent clear blue pools that you can swim in. 

We spent most of the day here swimming and we hiked up the mountainside to the mirador where we could see the stretch of the Semuc.  Pretty amazing!  We also saw howler monkeys on the hike.  They were transplanted here  but seem to be doing good as there was a baby.  Not sure if they were here originally.   Per our guide they were not but they do live north and south of here so who knows. 

Howler Monkeys

There is also a cave nearby where a guide will take you into the cave by candlelight.  Micah had already done this before so he stayed behind with Nev and Carissa and I went in.  There is a river flowing through the cave so we had to climb over and down rocks using ladders and ropes, swim through the water and climb up water falls with a rope, all while holding a candle in our hand.  It was pretty cool and a bit of a rush at times.  Things like this would never go over in the states. 

In Lanquin there is also a Grutas (Cave) that you can hike back into.  We did this one day thinking it would be a great way to escape the heat but it turned out to be sauna like in the cave.  It is a pretty amazing cave.  It is very big and full of bats.  At sunset we sat at the opening of the cave and watched the bats fly out.  The amount of bats flying out of the cave is awesome!  There have to be hundreds of thousands of bats in that cave.  They say the bats fly out for about two hours.

 

I was glad we stayed at a hotel in town and not one of the hostels that are more secluded.  We spent time sitting on the curb in front of our hotel  people watching and it did not take long to attract a crowd, usually of kids, who were attracted to the little gringo boy.  This is one benefit to travelling with a child.  It denfinately opens up doors to the people that would not be so easily accessible.  The women too were attracted to Nev and would often times just pick him up and walk off with him.  This was a little unnerving for me but i quickly realized they were just showing him to someone else, like a little doll.  Nev usually doesn't seem to mind the attention.  One afternoon we attracted quite the crowd of kids.  Eventually we pulled out the camera (I am still hesitant to photograph people because in some places it can be a big no-no).  The lids loved it and some of the girls just loved having their pictures taken.  The girls I learned were alos very interested in taking pictures.  I, somewhat hesitantly, handed over the camera after showing them how to use it.  They had a lot of fun and took some really nice pictures.  They really enjoyed looking at the pictures they took too.  Who knows maybe a seed was planted?  Maybe someday they can afford a camera of their own?

We left Lanquin by shuttle early in the morning and went to Guatemala city where we would catch a international bus to take us to El Salvador.