Tuesday we went to the market to purchase produce and chorizo, and a tienda for pasta and white wine, which was later made in to a meal that could have fed an army (or two hungry travelers). We set off towards the lake, but were greeted by a guard that told us the lake was not swimmable, but for $3/person we could swim in the pool. We discussed this option and although it seemed a bit spendy, we splurged. And we're pleased we did. Spent the next few hours in a gorgeous, crystal clear pool with panoramic views of the lake, a mountain range, cows and fisherman. Score: 1 for the gringos.
Wednesday we hopped on to a bus towards San Salvador, with high hopes of Santa Ana in our minds. The day slowly began to unravel once we hit San Salvador. We had to switch bus terminals but couldn't find the bus that transports between, so begrudgingly took a taxi ($4) to the other terminal. Secured our seats in the next bus that was said to end its journey at the Santa Ana terminal, which was more like a bus garage, not a terminal. So then took another bus back to the REAL terminal and ended up jumping off it (to save us from needing another taxi) at what appeared to be town central and found a hostel. We won't go in to much detail about this hostel, as it was $9/night (or $3/hour) for valid reasons, but it was a good location, had a private bathroom, and a fan. The private bathroom proved valuable; after street food for lunch and a brief tour of the cathedral, I began to feel a bit.... icky. It gradually worsened until around 1pm on Thursday, fortunate timing as we were boarding our next bus at that time. Micah felt fine so it's a mystery what to blame, although the shaved ice that I ate 90% of at lunch comes to mind.
So that rough 2km walk to the bus terminal and 1 hour ride yesterday puts us now in Juayua. This morning we set our alarms and were out the door at 8am for a 6 hour hike to 7 waterfalls. The hike started mediocre, as expected... Through town, up and down dirt roads, waterfall barely visible from the road. Then it got good. We walked through a few waterfalls and began to descend steeper rock that required our guides to tie rope to the trees to give us something to hold if we fell. Then we repelled down a waterfall, not so much water that we were drenched but it would have been impossible to do without repelling. And we wore hard hats, so you know it's serious. This eventually led us to more waterfalls and a few pools that we could swim in. Our guide, only speaking Spanish, pointed to some very small openings of rocks at the side of the pools and said "caves?" and gestured for us to follow. We climbed up some rock and then sat down, one by one, in what felt like the top of a water slide at an amusement park. As the 7 of us + guide slipped in, we found ourselves standing in a mild current with only our heads above water, pitch black, hands above head feeling the rocks as to avoid decapitation. After a minute or two, we came out through a waterfall... And then proceeded to repeat in the next cave. I would rate it the highlight of El Salvador thus far.
Getting ready to get wet
Tomorrow we will partake in the ferÃa gastronómica, the local food fair that attracted us here initially. Rumor has it they serve barbecued iguana, guinea pig and frog skewers. Wish my stomach luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment