On to San Salvador, El Salvador

2:30 am came oh so early, but alas, I had to go purchase my bus ticket for my departure just an hour later. My friend Norlan told me about King Quality who provided a first class express bus located only one block away from my hotel (gracias a Dios), all the way to San Salvador, El Salvador. Of course the first thing I did upon our departure was sleep. Apart from being awaken to present my passport and custums form to the Honduran Imigration office at the border, I slept fairly for about four more hours. As soon as they served breakfast with cafe con leche however, I decided to look out the window and watch the sun rising over incredibly green forested hillsides and mountaintops with clouds hovering above, while enjoying my morning cafe. What a sight to see - there was something magical about it and although I felt like more sleep, I couldn't look away from the breathtaking scenery provided by Mother Nature. After Mother Nature's show, we were presented with a couple of movies (can't even remember which ones) to watch during the rest of the trip. I continued to stare out into the landscape as we rolled from country to country, enjoying every moment of it. Of course I couldn't help but think of little Pedro Tosh and my little Nicaraguan friend Norlan that I had to leave behind in Nicaragua. I'm sure that all will be well.

Photo Credit: Colonial Church taken by Galen Fry-Singer

The entire ride was beautiful and was encouragement enough to get back to Honduras soon. We arrived in San Salvador around 2 p.m. and a native Salvadoran I'd met on the bus, helped me get a reasonable cab to my guesthouse near downtown. Ximena's Guest House offered up unusually helpful and friendly staff, with a basic somewhat rundown room with a decent bed. Still, it had a safe and positive feel to it, which I loved. No time for a nap, as I was on a mission to hunt down souveniers to take back home with me, since I'd waited four months to do it. I found my way by foot to an enourmous outdoor mall where I found everything a tourist could want and more. I knew that making it back home in the dark with lots of large heavy bags containing breakables would be much more of a challenge, so I decided to grab a cab. Unfortunately the cab driver was not familiar with the guesthouse location, and depended upon me for directions which I thought I may be able to give. Bad mistake - we became terribly lost, and went far beyond the neighborhood. After asking at least nine different people for dirrections, and an hour later (should have been no more than a 10 mins drive), we finally found it. I was so happy that my cab driver was amazingly nice and patient, as I found all Salvadoran's to be, didn't even ask for more than our initially agreed upon price!