Suchitoto to Santa Ana, El Salvador, el nueve de Febrero, 2017

As usual I was up early and the view from my hotel was fantastic-

It only got better-

There is a very strong feminist group in town that painted this message on every house without permission.  Many still have the painting on their homes.  It says " In this house... We want a life free from violence against women"-

For some reason I wasn't ready to leave Suchitoto, so I parked my car and wandered around.  The streets are cobblestone and the buildings are bright, just like in Antigua Guatemala-

Finally it was time to leave. It took 2.5 hours to go 99 km-

Most of the way was through the country side.  Some sugar cane has been harvested-

And some hasn't-

The left over stalks are ground up and fed to cattle-

I found my hotel quite easily in Santa Ana.  I'm staying in Aminta's home with 5 other travellers.  It's like the homestays I had in Guatemala - very comfortable and she is around to visit with.  I like it a lot.  She's a teacher - high school in the day and at night she works with delinquents - teaching English.  She is not sure what kind of a pension she will have so she has slowly been remodelling her home which she has owned since 1984, to make room for people like me.  There are 5 bedrooms  and 4 bathrooms.  We had a great visit this afternoon and what I like the best, is that I could understand most of what she said!  Too cool!

Once settled, I walked downtown rather than drive.  I find I miss too much if I'm driving and besides, there aren't many places to park.  Even though it was a fair hike, I saw a lot along the way.

The Cathedral is on the north end of Parque Central.  It's in neo-gothic style and very nicely restored-

But just on the front-

Inside are high pointed arches and vaulted ceilings in neo-gothic style-

The Teatro, on the west side of Parque Central, was built in 1902-1905 in neo classical style.  In order to fund it, coffee that was exported was taxed 12.5 cents/pound.  It has just recently been refurbished and is beautiful, just like a theatre in London-

Parque Central is filthy.  Garbage cans are overflowing and litter is everywhere.  It's the worst I've seen this trip. There's also a lot of bad smells-

The Municipal Palace is the seat of local government and found on the south side of Parque Central.  It was built in 1874 and workers donated their salaries to finance it-

The litter doesn't stop people from coming to the Parque for lunch.  I had yucca con chicharrón which is boiled yucca - nicer than potatoes-

topped with pork, chilis and vegetables.  It was delicious, especially for 50 cents-

The people still do the majority of their shopping at small booths.  It's much cheaper than in the supermarket and more social-

Two men were preparing this vehicle to be painted!  Right on the street!

My hotel is in an old, run down neighbourhood (not shown here, I mean how frugal do you think I am?)  I hope my car is still here in the morning!

I'm going to Parque Nacional Cerro Verde in the morning to hike up to the top of Volcan Santa Ana.  Not sure if I'm looking forward to it or not!

Parque el Boqueron and Suchitoto, El Salvador, el ocho de Febrero, 2017

I had an excellent sleep with even more people in the room!  I changed beds and the guy above me slept like a dead man!

Alamo came right on time and after filling out the paper work, I was driving away in a Nissan Versa.  It's an automatic - thank God for that! and a huge upgrade from what I first rented.  I'm not complaining!  The air conditioner is pretty weak but that's okay.  It's modern so has a push button start and keyless entry.  The gentleman at Alamo showed me how everything worked but when I went to lock it at Parque el Boqueron, it wouldn't lock and I couldn't open the trunk.  I had to pee really badly, so badly that soon pee was running down my legs!  I know!  Too much information right!  I couldn't control myself but luckily I was wearing black shorts that didn't show because my other clothes were locked in my trunk.  So I worked my way to the front of my car and squatted.  Well wouldn't you know it, the woman who had just parked beside me set off her alarm so she came back to her car.  I apologized, (for peeing) but it's such a common occurrence here that she said "oh no, I set it off myself" and just carried on!  

Finally I got my car locked and my pants up and away I went. El Boqueron Park is on top of the San Salvador Volcano.  It's 5,905 feet high.  The crater is 5 kilometers in diameter and 559 meters deep-

The name "Lucas" is in the middle of the second crater which is very small and called boqueroncito- 

The hike up is only about 10 minutes and very beautiful-

When I got back to my car, I couldn't open the door!  I finally used the small key to unlock the door but  the alarm went crazy.  After a minute or so, it stopped but it wouldn't let me start it.  I asked 3 locals in their late teens if they maybe knew how these new cars worked.  They came over and tried but nothing worked.  They walked away and  I got out the manual but it was in Spanish - not that I couldn't understand but there had to be an easier way.  The 3 came back and one started reading the manual.  Finally, I used the girl's phone to call the emergency number I had for Alamo.  The man on the phone couldn't really speak English so I gave it to one of the kids.  He led him through what to do and you won't believe this.  The man asked where we were and as soon as my helper said "Boqueron", the man knew what to do.  Put the fob on the start button and hold it for 3 seconds.  Voila!  Apparently the cell tower on the top of the volcano causes interference and the fob won't work!  I guess I wasn't the first to have trouble there!  My helpers wouldn't take any money for the use of their phone.  They probably spent at least 20 minutes with me and weren't in any rush to hurry on.  They're my people of the day!

Now that I could start my car, Suchitoto was my next destination-

It was 60 km away and took 2 hours!  Traffic is heavy but roads are also very windy.

Lunch was a pupusa,  It's either corn or rice dough made into a tortilla, then filled with queso, spinach and avocado and fried.  It was excellent-

Dessert was a honey and cheese soaked piece of bread.  It was too sweet even for my liking-

Once in Suchitoto, I went to the main square to see Santa Lucia Church built in 1853.  It's a great example of post colonial architecture- 

It has wooden, hollow pillars-

Supper was ceviche - not good! but the view of Lake Suchitoto, which was formed with flooding from a dam, is wonderful-

There's a small women's museum that features women who have accomplished lots.  There are pictures of them-

On the flip side-

is a synopsis of what they've accomplished-

I drove down to the lake and it is lovely-

By the lake is a women's statue commemorating 17 women who went to jail for having abortions-

My room is great! I splurged so even have air conditionning!  I'm looking forward to going to Santa Ana tomorrow!