Day 9 El Salvador (technically, but going home)
As I wind down my travels, I wanted to right a short experience of my time in El Salvador, which I kept simple and relaxing. I arrived Friday evening and simply enjoyed the night at the hotel, ordering room service for possibly the first time in my life. Since it was a Friday during Lent, and they had fish on their menu, I decided to not risk going out somewhere and not practice this sacrifice, considering I can be lazy in my fasting practices. In addition, it’s a little fascinating, I’m not feeling as adventurous at this point and just wanted to decompress. With that I woke up at 5:15 Saturday morning and after failing to fall back to sleep, I figured I’d just run over to the cathedral real quick and catch the back end of the 6:30 am mass, and visit St. Oscar Romero’s tomb with the special holy cards I made for him.
From here I went to visit my producer Jorge, and had a wonderful morning seeing what he is currently doing in preparing this seasons harvests. I also got to try some other varieties of coffee that he offers. His sister who lives near me was in town and we enjoyed a nice brunch meal, overlooking a nice view and coffee farm. You can read more about this on my Know Your Beans page, with El Salvador as this months topic.
After our visit I returned to the hotel and ordered some papusas for delivery from a local shop. I had 6 different ones, and all were very nice and not greasy like the ones I often experience in the states. It’s fascinating, I wanted to make more of my day, but instead I just relaxed in the hotel doing some writing and just being still. I guess I’ll save my energy for Sunday, as I prepare to spend a night on the Pacific. Part of my challenge is traffic and not knowing where or how to park like the states. I’d rather not drain my energy with that.
The next day I drove straight to the shore as I was affirmed in my concerns about moving around too much. After mass I encountered closed streets, possibly for Palm Sunday, and being unfamiliar with the area, I wasn’t comfortable driving around. In addition I came across a person on a motorbike that was hit by a car. To ice the cake, as I was driving to the airport the next day, I watched a stray dog get nailed by a car that didn’t slow down, despite the dogs confusion running into the street. If I had not slowed down, I would’ve probably been part of the collision that most likely killed the dog. It was all confirmation I was on a need to drive basis, and when I didn’t need to drive, I just relaxed.
When I arrived in San Luis Talpa I had time to kill since I didn’t venture on the coast like I had planned. Many of the roads were dirt roads and shacks all over the place. It didn’t feel like I was driving on the Jersey Shore, and with that, I wasn’t feeling very adventurous as I did not again feel comfortable. Upon arriving at the resort I went to at the recommendation of the UNBOUND director, everything became more relaxed. It was far more developed and everyone was accommodating. Since I was very early for check in, I took a walk on the beach praying a couple of rosaries, and getting a little color for the first time in years. Honestly not my thing, I just enjoy looking out at the ocean and my primary purpose was to see the sunset on the Pacific. Once that happened I was in bed super early, as I prepared to departure.
I would have one last small surprise at the airport. Ironically enough I was at the coffee shop and came across my neighbor who was heading to Nicaragua to visit his sister. It was another nice parallel that let me know all was good, and I was right where I belong.