Right - new article, new country: Bienvenidos a El Salvador! It`s a relatively small and well-developed hub in Central America… also it`s supposed to be the most violent country in the region - sounds like fun! ;) It seems like there aren`t too many tourists here (apart from the beaches) but nonetheless there`s plenty of stuff to do, so let`s take off…

The border crossing between Guatemala and El Salvador (known as Anguiatú) was the most intriguing until now. While crossing, loads and loads of questions ran through my head: “Why am I being let through without trouble?” , “Where are the 25 bicycle-taxi-guys that try to run off with my bag?” , “Where are the regular 50 money-changers?” , “Why is nobody trying to rip me off in general?” and “Why is the migracion-guy not trying to make me pay some non-existent tax?”. Very strange. A little scary, even.

Once I got into El Salvador it was another walk to a point where buses (to Santa Ana) would pass. Fortunately I ended up in some funny watering hole; while waiting for the bus I got into a talk with a guy that threw about half a month salary into the jukebox, only to hear this song over and over again. Welcome to El Salvador - woo-hoo! :)

I decided to hit the western highlands first, in an area called “Ruta de las Flores”. That`s right: lots of flowers, but no hippes. Crashed down in a town named Juayua, which is mainly famous for its food fair. You could probably guess: I stuffed up quite a bit! Next day decided to rent a bike and visit the following spots:

Apaneca: A nice climb up (what the hell happened to my physical condition!?) - the town is quiet but nice. Had fun watching a colourful procession with locals - after all it was Semana Santa!

Laguna (not so) Verde: Crater lake in a volcano, just outside Apaneca. Nothing verde about it as it was blue :) Makes a nice ride though and chatting with locals was - as always - fun!

Concepción de Ataco: Upon entering the town I instantly noticed one thing: everyone was smiling! It took an instant to realise why; never seen so many colourfully painted houses together. If you´re in a bad mood, go here - a cure is guaranteed! Even I was smiling at the end :) Trivia: Missed the entrance to town and as a result had to bike an extra 5km uphill. Could use the exercise though!

Next day agreed to climb a waterfall - something different from all the swimming, right? :) My assumption the climb would be up proved to be wrong; we went down instead! No secured ropes, belts or other gear, it was all bare hand- and foot-work for the 15-20m difference in height. One word: amazing! Later on my guide told me he was one of very few people that were allowed to guide this tour, and even then not many people did it. I asked him why and the answer was as simple as astonishing: A short while ago a large group of guides and tourists got killed down there. Ever since it`s been quiet… even though locals figured out who did it and “took care” of the problem. I don`t want to know any more details…

As Easter weekend was approaching, which basically means all of Central America`s infrastructure gets jammed, I decided to chill out at a spot I really miss: the beach! Playa San Diego became the place of choice; not too crowded, nice waves and a really cool place to hang out!

As this trip continues, I moved back to the mountains, slowly digging into El Salvador`s history. Stay tuned for more news… soon!

-René

[Show as slideshow]

Juayua - heart of town

Biking material

Procession Apaneca - nice dresses btw! :)

Read more »

*** Update 11-Apr: right, mañana… anyway the pics are up. Uploading took terribly long so couldn´t be bothered too much to do a quality check. Better luck next time! ***

[Show as slideshow]

Rio Dulce + longest bridge in Central America

My speedy kayak (the left one!)

Kayaking shot...

As I said, time to move on! I was shocked to see that my trail through Guatemala is actually making sense; it’s starting to become a (near) perfect loop… not quite in line with the way things have been going so far!

So the next logic step went down to Finca Tatin, a place on the Rio Dulce, between the equally named city and Lívingston - indeed, close to the Caribbean coast again! Somehow that area keeps attracting me but I’ll elaborate more on that in the near future (trust me, it doesn’t all end whenever you think it will ;)). Anyway, what’s to encounter here; sweltering heat and 3 litres of sweat per hour to begin with. Apart from that; kayaking, lots of community-based eco-tourism, great swimming spots (in the river, not the sea this time!), lovely indigenous villages, a devastating jungle-hike, Lívingston (a Garifuna / Caribbean coastal town) and last but not least: a rope-swing in combination with my self-destructive attitude! May I suggest you check the cartoon-like sequence at the end of the picture gallery :) All in all, time to be hyperactive again!

It all started with a 5-hour kayaking trip to a nearby biotope (Chocon Machacas - have fun pronouncing!). Just what my arms, shoulders and abdomen needed after all this sitting still! Besides, kayaking is fun and the trip was beautiful. Next day, next level: 32 degrees Celsius, extreme humidity and an unforgivingly lot of sunshine: time for a jungle-hike! This hike took us to some indigenous villages which gave a great insight in what everyday life really is like in Guatemala. Also, it felt reassuring to see my guide being just as worn as me at the end! The hike ended in Lívingston, so why not check it out straight away; it’s amazing how quickly Q’eqchi’ culture changes to rasta, yah man and reggae in just a few kilometers!

The final day was a chill-out day - after all the old man still needs to watch out for his foot (and lazy bones). Nonetheless, rope-swinging was still fun (and unsafe)!

The following days were mainly marked by transits and a weird border crossing into El Salvador, but I’m saving that one for the next post, in order not to drag on as I usually do :) Come back soon, more is on the way!

-René *no quote this time* Miltenburg

Read more »

Indeed, a little late (what`s new?) but just wanted to post a short message saying THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the bday wishes you sent me! This is what I call record-breaking ;) very touching! My Facebook wall seemed to collapse, the number of pageviews on Hallmark must have increased significantly and even my Hyves-page showed some activity… for the first time in over 8 months… not to mention the good ol` e-mail box that required about an hour of reading!

Well then, a short update: I visited the hospital in Poptun hoping to get some good news on the healing process of my foot… the answer: It`s going to take another 8-10 days to heal. Sitting around doing nothing isn`t quite what I came here for, so I decided to wing it! After a morning bday ritual I left for Rio Dulce, and subsequently Finca Tatin, somewhere on an inlet, somewhere on the river, somewhere in the jungle, somewhere in the east of Guatemala… I`ll see if I can scan a map for you at some point, as I barely know where I am myself ;)

Anyhow, I`ve finally undertaken some more stuff so stay tuned for another post with some serious nature-flavour… and some serious dumbness ;)

Till soon!

-René ”what do you mean, old!?” Miltenburg