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

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Juayua - heart of town

Biking material

Procession Apaneca - nice dresses btw! :)

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OK, short one this time - no too much text, lots of photos… just the way you like it right? :)

It´s been a while already, thus high time to update this site! So after leaving Merida (and with that, Carnaval and the heat) I got to San Cristobal de las Casas. (Yet another) colonial town, but with the difference that it´s in the middle of an area where indigenous cultures and traditions are strongly mixed into daily life! Besides it´s in the mountains (at 2100m altitude, so it´s C-O-L-D at night!), which means there´s lots of opportunities to be hyperacctive for a bit, which was just what I needed!

So here´s a little rundown; after getting off the nightbus (= 1 hour of sleep thanks to snoring Mexicans) I decided to go on a litle hike, just for the heck of it. It was fun though :) The next days consisted of cruising around town, visiting indigenous communities (San Juan Chamula, amongst others), finally (!!) going to a cave and … sigh … visiting a waterfall, which was really massive by the way! As for the Disneyland-factor (after all I was on a popular tourist trail, bumping into the same people over and over again :)), I visited Cañon del Sumidero; a nice-looking canyon but a huge tourist-trap (though a cheap one ;)). In light of being realistic (as I always am!!), see below for a picture of what was to be found “around the corner” once we went in.

Anyway, no complaints; it´s been great out there! Right now I went on to Xela (aka Quetzaltenango, Guatemala) - yet another good spot to be hyperactive so expect another article soon!

Take care!

Rene “where´s my backpack again” Miltenburg

Update 09-Mar: Cosmetics are done!

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San Cristobal´s main cathedral

Wanna see a church? WORK FOR IT!

... and this is the reward ...

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No worries, I`m still alive! The last couple days have been full of pleasant surprises; it was hard to decide where to go next after Copan, but I eventually ended up in a town called Gracias, former capital of Spanish Central America. Although a bit dusty, the town was pretty interesting and gave a nice look into daily Honduran life as well as the local Lenca culture. Also made plans to climb Honduras` highest peak but due to a lack of participants the trip could not go on, so this got back to my to-do list for the time being ;)

After Gracias I decided to go to Lago de Yojoa, though I slept in and left a bit too late. As a result I got stuck in a town called San Juan - and when no buses are available to get you out of there, only one option remains: hitchhiking! I found some Lenca people who were willing to take me to the next town, which apparently was modernized enough to have bus traffic after 2pm :) Never knew a 14-seat minivan could hold up to 35 people - but somehow it fits provided you`re prepared to take care of people`s children ;)

Anyway, Lago de Yojoa is stunningly beautiful and so are the surroundings. Met a US Peace Corps volunteer who showed me around the area and took me to places where I would otherwise never have gotten to. Also visited the Pulhapanzak waterfalls (by mountainbike!) which is quite a sight! On my way down, I slipped on one of the platforms, fell and slid down, nearly sliding under the fence (thank heaven for the steel cable!) and falling 10m down into the waterfall itself - hence the bodycount. I`m starting to become well-known for shocking my fellow travelers ;) Together with a local guy we climbed rocks, swam through pools and slid through some vegetation until we managed to get behind the waterfall, at the point where the cascade hits the pool below. My ears are still recovering…

Right now I`m about to make another bike-ride through the area, after which I`ll probably head back down to Leon, Nicaragua. I`ll definately keep you posted on any new developments!

Till next time!!

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Old church (and I mean O-L-D) - Gracias

More old stuff - Gracias

Hot springs (not so old) - Gracias

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