So we have finally left Guatemala. we wanted to be out by february, but some places are just hard to leave. we are in la playa el tunco now, a surfing beach town 10km from La Libertad, a world famous beach spot given notoriety by its strong waves. after returning to antigua for our last run in Guate, we hit the coast and went south across la frontera. the difference upon hitting el salvador was stark. money, transport, people, food, you name it. traveling appears like it might be harder, or at least require us to actually do things on our own. the chicken buses in guatemala, which is the prevailing method of transportation, all had what mike and i call collectors. these are dudes who work with the driver, collecting people, their fare and their bags. there is also always someone asking you where your ultimate destination may be, to direct you towards whatever bus may be heading in that direction, even if it isnt, and most likely will not be, a direct non stop affair. el salvador is a different story. for one the tourism infrastructure is not set up. there is no person to tell you what bus to take to get where you need to go. and there is no caged in luggage rack on the top of the chicken busses, which means that we have to bring our oversized, yet overstuffed, back packs on to the bus with us, as if our incomparably large bodies were not cumbersome enough. it seems everything we took for granted for in guatemala, and in fact got tired of, does not exist here. everything that made traveling easy, all the assistance and direction.
the physical difference in peoples appearance is somewhat remarkable. we in fact are not especially tall any longer. the nationals here seem more european; whiter and taller. we noticed this immediatly after crossing the border, first and foremost the women. tall, skinny but voluptuous, lighter skin but with a dark hue still. this clearly transcends to males, but mike and i have not explicitly noticed. these physical traits, and the lack of indigenious culture compared to guatemala, is a consequence of the war, and how succesfull the el savadorian military was, with the help of the US, in exterminating darker skin and more primitive indians. the sites attesting to this attrocious war are in the north eastern parts of el salvador, and we plan on visiting some of these cities if we can ever make it out of this awesome hostel we are in now. its this cozy surfers lodge right on the beach, for 7.50 a night. the food the kitchen pumps out is incredible, ranging from 2 to 5 US dollars a meal. we have been told it will be hard to leave, and we know exactly what this piece of advice means, for we have been on the opposite end of its delivery. with this said, there is much i would like to see in el salvador, mostly related to is rich political history. many cities in the north and eastern parts of el salvador were major strongholds of the FLMN, the guerilla revolutionary group that fought the el salvadorian government. this brutal and repressive war ravaged the country side, as the el salvadorian military, with the help of billions of US dollars, systematically exterminated thousands of idigena, peasants, farmers, and anyone who appeared left leaning or supportive of the revolution. now you can visit first hand the cities that are still marred, both is people and its surroundings by the war. you can get a former guerilla as a guide, to take you around and show you various relics that are unofficially preserved by former revolutionaries.
el salvador appears to be much less conservative and much more politically engaged then guatemala. within the second day here, there was a march on the beach of young invovled citizens, waiving FMLN flags, which i was able to obtain one by the way.
i cant help but be excited for nicaragua in the midst of el salvador. we shall reach nica by next week.
tales and ails.
