Juayúa, Wed-Fri

Wed 1138 seem to be doing well. On very nice lower terrace at new hostel in Juayua with free coffee and nice host woman also gave me an iced bread thing. I have WAed the 7 falls tour company the hostel gave me and am being picked up at 830. I have a lower bunk in a very clean looking form with a blanket. Slight qualms re dressing but I will wear trunks under trousers and can play it by ear, there is swimming. 10 dollars, 4 hours, something about climbing (as Lukas had said) but I assume it cannot be that intense.

I don't want to ruin the grey trousers I am currently wearing but if they do get wet and a bit dirty that isn't the end of the world, they are more or less due for a wash and need rotating back to the black pair anyway.

Currensea card is showing slight signs of cracking (at non chip end,as I am always careful which way I orient it) from stashing in transit.

Was semi pleasantly drowsy in bed and got up maybe 8-830. I checked out a hair before 10, no fuss, handed owner keys. Got bus over here no fuss, 1 dollar.

Going to finish coffee and then wander. I may well extend here another night now I have a lower bunk but I might wait to see how today goes. Definitely don't want to get pissed or anything but might bring a few beers back to have on terrace tonight. I am fairly confident I could productively spend an extra day at least on the ruta towns, and if I am using half a day and perhaps maybe kind of a full day on this 7 falls tour then that is not insane.

I do need to remember that "you can do it confortably in 4 days" is not a deadline or a suggestion that more time on ruta towns is automatically wasting time.

Probably Canadian couple checking in, English speaking guy jumped in with feedback on getting wet druing your when I was asking host woman about it btw. Canadians booking in for 4 nights.

I did not expect to be allowed to actually check in so early btw, but a nice bonus. And as another guy is now checking in it is possible (tho I did asked via booking. Com) that i
Might not have got a lower bunk had I not got here before these people, though of course the couple may be in a private.

1210 And the hostel kitchen tap apparently has potable water. Let's head out for a casual wander and see what happens, no major stress.

FWIW if forgot to sya yesterday (and I think I did casually check shortly after arrival in country) I did indeed pack my "actual second best" pair of single vision glasses (which have my latest prescription and decenrly unscratched lenses).

1337 been for a wander and walked up to parquet esmeralda, have come to dragon of juayua for a cheapish Chinese lunch. The place is nice, a bit more touristy eg with nice touts but still touts offering restaurants round central square.

1532 sitting by fountain in main square. Went to supermarket and got three Gallo (cheapest beer) and a bottle of aguardiente for 92 cents! Paid 10 dollars for an extra night (no receipt but owner wrote it in her book and sure it will be OK) and came back out to reptilandia. Had missed it when looking earlier but it was dead obvious approached another way. Paid 2.50 for a personal if very slightly hurried tour with presumably owner and his very young son.it was pretty cool albeit some of the cages seemed very small. Many anakes including some huge (all constrictors, none poisonous) and some chameleons and geckos and iguanas. No spiders or scorpions (I didn't explicitly ask, but not shown any and he said at end that was everything). Was slightly disappointed not to be offered chance of photo with a big snake for USD 2 as shown on poster but I didn't really like to ask. But embarrassing somehow, plus maybe he would then have gone and dragged a snake out of its cage and diaturbed it more than necessary or something. If it had been offered I'd have done it (earlier I has thought it seems a bit naff but had started to feel it might be naff but would be a nice little souvenir), there is no phobia concern here, albeit I am sure it would have been weird. (Some of the really big snakes with certain light coloured scales did look as though they would be slimy, I am 99% sure they are not, but even without any phobia aspect for perhaps the first time I could realise why someone might think they are slimy. To be clear I didn't touch any of them or ask about this, just an observation on the way the light was sort of reflecting off the edges of their bodies/scales in a way to give this impression.)

Had yuca frita from a street stall, top touristing all round. It was ok but not particularly amazing, bit of fried yucca with some curtido and that tomato sauce (probably same stuff as with pupusas) and - she offered and it was included so I said yes - a bit of chicharron which was chewy but quite nice in a way. Unlike say pupusaa, which I will definitely be eating regularly, this wasn't nice enough for the price (USD 2) that I am likely to try it again. It wasn't bad or horrible, just a bit meh.

Quickly looking over photos, they also had giant tortoises and a little one wandering free which was coming over towards me and I asked if I could touch it and they said yes so I stroked it briefly on its head.

1624 went over to cemetery (cemetery gates lyrics popping into head) but it was just shutting at 4. I saw a poster for some random tour (but sure they are all the same) for 7 waterfalls and photoed it as lota of details, 7/10 difficulty! As if that means anything. There was a picture of a photogenic woman climbing up on a rope but it looks like basically sort of "reverse abseiling" whatever that is called, not shinning up a rope PE lesson style. I doubt it matters but on basis of that went to Super Selectos and got a packet of mani garapiñado for 68 cents and paid using some shrapnel, as a snack for tomorrow or some other time just in case I need it (that poster said to take a snack).

Time hangs a touch heavy. Leaning in a lamppost (just call me George...) in shade writing his. Going to go back and have a beer or two at hostel on terrace for sunset (though terraces face south and east, not west) and maybe there will be chat but not too fussed. Barring other possibilities I will come back out for an after-dark wander and maybe a coffee and or a snack (pupusas, fried chicken) and then an earlyish night after hopefully sorting out my bag for the falls tour tomorrow.

I don't think it is inconsistent for time to hang heavy and for me to have added an extra night. Right now I don't want to be bussing over elsewhere etc, I am wandering round town and seeing it etc. But another day I can bus over to another town. I am not really complaining (aldous huxley quote etc, plus it is pleasant if just slightly dull and slightly tiring to be mostly standing), just saying.

I am tempted and have been to get an ice cream or a juice or a soft drink but the calories and expense add up and I can and probably will be indulging in something like that after dark or tomorrow etc etc.

2143 in bed. Quietly enjoyable evening but will write up tomorrow.

Thu 1436 On terrace with free coffee. Shoes drying on roof out front. Feel very slightly BNM but overall not too bad. I think the plan is to have this codfee while topping up the A06, then head out to some adjacent town (shoes will not be dry but every little helps) and perhaps then to Nahuizalco for the night market without coming back here first. Last bus is 8ish and is very busy but Uver is an option and I might aim to get an earlier bus.  Some of the people from the tour this morning have I think gone off together to Apaneca for the maze and they might end up at the night market but I don't think I am likely to encounter them.

alexandra from santa ana was in another tour group today and I spoke to her briefly, was pleased with myself for recognising her.

To be fair some other people have not gone on together, including an actually very chatty Australian - ish woman who is sitting in the dorm.

So last night I did go back to hostel and watch sunset on upper terrace, English guy was up there but we didn't speak. Two European (probably Dutch woman and woman from Barcelona travelling together) came up and they spoke to English guy (Callum) but except a basic hola/hi no one spoke to me and I didn't force my way into the conversation but sat there earwigging and it was slightly interesting. They all said they were doing this tour today and so I knew I would see them today fwiw.

So I had two beers and went out for a walk and had pupusas at a quite nice and very local seeming place (popuseria LA bendicion?) And wandered round a bit more and then came back and went to bed.

Didnt sleep to badly, I must have gone off fairly quickly, did keep up waking a bit in the night with very vague forebodings about this tour.

It was actually OK. Taken out in back of pickup, 7 of us all from this hostel. I kept mostly quiet as felt a bit out of place but was smiling a bit and don't think I came across as massively rude or disinterested. The actual joke was quite cool, a dog called Caramelo came up with us, I snappes the odd photo but didn't go nuts. Really pretty cool experience. I did also climb up (the worst bit) and jump maybe 4m into the pool at the end (not part of 7 falls as such but probably commonly bundled I suspect)  although it wasn't that deep - I did chat with callum around this, it was a bit of an icebreaker - and I scraped my toes up a bit but nothing major. There is also a xave you can go into which is narrow and dark and was frankly a bit scary and then you turn round and sort of doggy paddle and the current carries you along, though the effect was not that strong. We all went in together and going into the unknown turned sideways to fit was quite weird.

Then we came back and had lunch at Dona G-something - I have it written on other phone. Apparently live music there at weekends. Guide told us some stuff and I was semi joining in a little there but couldn't help feeling still just a bit out of place.

We came back and I left shoes on roof to dry and had a shower and changed clothes etc and more or less here we are.

1502 to be fair the social side wasn't terrible despite this vague feeling of being out of it which did lessen somewhat over time, and there is some fruit from my plan to learn to swim here as I was able to do the water activities at the swimming place at the fall at the end and jump in etc. The water was borderline neck deep at points but deeper in others, and shallower in others. Fingers crossed j haven't got burned, so far I feel fine but we will see. I wore the bandanna all the time so actual scalp should be fine, but I didn't wear t shirt into water and I onlhad my regular bit of sunblock on my neck, face, ears and some extra on my arms where exposed by tshirt.

Probably los chorros de el calera was the extra three falls and the last with the swimming pool but not sure. Just seen it on a random website whole looking up the towns of the ruta and it felt right. Yes, reading,more,it almost certainly was.

1511 bit edgy about getting back from Naz... But let's be bold and bear in mind that I do speak Spanish and my wallet's fat so I can always employ the bankers solution in a pinch. I will check with someone here before I go, but I ought to head out anyway.

1601 OK, serendipity. Alexandra messaged me to tell me about hot springs tonight and despite overhearing some other people here talking about how ricks were full, I pipped over there on off hands and it looks like they have a second bus so I have signed up. I have checked with this hostal I can get in late and they have give me some keys anyway. The night market is every night and is supposedly better at the weekend. I have signed up for another night (Sat) here. I can afford a day, this means I can see the food market here Sat and maybe do the night market Sat night. I am not going over anywhere else now, I am topping up the A06 a bit more and will probably head out and buy a beer to go with the one I ave left in the fridge and take those two and the aguardiente with me  I asked and you can buy beers or take your own so if I take a couple that is an ok halfway house. I hope Alexandra does go as it would be good to know someone,didn't see her name on sign up list, but wtf. This works out well, I did want to see the springs and while the actual "ladies night" sounds a bit nightclub, this way I get to see them with no burn risk and maybe with someone I know to introduce me to people etc, plus as I say there is the chance to see the night market and food market Sat now. And I can easily fill a day popping around some of the other towns or just wandering round, there is arguably a wasted day here but I think it probably isn't and it would be foolish to pass up this pseudo-invite to go tonight when it fixes things up quite nicely.

There are apparently no lockers but the woman (who I suspect to be a Spanish volunteer who probably spoke perfect English but I used bad Spanish) at Ricks reception was insistent it was fine. I will probably be fine and try to strike a balance between taking stuff and not, but I will probably take the a06 because absolute worst case (modulo theft) if I lose the group I can then try to get an uber back etc.

Gut feeling is I won't take the prescription goggles but will (as I did today) wear my single vision glasses and then if I do lose them it isn't the end of the world and I can put them in my shoe (as I did during swimming today, when of course I did wear goggles, no one else did but felt smart given the prescription aspect/conpromise) or wear them into water as feels appropriate.

Fri 1130 despite prob going to bed 2ish (really not sure but GPS track would show) I woke up about 7 feeling surprisingly refreshed but stayed in bed til about 10 and only left hostel about 11. Wqitinf doe bus to apaneco.  had chat with British guy called Ben in dorm (he broke the ice with a comment on the enauite shower being cold whole I was in bed) and got some possibly useful tips.

1139 on bus  not a bad night last night. Chatting with Lukas and akexandra and a few other people at ricks, then very party type bus with some stereotypically loud but friendly Australians over there. Hot spring pool with music/DJ pretty cool. Afterwards we went via ricka to dona gaby? The same place we had Linch yesterday and I got chatting to some people there. Only oddness was at end we were one minute going over to some guy (the owner) 's hostel for more drinks and lukas and I were in the back with two I'd the owners local friends chatting and then suddenly there was some weird decision which I'd dint fully  understand about only people going in his car coming back and lukas and I got out and left. No fuss or argument, I was maybe a bit ocer-surprised talking to kukas about it but no big deal. I have this weird cibe like I did something wrong at some point(s) last night or was an arse but frankly I don't think i was. I didn't really drink that much, the bar was no over pricey at the springs but they didn't have cans and closed early and I should have taken more of my own. But I had some sguardientw and a beet at ricks before going and a canadian chap called d Brian gave me a beer there and I got one along with transport etc. I had about two at dona gwhatsit. So not nothing but definitely not pissed and didn't really feel hungover a such this morning.

FWIW just to be clear although it is all over the web anyway, the ruta de las Flores is very simple. Bus 249 runs up and down the road between sonsonate and Shinkansen with a sort of sideways spur into juayua. You can just get buses everywhere. In most towns there are separate stops for north and southbojns. In juayua as it is on a spur you have a single area but the north and southbound buses have slightly separate positions and and a guy shouts out the terminus of the bus anyway.

1204 at el churro gourmet for horchata and some cakes/biscuits (different selection to last time). Then will do the over expensive park with the rainbow slide and the naze. Probably won't zipline but we will see how it goes.

FWIW despite Christmas etc and buying the trousers not long that before, they are a bit too loose. Not exactly a bad thing in terms of health/appearance, but (not checked) I think they are 30 and maybe I need a 28, at least in these slightly elastic travel style. I left my belt at home last night and while nothing happened as such, it would have been possible for then to pull down without undoing the catch, and they were bagging a bit. A side effect of this which I have mostly stopped noticing but did notice early on is that when I tighten my belt to the desire hole the waist is sort of "squeezed" and the catch (not button) can come undone and/or drop down a bit below the belt. This isn't  huge deal in practice but not ideal.

Finished stuff rather too quickly but lets go on and see this amusement park type place.

1524 I am at the park in Apaneca. I just came out of the mirror maze. It is absolutely stunning. Maybe I am just naive/inexperienced but personally I have never seen anything like it, the sense of being in enormous bizarre spaces is incredibly convincing. I was lucky enough to have it to myself as well. The rotating tunnel illusion is overpoweringly convincing, somehow even shutting my eyes didn't remove the actually very genuine nausea I was starting to feel (but nothing forces you to linger there, I just wanted to).

I am so glad they've not tried to make it into some kind of horror experience. Albeit that would probably be fantastic if you like that kind of thing, although you would probably not be allowed to run round as if you bolted in fear you'd likely brain yourself on a mirror. Even with no actual horror vibe there is a cool but creepy effect of being trapped and lost (like a bad dream sequence in a film, but when you are really there it is different) and the music and lighting really adds to the effect. More than once I found myself jumping as I came across myself coming around a corner.

They give you disposable plastic gloves so you can touch the mirrors (which is essential) and cloth shoe covers.

Anyway, I can't really capture it properly in words, I took photos and videos (which I don't think ruined the experience) but they are unlikely to capture it. Maybe you could capture it in VR but I suspect the lack of real constraints and the lack of the somehow essential confusion of physically bumping into mirrors or feeling your way round a maze you can see but do not have a chance of navigating by sight would stop it working.

Will write about the rest earlier but seriously, that was awesome. I was grinning (with just a touch of fear lest there was some un-declared horror element) the whole way round. I didn't try to over-milk it and return to the start when I got to the exit. I am not saying I will and it probably wouldn't be the same but I could imagine coming back for a second visit on another day.

1627 at el churro gourmet for second time today. Someone is playing pop covers on pan pipes (?) Down by the church and I can hear it in here. Obladi (sp - Beatles song now) and earlier on something by the Bangles, oh yes, eternal flame.

Place is called Albania btw. I think maybe Cafe Albania and the Cafe probably refers to it also being a coffee farm not a cafe as in coffee-and-cake.

1702 went for small wander round main square ish and now on bus back.

1758 on roof terrace with unopened beer. A few people around, said hi, no chat, fine. I got a chicken breast at Don pollo on square and came back here.

Overall albania was good if a but expensive and slightly odd. The 5 USD entry is basically a credit towards anything interbwlly. I saw the pendulo (big swing) fairly early on and was genuinely tempted but also a bit "I don't want to force myself" so I got a bit meta-marked. I wandered round and found the mirror maze first and nearly went in but the guy clarified and I wanted to see the big famousish maze so I left it and did after getting a bit lost (only as I was leaving did I notice a map on the wall by the entrance) I found it and paid 3 (they gave me "change" in the form of another ticket worth 2) to go in. It was a bit hot and the maze was on a hillside so lots of hill climbing up and down and my legs/feet were killing me by the end. I was also a bit ruminating over the rainbow slide (the really famous attraction, at an eye watering 10 usd) and the pendulo - I had got on some free wifi and done a bit of web searching after arriving btw. But on the whole I did enjoy the maze, I struggled a bit but I did sort of have a tiny idea where I was going at points and was looking through the hedges (cypress I think) which are quite thin - but fenced - at the bottom to try to see where to go. I did eventually make it to the centre and rang the bell at the top of the tower and stayed up there for a while enjoying the view and my victory (had it to myself though lots of other people rang the bell during my time in maze) before trying to get out and getting a bit lost doing that too.

I then went and found the rainbow slide (only seeing the top bit but as per web site I had read there was a second right angle bit) and watched some people do it. It looked slightly scary/dangerous but not too bad and I figured I ought to. So I went over to the central kiosk and bought a ticket and went back and did it. And it was pretty fun tbh. Oddly (it didn't look that much scarier) at least two people bailed after doing the first part and before going down the second.

I then, feeling braver as a result of this, decided I would go and do the pendulo (big swing, a bit like one of the things I did at the end of ziplining in monteverde, albeit probably smaller). Queues had inflated by this point for tickets and harness (but I didn't really have to wait to get on the actual swing) but I did it - only 5 USD, one of the cheaper but probably more exciting activities (a web site I had found said the ziplining was nothing special and  I have done it elsewhere including the much bigger monteverde stuff, and I wasn't super attracted to stuff like the sky bike). I was surprisingly un-nervous the whole time, not completely calm, but not really shaking or jittery. The initial drop was a bit "wooah" (internally, I don't think I screamed) but as expected and that is kind of the whole point. I wore my glasses no problem and had left my bag at the harness place (I was told I was fine to go down the rainbow slide with it). It was pretty good fun really, albeit the top of the swing after the first arc felt (again probably kind of the point) weirdly floppy and stomach churning.

After that I went and did the mirror maze as already described. I then wandered around just a little bit and went to watch a few people go down the top part of the rainbow slide (you can walk down to the lower part, obviously I had walked up from there after it, but I didn't) and decided I wouldn't milk it and went off to el churro gourmet as already noted.

I was and still am kind of intending to go to that pupuseria tonight so I wasnt sure what to do about food, hence compromising on that single chicken breast (which I ate in street and did enjoy). I had lots of sweet junk at el churro gourmet of course.

I may not open the bee to brought up with me. Vague plan is to go have a shower, maybe take a handful of laundry to see if they will wash it (I think there is a small 3 USD size here based on overhewring something), then go out for bit of a walk and pupusas and maybe coffee and then an early night and perhaps try to be up to watch sunrise tomorrow. I am not really due for laundry but there is a fair chance I will be back in the santa ana hostel dorm for two nights after here so I do want to try to keep clean clothes supply up and I think the laundry charge at the santa ana hostel is something like USD 6 which is way more than I like to pay even for a full load.

1821 if I didn't say I wore my single vision glasses in the hot spring last night, I think that was the right decision. It would have shxked not to be able to recognise my group members at a distance and wearing the prescription goggles would have been uncomfortable, weird and just plain not as optically good.

It is pretty nippy up here without fkeece btw. TBH I may not have a shower, I did have one this morning and it isn't as if sweated buckets today. The shower here is cold and I would rather have one first thing in the morning really. But I may change clothes anyway wrt laundry.

1825 TBH I am not enjoying being up here that much, and I think I will go down.

2053 back at hostel. Will go to bed soon.

Sorted laundry and handed in grey trousers (put clean black ones on tonight) and 2 tops and 2 sets is, probably be 3 usd and can probably collect 10am tomorrow. This raises idea I could have left it another dag and got an extra set in but it would have made leaving on sun morning stressful. Had shower and small but pleasant chat with Callum, Ben and a new bloke in dorm after.

Went out for walk, some local guy asked me where the buses went from! I didn't do too bad a job  responding. Walked over to pupuseria last bendicion and had 2 ham, 1 jalapeño and 1 chicken pupusas (maize, I really do need to try the arroz variant some time) and then has a brief walk which took me past Doña Gaby which was pretty quiet - maybe it is too early but most of the town was quiet. I was slightly tempted by DG but I kind of don't want to drink, I kind of want an early night and although not a huge factor I was a bit concerned about meeting the hostel owner chap from last night,not that we have a beef in theory. I just might go there tomorrow night after night market, which is not likely to be an ultra late thing.

Came back and cleaned teeth and put a06 to top up in dorm, I am not getting phone charging quite right somehow but muddling through. I have a socket by the bed but not newr the head so hard to charge overnight.

One other person already in dorm iirc.

Got a somewhat expensive 85 cent can of Fresca (grapefruit fizzy drink) at a small shop as I fancied a cold drink during walk after food and seeing DG by chance.

I think that is about everything. I vaguely hope to be up in time to see sunrise but we will see how it goes.

FWIW there was a vague weird "I am on holiday and I am in el Salvador and it is warm and nice and vaguely exotic yet familiar" vibe in Apaneca when I left Albania.

2113 just had chat with hostel owner woman, she was just being friendly asking about hot springs and j asked her about possibilities of going to lagunq verde solo. Mixed feelings, she is going to maybe get me some bus timetable into, we will see how things look tomorrow. I do want to see the food market thing in juayha tomorrow but that is not going to be all day for me obviously, especially given my weird food attitudes.

2118 OK, let's send this and go to bed.

Ataco/Apaneca, Tuesday

Tue 1039 didn't want to get up to swim. Fair enough. More annoyingly I dithered in room far too late but it is what it is. Better to have made an effort maybe. I am waiting for bus to Apaneca. (I just love the way autocorrect will utterly mangle a word, eg turning Apaneca into Spanish, and if you don't notice and press baxkspace immediately that's it, it is gone forever and if you notice you have to retype it and if you don't notice your text is permanently corrupt.) Vague "I am really bad a touristing" thoughts but it is what it is.

Ok, bus just turned up. Let us try to be positive, can't do everything, always tradeoffs, etc etc.

1318 At Cafe Ratatouille, had hoped to get Pupusas but only "hasta las cinco" so settling for horchata latte at usd2 partly as sounds novel but also to satisfy pseuod obligation to buy.

I walked over to the mirador on the highway via a country path after engaging in chat with some locals mending a truck and a woman one of them called over when I asked if it was a public road (nay bit have been but woman said it was fine, and it is on organic naps hence me being there). Their soga started chasing me at one point and I turned back and their young son Rafael told me theyvwere fine, shooe them off, escorted me along briefly and told me their big dog was scared of this little one behind a fence just up, and then that there were no more dogs and turned back (I did wonder whether I missed the "no" in his sentence, but there weren't, despite a bit of a funk on my part).

I walked along the highway to the lookout which was pretty nice. Then figured is try to hike up towards the crater lookout to north of town. In the end I made it as far as Laguna de las ninfas which looked like a circular crater full of vegetation and with a bit of a swampy quality and I decided to cut my losses and not try to push on the paths shown on om towards crater lookout. Maybe another day I might get a taxi up towards thwre?

I am feeling a bit better about touriating. I a? Probably not doing the maze and rainbow slide today as this is so close to juayua I can easily pop over, maybe with some other people, which might make it more fun. My inclination is to go back to ataco for about 2-230 and have a go at that atzumpa pool, carrying minimal stuff with me.

I had half hoped to eat here but it isn't a big deal. I did see a couple of "ComIDA a la vista" places but one way or another I decided not to. I may treat myself to pizza again tonight in ataco when it is cool.

1331 just noticed three crosses on top of what OM suggests is El Cerrito. But it shows no path.

For fuck's sake. Woman just came over and showed me the menu with a price of 2 and another menu with a sticker saying 4 and that I asked the 2 but she gave me the other (which is bigger? Maybe? The cup is tiny tbh and I had nearly finished it before she even came over) and said she'd give me the 1 change. Not fucking impressed. I could have argued but I didn't. This is half what I paid for an entire fucking pizza with coffee yesterday, or more than lunch at Kelita's.

Maybe it is an honest mistake, but if so they should have eaten it. The only possible defence here is I picked the menu off the pile on the counter (under the soft toy reindeer) myself ather than someone giving it to me, but the idea they have a big pile of outdated menus sitting there and I blundered into them feels unsatisfactory. And it is not as if the waitress didn't discuss this with me while looking at the menu.

Not impressed to say the least.

And these little mistakes do seem to be happening with surprising frequency...

1342 at El Churro Gourmet which I had earmarked for coffee before going into R for food. Seems much nicer, bakery type sweet stuff at low prices and getting an American for 1.50. Feeling a bit rushed about swim but it will be fine and I am not missing out on anything major here, especially after I came here. I did ask for jamaica but they don't have it, hence coffee.

1403 cachito de Leche and churro quite nice, still drinking coffee. Not utterly fuming over the price switch at R of course, but the audacity of bloody doubling the price whether by nistake or genuine accident does feel cheeky. It if thas been 2.50 instead of 2 I'd have tutted internally but just shrugged it off.

If I didn't say while it was a bit disappointed not to get further and I didn't like to linger too long in case of random dogs (I wanted to get the walk back over, though except for one barking ubseen somewhere there had been none at all on the way up), it was pretty cool up by the big sweeping crater type area at las ninfas and I did have it to myself - a house or something nearby biut no one in sight. It is a shame I couldn't have relaxed a bit more but somewhat inevitable, and I can't help but feel I did well going that far solo. And I didn't fancy getting caught in a marsh or something if those paths on om were not right.

1649 At Gekos for a cortado (2.50). After waiting a bit for bua I got one back and was heading over to el balneario de atzampa about 1500 (briefly letting an Australian? Guy leave his luggage in entrance as no one was answering bell). I had looked on Google maps but there was a fork in the path I hadn't seen and I picked what turned into a every narrow rural footpath that did actually work OK and took me into the carpark. I had no phone with me (so no ability to check map), trunks under shorts, most trouser pockets empty, no belt, towel and a bit of water in a carrier bag.

No one there except a few teens by the lower pool, I asked them about a changing room but theyjust vaguely waved me up tot he upper bit. On the way out I saw a sort of maybe guy charging entrance (like 0.25 entrance, 0 50 to park, 0.25 for toilets) and there might be changing in there. There is a cafe type thing but it was gated off and shut. Except for those teens on lower pool I had the upper area to myself, except a guy loading a trunk and fiddking with water pipes who made me bervous at first but utterly ignored me. Also a guy from some locked off power station adjacent who walked by the pools talking on his phone.

I realy wasn't sure if I was allowed to swim as it felt so odd but I figured wth. I went in the bigger pool first which is deep, maybe 2-3m. It was cool (this upper part was mostly in shade, no terrible thing - I had worn bandanna and red tshirt over there but just trunks in look) and mildly shocking but not terrible. It was slightly scary being in this deep pool vaguely alone and maybe because of that or maybe cos of the temp I felt a bit breathless. I did swim round a bit and forced myself to swim over and get out the other side and go down the slide into the water. After that I tried the other two pools - one about neck deep, which felt safer but was a bit smaller, and one obviously for kids as about knee dep. I did try their slides too, though the kid pool slide was differently scary as I was worried I might get hurt on landing.

I saw round a bit mostly but not exclusively in medium depth pool, did do big one a bit and wasn't too scared, but was aware I could basically drown as not just no life guard but no one really at all. And I kept an eye on my shes and carrier bag by the side but it was fine. I did the big pool slide three times, the third time nothing really happened but iirc when I surfaced afterwards the guy with the water truck (a red pickup with some sort of tanks in the back) was driving off and although I could see my bag was still there I was getting vaguely edgy something was wrong or I'd get into trouble and maybe that combined with the deep solo water thing and I didn't really panic but I did kind of splashily swim much more than usual over to the edge and climbed out and decided that at this point honour was satisfied  I was probably only in the water 10-15 mins but (although parts of the deep pool were in sun and warmer, I also didn't want to get burned especially on bald head) it was coolish water and there was even in the medium neck deep not particularly scary wrt safety pool this vague tendency for me to feel out of breath and perhaps a bit streased by the general oddness/loneliness of it all.

It is a pretty cool place though, didn't go in the lower pool (when I left one woman was sat on edge with feet in water, maybe one of the teens or maybe they were there but she had turned up), and also maybe some additional side pools or waterfalls down there. I saw a couple of middle aged couples turn up and walk round briefly while I was in the water.

I didn't take any photos of course as no phone. I am glad I went, it was fun and novel as well as a tiny bit stressful in various ways.

When I was leaving I was going to go back along the road but I didn't like to walkpast the guardish chap in case the issue of payment came up so I vectored towards the rural path out of the carpark and he didn't seem to care. I was about 1540ish then, so I really wasn't in very long. No real trouble coming back, vague "will there be a dog?" Worries but despite seeing one or two harmless in practice ones on way out I didn't even really see any (but did see some chickens) on way back. This path (when it was still a properish road, not the rural bit) went past the place I had gone yesterday for the abortive coffee tour with Lukas and his friend (El Carmen?).

I am the only person in here apart from two staff. It is quite sunny and warmish out. I might indulge in pizza later given I pulled things back in terms of touristing it up and wrestling with my personal demons. :-)

Queen playing for last several songs.

Feeling quietly pleased with myself and also a bit (not specifically re swimming) a bit more at ease with where to go and when, I need to have a think tonight, but also realising I can kind of backtrack on a daytrip anywhere within the ruta fairly easily, especially from somewhere centralish like juayuathia for example helped me not feel if I didn't do the maze and rainbow slide and maybe (though not that fussed, since did in costa rice) ziplining at cafe albania it is called in apaneco, since it isn't a case of "if I don't go today I will not go as I won't be here again".

FWIW if didn't say already I left a beer in the fridge at hostel in Santa Ana. No harm if it gets taken bug be interesting to see if it is there assuming I stay there for a night in santa ana at end of ruta de las Flores.

2044 okay, let's try the voice dictation for the first time in a few entries. So I went back to the hotel and I booked with some dithering two nights in a dorm in juayua. I'll probably stay for three nights but I figured this way I'm not over committing. Tomorrow could be a fairly full day there especially if I leave here relatively early and they let me leave my bag and although three nights is by no means a bad thing if like I can't get a lower bunk or I don't like it or I feel I've done enough or I could go and stay in another town it keeps my options open and I can almost certainly extend for the night once I'm there if things are going well.

I went out to the same pizza place I was at last night, Rinkon Pizza. I looked on the back of the menu and there was a Tuesday promotion so it was only five dollars for the normal pepperoni and I had a pretty nice Loquardo de Freisa with it. I had been toying with getting a large pizza but maybe that worked out for the best because you know that's what the promotion was on.

That was pretty nice. They gave me some hot sauce to put on it. Very tiny quantities because it was very hot tonight. Unlike, yes, last night when they gave me some powdered dried chilli.

So after that it was dark and I went for a bit of a wander. I should say I was wearing the fleece and I was glad of it but I don't think it's as cold tonight as it was last night and the breeze isn't generally up quite as much. It was borderline pleasant although a little bit still sort of desolate in a not too unpleasant way in some of the streets.

I walked past the small pupuseria and I thought oh I am tempted and it's like no I won't and then I walked a bit further down the street it's like sodd it I'll go back I'm feeling slightly melancholy not in a bad way as such because it's my last night here this is probably the first place I've been on the trip that I will not very likely be returning to especially not at night and it is quite nice here in a way anyway just to get the mood across and I thought what the hell I will and maybe I also thought to myself well I was going to have a large pizza and I just had the normal. I've got a photo of it albeit from a distance, but I think it was Pupuseria Rosa.

So I talked to the woman who was sort of frying, I don't know what you call it, anyway, the pupusas on the griddle that was sort of outside the front and I didn't quite catch what she said about the price and I said to repeat it and she said oh two then and it's like so I thought what the hell I'll go and sat away and sat down and I sat there while she cooked them and I was reading on my phone but I had a little bit of a look and sneaked some photos and they were not not too bad at all I had the jalapeno maybe I should have had something like chicharon they weren't super flavorsome but they were nice enough and it was only two dollars 25 with a 750ml bottle of water which I got because I thought that I can bring it back to the hotel and it'll save me buying something in a shop so that was pretty good value.

After that I went for a bit more of a wonder, I was toying with going back to gecko for another coffee but it seemed a bit repetitive and although it's probably a bit irrational I can't help continually doing things like comparing the fact that I paid $2.25 for pupusas and water and then I go and blow $2.50 or $2 or whatever on a coffee but I'm trying to avoid thinking too much like that I'm not saying it's completely irrational.

As I was wandering around the main square, I happened to see a couple who had some take-away coffee cups and I thought, oh well that's a good idea, so there was a coffee stall on one corner of the square and I went over there and they were very nice and it was a bit more expensive than I'd have hoped, but I paid two dollars for a cafe con leche and the guy sort of made it at the stall while I was watching, I think it was basically a cafetiere job and he gave me that in a cup and with a little tissue around it to keep the heat off a little bit instead of a cardboard sleeve and she will be loved by Maroon 5 was playing on a tinny speaker next door and that reminded me of actually seeing them live and just vaguely nostalgic, for want of a better word.

So I went and sat in the square and wandered around a little bit and although the coffee was too hot There was that sort of comforting warmth of the coffee in my hands because it was just Kind of pleasant, but just borderline cold, but as I say without too much breeze So that actually felt quite nice and I don't know if it's because it was warmer or because it's Tuesday rather than Monday But there were a few like very young kids with their parents playing on the small play park in there and a few unobtrusive Generally teenagers hanging around and a few older people. It was by no means round But it was like there were quite a lot of people around and it it really felt quite nice And you know the way the trees in the square were lit up and the flowers and stuff really was quite nice So I sat there. I didn't actually milk it too much. I got it just about right You know at one point I sat and there was some radio or some music kind of stereo system from a cafe across the road Playing it's far from busy tonight. But you know, I think maybe it's the way that I put it felt a lot livelier in a quiet kind of way. So in a quite kind of way that was all actually really vaguely pleasant, just that tiny touch of melancholy but generally it was like no it's nice to be here and I was I think mostly appreciating it and so on and yeah that might be a nice little memory.

Anyway so then I came back to the hostel and I'm here now the owner was coming in and he let me in we didn't really talk I saw both the dogs briefly at the top of the stairs and now I'm back in my room I'll probably have a hot shower because I can I won't stay up super late but we'll see what happens.

It's not ideal to be in dorm at the place for the next two or maybe three nights but it is a lot cheaper it might sort of be friendlier it's not a big deal especially if I can get a lower bunk and I did look at private rooms but private rooms generally did seem to be pretty expensive at least what was available with one night's notice maybe booking earlier would have been better in that sense but unlike some other places I've been where a private room hasn't seemed to be that expensive while certainly affordable booking for tomorrow night in way it was looking like maybe three times four times the price of a dorm bed rather than just twice and it's like I do like to sort of alternate a little bit and I think I've got plenty of clean clothes and yeah anyway it is what it is that's maybe another reason for just booking two nights because if for some reason it is bad I've not over committed as I said earlier.

2112 ok, just wast today's top (craft blue) in sink and I might re-wear the uw tomorrow, which is probably not oo bad and that would see me (the red ss top has had minimal wear, just to the pool and back today really) with four sets of clean clothes (when I say that I mean everything but trousers of course, since I only have two pairs) in hand. And depending on how the seven falls hike goes if I do it, I might then splurge if not over expensive on proper laundry after that, although maybe the seven falls hike isn't as dirty as I half worry it might be.

(The craft top will likely be mostly dry tomorrow, but uw takes longer, the ones I wanted yesterday are still borderline damp, so I don't want to do an uw wash tonight.)

2137 had hot shower and shave. Bathroom (and indeed main room) a bit dingy with no daylight but sure it is okish.

2235 just watched a yt video -perhaps the first since start of trip. Am feeling slightly tired and it probably makes sense to go to bee, enjoy the privacy and hopefully be up earlyish.

Santa Ana-Ataco

Mon 2nd 1101 on bus to Ahuachapan. Sitting next to enormously fat local woman who is using 3/4 of the bench but by bag is on the overhead rack so not too bad. 0.50 for the ticket. I bought a can of drink at ahop by hostel to get some change. I cannot fucking tell the silver US coins apart, had to hand over a dollar coin despite knowing I had two quarters but was peering old manishly at them while cobsuxtir waiting patiently and I gave up.

1217 OK bit confused in Ahuachapan but a quick web search sorted me out. Sitting on mid size bus having paid 0.40 to go to Stack.

Got myself a single seat, albeit with bag between legs. Only about 6km but perhaps a Windy road?

1221 we seem to be off.

1450 been wandering since got here maybe 1250? Was dozing on the bus for some reason and trying to fight it. just met lukas (who I had been calling Lewis) and a spanish guy he had come over from juyua with and may meet up with them once I check in. Waiting outside accom now. Went up to mirador la cruz (it isn't that high a walk) with main bag and been wandering round town, oh and I had a fairly decent meal for usd3 in Kelita's as well. The place is beautiful but loads of touristy kind of slightly fancy restaurants and it feels a bit dull, albeit I need to remember this is a base not somewhere I came just for itself and tomorrow I will likely go to a neighbouring town or two.

1731 OK, at Rinkon Pizza getting a normal pepperoni pizza and a white coffee, 7 and 1.5 respectively. But expensive but weather is cool hee and pizza feels nice idea. I magpies only meet up with Lukas later at a night market in another town if they are going, but they have gone back to Juayua for now. We met up at a coffee type farm outside town but we just missed the last tour, so we walked eound a bit and they bought some souvenirs and it was quietly quite nice and friendly.

Went back to hostel and put fleece on when they left.

Have upped transformer strength to 7.1 FWIW.

1812 Back at hostel or whatever it is. Pizza was pretty good and went down very easily, I expected to struggle a bit. Usd 8.50. I am not stopping in all night on offchance of nessags about night market but I left the a06 charging here while had pizza and it is my wa phone so wanted to come back and get it. I will probably clean my teeth and go out for a wander. It is a bit nippy out. I am not too fusses about the night market per se but although a bit of FAFF/expense to go (esp as I may have to get an Uber back as the buses apparently don't run that late) it might be cool and it is a chance to hang out with other people (those two and maybe others) and it isn't as if I have other major plans for tonight so I should take advantage if it comes up.

Realised today and also talked to those two guys who are doing it tomorrow and the 7 waterfalls hike is very wet, you need proper shoes not flip flops as it is a hike and there might be a rope climb at one point (!). The hostel in Juayua organises a tour and I may well do it anyway but it is effectively going to probably force a wash of whatever trousers I wear and I would have wet shoes for a bit unless I was able to get put them in the sun and wear my flip flops temporarily round hostel, which might work. You can hike it yourself but according to Lukas you can't get up to the last waterfall so easily or at all without a tour as you need a rope. No urgency to decide on this, just making some notes.

It is reasonably warm in the room (which is ensuite btw) and if the water doesn't run out a hot shower later would be nice. I plan to wash some clothes but since I want to waah the ones I am wearing today I think I would force myself to do it when I get back later (which isnt likely to be super late even if the night market trip happens) rather than changing clothes now and washing now. Though I suppose I could do that.

1846 shower would not go hot at first and I got in it cold and was rewarded by it turning hot on me. I must admit it was very nice. Taking advantage of hot water to have long shower and cut fingernails.

1947 cut fingernails, washed 2 tops and 2 sets uw. It feels way later than it really is. Nothing from Lukas yet, I haven't been waiting in for this anyway, I really have nothing specific to do tonight here and it might be nice to enjoy having a private room but I think I will get dressed in clean set of clothes and go out for a bit of a walk and see if anything interesting is happening, if I can stomach the prices I may get a coffee or something. I honestly don't know how I'd feel about going to another town on bus or even by Uber at this time anyway but maybe it is going to be irrelevant. So let's go out and see what the town is like at night anyway. I am toppinf up the powerbank btw, it wasn't absolutely essential but it did ease the situation in the form with no handy socket and no desire to risk both phones in bed with me and that potential fall, so it is nice to see it get some real use to justify being carried around all the time.

2050 just got back. Pretty quiet out, air very cool, not unpleasant as such but also not super nice. A handful of people on streets, one place was pretty busy and another moderately so but in general pretty quiet. Yes it is Monday but tourists don't care do they?! I had a cortadito at cafe San Leonardo (which shuts at 9 and I was there 2030ish) which was OK, guy gave me change as if it was 4 but I had seen it was 2 50 and I queryed it politely and he checked menu and gave me correct change  similar thing happened with Michelada at downtown last night. Maybe an accident, maybe not.

I tripped and fell on an uneven pavement on way back, not looked at knees yet but left knee feels a bit tingly-scraped even now luckily my (grey) trousers don't appear to have torn.

Not related to fall but it is a shame the a06 has no compass as it makes navigation annoying. But then the p7 compass is not super reliable and in general I never seem to have much luck with phone compasses.

I need to do some research on what to do tomorrow. I do love the on screen keyboards, they've ao so good, nothing ever autocorrectw to stupid non words, ffs. I could actually set up the BT keyboard in this room if I wanted but not sure I have that much to write.

P7 says altitude here is about 1200m which ofbcourse goes a long way to explaining the temperature, albeit it was cold in santa ana yesterday too, but probably not quite as cold as here, though maybe not that different.

.
Just roled up trousera. Right knee is ok but left knee has a lovely bloody scrape. And this hostel is fucking anal as hell about rules, there is a great big pedantic list of shit on wall about damaging stuff, blocking toilets, staining things. So fuck knows if I am gonna get shafted by this. They even sayvif you check out late it is ten dollars an hour. Ffs.

Seen one other guest btw, no one on terrace ant time I have been in or out except owner and dogs. Not very licely. Not a problem. Yes, likely is a real word and no why would that autocorrect to lively?

Have photos but tobwrite it down there are lots of tiny cars (Mitsubishi qute??) Here which seem to operqte as taxis. Yes operqte is a perfectly cromulent word.

2148 yay bloodstains on towel (which fingers crossed I have removed) and fuck knows how. Tried to remove bloodstains from inside of trousers. Had a poke on web and talked to llm about nearby options for tonorrow. Gut feeling is I am going to skip the thermal baths at Ahuachapan because they are priceyish and there's be loads of UV exposure concerns if (as I would likely want to after paying 15ish dollars to get in) ivstayed a long time  other options probably also have UV risk but also nowhere to stash my clothes safely. I may go for a brief coldish plunge at the nearby pools here and leave all my stuff at the hotel.  I think the main activity tomorrow will be stuff like the rainbow slide and maybe a bit of hiking or something in Apaneca. Then probably Juayua after for two nights and just possibly more depending on hostel and how things are going and doing the other towns as day trips from there.

FWIW this hotel even says it will fine you 5 dollars if you leave your room lights on when you go out. The room is actually probably the nicest so far and the hot water is a real plus but this ultra-arsey tone doesn't help. And I needed some help opening the door to the corridor all the rooms are off earlier and tbh the owner was a bit brusque about it, despite all the reviews saying how super friendly he is. He was ok with me earlier and he wasn't exactly rude but it wasn't all that comfortable either.

2159 accuweather says about 13c now btw  tomorrow morning we are looking at about 15-17c and up to about 10am the UV is building towards 5. I am leaning towards (and yes it will be cold) going out in swimming gear without flops and shirt sleeve t shirt and trogging down to the nearby cold water pool at atzumpa in the morning. Maybe tbh I should at least wear trousers and a long top and take the serious but not utterly trip destroying risk of having those stolen while I am in the water - I might wear flip floos though. I am not going to want to do this in the morning. I could try for evening but it shuts at 4pm and I would then need to be rushing back from next town (and this is one reason I didn't try to squeeze it in today after checking at 3, even had I not met Lukas). I might in any case go to bed shortly, I am mildly tired, and then maybe I will be up earlyish naturally. This swin/water thing is (albeit a bit type 2 fun?) Something I can do *because* I can now swim, ie taking advantage of that, not really something I am doing to try to maintain my swimming while away, given how little time I am actually likely to spend in the water.

Something thermal would be nice but it needs to hit the sweet spot on price, security of belonging, suitability for a briefish early morning or late afternoon visit and I am not sure the stuff here does. And while it would be nice I am not desperate, I have done hot spring type stuff before (eg in costa Rica in that tour iirc) and there may be other stuff elsewhere.

I am yawning so should probably take advantage. Go to bed soonish after doing teeth and maybe wrapping knee in my own towel to reduce sheet stain risk. I have put a plaster on it but the flexing of the knee means it keeps coming loose.  The actual scrape is not that bad so it may well have scabbed up already or soon but don't want to take risks with sheets.

2219 ok done teeth, let's send this and go to bed.

2257 ok got sidetracked but we are maybe going to bed shortly.

2309 surely bed at last?!

San Salvador Thu-Sat and San Salvador-Santa Ana

Thu 29th 2235 I thought I heard the owner come in and speak in English to people in other room, so maybe they aren't local and the Spanish voice I heard having an emotional sounding phone call was on TV or from another nearby flat. My door was shut and I didn't go out but I did pop out just now and he has put the washing machine (a top loader) on and my bag of clothes has moved so he seems to be doing that which is good and nice of him. I asked him not to machine dry mine and checked the wash would be cold water given all the synthetics, fingers crossed.

2240 have uploaded some more photos to home server, touch wood my current system of doing this and copying stuff to usb stick is working well and not proving too difficult to keep up with.

Will probably do Duolingo and go to bed.

2251 ffs, bed.

0622 slept really badly. FWIW owner came round about midnight and told me my clothes were in the washer (he had presumably taken the others out) and I thanked him and hung then up.

I don't j ow why I slept badly given how semi comfortable and half dozing and "maybe I should just go to bed" I was reading on the bed earlier. Not super excited about event tbh, but then it is early and the logistics of eating and shaving and getting an uber and doing whatever queueing up chores are required to get in are depressing.

Sun 1136 Just pulling out on tudo bus but 1.60 not 2 so may be slow from terminal occidente in SS. Have a bed at same hostel in SA tonight and going to ask them about conditions at volcano etc and if things sound OK and I can get a bed tomorrow night as well I will probably try to do the volcano tomorrow, otherwise push straight on to rural de las flores.

Yesterday at lunch - and I can't really blame anyone for this - I was scuttling across road and my left shoe toe caught in a sort of crevice of some kind. I didn't get hurt but the thinner leather near the toe cap tore. Pretty annoyed esp so early in trip. It didn't get  worse during the day and last night I managed to stitch it up badly. I don't think it is load bearing so fingers crossed it will be ok. It looks a tiny bit tasty but not that bad. I really don't want to have to toss these nearly new shoes and buy another pair if I can help it. I don't really blame the shoes either, I think it was a very unlucky acrape type contact on a surface which would rarely get it.

Woke up 7ish but was sort of lazing around in private room a lot and left more or less bang on checkout time at 11. Left keys on table as discussed. I had a (cold of course) shower this morning and an wearing same clothes inc uw as yesterday.

Walked over to terminal. Last two days have been Uber-tastic but back to normal now I hope.

1310 Grinding through centre of SA, much quicker trip than I expected. Aircon is so good I am a bit cold.

1313 fuck. Bus didn't really stop in town and seemed to be about to head out to the tudo terminal right outside but I plucked up courage and asked the driver to let me off. So I should really have done that earlier but I was just assuming there would be a stop or two in town. Maybe I half slept through some. Anyway, I am slightly further from hostel than would strictly be necessary but not by much.

1344 just checking in. Can only get an upper bunk but not end of world. Volcano peak is closed today due to high winds, Douglas advised to try again in about a week rather than tomorrow, so I have just booked for the one night here and will start on ruta de las Flores tomorrow. This is both a shame and a minor relief, although I suspect the volcano is not an amazingly strenuous hike (we are not talking that one in panama in 2024 etc) but it does still involve early morning buses and vague concerns about getting there on time and whether or not I can get a place on a guides tour or whatever you need etc.

I am half wondering tbh if I should have just pushed on from here today. But I have no clue about ruta de las Flores at this point and I need to so some minimal research and probably ask here for more advice etc and I can hang around here and eat something in town and do that minimal planning etc. And modulo the upper bunk, this is a nice enough hostel and I am not in a mega rush. I may also manage to have a quiet chat with people tonight if lucky etc.

I had been thinking I would swim at sihuatehuacan today but I realised while walking over to terminal it is a sunday and this potentially very busy. That might be semi nice/fun but given I have to just leave my bag sitting around loose unless (and this isn't a free place so who knows) I can ask a stall owner to guard it, it feels like the quieter the better in terms of this risk. And obviously since my primary goal is to swim lengths of some sort not just splash around, the fewer people the better there too.

If my beers are still in the fridge I may drink them later, given not staying to do volcano tonight.

1413 not great, top bunk in six? Bed dorm off another 6 bed dorm and no power socket really accessible by bed, not even really due to anyone else obviously hogging sockets. I will just use my power bank, not a huge seal. And it is upstairs so at least I have seen up there now.

And my beers are still in the fridge...

Down on terrace. Let's do a bit of poking at ruta.

1455 OK. Frankly a bit confused but have booked a double with shared or maybe private bathroom for two nights in concepcion de atajo for tomorrow. I am not sure there were any formal options on booking. I may well do two nights in juayua in a dorm but we will see. Juayua feels a bit more activiryish and tbh even though I sort of haven't done much lately I perhaps feel atajo is the best start. Anyway, it is booked. Let us go out and see about food or snacks or something. There is a slim chance I will go swim at 8am but tbh if I am getting up early it just might be better to use the time in atajo, albeit I am far from clear I could drop my bag off early (checkin at 3). But let's just go out for food etc.

1705 had a wander round, has some fried chicken and chips in street from a Pinulito to top up the pupusas. Back at hostel. Got powerbank from bed and am topping up p7 as I sit in courtyard. Vague bnm and adjacent thoughts been plaguing me somewhat but not necessarily meaning anything.

FWIW went back to embassy meetup last night (and met Marcel and another German guy and ended up going back to event to meet them) and was talking with Juan P and he had been heavily involved in the founding of Casa Satoshi back in 2022? and it was apparently really btcish at the time and that faded, in large part because with change of govt a few years later a different cartel affiliated got into power and started shaking people down and so a lot of the smaller BTC accepting businesses closed down. And he said that sticker all over the place which iirc I was told was an annoying guest was actually just some guys who had had stickers made up of themselves and stuck them all over the place and that stories had just grown up around it. I dont think even Juan had ever met the guy whose face was still all over Satoshi even as late as last year, he said people called the guy on the stickers Pepito or something (I am not likely remembering the actual name correctly).

1714 ok just asked Douglas and there Is no direct bus to Ataco (rome2rio suggests there is but nothing else has said this) and I need to go to terminal Francisco Lara Pena which on looking is basically the terminal I have been thinking of as terminal occidente (but it seems from Google maps the "back" bit of the station has a separate name, unless I am confused - but at least it is the station I thought it was)

Druing my walk I came across what looked like a square on the map opposite casa del niño (which I had gone to see on a whim after it was listed as a notable building on sign in main square - I did pop into the cathedral earlier btw) but which actually seems to be a sort of weird pseudo-shantytown of corrugated metal and lots of exceedingly local and slightly intinidating bars and a few food stalls. I walked through and as this is ES I didn't overly worry about it but I didn't think about staying to eat to drink, not that iirx I particularly wanted to do either at this point anyway.

1857 wearing fleece outside. Feeling a bit bnm though TBF it isn't obvious moat other people are chatting to people they don't already know. Mitch turned up earlier and we chatted a bit, and I got the photos of me and him on that green car the night out with Stefano.

Having second beer. Time hangs just a smudge heavy, albeit not in a terrible way. Push comes to absolute shove I could go to bed 9ish.

I think other people including a guy who might be one of the owners are going round saying it is cold. Not like home cold, but not super comfortable to be outside in a thin top cold. So it isn't just me coming down with something.

Accuweathee says it is 19c and feels 17c. Maybe I have acclimatised, it feels colder than 19 but maybe that isnt so implausible. It also says it will be 15c by 2200.

I am half tempted to go for a walk but I dunno. I have eaten more than amply if not necessarily healthily.

Everyone incl me of course is fiddling with their phones. I am yawning a bit FWIW. I didn't get insane amount of sleep last night but I also hardly forced myself up early despite a relatively early pseudo-awakening.

I have a mildly mad urge to go and have a beer in some random local bar, e.g. the very slightly odd one across the road, but I am really not in the mood at the same time, I don't feel craving for chat etc despite vague bnm feeling even if I might get it, and while tomorrow does not have to be an early start (I am not swimming, it would probably be a bitbsucky in terms of getting up in dorm and having wet swimming stuff for onwwrd trip etc, but also if it is relatively cold at night I suspect the water might be pretty damn chilly tomorrow).

I should probably try to put phone sway just in case anyone takes that as sifnal to openness for a casual chat but tbh it doesn't feel like anyone else is really chatting with strangers anyway. Odd in some ways as the hostel may actually be full, there was some minor difficulty in finding me a bed.

Mon 0950 i did go over to taverna el chino and it was fine, not v friendly but I put a message on hostel wa group and a french Canadian woman (alexandra) came over and we had a chat and subsequently joined a small group (owner kuki (sp) and two of his friends Alex and aargh it's gone) and went to nearly deserted chicken bus (Alex gave me a keyring) and went with another guy over to downtown bar where we met Alexey. Not a bad night if a bit weird at points. Kuki and Alexandra and me left together the not sure at what time, maybe 2ish?

Slept ok if not great. It was pretty chilly outdoors last night but fine in bed. I have had a shower and put "second use" clothes on - I think the ones from first day of event - and tbh I should probably be moving out as checkout is 11 anyway and even if I cannot check into new accom early or drop bag off I can still see the town a bit with my bag and it allows more time for problems etc. Mitch wasnt out last night and not seen him today, did say hi to Alexandra this morning but we haven't chatted. She gave me some good tips about hostel at coatepeque incidentally.

I am going to post this now I think to try to avoid entries getting long and multi day.

FWIW I did if didn't already note exchange the odd "bathroom is free" chat with a probably local and definitely spanish speaking guy one night in san Salvador flat. Maybe there were different guests in other room during my stay.

San Salvador to Santa Ana and back

Mon 0831 in bed, didn't sleep too badly overall, got this vague kind of, oh no, I don't want to deal with all the crap today feeling, I think I've just maybe got this idea that the bus service here is going to be strangely awful even though I kind of know there's supposedly like an air-conditioned bus and there's a bus terminal and I think I've just kind of formed this slightly strange impression that everything is absolutely chaotic and unmanageable from talking to Juan the other day.

I think I've also got this vague idea that I'm going to feel really kind of pressured in Santa Ana, which I need to fight against, is that I've just got visions of either not being able to do stuff or like having to get up at seven in the morning to go on some trip to the lake or the volcano and it's it's fine right it should be fine but it just all feels a little bit strenuous or empty but anyway it's fine I think the thing you just take today as it comes get over there hopefully get settled in at the hostel have something to eat maybe have a few beers maybe chat with someone maybe not absolutely fine don't worry about what I'm going to do tomorrow specifically it should all be fine I think it's about an hour or two on the bus it depends whether you get the fast ones or the slow ones but it really ought to be fine I don't really know when the bus goes but I'm vaguely intending to get up nine-ish pack slowly and then perhaps head out 10 maybe walk over to the bus terminal but we'll see what happens

I do feel a bit bad about this very waffly, crappy voice typing blog, but I think the main thing, as I've said before, is to get stuff down and capture what's happening and what I'm thinking, without worrying too much about it, even if it's not going to be as nice to read in the future. I maybe should make a bit more of an effort at points to type stuff up using the on-screen keyboard, or circumstances for getting that bluetooth keyboard out, but this is better than nothing, and I think what with being in a dorm when I'm there, I maybe do a bit of typing on the on-screen keyboard, or maybe get the keyboard out, because there might be some common area I'll want to sit in. Anyway, we'll see what happens. While it's easy to make excuses, it does feel like the last few days I haven't actually been hanging around at the hotel very much, so I haven't had that much chance to really write things up calmly and without wanting to go to bed or something. But I mean, it's probably going to continue like that, with any luck it almost will, because it's nice if I'm busy and doing stuff, but maybe there'll just be a natural point where I'll be sitting around for an hour or two and it's quite nice to actually write. Just to be clear, there's no chair in the room so it probably wouldn't be great using the Bluetooth keyboard here. I'm sure I could probably have sat somewhere out in the lobby or something and done it there. I mean it would feel a tiny bit weird but the primary reason I haven't even thought about that is just that I've been generally out or going out or whatever.

Tue 0936 OK, so didn't get a chance to write this up yesterday. On the whole things going surprisingly well with some ups and downs.

I only got up about 15 mins ago but had been semi awake in dorm (which incidentally I only realises this morning is huge considering it has two bunk beds in). I am feeling some self generated pressure/guilt to do stuff/about being lazy but TBH I am probably not going to force myself and also to some extent despite the bigger ticket stuff here (the volcano, Coatepeque lake, both of which probably involve getting out earlier than I have) there are actually loads of free or cheap swimming options here and given the guilt/desire I have to try to swim albeit tempered by general open air pool sun exposure concerns, I am probably going to go for a slog up the other hill during the day and then try to swim 3-4pmish and that will be a reasonably "productive" day of touristing. I can then maybe see about eg the volcano tomorrow and if not I am almost certainly coming back here soon after the event this weekend for ruta de las Flores etc.

So yesterday I walked over to the bus terminal (occidente) about 45-50 mins, it was warm but not insane and it's exercise and also makes me more familiar with the city and the terminal (and I am fairly likely to be passing through both on and off). Almost hidden by a load of small restaurant type stalls out front which tbh were tempting (but also very hot with all the stoves) but I wandered through. It wasn't super clear where/how/which buses to santa ana might have been fast/aircon, there was one enquiry desk but it had a specific company name on so I wasn't sure about asking them. Long story short I nearly went to ask the driver of one fancyish coach but the door shut as I was edging down there, and I saw a lot of locals lining up to get on a somewhat beaten up coach (but not an ex-us schoolbus) which said santa Ana so I got on that and paid a dollar.

And it was fine  no aircon but windows open. Hardly anyone on it. Stopped a few times but not constantly. Maybe an hour and a half or so for the trip and most of that was probably edging through traffic in the suburbs of both cities. And the warmth was oddly pleasant and cosy not sweaty, a bit like being in bed, and I did also find myself wanting to nod off.

Walked over to hostel and checked in no problem, very friendly guy on reception, got lower bunk, no other guests around. They have some suggested activities here and I decided to go have a look at some of the pools on Organic Maps and walk up to cerro tecano for the view. Hostel hires scooters and is maybe a bit oriented around that, they say this is a 25 min walk but no way is it, to jump ahead I reckon it took me about 50 to walk back *from the bottom of the trail*.

So I spoke to a guy at one pool/sports place, it is usd 3 and there are no lockers and it is open air. However I think I did see this pool from the top of the hill and it looks kind of nice and a bit in a valley and shaded.

I also wandered over to another nearby pool or maybe the same one, it isn't super clear, but similar story though didn't speak to anyone. There is also a completely free pool and I have a vague notion of walking over there today to check it out (but not swim during the day) - it may also be worth paying for the other one as it may be quieter.

I then started (and tbh I was starting to feel a bit down and whining to myself) to look for the route up cerro tecano which looked like - and indeed is - on the far side and rather hard to get to, but I had hoped there was a route up the near side so went over there for a look, and called in at a slightly weird supermarket and got some elotitos con chile and a bottle of water and a small packet of takis fuego (first of the trip) and ate them as I had effectively ruled myself out of eating lunch in town by this point. (This is also one reason I kind if want to maybe not go nuts today on tourism and I may depending how time etc goes not do some of the planned stuff. I haven't gone insane on doing stuff but yesterday was mildly strenuous and a quietish day wouldn't hurt too much.) I got some mildly helpful directions (but not very) from woman on checkout.

Anyway, I guzzled the snack and navigated through the mildly dog-ridden and slightly rural streets (distinctly different feel to the city proper, chickens running round) up to the trail and then went up.

Supermarjets here just give you carrier bags BTW. No charge, no fuss. It is great. Towards the top of the trail the carrier bag I stupidly had in my hand instead of putting it in my daylack got caught on a bush and tore and I was surprisingly gutted at having it ruined.

Anyway, the walk up was quite nice and I had it to myself, though there were other people (locals I think) at the top and I met others coming up as I was going down. The guy at hostel desk had said it was good for sunset and maybe it is (eg those people going up as I came down) but TBH even with my timing I felt I was cutting it fine bearing in mind I was walking the whole way and the somewhat dog-infested nature of the rural streets. View from top was pretty cool. Despite the lock teenish crowd sitting up on the base of the cross and in part because of watching some go up,  I went up there myself - the climb is not hard (but I was worrying about coming back down) but I was still pleased with myself for doing it  and it did feel just a tiny bit semi-pleasurably dangerous up there, the idea of going over the sharply inclined and irregular edges felt very real and I was super cautious with my phone and zipping it back into my pocket after taking photos etc.

I did try to be a little meditative and appreciate the moment etc when I was up there, especially when not on the town side and below the cross where I had the space to myself.

I was a bit low on water but was just about OK.

So I slogged back to hostel as it was getting dark. I was feeling a bit BNM (and all this in a somewhat irrational way, given how well things has been going socially over last few days and that I had hardly been at hostel long etc, so a bit of fortune telling and general self-inflicted mental shit and assumptions and stuff here). I has a shower and shaved and was heading out for food when a guy at the desk called out to me and it was Cassiano from the meetup. We chatted a bit (me feeling a bit awkward and loserish for no massively clear reason) and I went out for food. And despite the streets all having been rammed with market stalls etc earlier it was a massive transformation at about 7pm at night, the city felt dead.

I think I was mildly in need of food (albeit not that hungry and I had eaten that junk) and maybe it was affecting my mental state. I went down one street and a couple of bloody dogs started barking at me (and this is in the centre more or less) and I turned round and that was perhaps a good idea and they sort of tried to get round me a bit. An old woman called "vaya" and showed them off but they kept coming round a bit so I just kept walking back the way i'd come and they did leave me alone but I was a bit pissed off and mildly shaken. Don't expect this in a city at 7pm.

As is always the way, I couldnt find anywhere acceptable to eat because I was desperate - after I saw loads, of course. I nearly went into KFC - well, I did - but I wasn't going to pay USD 6-7 for a basic meal. I finally grabbed a breast and a leg and a huge bottle of Pepsi (50 cents for 355ml or a dollar for 1.25 litre, so I couldn't resist the larger) but had to eat it rather furtively and awkwardly in the street and it was so hot it was a struggle but it did help mental state I think.

This was right by main square so I sat there for a bit finishing my Pepsi and then went back to hostel. I asked if I could buy a beer but they don't sell it but recommended a supermarket two blocks away. Went there - actually the nicest big supermarket I have been in yet - and got three cans of Carta Blanca for 1.40 each and brought them back to hostel. I was a bit awkward and sat to one side of a group chatting (which was perhaps a bit weak given Cassiano was there - he invited me to join then just after) and did get chatting with people. All very amicable really and we ended up going to a surprisingly nice bar (La Berga I think) where I ended up chatting to some other people who had joined us English route. Spoke to Canadian woman and her possibly Dutch travel buddy and they were both very bullish on Nicaragua and also confirmed the existence of the boat (Dutch woman had apparently been exchanging WAs with captain) so while I am maybe not rushing over there ASAP and we will see if el Salvador has too many attractions for me to go, I am quitely likely to still head over there post ruta de las Flores.

Got back about midnight-1 and cleaned teeth and slept broadly fine I think. Not really hungover this morning but I really didn't feel like (as had been a vague plan) getting up 7ish to try to go swim at one of the pools 8ish. It isn't as if I an a morning person in general, despite not being really hungover it isn't as if diet or rest yesterday had been amazing etc. I also vaguely guilty wondered if I should go do the daily walking tour at 930 but TBH I don't massively fancy it and it is definitely not a must do.

So I am sitting here on terrace feeling slightly bnm but most of the people from last night are sitting around (but it is a bit more sub-groupy than last night, slightly, and also most are talking Spanish and while they may be over-confident or I am over-modest, I suspect they are at a somewhat higher level than I am - there is also an Argentinian guy here who I spoke to a bit last night who clearly doesn't rate my Spanish at all, in a way I find a bit at odds with eg my successful discussions at the meetup the other night, so it might not be entirely welcome in language grounds alone if I forced my way in, and except for the bnm feeling I actually want to just ait here and write this and decide what to do and be vaguely chilled, I just wish I felt a bit less bnm about it. Have exchanged brief words with Cassiano and Mifch fwiw.)

It is also vaguely somehow reassuring that these people *are* sitting around in the hostel at this time in the morning and are not all off on activities. Albeit I think most of then have already done the volcano.

There is no water so the bathrooms (ie toilets) can't be used. Sign say this is a city thing not just here so I genuinely don't know if I am going to be unable to have a piss or a shit for ages. I am not desperate just now but this isn't ideal of course. Hostel does coffee (not super cheap but not terrible - 1.5ish) and I was and am vaguely tempted but what has decided me against it is that I dont want to encourage my bowels to start moving when there are no toilets.

I am feeling a mix of pleasantly relaxed and also pressured about wasting time and wishing I had a longer/indefinite trip etc.

Fwiw I have not actually spoken any Spanish with the people at the hostel (except the guy when I checked in), for context on the whether they are too high a level to want to put up with my Spanish etc stuff above.

1652 back at hostel with a 900ml whole milk which I am drinking cold. It is uht from the taste but still nice. Abortive effort at going swimming, both sihuatehuacan (sp) and nearby sapopa (def sp)  close 4pm and 430 respectively and I turned up at sih a few mins before 4. Ffs. Swimming has been vaguely looming all day (I cannot swim too early cos of uv) and then I fucked it up. Could have gone at 3 if I'd only known/remembered, especially as has been fairly cloud today so hopefully less uv. I had no phone with me when I got to pools and couldn't swim as there is afaik no locker so had left it back at hostel so I couldn't check the location of the free and probably 24h pool on calle china to fall back on, I did make a foray up some street with a vague hope of ibtersecting called china but that turned into a dead end and I gave up.

Still no water at hostel which is mildly concerning (we can't use the toilets, we have drinking water). I did on advice of guy at desk trog over to Metrocentro Santa Ana (2km each way) as they were bound to have water and I has a dump there. After that I got a nice but bit pricey usd 1.50 fresh orange juice squeezed in front of me (from green skin oranges, and with sugar added - they asked and I said yes)  and served in a plastic bag with ice and a straw and I went to cafe Manhattan for a couple of pupusas.

This morning I walked up the hill at the west side of town which is much closer to hostel (albeit vaguely edgy about whether I'd need toilet) and that was pretty cool. At the top I was trying to see if you could get higher up and was walking down road towards which might have been the observation tower when a guy in apickup offered me a ride in the back and after some confusion (my Spanish was really bad here for whatever reason, maybe he had a strong accent or I was edgy) I got in and from watching map on phone as I bumped (mostly standing after initial sit on tailgate - there was a sort of cage) along I realised we were going past where the lookout might have been and in the end after stopping for him to probably get some snacks (maybe his own home? Far from ckear - some kids came out and maybe money changed hands) where I gobout and thanked him and said I could walk he said he was going in so I got back on  we picked up two young boys who I said hi to but was a bit shy with in retrospect but they did talk to me one or twice though I was really struggling with Spanish, maybe due to wondering where the hell id end up, but the map suggested the road looped round down to a sort of highway and it ildid and I got out there and ahook everyone's hand and offer him money for petrol which he declined (not sure if I should've done this but have read about this as hitchhiking etiquette and this felt like it slightly overlapped)  I got out and waved goodbye. And I then ended up walking 3km along the main road back into town, but it was kind of a cool experience anyway and probably worth it.

I really don't know what to do tonight or tomorrow. I vaguely feel I ought to do volcano or the crater lake swim but I have an idea the volcano is half closed and getting up for 7am bus or whatever sounds a bit miserable and I could maybe do it another time when it may be fully open. And the crater lake sounds cool but it is another bus job and there is the swimming angle of awkwardness with clothes and storage and stuff and open air swimming with strong uv and tbh it might be as well just to have a swim here early (8am) and then fins something else to do with the rest of the day or putter around a bit.

Honestly it is somehow not that big a deal but at the same time not being able to go to the toilet in the hostel or possibly anywhere nearby is a serious pisser, no pun intended.

1845 went out for walk with Cassiano and a German guy (Lewis?) And we got some 3 for USD1 plus and had them back at hostel. Maybe some sort of Spanish class at 7, free? Probably very basic but wth.

I asked if anywhere nearby has toilets and was told we can use toilets here with some water bottles to fill cistern, so that is a load off (pun not intended but I will go with it).

Also asked and volcano is partially closed due to weather and going next week would likely be better. Also wrt coatepeque lake Cassiano says it is good and showed us cideo, I spike to hostel chap who said (as Lewis had) there is a hostel there and it is not insanely expensive, especially for being on the lake. So while it maybe slightly time wasting, by current feeling is to try to swim tonorrow early 8am putter around rest of day, go back to ss on Thursday then come back here (barring very pressing conference neetups urging me to go elsewhere), perhaps put in two nights and do the volcano, then do ruta de las Flores and probably come back here and make a side trip to the hostel by the lake then - that being less time critical that ruta de las Flores, and I can book in advance, and then I can swim there without stress about getting restaurant to look after my stuff etc etc.

Typing all this with on-screen keyboard as no privacy to dictate and its all quite piecemeal so I don't want to go get the by keyboard.

Wed 1759 at cafe Manhattan for dinner. So we had the spanish class at 7ish, with alcoholic refreshnent thrown in, then we went to the Chicken Bus Bar (owned by hostel) and had a free drink and some beers and I got chatting to various people there and ended up going on to a sort of club and then (this apparently being the done thing) at about 2 we got some ubers and went to a gas station (my group went to the wrong one first) getting some beers en route and sat outside.

I didn't actually drink an insane amount given the length of time but I got home about 430 or maybe closer to 5. I was semi-awake and not exactly hungover but tired quite early and I basically stayed in bed til about 2, reading etx.

I was going to go swim at sihuatehuacan but by the time I got out of hostel and over there it was nearly 330 and it shuts at 4 so I decided that was sillly and went over to sopopa but it is shut Wednesday (it would have been open til 430 another day though, so not quite so pushed for time) but I had looked up roughly how to get to the free pool and with a little bit of luck I got there without my phone. It was quite nice actually, busy but so big I had plenty of room to swim. I had worn trunks out under trousers, I left my bag with a stall (I bought some fried yucca from them after, bit oricey at 1.50 but it was nice and I looked on it as quid pro quo for looking after my bag and declining any payment). Xhanged afterwards in a small changing cubicle.

The water was cold on getting in but not bad after. As I had been told, there are fish in there - I think it is sort of a stream which is diverted and the water flows through thete. If you stand still the fish come round and it feels like they are sort of nibbling at your legs, which is odd but quite cool.

I did/do feel a bit guilty about last night but I don't think I was really a particular idiot or anything. I think the swim helped although (probably just because it was tiring and I am never that good etc) I did suddenly get a slight burst of homesickness.

A guy I had been chatting to last night who had said he was coming to my hostel turned up as I went out just before swimming and we greeted each other etc.

1908 back at hostel. Bumped into Lewis on walk back, we had a brief chap. Incidentally I think the guy I was with last night who was slightly spongy but not bad and was sort of leading our Uber group was in reception with Mitch when I went out for dinner and I wasn't quite sure I recognised him and it was a tiny bit awkward but not bad.

I feel very slightly under the weather. I felt it when I was eating the avocado at Manhattan, I don't despise them like I used to but I really don't like them much and I felt bought to eat it as it was fruit/veg and healthy etc. But my stomach feels just the tiniest bit oss.

I think there maybe a pupusa cooking class on now which I didn't really want to do (although it is apparently free) but I an having kind of stupid "maybe unshould have done it, will regret it" type thoughts about it, like it is a huge deal. Or for that matter as though I won't be here again when it is not implausible I will be here for it another time if I really wanted to.

I felt a tiny bit sad to be leaving when walking through main square (red tshirt, and feelng very slightly cold in the fresh brerze - post swimming I also felt a bit cold with long sleeve top on except when I got refreshing warm bursts from the low afternoon sun. I hope I am not coming down with anything, I don't think there is much to this except maybe slightly poor diet etx and maybe some aftereffects from last night. But i was feeling a bit sad to leave as i said, although I'd also sort of half like to put last night behind me a bit, but I am not really leaving, I am really just popping back to san Salvador for a couple of nights as I am almost certainly coming straight back here after to do ruta de las Flores etc as noted earlier.

Guys playing shithead. I don't want to join in (I never remember the rules) and don't feel too bad, actually sort of vaguely comfortable sitting here, and I also half kind of just want to sit here and go to bed early. I do have three beers in the fridge so I just might have one of them later or two or three, bit no rish. I might try to leave them here til I return or maybe leave them for someone else as a freebie or maybe take one or two back to san Salvador.

Thu 1108 on terrace with coffee, then leaving. Just got some advice about rural de las Flores from Douglas.

Last night pretty cool. Cooking class started late so I joined in anyway. Made an enchilada (which is not like Mexican ones - its a hard tortilla with bean paste, chopped egg, a local not spicy pixo de gallo variant or curtido on, and maybe something else I forgot) and a couple of pupusas which was pretty cool. We got free vodka and coke/orange during it, class was free (albeit I had seen a $12 figure somewhere) and we went to chicken bus after and started with a free vodka and orange. Played beer pong for first time ever, we lost but I wasn't astonishingly terrible. Then giant Jenga (memories of Liv St) and we stayed on doing karaoke til 2 and then a somewhat smaller group  on (we walked) to gasolinera de los mariachis (the one we went to first yesterday, though too late/wrong day for mariachis either day, but yes apparently they perform there) where we (me, Alexey, Stefan(o) and Mirch) met some locals (Jorge, Josue, Elizabeth?) who invited us over and we had a chat and some drinks. Mitch called an Uber about 4 and I'd half have liked to stay but it was actually pretty smart to leave.

Stefan sleeping in bunk above me and he invited me to join the walking tour this morning but I said I was leaving, of course. Nice of him though, and we had a pretty good chat last night (he is 34ish so way younger than me but just a bit older than most people who are early-mid 20s).

1138 clinging on here a bit, oddly reluctant to start the journey, which is really more of a FAFF than anything terrible. Let's go.

1239 bit of a duck rest. Just got on 201 at the stop near mwtrocentro (two dollars) after initially going to terminal occudente and hanging round and not daring to ask anyone and looking on web  still, all ok now.

FWIW the pool I went to yesterday was Apanteos, if I didn't say.

As I left hostel Douglas was giving a woman a scooter driving lesson on road outside. I half wonder if I should take steps to learn this sort of thing (eg back home, not here) but there are all sorts of concerns, especially around my paper non-photo driving licence, and while being able to rent a scooter in places like this would be very helpful in some ways it also feels very much like something I should just accept is not for me - the whole driving business with the risk of getting killed, killing someone, getting arrested, causing damage to expensive vehicles, etc, just feels like an absolute nightmare. Somewhat torn.

I never got round to drinking my three beers in fridge last night so have left them there. They may be there when I return and I'd not someone will drink them, they won't go off or be wasted.

Jorge last night recommended something del diablo - maybe pasillo del diablo? - in San Salvador, about Isabelle round trip by uber. Worth noting for next visit there, not this weekend.

Must admit that I am still a bit confused about this de las Flires despite helpful advice from douglass. I am also likely to miss out on viewpoints being in busea not own tranaport but can't be helped. But there are like 7 towns and you don't need to stop in all of them and can do two towns a day sometimes and three days is fine without rushing, but how the hell am I going to have time to see anything? I get the buses are probably fairly short hops if maybe infrequent but if I am supposed to be hiking out to waterfalls or taking tuk tuks out there when does that fit in.? It feels like a nightmare if checking into hostels and rushing off that afternoon to do a hike or something and staying one night and then repeating the process the next day  maybe it will make sense when I do it. I guess I do not have to rush but I also don't want to burn weeks doing it. I am just genuinely confused.

I will try to finally post this entry when I get to san Salvador. I plan to not drink today (TBH I have not been particularly excessively drunk even Saturday night, but still, it is cumilatively quite a lot, insofar as I have actually any idea - I haven't been writing each drink down because of the way things work) and I may even see if I can get some bread and ham and  gorge on sandwiches tonight. I also hope to be able to wash some clothes, ideally openly or using a washing machine for cheap, but maybe furtively in sink. I do have some clean from home and will likely change from black troysers been wearing si far to grey trousers for the event over the weekend.

1308 exchanging wa with the hostel (I suspect it is a private let in biggish apartment really) - this is frankly a bit of a faff but not end if world, and it is good to have the local sim and WhatsApp in the a06 for this sort of stuff. Guy is being not unpleasant but a tiny bit annoying asking me for arrival time estimates even though I already gave one yesterday. Not a big deal.

Preregistration is open today but I am unlikely to trog over there just to do it, Zona Rosa is miles away and it seems silly to pay like USD 10 round trip in an uber just for this. I will just have to try to be there early tomorrow (an early night tonight would be good anyway) and accept some queuing etc.

Hope to meet people (Perhaps even some with common interests who live in London?) And we will play it by ear but barring very tempting invitations my inclination is to go straight back to Santa Ana and ruta de las Flores etc after event and then maybe go to eg berlin en route to nicaragua after, and there's a fair chance I will catch up with some people i met anyway.

Experimentally bumped llm strength on keyboard up to 4.8 from default 3.4. No idea if this will be a good idea or not but wth.

1836 At Don Taco just by parque cuscatlan trying my first ever horchata. Come out for a walk as bit atuffed after gorging on sandwiches and diet coke at the Accom. I got checked in fine, chap seems nice enough, basically have a double room in a small apartment with probably a local woman who I haven't seen yet - she wasn't there when I checked in (so did snap some photos of the other room). Owner seems nice enough and possibly as a subtle quid pro quo for me not making a fuss about him turning up very slightly late has said that as I have few clothes (fwiw 1 trousers, 3 tops, 3 sets is) he will wash them for free. (He also said I could hand wash if I wanted earlier and there are hooks, so may depending on busyness also do this over next few days.

Went out to try to find a supermarket and bought milk, coke, kolachampana (sp), bread, ham, water. And had a shower and sorted clothes for washing and was in room eating and drinking coke and reading and cone out as I felt a bit bloated and the room while OK has no window and I thought getting out might be nice.

Ok, the horchata is actually really nice. The taste is vaguely chocolatey and I half wonder if I have actually had this or something similar before. Usd 2 but not too bad.

I was stupidly reading on phone on bus over and it gave me a slight headachey sickness and perhaps contributed to a modest feeling of health worry and homesickness.

FWIW it is pleasantly cool out now, verging on just slightly cold as the wind gets up. In general the weather so far has been pretty good - hot at times but not iirc ever absolutely "omfg I am dying" kind of heat and/or sweatiness etc, and there is usually some intermittent breeze or prospect of shade. I have often had fans on at night but not always and I don't think theybare strictly necessary, but probably nice. Just sleeping with a sheet as is almost certainly standard - no one has offered me a blanket or had one on the bed yet.

1849 vaguely tempted to get a coffee but probably won't. I've had plenty of caffeine with the coke zero I guess. Need to shave and not sure if I should do it in morning or tonight or both.

I only really popped out for a quick walk and to get a bit of air and to help feel I hadn't absolutely "wasted" the day (though tbh having a fridge full of cold drinks and gorging on sandwiches and just reading in my room was kind of cool of course).

Yeah, let's stop milking the dregs of this horchata as the ice melts and walks slowly back. I paid when I got it bit I almost certainly should have just gone to the caja to pay now as I am leaving, small lesson learned I guess.

2137 ok been lying on bed and not quite falling asleep but sort of. I had half hoped to get write some more general stuff on here tonight but it is fine, if a lazy evening is what I sort of wanted then that's ok. I am a tiny bit edgy about getting up and getting to event tomorrow but just have to make an effort and I think I am going to go clean teeth etc and move towards bed now.

2159 done teeth, there is no sink in the bathroom so I had to do them at the kitchen sink which is weird, and may make shaving awkward tomorrow (I may have to abuse things a bit by using a cup from kitchen to shave in my room at the mirror there) but not shaving tonight.

I ought to try to send this now. May not get much time to write stiff up over the event but we will see how it goes. The meetup I went to my first full day here has an after event one day (not sure which) but it feels moderately likely there will be something I can do the other night. Not seen woman or couple yet, whoever is in other room. As of right now the owner hasn't taken the bag of clothes I left by the washing machine but not making a fuss especially as he is doing it free. I have clean from home clothes to get me through the event.

I also made a modest effort to set my shoes with fingers at kitchen tap and sort of rub them a bit to try to get the accumulated dust off, but it may or may not do any good. They aren't actively muddy or anything, just dusty.

Been wearing flip flops a bit round flat mainly just to avoid dirtying the fresh pair of socks as much as I otherwise would, since I want to present as well as I can tomorrow and I got changed a bit ahead of schedule because of the clothes washing opportunity.

2215 going to send this now, I can always start a new entry if I really want to write more tonight. I feel vaguely bad this is so long but I don't suppose it really matters.

2221 had brief proof read kind of skim and fixed the odd mistake but this is all pretty rough and ready of course.