Lake Coatepeque to San Miguel

Fri 0912 in restaurant just ordered coffee. I just also fipk3d really badly walking up to the 8m platform and seriously that shitted me up more than jumping, the idea of dropping  my phone.

Went to bed, some interaction with I think a couple of brothers from Florida who had been in the bar and who I spoke to briefly, they seem pretty cool. A lot of quite jovial (everyone was awake relaxing on bed sort of thing in dark) interaction in dorm trying to get one of their fans plugged in who was in dorm above me. Felt quite a nice atmosphere.

An alarm kept going of all night and 8 was a bit confused but eventually at maybe midnight or 2am everyone was talking to some utterly unwakeable guy on the top of the central bunk whose watch alarm was going off every hour. In the end someone took his watch down and left it at reception, a possibly German girl was explaining this to him in somewhat halting spanglish this morning as I was half awake.

One of the american guys talked to me in bed about 7, he was going on a hike to volcano with thermal spring at top.

The usual Arctic blast was going on outside and indeed the american guy said the wind was something descriptive like blasting across the lake. Jumping seemed like a bad idea, especially in the mentally perceived sub zero conditions.

I maybe got up something like 730 or 8? I was the last one in the dorm. Someone had taken my shoes and left them outside the door (maybe the socks smelled or something, or maybe they were just in the way?) But no one had had a go at me. I cleaned teeth and had a dump and got fully dressed thinking I would have a coffee then jump but the weather seemed so calm and with an eye in getting it over and UV and having a coffee after I went back and changed into swimming stuff and went and did three jumps off the 8m platform. This was from about 0841 to 0847, so maybe we lost some time somewhere. I then went and had a very hot shower because I could, which was nice but which I didn't feel too keen to over-extend, then I got dressed and came down here for this coffee.

It is rather blustery right now and as I am in shade and haven't actually put sunblock on yet, I have taken cap off and put it in bag so I don't have to worry about it blowing off. Wearing cleanish (evening wear intermittently) red ss top and fleece, will wear somewhat dirty long sleeve on trip. I have two full sets if clean clothes but will need laundry service or to sneakily do some washing in shared bathroom if possible in San Miguel.

Feeling moderately OK. Stomach and guts feel fine btw. Pleased with myself for jumping, especially with no one around (no ego and no one to help if problems). I believe this makes 14 8m jumps total - 1 yesterday morning, 10 yesterday afternoon and 3 today.

Fwiw the stairs up to the 8m platform are not rickety but they do appear to be constructed in a bizarrely skew-whiff way, this is not just an artifact of the photos.

Today marks three weeks into the trip if I am not mistaken. And yes, it is Friday 13th. :-)

0936 just asked guy working restaurant (just ne here) and he says the buses to el congo (where I change for sqn Salvador) leave on the hour and half hour, but to be there 5 mins early. The pass right by the door btw.

So I just *night* aim for the 10 but not sure.

1004 ok, been and packed and checked at desk I don't ow anything. Guy there said next bus is 1020. So just having 10 mins in restaurant looking at lake before I go. I could maybe just have got the 10 bus if I had wanted and if it was on time but I figured better to not rush and have a little extra time by the lake, and that's also why I went and packed and then came back rather than having an extra 10-15 mins on my earlier sit and then rushing to pack against time.

1046 after 5-10 mins wait by the side of the highway with some locals who got off my 242 (didn't speak to them) just pulling out for san Salvador  going well so far.

1214 old guide book and a woman I asked at a stall tell me 7c goes to terminal de oriente. I am on it having paid something under a dollar to a not too confidence inspiring driver. Let us see.

1321 what a fuck-fest. On bus at terminal nueva amanecer having just paid 5 USD for a ticket in this "super" bus (but the driver either didn't understand me when I asked how long it took or I didn't understand his answer)

It appears terminal de oriente is an ex-terminal. Buses still go there and it is "a thing", but the actually quite helpful driver of my 7c shouted to me to get off early (I was tracking it on gm, om doesn't have it any more) and then some stuff about getting bus X or y that made no sense. I wandered angrily chunterng to myself, sloke to a woman at a stall shop told me to get bus X or a taxi and said it was the ex-terminal and asked me where I wanted to go. I still didn't get it. Eventually I spotted a bus going to terminal de oriente (the 7c did notbshow it on the windscreen fwiw, which seemed odd) and the helpful driver (the bus was empty) said it was just up there (which it was, and indeed as I thought) and asked me where I was going and gold me I needed nueva manager and to get busb29. Once I have the name of this new terminal (which I had no reason to know existed) I was able to finally click and look it up on om. And I managed - after nearly getting run over a countless as I crossed roads in a panic - to get a 29 and get here and with relative ease I got on this "super" and paid the driver usd5 (aka "just") for a ticket. Bus is a modernish coach and has aircon.

My throat was dry as fuck but didn't want to get water out of my bag until just now when I got on the bus.

Note that all this would have likely been just as big a fickfest had I got an Uber from terminal de occidente to terminal de oriente.

1326 pulling out. Maybe the Uber driver would haveclued me in but then I would have still ended up booking two trips and wondering if he was scamming me.

2114 on terrace having quite a few drinks. Two oldish french guys chatting warlord but they have one. Possibly German couple here beforebivweng out for a walk but not seen then since.

Got dropped off ok near hostel and walked and checked in fine  it is hot here. Not quite omfg I am dying bug the akf has that oven baksd wualifym even now it is wadm and when I got off bus after AC and in later afternoon it was wafner. Room has AC which is nice.

Had shower and did a water only (plus soap accidentally picked up from shower floor) of 3 sets uw, whether by acciset nt or design a glass door on the sink makes a wash in there less acceptable.

Went for a walk afger dadk, if dsels súper big city down ghe main road and ghen you gl twl blocksbovdf and it frels edad. Oh k lvle onsctren kehvalfds gheh wkfm al al al al edll.

Had some of the aguardiente from hot spring night with coke. Oh  after checking in I went for a daytime walk and found a super selectors and then a Tigo shop and topped up A06 sim and got some beer and coke and went and ate at comedor nueva flaco which was good but I had no knife (not even plastic) and was saying a carne de res with a plastic fork from a plastic plate by forking it up, biting it and occasionally holding the steak with hands and pulling it to year it as my teeth held it. Dunno if mild dehydration or what or just he heat but I felt pseudo sick as instead, despite being hungry although I had has main garapinado on bus.  After that phone and beer and food excursion ivwrnt back to hotel and had my shower and water only wash and went out for my night walk.

And been sitting ere on terrace with A06 until now, arguing with llm about Spanish questions.

Plan is to take tomorrow easyish, wander found down, think about boat times to nicaragua and be quietly productive but not exert myself  need to acclimatise to this kind of low level (altitude 139m here according to gps, up until now I have been at 600m plus almost non stop) as it is probably based on talking to people what I will be on most of time in nicaragua notwithstanding that yes there are mountains on the Pacific side.

It is not unpleasant out here (actually a table off to one side open to sky with llants) and there afr cicada type sounds but it is warm and slightly stifling. It feels tropical here in a way that maybe it didn't before, albeit (hard to tell with this slight cold which has been causing dryish throat anyway) perhaps polluted urban air tropical. The traffic here feels a little fierce at times.

I am on my own and some guys are around (owner?) But it is quiet enough I don't feel bnm. Open to chat but also haply to have a quiet day or two and enjoy private room etc.  I will ask tomorrow if they have a laundry service and play itby ear.


They had some carlsberg in super selectos, I didn't buy it but I did look and it was 5%. I did get a couple of novelty drinks (I had been hoping for some of the local craft beers but they had none), a can of tukan from costa fica (I think the Syrian guy at the hostel in quepos gave me a can of it) and a quetzalteca 5% pre mixed fizzy star fruit lavour can

Fwiw when going to bed last night one of the florida brothers said I had a sick accent. And that nkght I player pool in santa ana, the oldish probably us guy said I had a cool accent. I don't take this too seriously but hey, smooth with the rough. (In both cases referring to my English language accent, of course)

I do feel mildly relaxed if hot and just a tiny big guilty about whether I will do enough here. But really a big of acclimatisation and thinking about getting across go Nicaragua and not hading off to the the doubtless cool activities here (more volcanoes and lakes - on my pre dark walk I suddenly noticed a volcano on the horizon with the sunsetting and the clouds over it a cool orange and photoed if and it was like a) this is cool and then b) but this is el Salvador, of course there is a volcano :-))

I may extend here for a third night if I can but we will see what availability is, how well I sleep and what the boat schedule looks like. I think the boat goes from la union which  is about an hour by bus from here, so I may or may not need to overnight g there.  It just may be that someone offers a decently priced shuttle+boat ticket from here, I will look onto that

Aguardiente plus coke zero is quite nice. They have free coffee here and I may try it in coffee too at some point.

Fwiw ignoring convenicd, the 8 day tigo top upbwas 4 USD and comes with 5gb (virtually infinite for me) whereas the previous 16 day one cost 8 USD and came with 5gb. So as I say, except for the fact you could get caught out with no credit at the join and have to top up, the cheaper one is better. And I do have my travel sim (which I used awkwardly via hotspot on super bus out of nueva amanecer to get WhatsApp on the A06 to tell this hotel when I was arriving and tehyvtold me to get the driver to drop me early not at terminal to save walking) for emergencies, so while yes I could get caught out (A06 is working, midnight comes while outbon piss, can't get an Uber home and p7 with travel sim is back at hostel), it is mostly not too big a disk. And it is fairy likely I will be in nicaragua beforb8vdays ate up. Maybe economists by not topping
Fwiw ignoring convenicd, the 8 day tigo top upbwas 4 USD and comes with 5gb (virtually infinite for me) whereas the previous 16 day one cost 8 USD and came with 5gb. So as I say, except for the fact you could get caught out with no credit at the join and have to top up, the cheaper one is better. And I do have my travel sim (which I used awkwardly via hotspot on super bus out of nueva amanecer to get WhatsApp on the A06 to tell this hotel when I was arriving and tehyvtold me to get the driver to drop me early not at terminal to save walking) for emergencies, so while yes I could get caught out (A06 is working, midnight comes while outbon piss, can't get an Uber home and p7 with travel sim is back at hostel), it is mostly not too big a disk. And it is fairy likely I will be in nicaragua beforb8vdays ate up. Maybe economizing by not topping up for last fee days was silly and won't pay off but except for moddst faff in bus today and a tony bit of "ffs google map sis not working well on A06 despite having a map downloaded" getting lost in santa ana the other night, it hasn't really been a big problem, it isnt as if I have majorly fucked myself over to save a dollar or two.

Just maybe the temperature fel here is like being at the panama city hostel when I flew in from colombia in 2024. It is quieter though. And it was iirc hot in bucadamanga too, whereas this hits a bit harder coming from the lake and the rural and Santa Ana.

2142 common area closes at 10 but I haven't finished aguardiente and coke and I will go get a beer. If they make a fuss I can finish it in room or neck it and since I am not talking with anyone they probably won't anyway.

They have free drinking water here, ad they did btw at cap morgan and ghe fact it is chilled ka verg jice. Or as de say un emglish the fact that it is chilled is very nice. I want a fjckkng hardware kehvkafd¡

Part of the problem is that I appear to mysteriously misgitbthe language toggle hitton into eh keyboard and it is predicting in Spanish when I am typing ekighsh. But yes, it didn't correct that right anyway. I should maybe get ridbofbthe language toggle dhuttonbandbuse a slower toggle method.

I have way too much loose change, having been somewhat accumulating bit out of fear of seeing it on Localish buses for days like today's five bus hop, but it is getting annoying in my back pocket and I think I need to spend it down. La union will not be a mjorbhop, fhevjoat will be different and the dollar coins will be useless in nicaragua and not particular undesirable when I come back to el Salvador. Yes it made sense to have them for the country buses with dollar level fares, but I need to get rid of it now.

I am drinking out of a real glass. Lush.

2205 I am feeling a bit drunk suddenly with this last beer. Not a big seal bug fwiw. And those typos are not drunken, they are standard fafe with the marvellous in screen keyboards that are so so so much better than hardware keyboards with physical buttons as every smugarse twat posting on Reddit knows.

Fwiw while it maybe status quo bias ibdo feel two nights at cap Morgan was smart, especially given the welcome but still different dhamix from Emile being there the first night. The dorm was an experience, having two days let me play with the jump despite it feeling a bit of a pushing myself chore at times and I got to be a bit relaxed (albeit with a constant "I need to jump again" vibe) without massively overdoing it.

That said while I probable projected my own vision onto what she told me, I dl see the baskc truth (the Arctic winds, as I have described then) of what she said, even of it didn't feel as primitive or unsheltered as her words conjured up in my head.

2229 to be fair while not insane or forced I have drink slightly more than otherwise might because I did want to get through some of that aguardiente and stop carrying itbroind. Ideally ibaoildbhave bonded with people over sharing it out but not a big deal. And nice enough covering but probably a contributor to this variety over consumed feeling tonight.

I just realised that despite feeling sick after eating earlier and a tiny bit stomach heavy during night walk, I only feel slightly drunk now and my stomach feels fine.

Tomorrow is going to be quietly productive eg sorting out boat but not massively demanding.

The fucking deeply frustrating thing is that with a hardware keyboard you make few typos and those you do are pseudo logical and if you type something intentional but weird (eg "ss"  for short sleeve) it just stays there but with the onscreen keyboard it is so shitty you have to have auto correct on and then you are fighting it constantly. (Eg ss turns into as. And sometimes it learns a typo as a real word the first time you use it. And k am using multiple keyboards in different phones and profiles and they all suck.)

Accuweather says it is 24C here with 69% humidity right now. From memory and on paper that soinds like London in the day during summer. I dunno, maybe i am missing something. It is not terrible and it is kind of "haha I am not freezing my NADs off back home"  cool and borderline pleasant but it is sticky and feels hot for nighttime.

To state the obvious i quote accuweathet because i have no way to measure the actual current conditions for myself, not because I want a forecast.

Maybe it is the power of suggestion or thinking about it, but while warm and sticky, it doesn't feel massively oppressive as such right now.

And gobwualift what I wrote before, with a hardware keyboard when like me you are basically competent, you don't make that many typos into he first place.  So the ones you make are acceptable, and any random weirdnesses you choose to tyle survive just fine as there is no need for autocorrect.  And if it isnt obvious, Vito keyboard is utterly ibcapable of rcognksign that you might go for the space bad and hit b or v. This sucks. But maybe practice (I keep tweaking things) or altering the keyboard size might help here  maybe I should make more of an effort to lug the BT keyboard ohtbkf my bag and make an effort to learn it. I h@vsnt used it heg this trip. And I will let that monagrsoify stand as a testament tkvhowvshitbon screen keyboards are for typing fast

2343 been copying some photos around and watching a bit of yt. On verge of going to bed sobwill sebs this nkwm. As we sy in on screen keyboardlandm

Lake Coatepeque, Thursday

Thu 12th 0857 voice typing this in my room didn't sleep really all that well I kept waking up because I was awake around about the right time and I heard people outside I did go outside and sort of watch the sunrise I didn't actually see the sun come up but you know the sky was getting light it was all right you know the photos obviously don't look anything like it but that's just how the photos are not mega dramatic let me be absolutely honest but you know pleasant enough and with the lake and the silhouetted trees and everything it was all all quite nice but not amazing

I'm probably going to go and swim in 10-15 minutes. I think I could have gone now, maybe it's arguably a little bit late. There's this vague cold vibe here because there's this pump running outside the room and there's the wind howling around. And although it's probably pretty warm, as I think I said in the night or something, it feels really cold. Did I put something in about going out shirtless but with a towel and barefoot in sandal flip flops? And it was okay but you'd think you were in the Arctic when you sit in the room listening to it.

So I really didn't sleep that well. My sinuses feel a bit weirdly bunged up. It's not terrible. It's just weird. I think I'm a bit stressy about swimming. The day pass thing opens at 9, which makes me feel a bit better about swimming at this time. I'm sure I could have swum earlier. I imagine the water might be a bit cold, but I shouldn't think it's that cold I'm a bit edgy about the whole jumping thing, but I do want to practice that some more Obviously I'm here all day. I'm here tomorrow morning. I've got to change the dorm, which is a bit stressful excessively stressful really It shouldn't be it's fine. I'm vaguely wondering if I should stay tomorrow night I don't want to make a decision until I've had this morning's swim and see how I'm doing with the jumping and stuff because Silly or not. This does feel like an opportunity to practice when I wouldn't normally get this kind of opportunity I'm also feeling a bit discombobulated and disorganized. It's like I need to move on somewhere I mean, I could stay another night, but maybe I will but I decide that after I've had the morning swim at least But even without that I need to decide about moving on and do I need to get some laundry done? Do I need a private not looking forward to moving on as such because it sounds like a mildly stressful day with three buses.

I don't know if there's going to be anyone else in the water now which makes it feel sort of vaguely edgy or wrong or like I'm not allowed to do it or like it's particularly dangerous, I'm sure that's not true, there might be someone in there anyway, I mean I'm a bit worried it's going to be cold but I don't have to go crazy do I? Anyway, so that's roughly where we are, things aren't really bad but things feel just a touch odd and unsatisfactory in the sort of general planning, moving on, what to do and how to do it kind of way.

0932 back in room after very brief swim. No one else in water, a fee people sitting in restaurant. I spent 5 mins treading water, then did a practice jump or two from the water level platform. I then - feeling slightly foolish - made my way through the few people in restaurant and did a couple of (we are calling it, I vaguely read these heights somewhere) 4m jumps from there trying to keep legs straight etc. Bit scary (remember I did do this yesterday) but not too bad. Bit of water up nose by time I surfaced but didn't freak out, treading water while sort of semi-confidently coughing it out.

It did feel a bit cold and sort of lonely in the water. I thought fuck it, let's do the 8m jump and get it over with, then I will be able to think more cleanly about what future plans are without the "what if I arrange to leave and haven't done it yet?" Uncertainty. So I walked up to the 8m platform and it did look high but to be honest not that much worse than the 4m. And I was a bit edgy and I took a few breaths and then just sort of went for it. And I don't know if I did manage to keep straight, there might been a bit of a bum smack but I am not sure, it certainly didn't have that pain I remember at the cenote, so it probably wasn't too bad. And I got a bit of water in nose and was there treading water and coughing it out but not freaking out or anything.

And to state the obvious even the 4m here is a level above the cenote in some sense because I didn't have a life jacket. Albeit the rock scraping worry existed at the cenote and doesn't here, even if based on that woman I saw just do an incredibly small and casual step off at the cenote the actual risk of rock scraping was probably small.

So while I very much want to practice this some more while I have the chance, I have at least now done it. I vaguely plan to take advantage of the private room while I have it, not that there is much to do.

I had left my key upstairs on desk and it had gone and I spoke to some chap in bad Spanish and got it back off a cleanerish woman and am a bit narked at my poor Spanish but I was a bit on the spot and what the hell.

Top of head hurts a bit from sunburn (not the jump) but not too bad. I should probably have just worn my bandanna into the water at soapapa as I have been doing here.

1012 just went and shaved with a new blade. Not great bit not terrible. Didn't actually draw blood!

I am genuinely pleased with myself for doing the 8m (or whatever ot is) jump but it feels slightly anti-climactic. Also I am still pissed off with myself for fucking up my Spanish when I was trying to get my key back.

This isn't to say I am not a bit scared about the idea of doing the jump again later, it is far from trivial.

Depending in how nice the dorm is once I get in my gut feeling is that I don't actually regret the second day hear but it is probably enough. Maybe if I had a lot more time in hand and had booked ahead and got a private for 3 nights or something or had committed to a dorm for 3 nights an extra night would be good, but while I can maybe have a
Pizza at the reataurant here for lunch and I have some Mani garapinado and can walk over to that shop and have e pupusas later and I do sort of want/need to sit down and think about the next week or so and where I am going after this in particular, I also somewhat anticipate time hanging a bit heavy today and really I think a third day here would be overdoing it. Yes some jumping practice and deep water confidence exposure has some value, but I can probably get the latter at least at one or more lakes in nicaragua based on eg speaking with emile.

Just finishing the dregs of the first 250ml bottle aguardiente, so I can diacard it but also I guess as a kind of way to memorialise the jump.

1025 have mostly packed, going to sit outside room for 26 mins or so before I go check out.

25 mins of course but I mistyped on onscreen ekehbaoqrd and didn't correct it and wanted to make a note to this effect here. Sometimes a figure is off by one and I just roll with it, so read it like that rather than me being super anal about deciding how long to sit outside. :-)

1055 Feels oddly and irrationally distressing to be losing the private room tbh. Anyway, let us finish checking for lost stuff and go talk to reception.

1118 done. The guy who doesn't seem to speak English said I didn't have a reaervation but they had a bed,so I didnt delve into the guy yesterday saying it was sorted. I can't get into the dorm til 3 afaict and I saw no real reason to push. Have left main bag by reception, got daypack with me. Restaurant is apparently open and I may indulge in an early pizza lunch. Paid the usd11 on credit card since I already apparently paid for the first night on credit card and there was no surcharge and while not short of cash (I debatably have too much depending how quick I get to nicaragua) I am a tiny bit worried about running out of small bills while here round the lake.

1126 just ordered personal peperoni pizza and a coffee for 8. Paid cash. APP Eye in the Sky was playing, which I always liked but feels somehow Latin American to me after hearing it at that metro stop in Medellin in 2020.

Might be tempted by a large but it is like 16-17 dollars which feels insane, there was no intermediate option, I don't want to be utterly bloated come 3pm when next swim window opens and I do have Mani garapinado and the prospect of pupusas later.

I am not going to worry until after sinner but despite being moderately pleased to be sitting here by the lake etc,I think I am going to leave tomorrow. The jumping is a nice novelty and I do want to practice but I can do that this afternoon and probably tomorrow morning modulo dorm concerns before I leave. Swimming here is valuable experience but it also feels a bit scary and doing a bit more will be nice but I don't have to go nuts and as I say there are other lakes I can swim in and get that.

If we hypothetically say I leave here 10 I might hope to be on a bus outside the door by 11 at the worst, that probably sees me in San Salvador by 2 and that is probably fine for a cross-town walk or Uber and getting a bus on to san Miguel. If anything special is happening I  might overnight in san Salvador but all else being equal probably best to push on and get the travel done in one day they I can not have to get up early the next mornigg and have a casual lazy day of touristing in san Miguel.

1139 last train to London playing.

I am aware tomorrow is Friday 13th btw, I did notice last night before I had done the 8m jump and it maybe gave me a micro qualm about staying and perhaps doing first jump then, but that wasn't a huge factor more a sort of internal wry noticing, and it isnt a big deal now. As I say, I think moving on tomorrow is smart. I won't be full of regrets if I don't come back and just possibly I might come back here for a few days at end of trip if time is available but not enough to eg go on to Guatemala.

Pizza just arrived, thin crust and frankly looks tiny but wtf.

Tasted it. Not super hot. It is decent enough but not raving.

1151 was ok. Sultans of swing playing. And I am simultaneously thinking "how cool to just be sitting here by the lake" and the mention of "south of the river" stirred a weird illogical almost claustrophobic micro stab of homesickness

1216 ok, I have booked a double with shared bathroom for 21 a night in San Miguel for Fri. I may stay more than two nights (or I may not, even if I like it, as it is likely a natural revisit on returning from Nicaragua) but that doesn't mean I have to book more than two nights accommodation and over commit. Might be a somewhat shitty bus day but I think it should be fine in practice and get it all over in one go. It isnt a huge country of course. And then I am near La union and can start looking at getting over to nicaragua. For all I know there will be even shuttle +boat type oackage deals from San Miguel, but not counting on it or paying through the nose if it doesn't save a lot of hassle/time (eg if it saved me having to go to ladder union for a single night before the boat that would be worth something).

Someone just jumped in off the restaurant level aka 4m level. I am not sure about these levels, I find it hard to imagine the upper platform is 4m above the restaurant,just comparing it with my own height j might guess 3m,but maybe this lower deck is 5m or maybe it isnt 8. Not a big deal,just bored pedantry.

I have been nursing coffee but I assume as a resident I can sit here without any purchases if I want. I may go for a walk and get a bottle of coke etc in a bit anyway, and perhaps think about starting to go into water 230pm albeit it depends on dorm access etc to a limited extent.

Fwiw I was jumping today with arms at side. I thought I had been crossing them on my chest yesterday but in hindsight I am not sure. The latter feels like there is less flail risk but it is probably not that big a deal and maybe it feels better with arms at side.

I did have a squirt of my OTC medicine this morning btw (before the jump)

1311 getting buaier. Group of very slightly bro-ish guys having shots. A few women have jumped from the high platform and two of them spent ages up there as I watched and was feeling weirdly stressed waiting for then to jump.

Going to go for a walk and get a coke, not busting but far too early to swim even without worrying about dorm access, but I am slightly bored and feeling slightly stressed (probably nervous about "having" to swim /jump later) and a walk will probably be good.

1407 just got checked into dorm. Got a lower bunk in a sort of cubbyhole in corner,maybe a bit warm right now but there is a fan. Feeling vaguely edgy about swimming/jumping.

Went out to get a coke, at least one of those bloody dogs near ahop had a go and people seemed to be calling it back but I shouted vaya and it wasn't actually too bad. I asked the woman (it was a bloke yesterday) who served me if the dogs were dangerous and she said yes, then she said she'd call her cousin or something (who I subsequently jnfer is the neighbour owning those dogs) and the  she told me I could go now and one dog was there but it stayed put and there was a bloke there. I heard her say "tiene miedo" on the phone which was half true but a bit unfair given what I said to her, but whatever.

1645 ok, in restaurant with a bottle of water after swimming and very very welcome very hot shower which I prolonged excessively.

I got into the water about 1520. I started by jumping from top platform "dry", did 5 mins treading water and decided I would do 10 jumps total this session. And I did, and although they were all mildly scary (and irrationally I was excessively worried about losing my bandanna and/or goggles) and I was glad when I had done them all,I did kind of enjoy it too of course.Simple pencil jump attempts, not like the handful of other people jumping who did fancy stuff.I did get some mild bum snack in second and third jumps and I am far from sure j got the proper vertical positioning every time but on the other hand even if I maybe felt it slightly in the bum quite often it was fairly minor and may even be normal and certainly wasn't terrible.

I did 8 mins in the water after the last jump (had to go back to dock briefly as my bandanna had come off as it often did but was just restrained by having deliberately looped goggles atrap on top of it so it was fastened on at the back of head) mostly treading water but a little bit of actual swimming.

Then the hot shower and back to dorm to change, some young woman came in and said hi while I was changing but although she seemed friendly enough she had been swimming and I didn't really like to look at her properly (I had my back to her when she actually came in and said hi, and doing it later felt a bit ogle-y) so I'd probably struggle to recognise her again.

I am going to go out for pupusas at 6. I will probably have a beer or two tonight as last night and I will probably aim to do a jump or two tomorrow morning 9-10ish before I leave. I think checkout is actually at 12 (the hostel is sending an insane number of routine emails and one said this, even though booking. Com emails confusingly say 11-12) but I hope the be leaving a snidge earlier than that without ditching the briefish swim/jump.

Fwiw while far from dead the restaurant and the water feel much quieter tonight than they did yesterday.

I do wonder (and also used it as an excuse for prolonging it) if the hot shower might have helped the sinus congestion thing.

1808 at "great pupusas", they are just opening. Ordered 2 jalapeño and 2 chicharron. With a drink this will probably be 5 USD which isn't ultra cheap but they are not bad and fairly substantial.

The oldish white dog from weird hotel next to hostel was in street when i came past. It didn't make a fuss. (The stroppy ones are probably 5-10 mins walk away right by the small shop.)

1851 back at hostel, pretty decent food, attempted to earwig conversation among presumably family staff, modest success, every little helps I guess. Had pss in dorm and dropped off day-pack and put fleece on and will go have a beer. Looks like only the bottom 3 beds of the 6 bed dorm are occupied.

Wandering briefly to decide where to go and two guys just jumped off the high platform. It is dark, admittedly lots of light and a short swim to dock but I bet it is a touch chilly and nerve inducing, kudos.

1859 come to restaurant and got a chola  have place to myself a few people up in receptionish level andl some playing pool (not free here) but on wandering I did feel this was probably best place to wit and no need to overthink it and in any case I don't think there is much chance of random social connection here and I am not desperate or even all that keen.

If I didn't already say, the metal slide into the
Lake which I photographed is at hotel silver whatsitt next door where I went with Emile, it is not at this hostel and I haven't been down it.

2020 been blowing hot and cold over another beer but just got one. Moved into a corner to get out of wind (not that Cole but a touch and worrying about cap blowing off) but not unpleasant. 2x750ml is not insane.

2106 group of young us guys (19-26) formed at bar but they seem low key cool and together. Sitting here semi enjoying listening. the fake oil lamps in the bar are also semi cool if not super convincing. Fwiw btw the whole pirate vibe here is done in a sufficiently tongue in cheek way it does add a nice touch of theme without being ridiculous.

Don't really feel drink but sort of slightly and a bit tired. Will move to bed after this newely finished second chola. May send this early given in dorm and that I don't expect to have any exciting experiences actually getting to bed (and since there is a bathroom in dorm I can go for a piss in night without any dog worries, albeit in practice it was fine last night but dis slightly inhibit me at 3am). Hope I sleep better. Plan is to not over set alarms, if I am up by eg 930 that is super fine and I may just set an alarm for 11 to reduce risk of the damn alarm going off in dorm locker while I am swimming as might happen if I set alarm for 930. Getting up 11 would suck but would not kill a last swim/jump or utterly fuck over my travel and given that fucking non-present forgotten alarm risk (which happened other day in ricks in santa ana as I may have said) I prob have to chance it. Plus I am going to bed early enough and generally sleeping badly enough the chances of sleeping past 930ish by accident feel slim.

2116 just two guys left at bar and barman just played them an el Salvador rap sort of song which I semi recorded (v easy to understand spanish, so can't be proper rap ;-)).

2132 everyone has gone including for the moment the barman and I understand bar shuts 10 anyway and I have very nearly finished. So I will send this now

Santa Ana, Tuesday, and Lake Coatepeque, Wednesday

Tue 0634 in bed, haven't slept super well so far.

0707 down on terrace with water. I figured I might as well get up, though I have utterly nothing to do.

My right nostril was dripping gently in bed but I didn't like to blow it as I had no tissue handy, not just a question of noise.

About midnight I woke up, went to toilet and came back and some guy asked me - not exactly unpleasantly but a tint bit (my bed is at the front by the window, but upstairs remember) "didn't you hear me knocking?" He had been out and unable to remember the code or the lock thing hadn't worked. I said sorry no I had been sleeping but it felt a bit fucking accusatory, although I don't think I showed this (tact and self preservation combined).

I kept drifting in and out of sleep, it wasn't terrible but not great. Slightly headaches for some reason and although it is very minor and unless (which I doubt) the bandanna is uv transparent there is no reason for it, top of my head feels very slightly sunburned.  Just taken a photo and it does look a bit fed, could be something else but we might assume sunburn. I am not automatically writing the bandanna off as the cause, it night be from swimming the other day etc etc, plus if it was the bandanna I was wearing it relatively high up so maybe more uv etc etc. Just making the observation at this point.

Fwiw I half wonder if (it is explicitly allowed, especially as it is a chargeable event, even though i didn't pay when I did it through accidentally joining last minute) the majority of attendees at the cooking class last night were from other hostels.  I don't know, it just doesn't feel like the hostel is *that* full.

Despite vague "not really up for it" feelings, I will prob do the walking tour at iirc 9 or the food walking tour at 930. The latter is sort of less my bag but it may expose me to local foods/things from stalls I would actually eat (like yuca frita which I only tried because it was mentioned in Spanish class here a week or two ago) and may be a bit more sociable.

0715 just asked a rather sleepy looking Douglas if I can buy an Americano (1.50 - have sorted out a load of change to pay - this feels a bit pricey but not insane and don't want to to go out ans compared with the 1.50 fancy instant in square other day it isnt too bad).  Fuck me I hate on screen keyboards, I took four attempts to type yuca because every fucking time I typed it correct and it auto corrected and I didn't press backspace immediately so it permanently corrected and I had to retype the whole thing. Ans four autocorrected to dour, but "this am" (aka physical) keyboards are just so out of fashion and plain not as good as onscreen, right.

0724 tweaked keyboard settings. Also just asked Douglas about the food tour, USD 5ish at start and they buy all the food and there is lots of variety including sweets and drinks and then a tip at the end (maybe USD 7 total) and it leaves from kiosk (bandstand as I would call it) in main square 930 (regular walking tour there also at 9) and Douglas can wa the guys to confirm my place so to speak and it lasts about three hours. So I might do this, if it is social (which I would not be optimistic about on my own past form) that is a bonus but it would be an experience and a chance to try some stuff I otherwise might not and that might also pay off later in the trip in terms of having time to enjoy stuff while I am here etc.

I an getting vague "trip is almost over" thoughts at times, which is illogical. Three months probably would have been nice but there is the thorny swimming issue as last year plus I dithered for other non-swimming reasons and did want to be back for Easter. But just a note for next year that maybe three months would be good if I can swing it  not to be fair that a whisker under 9 weeks is necessarily awful. It is just that rationally or otherwise (and I think this is orthogonal to my current social qualms) it feels like I have mentally clicked over from 2.5 weeks in to 3 weeks in and the difference feels huge. And this is getting ahead of myself as it isnt three weeks until Friday and today is Tuesday and I was feeling this yesterday too.

0814 I am leaning towards the food tour. Worst case it is dull and I feel out of it for three hours. But it is cheap and may be educational and it is an actual experience and something "real" attempted with the extra day I have ended up spending here. I could in  theory swim at sapopa early but the water is likely to be colder and all in all it is likely better to go 2pmish, which fits confortably with the tour probably finishing 1230ish. Yes I will inevitably feel edgy about swimming (mainly the fucking shitty dynamics of trying to guard against losing stuff) but going this morning would compromise the tour for no other benefit and despite just writing this making me feel edgy, it isnt like it is that much of a nightmare going over for a solo swim with minimalish stuff.

The coffee seems to have kicked my guts up a notch (incidentally my stomach etc feels fairly good this morning, maybe a touch empty but that is not unusual) so let's go deal with that then come back here and carry on reading/thinking/planning and maybe ask Douglas to sign me up for the food tour. If nothing else I might get to see how small stalls really work or get to ask some questions like how to know the price.

1821 so the tour wasn't too bad. Guide was a bit theatrical at times but not bad. Food a bit odd but it wasn't too bad. There wa some forced social interaction early on as guide made us talk to people and whole not super matey and I did feel a bit of a third wheel it wasn't too bad.

We finished at the coffee shop right next to the hostel and had coffee and guide and staff talked about gangs and stuff. We had to chip in 6 early for food and having no idea what to give him I have him 8 fee/tip.

It was getting on for 2 at this point (longer than I expected) so I did all my swimming prep and went over to soapapa (sp) and as I arrived I bumped into some (four) people from my hostel who were on the tour and semi joined them - they had come over by car (prob Uber) and I felt a bit third wheel but it was sort of social. Didnt swim much but did a lot of standing around with them and later sitting on edge letting fish nivble at my feet. Hope I didn't get burned.

walled back, swapped to normal gear, haven't showered given swimming and travel dau tomorrow. Popped out and had after dithering a chicken breast in street at Don pollo and got some nasal spray from a pharmacy for my bunged up feeling nose (it isn't that bad and having tried the spray once it maybe worse, but I figured the lake hostel may be isolated and if only for psychological reasons it would be good to have some medication. (I don't think this has anything to so with the medicine I brought from home which I stopped using on schedule two weeks into the trip, this I think is just a sort of cold feeling)  Andrea just spoke to me, we pip-pipped briefly, I don't know if I can do the spanish class again. I am sitting with some minimal chat when I sat down with the soapapa group today and they said no to Spanish class.  I do not particularly want to force myself on them (they, or perhaps the three blokes as the Australian woman is leaving tomorrow and is not generally going out at night according to our chat), they discuss going to chicken bus earlier when we were at the pool. I will maybe play it by ear but also didn't like on those grounds to ask Andrea if I could do the class a second time (free drinks, chance to maybe ask a question or two, maybe a chance to mingle depending who is here).

1839 that group is heading out and didn't invite me to join them which feels just a touch rude tbh based on how I see people generally comport themselves in these situations, after I had chatted with them a bit in a friendly enough way. Albeit they are certainly within their rights etc and they are going to eat and I dont want to eat.

Utterly confused about how to get to hostel tomorrow. I have asked here and been told to take bus 242 but far from convinced. I have WAed the lake hostel on the offchance they can tell me something.

A random website gives the dynamite tip to take bus 201 to El Congo then "another bus" from there. Helpful.

I had a vague poke about onward travel. I was thinking Berlin or Alegria but even with dates in future they seem to have only 40ish USD hotels. I am thinking I might go to San Miguel, which has some cheapish privates and (although not on booking.com, at least for my actual dates, I had to look at hostelworld) some 10 USD-ish dorms. I haven't booked yet. If I do want to go to Alegria or Berlin (which I probably won't on this leg, I may consider them on the return stretch after Nicaragua) I can do that from there of course, and if not it is a reasonable spot to break travel since it is mildly tedious getting from here to san Salvador and across and on.

Fwiw now withstanding this rather annoying rebuff tonight, I do feel on the whole the day was not really wasted. The food and walking tour was an experience, I did get to go to Soapapa (just checked OM so probably right spelling) and although a bit weird and tainted now there was a hint of social aspect and even putting that to one side I did go and swim a bit and experience the fish and see it etc, and I have now been to all three of the pools I know about here in Santa Ana. I think there is still a hot waterfall somewhere near here I haven't seen but you can't do everything etc etc, and there is a slim chance I will be back here towards end of trip, or I could of course easily do hot falls on a future trip.

And - perhaps the bigger meta concern - I don't think I was rude or wrong to talk to that group when they happened to turn up at soapapa at the same time as me, I think it would have been weird for me to pretend to ignore them, whether they like or dislike me or not. And likewise I don't feel sitting at the table and saying hi here tonight was an inappropriate thing to do either. I am not quite so confident about that but fairly confident.

It feels very very quiet here. An amazing contrast to last night, I have to assume although it may be that people just are not interested in the Spanish class, a lot of the crowd last night were from other hostels.

I did have a avafue thought there might be a group going to chicken bus after the spaniah lesson but at this point I doubt it. I could go on my own but although it is a bit annoying I wasn't desperate to go and it would now I think be awkward as fuck if I ended up talking to the group of people from today there, like I was forcing myself on them, and I don't really want to risk going and that happening by accident/lack of alternatives.

I might have got myself a beer to drink at hostel but I don't really want to go to super selectos after the 50 dollar  bill incident (not that technically I couldn't) and if gmaps is to be believed despensa familiar shuts at 7.

Ok the lake hostel responded saying bus 242 as well. So just have to keep my fingers crossed.

2304 bed. Will finish write up tomorrow.

Wed 0752 didn't sleep very well. Nose intenittent runny and had to blow it once or twice. Not really a normal cold feeling. In general been awake in bed on and off for maybe an hour or more before getting up, eyes feeling bleary. I am a bit apprehensive about today, the lake, onward travel and stuff in general and perhaps excessively discombobulated about the social shit yesterday despite things turning roind a bit.

Got a latte here, I managed to get a table to myself so if anyone else wants to sit they have to risk social incompetence with me. I night have gone to coffee place next door where we ended the tour yesterday and did popinto the street but it is shut, yesterday is the first time I remember seeing it open.

Last night I was sitting at table reading and medidating and about maybe 2100 some guy came out of the lounge/pool room and asked I'd anyone wanted to play pool. Some other guy jumped in first but I asked if I could (frankly deeply hesitatant about whether that was OK. And we ended up playing doubles and while I was hardly good tbh I was not notably terrible either. I didn't ultra bond with these guys and later on one of them left and we got two more very us college type guys in (one of the guys had been there all along was, Miles, but he seemed pretty cool and I liked his taste in music, playing some weird but cool bluegrass pink Floyd covers) and j sat out and then it all sort of fizzled. No beer and rightly or wrongly I was feeling super apprehensive about watching myself to not be an arse which sucks but you know it wasn't too bad and there was an oldish american guy who kept chipping in. At one point there was some suggestion of going to chicken bus and I was dithering a bit internally over whether to go, whether I could manage to sustain chat with these guys in walk over of if wes bump into that other group and it would be weird. In the end I don't know if they went, I went to bed when we finished as I said and casually said goodnigr, with the two new us college type guys who might well have been perfectly cool had I got to know them I really didn't feel the dynamic was right for me to walk over with the adjusted group anyway.

Some guys chatting in adjacent dorm when I want to bed which was mildly offpitting but not a huge deal.

Fwiw I have found myself not saying good morning to people this morning eg when oscillating round sink/toilet, which is perhaps not good but also probably not wrong.

Moving on from all this shot, I am a bit apprehensive about the bus journey on from lake to san Miguel or wherever. J am also feeling a bit harried about just one night at the lake and about "having" to swimt oday (which I want to but also feels like a massive amount of logistics effort, even probably when I am actually staying at the lakeside hostel) @nd then maybe tomorrow morning before checkout and will I be tempted or feel weird not swimming when I get there but will there be too much uv. I just don't think based on talking to people and alexandras information that there is a lot there and !maybe no supermarket or cheap restaurants so I may be at their mercy (price and style of food) which all made alexandras advice to not stay two nights feel smart, but still it feels a bit shit. And based on booking. Com calendar they have no availability for tomorrow night if I want to extend

I unexpectedly got a message on wa from Declan from the big night out in santa ana about two weeks ago last night and we chatted, which should perhaps be reassuring after the social wobbles yesterday. There is some chance we will be in nicaragua at same time  not specifically to do with meeting him I am starting to wonder if if I will get what to want to do done comfortably in the time available but I guess I just have to keep doing what feels right.

In terms of today specifically, I am a bit worried about getting the bus and finding the place ebut it will probably my be ok. Even ignoring that, it is likely 2hish there, I probably can't check in ultra early, yes I could eg sit around on terrace and try to meditate or plan or just maybe chat to someone, but since my mental model is that in practice it is the hostel and nothing else within reasonable distance (alex said they rent pedal bikes and she loves cycling iirc but it's just the dustiest dirtiest road ever and nothing to really do or see etc) it also feels a bit claustrophobic. If the hostel ia nice or has a bar and a nice vibe that could be cost but that wasn't the vibe she gave me.

I guess si will probably try to hang on here til 9-10 and then go. checkout is 11 and I could go preemptively have some roast chicken or something in town before I leave in case food situation is shit.

It will be nice to have a private room, even though really all very minor the social wobbles from yesterday made me feel a bit edgy about being on dorm here.

If I forgot to say you are explicitly not allowed to walk round the crater at the volcano. You can wander around a modest stretch of it and people peep whistles if you go too far. I took photos but the crater lake is a quite attractive but very chemical looking turquoise and has weird low clouds (normal cloud? Or something chemical?) Over it. It is easy to imagine you would just dissolve if you jumped in. The volcano is active but last eruption was 2005 or something like that. The crater lake is a fair way down and looks smallish in a strange way.

0903 ok so I was sitting here playing with phone and Emil (French Canadian guy from pool game last night) sat down at next table and said hi and we chatted a bit, all very amicable and reassuring. He is getting a scooter to lake so I just may see him there. Unlikely to overlap otherwise as he is heading north, but I got some more tips from him on Nicaragua.

I feel some temptation to linger here but also vaguely aware that I might encounter big delays waiting for a bus or get confused and end up taking hours extra to get there. If ileft now and it all went super well, I'd probably be at the lake hostel about 11. Check in is at 3, but of course I could leave my bag or if I am just sitting on the terrace or something that would be fine. I think I might go for a probably coffee induced toilet visit, pop out and have a bit of fried chicken (I am not starving but could eat and it would hedge my bets) and then come back and check out fairly early.

1028 just got on 242 at bus terminal. Something under a dollar. Asked "lago coatepeque?" And guy tapped next  us then I said "captain Morgan?" And he indicated this one. So fingers crossed.

I chatted a bit more with Emil who was having trouble getting a scooter, offered to go together on bus if he couldn't get one, popped into town and despite initial intention to get fried chicken it is t feel right so I went and got some ham and hot dog rolls at despensa familiar and had those back at hostel before chexking out. Luna played with me a bit.

1222 at small shop about 15 mins walk down extremely dusty road from hostel. Bus interminable but not difficult and (that is to woman next to me guessing I was going to cm) I got off more or less outside. I am not chexked in but have left bag and room may be ready early.

Had broef wander found, it seems nice enough but it is very restaurant/resort-y and despite technically being a guest it doesn't feel very comfortable at the moment. I half wish I had booked for two nights to take the pressure off despite this. Since I cannot really swim until 2 at the earlier (and that is more of a compromise with 4pm closing other places, 3pm swim is better) I have come out and I must admit a big cold coke is helping my mood. That said I am far from clear where I could really enter the water or where this bloody jump off point is. I have this irrational feeling you're not supposed to do "stupid" stuff like enjoy yourself in that kind of way despite it being the whole fucking point of the place. There were a few people sitting around but not the hordes of day trippers I expected, so no one to obviously observe and see how things work.

1238 two dogs had a bit of a go on way back but not too big a deal. Fwiw although there are points where there is construction and you can see the lake from the road, most places you can't - it is not quite as bad as Bacalar, but not far off.

1242 Back, sitting at table on now (but not when I first arrived) terrace in the perhaps more hostel-y bit (but not sure). Nice enough views. Continuing

1245 in room (5), which is nice enough and has a lake view. Guy showed me where to get into the lake and where you can do this bloody jump. Bar shuts at 10. He very decently said you can get pupusas outside at night and it is a bit cheaper, one of the places I just walked past which would have been closed at this point. And some of the showers have hot water!

The bloody swimming and jumping is both intriguing and scary, the water is apparently just deep which should technically be fine but I don't know, might feel a bit freaky. But that is something for a couple of hours from now

And I asked and I have apparently paid for the room already via booking.xom, which (surprise surprise) was a bit unclear.

1259 going to sit on the terrace just outside room and read for a bit anyway.

1845 sitting at hostel bar,  no free tables. Out of order but after Emile left I was sitting on  toilet and stood up while still leaning forward and bashed my cap-clad head against the toilet paper dispenser. And it appears to have ripped a patch of skin off completely bloodlessly. I am speculating this is lightly sunburned dead skin given how it hurts a bit. Bit absolute no blood. Fingers crossed it won't scar. Put some germole on on kffcbance it will help (kffcbance is a real word, it means offchance).

Got a 4.50 chola of regia which isn't great  but better than regular size at 2.50 a bottle. Stone cold aober and fuck me I hate typing on this fucking on screen keyboard.

So I dithered around reading a bit and went into the water just before 3. Emile had said he was coming over and he net me in the water. I was a bit edgy as by the dock it is deep. Oh it really started to get buya from 230 onwards, no idea if others think about uv like me or if this is related to checking in at 3 of what.

I spent not quite 30 mins (Emile asked to borrow my goggles as we were talking about how deep it was, it was probably like 28 mins when I stopped to go to ladder to take them off) treading water as a sort of confidence boosting thing. Later on I did a tiny bit of swimming parallel to the docks.

I also jumped in off the 4mish lower platform, Emile did the higher one and I might have done had it just been me but although I am glad he was there we got out and chatted a bit etc and went for dinner at hotel next door (he looked on google maps and it was cheaper). He did video me jumping in at my request and I have no idea how to fix it but ny legs are going forward as I fall, as if I am bending at the waist.

I had toyed with extending before be got here and knew it would be dorm only but after I had actually been in water and realised it didn't utterly terrify me I nipped over to reception and extended. Reception guy switch to English at this point but whatever.

We went for dinner well I just had a licuado and he ate, I went to nearby pupusa place after which was pretty decent actually and quite interesting being by the getting dark dusty roadside.

When we went in  the 50ish woman who owned it asked where was from from and he said Canada and she asked if I was his dad. I mean age-wise yea, but he is like 6 foot something with blonde hair.

Also when I odered the licuado (3 USD on menu, 3 25 plus service charge when billl came btw) I asked for sandia with Leche and she pulled a face like "milk with watermelon?" And maybe said that to some extent. I asked for strawberry and she pulled the same face.  Because strawberry and milk, how fucking weird is that? Maybe they just didn't have it but 95% sure this wasn't the issue, she seemed to offer it with water instead. In the end the other younger woman suggested papaya so I went with that.

They had some nice old dogs (one 21, I asked, the weird old woman told me in Spanish and English, I really do wonder if she took an instinctive dislike to me for some reason, she didn't seem to speak English but seemed oddly difficult). We chatted quite nicely and Emile came back to hostel for a slash and left - he had hired a motorbike from hostel.

So I went to bog, hurt my head and then to pupusa place and now back here. And I still have no glass despite asking twice and bartender woman telling me something about bringing one from upstairs. She is not here now so maybe she has gone for one - I am not drinking  from a fucking chola size bottle - and if she doesn't bring one back I will go upstairs and ask for one myself.

A few people around but no one is talking.

Not ideal to be in dorm tomorrow but not terrible and I can use the midday high uv period to do a bit of planing etc, and it is cheapish (11 USD) and it will mean I get to see what the dorms are like. Not 100% ruling out a third night, esp if I could get a private, but not rushing, and it would be a Friday so might be expensive.

Ok went up and same woman at upstairs bar and I asked for a glass and she said she had forgotten and apologised and I said it was fine. Still sitting at bar, there are tables free but eg they have backpacks against them.

1913 fwiw I had this out with Grok and watermelon milkshake is a bit odd given how watery the watermelon is, and while probably not unpleasant it certainly isn't a standard combo. So it says I likely did interpret her reaction correctly but her advice was semi sound. And to be fair I just thought "etc, why not?" Without thinking it through. But fresa con leche is super normal here and although Grok suggests she may have been sort of thrown off by  the watermelon request and this reacted like that to strawberry, that makes less sense. Maybe I was discombobulated at this point and she was saying they had no strawberry rather than objecting to fresa con leche and I didn't twig that with the modest stress.

A bit of a breeze is getting up off the lake but it is warmish and broadly refreshing, not the rather unpleasant environment I pictured from alexandra's stories.

They have a (based on reading a poster afterwards) a floating tikil bar here. I was deeply bemused early in my treading water to note what I had taken to be an adjacent bar start motoring out into the lake. (It is sort of octagonal, not a conventional boat hull with tiki stuff on top but bascially still looking like a boat.)

I was dithering earlier about extending, I think it was definitely smart to wait until I had been in water before doing it. I think I leaned into the ff3w advice here - I was having vague "maybe I could come back later" thoughts and maybe I could have and still could, but since I am here and wanted to stay (and - not that I am complaining - this afternoon /evening was more social but less swimmy because of Emile being here) and it would be at least a nild time consuming faff to come back, it seems smarter to lean into it now. I do have time, the trip is still young and if it isnt I want to enjoy things as I find them not race round for anticipated maybes, which I can always do on a future trip.

Ther eis a beer pump on the bar but I asked and they don't do cerveza de Barril.

I just emptied the last of the chola into the glass and looked at the bottle and in micro print it says it is 750ml.

Wow, I think Chris Guida is here! Maybe it is just someone who looks like him. He is with some friends anyway so I certainly won't go over and say anything.

Nose still feels somewhat bunged up (sinusy) but perhaps better than it was. Not taken any of the medicine today. Just wanted to have something in hanfor psychological reasons given the relative isolation here.

1950 bar shuts 10, I will have another and then go enjoy my private room while I have it. Oh no,barmaid just left bat to clean tables, but will ask when she comes back. 2x750ml is not insane or morning swim ruining.

I could run a tab here but am paying cash as I go. And I haven't paid for the dorm bed yet the guy said I can pay tomorrow morning.  I was in swkmming gear when I actually booked it of course.

Wind is getting up a bit but not over unpleasant  I think there is an elderly ish English couple here,the woman spoke to me and Emile about the ladder up to the 8m platform looking rickety when he went to jump.

Bar was getting physically uncomfortable and moved to an apparently vacant table near the  unfenced deck edge (this is where roughly you can jump off for 4m, albeit I did it a bit further left). Quite nice looking at lights across lake and vague memories of Atitlan eg sitting with that woman whose name temporarily escapes me after the fancy dress party.

2017 fwiw less convinced it is Chris Guida.

The paper tissue sticking out of the dispenser looks like it is sort of dancing to the music.

If I didn't say with respect to the confidence building treading water earlier, I am 95% sure this is the first time I have been in "so deep it might as well be infinite" water like this. The cenote in mexico last year would have counted and technically does given that phrasing, but a lifejacket was mandatory so I was safe from drowning and didn't have to make a decision as to whether I needed or wanted one.

2035 wind is getting up but obv sitting here somewhat invites it and it is a warn (if strong) wind. Worrying a bit about cap coming off and I need a piss (mildly) but reluctant to leave beer here unattended (more from clearing up sense than spiking or theft! Very quiet guests only quality and tbh I find it hard to believe dorm is full of nearly full but who knows, and j an not that desperate) and while this is not quite what I'd normally call milking it, it has some overlap - a lot of the joy has gone and I am keeniah to finish beer (not remotely drunk) and go for piss and go relax in room.

2227 failing to transfer a 60 megabyte file between phones via Bluetooth. Do I expect the moon on a stick? 60 *megabytes*? these file sizes are beyond human comprehension.

It sounds alike there is a fucking storm outside. It is actually the fountain on I think the fish pind and a real wind  alexandras description feels a touch more accurate now. One of the two actually nice sofa barked a bit but didn't really make a fuss when j went up to try to have a hot shower, but on two attempts the door was locked. Another shower I thought had hot didn't.  It is perceptually cold but I went out barefoot and shirtless with a towel round my shoulders and it is windy but fine.  No shower  :-( cleaned teeth.

There are,  of course, absolutely no clothes hooks or hangers in the room.

My head has a sharp red burn line across it. I wore the bandanna today and despite Emile point out it was coming off at one point, it didn't. I suspect this comes from sitting at the soapapa pool yesterday. Not ideal but not terrible and wanted to note it. 

2248 fuck it, let's go to bed. Actually not a bad day but although it isnt mega painful a bit annoyed about head burn and (even though I just did it via usb in the end) the Bluetooth stupidity and so on. Vague hope is to be up and swim 8-9 ish while I still have my private room and before uv gets up.

I also hate lookinglike an illiteratemoron because I have to type on a fucking stupid on screen keyboard.

Santa Ana, Monday

Mon 0706 At terminal LA Vencedora waiting for bus to volcano, which guy with rifle (? Not a gun person) on door told me goes at 740. Sign says to pay on the bus. So we are probably OK.

Didn't sleep great. I woke about midnight, possibly people coming back but possibly not. I had vague pseudo dreams of being disoriented and not knowing where the hell I was or where I was supposed to be going in the morning. I got back to sleep and probably woke again about 4 at which point I commenced fitfully drifting in and out of sleep and feeling just slightly cold and apprehensive. Got up at 610 preempting 615 alarm.

I had the last three sandwiches worth of my bread and mortadela after cleaning teeth and putting sun block on. Wearing fleece and "second wear" black top, also on a sudden whim brought cleanish red ss top in my bag so I can use it for layering though I don't expect it will be needed.

I brought both phones just in case, the a06 sim might need a top up buy I *can* likely top it up if necessary. Rhythm heavy but not otherwise overly remixed "don't dream it's over" playing.

Don't feel too bad. Bit "fuck" getting up but I am mostly awake now and I suspect the worst is over, so to speak. Stomach feels pretty OK actually.

Had a very quick looking on hostelworld and booking. Com at the lake hostel after had sandwiches and while killing time but no change, basically for tomorrow night they have that one 40+ dollar room. Not worrying about this any more until after the volcano, I will have to take a view on things when I am back at the hostel this afternoon.

0713 yeah, a06 has no connection  there is actually a kiosk here inside the terminal with a Tigo sign but I don't really want to start dealing with this now, I likely could but I also don't strongly anticipate needing to get an Uber back or whatever and as I say if I can I could likely top up there and then or - since I do have both phones - just use a hotspot on the P7, which has my general travel-ish international pay for data no expiry SIM in (and I could maybe book an Uber on it, but I don't have the actual app on there and although in a pinxb the website might work, I'd feel safer using the real app on the A06). So yes, I don't need to top up urgently while I have both phones, and while I don't want to over economise and cause myself stress or hassle, I nay be able to avoid topping up the A06 tigo credit for a day or two. I also strongly suspect, though it is academic, that there would be a Tigo kiosk at the bottom of the volcano trail where I might conceivably (but don't expect to) miss the last bus back, which I think Alexandra told me was 1ish. I don't mean a dedicated Tigo kiosk, but almost every little soft drink and snacks and so on type stall here sells phone credit.

"Self control" just came on. :-)

I don't know if all the kiosks would put the credit on my phone for me but they probably would and in an emergency I could likely do it myself even if I screwed up and didn't pick the right option to get the actual deal I wanted.

0723 just tried to go through the boarding door as some locals going through and security type chap waved me back, saying 740 in English. Just don't want to miss the damn thing...

"Staying Alive"

A handful of tourist types are accumulating, which is reassuring.

One woman is walking around with her phone sort of wedged under her upper arm/armpit. Sort of an interesting idea if you need hands free, but I think I'd be way too worried about letting it go by accident.

Didn't need a shit this morning despite trying. I hope the sandwiches won't have woken my digestive system up. But I went so much yesterday. And tbh there are likely to be facilities at some points.

I am wearing cap but brought the bandanna so I can switch if I am getting worried about the cap blowing off in the wind.

0746 on bus. 70 cents. The bus has the destination cerro Verde on a banner on windscreen that looks permanent ish but there is only one bus a day?!

We're off.

1002 hiking up. Guide says second most active volcano in country, last eruption 2005.

23xxm height,tallest in El Salvador. Not highest mountain, that is 27xxm, but highest volcano.

1026 just snapped itzalco, which j think is youngest volcano and hostel mentions loss of walking up it, albeit prob won't in this trip.

1318 just pulling out on bus after. Not spoken to but been near and inevitably listening to an apparently British couple (he sounds a bit scouse) who lwere in the terminal this morning with a roughly 5 yo girl and a 4 yo boy (Gigi and Fin?) and who are in a 3 week trip. The girl apparently walked all the way up herself, and although her dad carried her part of the way down I was walking just in front if then and could see she was indeed walking and keeping up with everyone somehow.

1404 been falling asleep really badly. We just had to change (without paying) onto a different bus at a big cloverleaf type intersection.

1646 ok. I got back to hostel after having an ice cream in street and buying a 1.5l bottle coke zero which I drank out of a glass back here.

Looked into hostel at lake and spoke to Douglas and another guy here. I wa-ed the hostel direct and went out to get a haircut (usd3, not overdue but roughly on schedule and probably helps me look a bit better and good to get these little chores done) and when I got back they said they had no availability tue. So I had confirmed I could keep my bed here tue night and will pay in a minute and I have booked a private room for usd26 at the lake hostel for wed night. It isn't ideal to "lose" a day but it may serendipitously work out socially, I will probably do walking or food tour tomorrow and go swim at sapopa tomorrow 2pmish and then I have swum in all three pools here so that isn't nothing. It is vaguely scary that Friday will be 3 weeks in but there is still a lot left and although right now it sort of feels as though the last week has been nothing that is far from true, the 4 nights in juayua were far from wasted and nor was doing the volcano today.

The hike up was fine, very slow, earwigged on some dullish chat, all very slow due to huge numbers going up but pretty cool views at top, had some Mani garapinado sitting up there and tried to feel present and snapped way too many photos etc but yes definitely worth doing if a little bit too easy to give a massive sense of achievement - but still worthwhile and pleasant.

1921 showered and shaved, back at hostel. It is surprisingly fill and rather intimidating. There is a cooking class but especially as it is not free and I did it once already I don't really want to do it again. Having one of my beers. Feel decidedly old, out of it and BNM but we will see what happens and no big deal if nothing happens.

I went for a serious wander before dark and could not find anything remotely like LA bendicion in Juayua. In the end I went to Manhattan and had 4 pupusas which were OK but really not amazing or mega cheap, then for lost as my offline gmaps are not working at all and there is no data on that sim, but no major problem.

Anyway, let us are what happens.

2005 about to have second beer  I am one of three phone-staring losers sitting in the lounge. The cooking class is amazingly busy, there must just be wah more people here than when I did it. I have no idea what will happen later but fick it. It is a bit annoying I cannot sit outside because there are no tables not uses by the cooking class, such is life.

2020 my nose feels and has been feeling oddly sort of bunged up. I do wonder if dust got up there during the volcano hike. It doesn't really feel like a cold as such.

2055 finished second beer. Cooking class still in full swing, with an amazingly unpleasantly cheesy smell. An oldish american guy (fwiw) has joined the two young guys playing pool, one of whom had never seen a bridge before?! And her eis me assuming that I couldn't possibly join in because I am too old and too bad at pool.

I really don't know what to so. It isn't much fun sitting here. The crowd is so big and also a bit "pseudo hot but also rather annoying young american college girl" dominated that I frankly can't seriously imagine going on with a group if they do go on anywhere (hostels own bar is shut, but somewhere else might be possible) and having a pleasant chat with someone feels unlikely.

I could go people watch in the main square but I am not massively keen.

Since I am not in the class and it is still going on anyway, I can't really join in and chat to anyone as such even without vague social, shyness and age issues.

Not writing tonight off, nor am I desperate, but thinking of that thing about how taxi drivers have good and bad nights in it would be logical for them to knock off early on bad nights and work longer on good nights, but in practice they tend to keep at it until they earn X on any given night (so longer on bad nights and less on good) and then go home. Maybe tonight is just a bad night and I shouldn't stress about it or try too hard etc. I half wish I had bought myself a third beer. I have my aguardiente but not keen to drink it neat and no coffee here to conveniently slip it into.

2115 come out to mill a bit but it feels awkward as fuck. I am genuinely yawning as well. I really don't fucking know what to do. There is still some pupusa cooking going on too. It just feels slightly over-feeble to go to bed, yet on the other hand I (perhaps just meta thinking) feel kind of fed up and disinterested in making an effort and massively out of it etc.

2121 yeah, phone p7 just wigged out massively and lost a load of shit.

Come out to the street to have somewhere to mill unobtrusively. They have taken the walking tour posters down junhelpfully. And replaces them with posters about cooking classes Mon wed and for and spaniah classes tue and thu. I'll may do Spanish class tomorrow, well see. But this cooking class thing tho it won't affect me feels shit for socialising even for people younger and more outgoing tban me, since who is going to want to so it more than once, yet the night in the hostel will revolve around participation and the included drinks for the participants?

Maybe I could/shoild have made an effort to chat with someone tonight despite the class, maybe I am on a bit of a downer, or maybe I am too old/socially unskilled even if someone else could talk to people tonight without participating in the class? Really not sure.

I will go in and mill about a bit and probably genuinely look a bit of a weird loner and or desperate and well see how it goes and maybe I will just cut my losses and go to bed soonish.

2127 just done Duolingo out in street. I am going to go in but frankly there ia some really weird gulf between me and everyone else today which feels beyond the usual. I am really not sure I feel up to trying to speak to some random who doesn't know me from Adam or have any reason to want to talk to me, it is all a bit depressing.

Pseuod karaoke from bar el chino really tempts me to go across. Maybe j should have a beer or two and fuck it, even if I am sitting on my own.

2134 fuck it. After coming over, turning back and then changing my mind, I am in el chino. There is the table of the owner and his friends and two somewhat drunk women who were doing pseudo karaoke and that's it. But I have a beer and a seat, neither of which i had at the hostel,  and I have made a bit of a stand against being sent to bed by the weirdly hostile atmosphere there.  I will probably have one or two here, go back, if things are somehow calmer but not empty I may chat to someone, and if not i can at least go to bed feeling I didn't just knuckle under.

It is weird but I have just had this weird feeling of invisibility in the hostel today and perhaps to a lesser extent yesterday.

Half wish I wasn't staying tomorrow but things may be different, I did not even aim to stay because the atmosphere was friendly or anything, and I can eg swim at sapopa with the extra day regardless of any social dynamics.

3d wolf print poster thing (lenticular) on the wall by my table.

2145 p7 just crashed again. Not great.  Didn't lose any text this time.

I guess just need to accept that despite no obvious cause I feel broadly shit and out of it today and go to bed soonish and try to be up for a walking tour (I can ask reception where to go even if they have taken the posters down) and aim for a swim and some maybe quality milling around and or making plans or whatever time tomorrow and try not to let things get me down.

I can't rule out that ive just been socially shit today or lately but it really does feel like there's some weird extra dimension or layer to it.

2154 ok just about finished beer. No point chasing anything when things aren't feeling fun. Barring some obvious change in the dynamic at the hostel I am just going to do my teeth and go to bed when I get back (it ia literally across the road). If there are any lessons to be learned I can attempt to learn then tomorrow. Things feel more shit than just "I am old and simply don't fit in because of that", to be clear.

2209 8n bed. A few other people in dorm and sitting around on own. Part of the problem is that thanks to the invention of the smartphone, I ha e no way to tell if some random loner is open to chat and just killing time or is happily busy. And that ia even before we layer on "do they want to talk to a weird old guy" and me thinking "I know I shouldn't, but frankly this guy looks like a jumped up twat or a nerd or whatever and do I really want to talk to him?"

But let's send this.

And to repeat myself, at least I did not stick on here another night out of some misguided idea it was a super friendly environment or that I knew people here. It would have been silly to go to another random hostel doe one night, not to mention disruption of having moved. And this place is probably broadly ok, although tonight really does shake my faith a bit.

Juayúa-Santa Ana

Sun 0739 didn't sleep super well again. Maybe a bit cold, not exactly I'll but also suspect stomach/guts a bit overloaded with overeating and maybe the wrong kinds of food etxc. Have just got up.

0846 waiting near the bus. Asked some locals who pointed me across to the years but the bus doors are shut. Photo on Gmaps suggests it may actually be a 910 departure on Sun anyway.

Not to be crude but had a massive dump when got up, had coffee (and a free tortilla, not taking any of the aguacate offered with it) and then another massive and somewhat urgent dump after. Both reasonably solid fwiw. Feel broadly ok.

Woman offering me breakfast today was older, not Cora, but I think it is a family run place.

Sad to be leaving but better than being glad and I have already put in plenty of time here etc.

Have photoed the bus.

Was feeling q bit sorry for myself (overblown phrasing) this morning in bed as have to be up early today and tomorrow (if volcano is on). I would sort of like a little bit of a rest. I don't think I need it badly enough to need to force it and indeed most of this is just not being a morning person etc, but if chance comes up naturally to have an easyish day or evening I should take it.

I brought the last beer from fridge (which I didn't drink up on terrace yday) and also have 3 (1 nearly empty but still takes space) 250ml cheap aguardiente in bag and I also packed a bit carelessly last night/this morning so bag is full to extension collar, not a big deal.

Hope my beer is still in fridge in SA hostel. Inclination is not to drink today (which will be 3 days off) and then have a few beers post volcano if I can do it. Do still hope to swim at Sih today, albeit a minor stress to do so.

Brief chat with Callum and Ben this morning, also Canadian guy from waterfall tour or lower terrace over breakfast.

Some other tourists sharing vicious dog stories in English btw.

Was going to observe something else but it is slipping my mind.

Stomach feels a bit off but not much, tbh I think it is semi usual morning emptiness as much as anything.

Fwiw when I checked other day sa hostel wasn't showing on booking.com, hence (in part) my booking via their wa group.

0902 on bus, 0.80 as I was advised. This is an ex us schoolbus as usual.  No idea how long the run is but om shows 43 mins driving time. I doubt it will be that fast but serves as a baseline.

0908 moving. I remember what I was going to say - I was cold waiting ages for bus in sal yesterday but didn't put fleece on so a snot to be caught on hop and it was warmer o the bus and was standing so no way to put fleec eon anywya. But when we got to nah it was warmer anyway, perhaps due to lower altitude. I did put fleec eon later and was mildly glad of it, but it was warmer than I expected in nah. Probably just the suggestion of the hotel California near the square, but there was this vague warm evening vibe and palm trees and the white church that were reminiscent of either the album covet or the vibe for various amateur videos for the song on YouTube.

Ftr we seem to have stopped to pick up passengers outside farmacia cristo negro, although I got on at the small pseudo terminal so was one of the first on.

Noticed this morning that one of the grey socks has a small hole on the sole. Not ideal.  To be scrupulously fair I think I have been wahsinf and rewearing some socks while keeping some "properly machine washed" ones aside so it may have had disproportionate use, but I am not sure, and only approx 2 weeks into the trip this isn't great even if that is true. Not a huge deal and doesn't mean the socks are necessarily bad quality, might be back luck or a stone from some walk or something.

1118 Checked in in Santa Ana, Douglas on reception and we chatted briefly, volcano weather is v promising. 15 USD for two nights, I got a bottom bunk in a fairly nice probably 6 bed dorm upstairs, my old beer was still into he fridge and I have put my Juayua beer in there too.

I think I am going to pop out to the supermarket and get some milk, bread and ham and have some sandwiches. And just maybe get a bit of fruit. Not sure if this is overindulgent but it might not hurt, and I really don't want to go trogging aorind when I want to swim and also do volcano tomorrow.

1149 went to super selectos and having sandwiches now  I could have sworn blind I paid with a 50 to get some change and I was - thank fuck politely - insistent I had done so and they had to count the til and even then k wasn't convinced and argued about the bill being folded and they showed me the folded 5 which finally convinced me. Embarrassing but I guess no real harm done, I said I hoped I hadn't been rude and apologised and to be fair to myself I had not been particularly blustery or stroppy. Live and learn etc. I guess the meta lesson here is to be super explicit when I do hand over a 50 as well as of course to be sure I am handing over a 50!

1201 I still feel a bit shit about it but don't burn with shame and remorse as such. In many ways this is better than having come away with any doubt (yes the till count should have been convincing but I was so sure that it wasn't, but the folded 5 bill just as from my pocket binder clip wallet was, rightly or wrongly) than that I have this nagging annoyance that I lost 45 dollars or so. I maybe looked foolish but I was not rude etc. And we did do it all in Spanish, even if imperfect, which is something. And things like this make good stories in the future etc...

1343 feeling vaguely edgy about Sih. And volcano tbh. Neither is supposed to be some horrific challenge! And I talked to Alexandra about volcano too. Yes getting up will suck but it isn't end of world.

1350 hostelworld has no dorms in next day or two at lake hostel, just 42 USD private room. A week's time there are 10 USDish dorm beds. Hostel world has a 10usdish dorm bed for perhaps one day later than k want to go, but maybe I got confused. Or a 24 usdish private with shared bathroom that day. Nothing - barring me getting dates wrong - the day I want to go. Hoatelworld doesn't show taxes though.  Wondering if I should stick on here an extra day, or maybe risk not doing the lake at all but planning to cone back later or doing it as a daytrip from here (but really I would like to sleep there,especially with respect to swimming but also for the experience.)

Luna is on the seat. I am sitting in the lounge/pool room shown in this hostels listing on hostelworld, which felt oddly cool despite it not really being that odd on reflection.

1625 just had more sandwiches on  hostel terrace. A few other people around, all solo.

I did swim. It was a bit weirs. It was the pool (below big letters saying something like "lugar de mujeres bellas") I had seen from up by the cross,and you could see the cross quite nice in its way but (although it wasn't heaving despite being Sunday it was busyish) it is a bit family/kids with some water slides and bucket dump things and so on. I also got groked at and semi chased by a damn vicious looking dog inside the grounds as I walked in, several "vaya" s maybe helped but I looked back and it was baring it's teeth at me from the top of the stairs as I went down. (I followed two locals - probably a woman my age ish and her very elderly and slow mother - on the way out for protection, despite their extreme lack of speed, but the dog had gone.)

Anyway, I did find the changing room (though had worn trunks under trousers out) after asking someone and I figured I'd go in after paying and the dog. And one bit was sort of shoulder to neck deep for me, near a biggish waterslide (which I plucked up social courage to go down once, and it was quite fun). I am well out of form and was in water (which was a bit cool, especially as most of it was in shade) for about 40 mins including time for the waterslide, but hey, at least I made an effort. I didn't burn after the waterfall swim the other day and given I deliberately left this til gone 2 today I don't expect to burn today, but fingers crossed. Went out with no glasses, prescription goggles, bandanna and red short sleeve top, taking towel and underwear in a plastic bag. I left them by a wall by the side of the pool (where though I didnt realise it at the time two or three lifeguards were stood at the top of the wall).

At one point I bashed my right elbow on big right angle plastic pipe sticking out of the wall and it hurt like hell, my hand felt like it was partly paralysed (exaggeration but trying to describe it). But it did more or less recover a few minutes after so I carried on, maybe this is the funny bone, no idea.

Came back and tweaked clothing and put glasses on and belt etc and now down here.

Apparently it is the Superbowl tonight!? Obviously not personally interested and altrgoifh I have no idea what might happen, I am not intending to go out at all given volcano tomorrow.

1701 feel a bit in limbo. Slightly bnm but not a massive factor. The slight uncertainty over the volcano and wanting to go to bed early and also trying to decide what to do about the lake with that one super expensive room being available on Tuesday and nothing else. I need to chill a bit. Absolute worst case I either overpay by about 20 dollars (I'd probably be willing to do a dorm but the 24ish dollar private is not insane and might be nice so I might freely choose that anyway so using it as a baseline isn't too out of order) or I put in another night here or come back later. I am not rushing to book tonight, unless they get a cancellation or reschedule and something opens up.

While not super keen if I did stay here an extra night I could go swim at sapopa for example. I could do the lake as a day trip but I think given my swimming gear theft concerns it really would be much more relaxing to be staying thee, and then I could swim late and early to avoid uv concerns.

Looking at it at 20 (maybe 30) dollars overpay in order to "save" a day feels better. But while I don't want to waste time it is not as if I have a super tight schedule or as if the extra day here would be straight up wasted. It just might stop me maybe going to embassy thin in San Salvador but tbh I have no idea if they are likely to have anything on or on what days anyway, or whether I could/should overnight in san Salvador if they do or just push through this time.

1740 shaved. Feel slightly bloated.

Just spoke to chap on desk. The only bus leaves terminal La Vencedora at 730am, so I need to leave hostel by 7am and ideally a bit earlier. At leas to know, and I checked location he showed me matched OM.

I am slightly tempted to have a beer but tbh it feels a bad idea. I can go to bed in 2-3h at a push,. There is mention on hostel WA of Superbowl on screen at the chicken bus lounge from 4pm but I am not really interested, especially given the volcano context. A few people are around and chatting and I do feel a bit BNM but not in a major way.

I may go out for a bit of a walk and try not to eat but perhaps treat myself to a coffee or juice or something. I feel basically fine in terms of health but I have had so many actually big fairly solid dumps today I am just trying to mix things up a bit.

1817 sod it, I am going to go for a bit of a walk.everything is basically fine but I'm just a bit fed up. And yawning. So maybe an early night won't hurt anyway.

1940 Back at hostel. Went for a wander. Couldn't find much really but locals mostly hanging out in square (lots of families) and I got a JV jar hazelnut with milk coffee for 1.50 (0.50 of that being for sachet of powdered milk they put in!) And then a cheaper 0.50 coffee with probably powdered milk from another stall. Quietly pleasant people watching etc and felt a bit better. A chap came round asking for money for a transplant for his 4 year old son - as a few locals gave him some money I gave him a couple of coins. Some chap had seen other night driving himself round on a hand powered bike wheelchair thing spoke to me but somehow we didn't get past before Buenas noches before he gave up on me.

Going to lurk on terrace (which is v quiet, 1 other woman behind me playing with her phone) for a bit and then have an early night.

Queens "show must go on" was playing from probably taverna del chino across road while shaving and it was oddly tugging me to go over there for a beer but as noted before really not the night for it.

Been half intending to dthis anyway but let's just bash out a list of highlights so far from memory in no particular order:
- first ever beer pong game
- Laguna Verde
- event weekend (mixed in itself, but first time ever done that)
- meetup first full day's evening
- hanging out with those locals at the garage the "small group" night out
-  hot spring night party
- music in main square in San Salvador
- waterfall hike including the swimming stuff
- swimming soloish in three? slightly unusual pools
- the multiple nights out here in santa ana,some more party and some more chatty
- meditative evening in main square in Atajo, also sort of tonight
- night market
- a fair amount of Spanish conversation even if flawed
- being given lift in that guy's pickup unsolicited
- climbing up onto the cross at the top of the solo hike
-  initiating drinks with Alexandra at taverna del chino and subsequent knock-on events
-  the fifty dollar incident
- scrubbing bloodstains repeatedly out of everything in that room after I cut my knee (incidentally touch wood no complaints about that)
- repeatedly meeting Lukas

Maybe I am overdoing it. But while not all "omfg best moment of my life", they are all currently distinct and worthwhile "memories" of the trip.

2014 I am yawning a bit. Incidentally there is a biggish cockroachish thing scuttling round the (open) courtyard brick floor. Not a problem, just relatively rare to see this. Wearing fleece and red ss shirt btw and v comforts me, prob fine without fleece too, no wind. I am going to west the same top I wore last day or so tomorrow for hike tomorrow hence wearing the red tonight in case that other top is a bit smelly (tho it is probably fineish).

The water perhaps smelt just a touch funny at the pool today, maybe I imagined it. I used the open air shower after so didn't have a shower at hostel tonight. (There were also showers in the changing rooms at pool  but I just used the shower cubicle to change in, not to shower.)

Fwiw I noticed last time I was here but there is a sort of ake menu on the wall in the courtyard listing foods like burgers and stuff but with all the prices zero and all the smaller text something like the Lorem ipsum stuff. Just took a photo in case i hadn't had one before.

There is just this slight heavy gut feeling lurking round. Pretty sure it is not serious but fwiw.

2019 ok, sod it, I am going to move towards bed. I want to be up 6-630 and I am slightly tired and it was an earlyish start and I didn't sleep super well so no real reason to stay up. It will probably be pushing 2045 by time I have cleaned teeth and been to bog etc anyway.

2053 ok, just getting into bed. Will post this now. No one else in dorm. Did say hi (no more) to one guy earlier btw, just before swimming I think.

2057 the bed feels oddly slanted right to left. The cat has come in which she is not supposed to but the door is wide open all day. I think she has gone now anyway. New slightly oldish? Guy just been shown into dorm and we have exchanged a few words fwiw, he has gone out to eat. Bed sheets also oddly and unexpectedly static charged. But let's try to sleep.

Juayúa, Sat

Fri 2123 can hardly believe it has been two weeks. not sure in which direction - maybe time has flown, but it feels like it has been longer really. But things feel quite nice actually, I seem to have done an awful lot and it still feels like j have a decent amount of time to go.

But finally bed!

Sat 0806 didn't sleep all that well. On lower terrace waiting for free coffee to warm up. Hostel owner woman Caro has given me some l advice on Laguna Verde and I may chance it in a bit.

My usual hostel in Santa Ana is not showing on booking but I could probably contact them. The lake hostel has availability but it seems more expensive whatver days I pick than when douglas was showing me a few days ago. Affordable but expensive at 40-50 a night for a queen room.

Core plan for today is to "see" the food market and do the night market and ideally put an hours wandering in in salcoatitlan, then I will have seen all the towns. That said, I may well try to put a morning/early afternoon in trying for laguna verde and if I fail it isn't the end of the world as long as I am not bitten. I suspect the recommended road may not be too isolates but then it may be.

FWIW last night walking back to hostel there were dogs barking all round but it wasn't bothering me much in a slightly surprising way, perhaps because I am in town and feel I know this area a little.

As I say I wasn't sleeping great despite early bed and no alcohol. I did wake on my vibratey sunrise alarm but I really didn't feel like getting up. There is no reason to believe it is unusually spectacular here and I did look through curtains from my bed (which happens to have a window facing sunrise) at points when I was awake and saw some nice coloured sky etc but nothing absolutely out of this world. If I'd slept better and woke up naturally or something maybe it would have been worth going up to terrace.

Caro just offered to bring me coffee which is excessively nice. I asked and the food market is sort of 10-4. My gut feeling is that if I am going to take a punt on Laguna Verde I should leave in the next hour or ideally less, one way or another I am likely to be back here for 2ish and that will give me a chance to see the market and eat something if I want, and push comes to shove I could also see it at eg 10am tomorrow (checkout is 11 and I am sure they would look after my bag anyway) before moving on. And once I have tried Laguna Verde I will have a better idea how feel about moving on. I am wondering if I should do a night at lake hostel *before* going back to santa Ana and trying to do volcano but not sure, there is some vague "it might work better if I need to stay a second night to try volcano again" though in my head but I am not sure this really works. Mixed with some idea that if I do the volcano second and am thus going on to get somewhere east of san Salvador afterwards, I start that possible multi bus jounrye from santa ana instead of maybe having to add an extra bus from lake to santa ana. But really not sure.

Having the orange slices with spice I bought at supermarket other day for pseudo breakfast.

0920 finally at bus stop waiting for bus to APANECA. Bit edgy re dogs ETc but I will have a go at least, no specific reason to expect problema. Cora did say last night when I mentioned it dogs are a potential issue in general and it isn't just me being irrational but maybe she was just being nice.

Feeling semi chilled and semi rushed. I could extend a day if I had to but it is probably pushing it. I must say that the structure of ruta towns means the whole idea of having a base and travelling out from there works really well, not the only time it has worked well for me but definitely one of the better examples of doing it. (In some places the bus journeys out and back feel so long the ckncep t is maybe better than constantly changing accom but still a bit crap.)

0925 on bus. I am actually starting to recognise one or two of the buses.

I have both phones with me today. I feel the risk of mugging or other loss is relatively low and the chance of eg wanting gmaps or (the main point) a desperate (even if apparently unlikely to be successful) attempt to get an uber back if I eg make it to Laguna but feel nervous about walking back down justify bringing both.

1211 At Entre Cielo & Tierra just above Laguna Verde. Got dropped off by bus at vus stop north side of Apaneco and walked up no fuss at all, about 40-50 mins. I took a detour into possibly private (big gate but pedestrian access via a sort of bendy stile/tunnel) Montecristo estate to go to a crwter viewpoint shown on OM but maybe it was overgrouwn or I didn't quite expkore enough. No dog problems at all, touch wood it will be same on walks down. Getting personal pizza and a coffee here, perhaps lardy but sod it. Had two small packet of Taquitos chile toreado from small kiosk by lake after I walked round it. The lake is lovely. Really glad I came. Asked for a voluntary contribution when I turned up by the were super low pressure and didn't even give me a suggestion, I sug out maybe a dollar worth of change from back pocket and they seemed happy with that, and this gets rid of some of my shrapnel. I gave them all the change I had, had I had eg some dollar coins might have been different.

I stood by lake enoying it after circuit, I think I struck a good balanxe between enjoying it and milking it. Probably about an hour around the lake. Plan is to eat this lightish (just a personal pizza) meal, walk down and probably be back in juayua for 2ish if not earlier, probably drop a06 off at hostel for a top up, while I visit food market (perhaps for snakcy stuff, we will see) then pick a06 up and head off to saltoatitlan for abrief look and then naz... For a daytime look and will camp out there until it gets darks, then come back to hostel.

I will probably WA the usual hostel in Santa Ana later to ask if they have a bed for sun and mon nights but not rushing.

I have this place to myself. The walk round the lake was mostly solo, a couple of local families living round there, one of them said hi, also met three soldiers walking round opposite way to me and said Buenos to them, all very amicable. More people by the entrance part of theake but only in a pleasantly busy way, it was still quiet and peaceful where I was standing for my pseudo meditative bit.

It is sunny and really nice but in shade or by lake where there is a breeze (the lake is small in  a nice kind of way) I was an am glad I brought the fleece.

Turned transformer llm off on keyboard and turned on some auto assistance settings which were off without me realising it. Superficially this feels way better. May turn transformer llm back on later but yea this is much better, if still not as good as a real keyboard.

To be clear I cannot ser the lake from the terrace here at the restaurant but the view is very cool, just different. Looking at OM, I think the town I can see is Ahuachapan.

I lost data connectivity at the lake (not that I needed it, but I got text messages) because my phone connected to Guatemala masts and I don't want to risk roaming even on my local sim.

It really feels touch wood like this is a near idyllically perfect travel day so far. The lake, the walk, the not expensive and deserted restaurant with the nice terrace and views.

I think I can see lago el espino. Mana Muelle de san blas playing. Very nice.

1242 pizza very good. Just took a photo of a cloud that looks a bit like a cat. It is that kind of day. :-)

Don't want to rush and not haring off but also need to not milk it. Will finish coffee, pay and see if I can use the toilet then head down.

1509 l just finished carne asada at food festival thing. Long tent with lots of tables and food carts. Less pretentiously foody than I expected. Bit crappy eating steak with a plastic knife and fork and I am a bit stuffed after eating this on top of pizza (and crisp things) earlier but it was good at and 6 plus 1 for a bottle of Fresca not bad value. Street dogs hanging round but they are not (except for one small fight between a couple of then) aggressive, and they don't jump up on the tables or anything. I haven't fed them anything as I ate it all myself and I suspect it is frowned on. To be fair they are not too bad looking and I suspect they do OK overall.

1514 just had a very old guy with a lot of missing teeth who I could mostly not understand come up to me. I wonder if he was begging of course but while I semi resent even this not very threatening "aggressive" begging, he also seemed kind of dignified and it wasn't 100% obvious he was begging and there was a tiny part of me that was tempted to give him something but didn't want to insult him. So a weird mix of the two thongs. I was however polite to him, shook his hand when I got up after he had talked to me for a minute or two, etc.

Glad I came. Am walking back to hostel slowlyish, hope the a06 will have charged and will grab it and the fleece which I left there and head out for a possibly slightly long (bit not that long I guess) bit of touristing in salcoatitan and naz...

Do feel a bit bloated but just I think this side of being sick...

2146 back at hostel. All ok. Got laundry, 3 USD. Brief chat with callum, Brian and the other guy from last night in dorm. Caro advises me there is a 9am bus direct to Santa Ana which I think I am going to feel compelled to take, despite having hoped for a more leisurely morning. There is theoretically a middya direct bus but she says it is not running.

Went to Salcoatitan for a flying visit  a dog growled at me from middle of street as I wandered randomly away from centre and I turned back. Centre nice enough and there we a brass-ish band playing and I went into the small printing museum which was sort of cool and they had a nice and probably pregnant cat

Waited ages for bus to Nahuizalco so it was busy when it turned up. It also drops you a fair way outside town so I trigger in, not a huge deal. Night market was quite cool in its way, there were some people singing and I wandered round and had a coffee frappe and a licuado de leche con zapote and used the toilet in the market where the grumpy woman on the desk urged me to gk through without giving me change for my dollar coin (0.25 to use toilet) and pulled a face like I'd asked her to do something unreasonable when I asked for my change.

I wandered round a bit and watched a possibly drunk but possibly just friendly tiny old woman chatting with people and dancing and maybe begging but k didn't actually are anyone give her money. I tried not to milk it and probably didn't. Was vaguely tempted to eat but I really didn't feel it was smart after so much food earlier.

Got an iber back no real trouble, driver asked me if I wanted to go to the park in Juayua when I got in (err, no, that is why I booked to my hostel and why it says that on your phone) but it was all OK. A whisker over USD 5.

Feel vaguely jealous/left out wr those three guys from dorm apparently hitting it off and hanging out all the time,but tbh I probably wouldn't want to be that full time hanging out with someone. Ben told me there is a great taco place in Santa Ana in a car wash, which sounds odd and maybe worth checking out just for the hell of it, volcano permitting.

Fwiw callum is going to Suchitoto tomorrow and is in a honestay as all the dorms were booked up, and I half wonder if there is some overlap here with the apparent lack of a dorm option at Captain Morgan when I was looking the other night.

I reserved for two nights at usual hostel in Santa Ana via WA while at night market. Fingers crossed volcano is doable Tuesday. Plan for tomorrow is to finally swim at Sihuatehuacan 2pmish, assuming j get there with plenty of time, which if I am on the 9am bus I probably will be.

2216 just done a sort of rough lack. I think I somehow put a water bottle in bag without top properly sealed after cleaning teeth and have wet inside of daypack and the floor by my bed but can't be helped I guess.

I am just about to go to bed I guess, so let me send this first.