La Union, El Salvador to Leon, Nicaragua

Mon 0610 ready to leave accom. Street car size gate is shut but I can probably get through the middle. Dithering slightly about leaving. Don't want to be there mega early but also don't want to be hanging around for ages. But eg what if there is a problem getting out or I have to route round dogs, albeit it is early light out.

Didn't sleep great, bit warm (there is an epic ceiling fan and it was fine during day but I had it down to 3 overnight and sheets and it wasn't terrible but not great) and I think more than anything just nerves about missing boat etc.

0616 ok, I do need to be there 0645 so let's just go.

0624 a woman (prob who checked me in but not sure) was in courtyard anyway, said goodbye.latch to open street gate in car sized doorway. Mercado municipal bustling albeit not fully open and no problem walking through. Outside oficina de migracion. Localish guy sitting on pavement  and a few somewhat migrant looking plastic bags around. No other tourists yet.

Just noticed billboard for my accom straight opposite the office across the road, clever positioning.

I could likely get a coffee at pupuseria veronica across road but reluctant to induce bowel movements when toilet availability is not clear.

Ftr I had a private bathroom in that accom. There was an AC unit on the wall but I had not remote, although I didn't really dig into the options on booking. Com I suspect I could have paid more to have AC and it would have been the exact same room. It wasn't super necessary, the poor sleep was not thatpoor and not primarily due to temperature I think.

Another tourist looking guy is around now at least.

0716 filled in usual form, tour woman swizzled transit country around in what seems wrong Way and wrote in "Nicaragua" for other countries visited but whatever. The immigration office has my passport and it makes me jittery to be separate from it.

Dutch (not German) couple from San Miguel are here and we have spoken a bit. they are travelling for a year and a half so far!

Someone asked about toilet and there is one and I half wish I had got a coffee now but not pushing it and it is hardly mega deprivation etc.

0744 immediately went over and (after considerable delay, I guess serving pupusas is the main aim) got a coffee with creamer. Apparently we are waiting for a couple of people delayed en route from el tunco so we may be a while. Mildly sucky but can't be helped. Feel broadly ok. It is/was mildly tempting to get pupusas but I am not hungry, I don't normally eat this early, I ate a lot last night, I would mainly be eating to kill time and there is also the vague prospect of feeling ill on the boat, plus of course I may start to eat and then we are going to go.

I may have another coffee in a bit ilthough. I asked again (nicely in Spanish) and yes it is normal they are keeping the passports, I think they said we will get them when we go.

0751 a shuttle seems to have turned up so I suspect this may be the rather large el tunco party. Teeth feel oddly sticky after the coffee, I don't mind and on reflection I thought I heard someone else be told it had sugar in, but then they also had some sugar sachets so not sure. Maybe it is just the creamer.

0755 by no means a new observation, but (and I mean this honestly) it is genuinely refreshing how many young and youngish backpackers seem to smoke. Not just now, in general.

I do however feel a vague irrational dislike/jealously for people who would voluntarily go to EL Tunco. :-) I sort of don't want to but the idea that they are young and fit and sociable and enjoy hanging out at that kind of beach environment and fit in etc.

Much milling around with the now much larger group and people filling in the forms.

I have not has a second coffee and do not really need bog but I might go for a piss.

No there isnt a toilet. Asked your woman. There is a shop across the road (so paid) and round the corner there is a semi guarded entrance inside the migration building with no obvious toilet or permission to enter.

0816 ok, I went back and asked the guard and wasn't so miserable. Had a piss, didn't need a dump and perhaps what I somehow wanted most of all was to wash my hands and mouth with soap and water. Feel much better.

0832 btw I don't trust the results as such but based on several conversation with llm, I suspect to am going to struggle to get a Nicaraguan sim working on the A06. I will have mobile data on the p7 but the Uber issue is a concern. I am not going to overly stress about it but I think the immediate point is that I will not be buying a sim from a tiny street kiosk - I want a shop or at least hole in the wall kiosk where I can reasonably expect them to have test sims and be willing to spend a few minutes trying them out, so I don't pay if it doesn't work.

0841 group photo for immigration. Warning about no drones allowed (did know, don't have one, are they going to search our bags?). Make sure our ca-4 visas are within 90 days. I assume my 180 day (which I only noticed is so high other day) entry stamp from el Salvador is fine.

The problems with the A06 probably come down to bands. It is a cheap phone and it is UK spec.  I was assured by llms before I bought it it would work fine in LatAm but whatever. The p7 is a lot more premium and international and I am pretty sure it's band support is a lot broader and I have little doubt it will work just fine anywhere with its global sim (or, not that to am fitting one as I have the global sim, a locally purchased sik for any network).  I would be a bit concerned if I had just the A06.

Not for first time I am struck by just how few tourists wear ytousers. Shorts tastic.

1229 just pulling out in shuttle  all ok. It is hot. Been chatting to nice German guy bout my age who I ended up sitting next to in boat. Crissing very smooth. Baggage inspection not utterly trivial but fairly cursory for me at least. Used up last two dollar coins no trouble (13 USD entry) so I have only a few tiny us coins left, which is good.

Was reunited with passport before we went off for both. The fabled captain Mario walked us over. He collected our passports again in arrival and they were again processed in
En nasse, we queued up to pay fee and get them back after.  I got a little slip of paper and presumably so did everyone else, as well as an entry stamp (but AFAICT no exit stamp from el Salvador)

If memory serves this is only the second time I have crossed a border by sea.

I though t there was an hour time difference but there isnt.

1308 at service station. Had micro piss (perhaps annoying queue of woemn as I think they were going to use the gents and I maybe semi pushed in but whatever). Seat in bus is doing my back in as I keep going to sleep, not quite sure why.

No cash machine btw  they do take dollars but not really hungry had my 80g packet peanuts bought yesterday anyway.

1923 on stickyish hostel terrace with fire for three Toña's I got at supermarket earlier just got back from an evening walk, wasn't going to go out but had been som e mentioned of carnival earlier and I heard some drumming so went out. Nice enough and slightly cooler but still sticky and tbh not feeling dangerous and a few people on streets etc but definitely not lively. Still, glad I went out. A few people sitting around here but it is all very isolated, not just me. A couple do guys sitting at bar inside front of Bigfoot hotlatel looked a tiny bit isolated too fwiw, albeit perhaps livelier than here. The inevitable did I pick the wrong hostel thoughts but need to remember that apart from grass being greenr, I picked this cos I really wanted a private room after the border crossing and also because I wanted to| cancellation in case transfer fell through etc.

Perfectly acceptable beer.

So after checking in and paying dollars I gaffes briefly - I have an ensuite if didn't say, can't remember what I expected, aircon but not remote (oh for an ir blaster and no morals :-))  and went out. I got 14.8k nio out no fuss at an Avanz with Barclaycard no fee, of course since no fee arguably I should have got less, but a) old habits die hard b)  it is reasonably smart to have a bit of a stash in case no machines are available.

Went for a wander and struggled to find anywhere to eat. Didn't feel exactly hangry but I think I was getting a bit that way. Was warm. I was feeling a bit BNM despite not really expecting that much from yhe transfer plus yes I did chat a bit with that German guy and my Dutch couple first thing etc.  So irrational but there you are.

I did in end stumble on a comedor just as I was heading to a supermarket for sandwich supplies and I was sufficiently discombobulate dilated along the price I just gave the woman a 200 note instead of waiting to pay at end. Have photo of place. Food was not amazing and the salad was maybe lightly dressed or just not stuff I liked much but really it was ok and did help. All this time I had massive bulging wodge of 14.8k in my knee pocket by the way.

Went to supermarket and got the 3 tona for 144 and I felt the cashier was just a tiny bit disdainful but maybe it is cost I sneezed in the queue and although I used sleeve I didn't want to get thanky out as it was in pocket with \odfw, and I finbled handing her the 200 note (but said lo siento), maybe I was just feeling over sensitive and part of the whole BNM old fart left out plus vague pressure feelingthey do volcano boarding here, there are morning and sunset options, I feel an arritational pressure to rush to ethos but I am extending *somewhere* here at least one night and tomorrow I am having the free breakfast and trying to go out earlyish for coolishness and get a sim if I can and just explore the town  THERE IS NO FUXKING RUSH. I will read and think about what time I want to do it and whether rit matters who you go with etc, may ask Samuel tomorrow too.

The laundry service where looks cheap enogubsk yes although I have private bathroom I will probably get a big proper wash in. I will ask tomorrow morning and see.

German guy on transfer was telling me (he lvied here a while a tone point) [hat Nicaragua is generally very warm. There e is I think none of the real coolness of the mountains in parts of el Salvador. But we will see. I will acclimatise and I am not dying now and I can spurge on AC and I may at some point also find a nice wuiet place ekn the beach with just the right level of chat and isolation without it being all fucking unco. There is apparently a free beach transfer front his hotel every day but I am not rushing to go to some random nearby beach for the day, to the extent I like beaches what tiw want is a quietish one where I can go for a walk and watch the sunset and have a few beers and ideally some low key chat. I don't want to go through beach for the day and feel hot and worry about losing my bag and so on, If I can do something better later.

Leon has a rather dirty and faded colonial charm. I don't hat eit, for all that to wasn't feeling too favorable earlier when struggling to find somewhere nom fancy to eat. I did have atiny sip of tape water earlier, staff guy assures me it is drinkable and with its usual "well I wouldn't drink it* water the internet broadly backs him up. Not quite sure what i will do but as I say I did have a little drink.

In the most irrational way possible when checking in I felt an impossible fraud for having splurger about 26 USD a night on a private. As if I am in competition with anyone or there are any rules or as if I don't do fairly well keeping the cost down and don't always allocate privates. My own guidelines about border crossings and so on are completely sensible buttons|as just feeling broadly quietly down

It is pretty stifling here and no air at all and no outdoor fans. Wearing blue craft top which Is perhapsmarginally thicker than others but it is my last genuinely clean machine laundered top and ainc ei ontend to hand all the dirty or hand washed in water only ones in tonrorowz it seemed best to crack into this one.

1943 second beer  I kind of wish-big-boy big bottle of coke zero or something just to chug.

I could be 25 and mr fucking charisma and nothing would likely be happening tonight btw. Just a note, note a problem. It is actually cooler is room even without fan and I hope I will sleep ok.

1944 let's go get second beer.

If I didn't say despite not having a notionally awful seat ibwas uncomfortable as fuck on the bus (maybe the very hard aest on the boat for 1h40 or whatever started things off) and I was half asleep but half suffering from crick in neck and had a weird mix of that cocoon don't want to arrive feeling with the fuck I want to get off this bus feeling.

Fwiw it is Monday night of course, wrt liveliness in town among locals (and for all o know last night was big carnival night) and to some extent with tourists.

I will check de carnival but current feeling is, especially since it would be very natural if not required to come back to leon on return leg to el Salvador, that barring some special stuff happening ibwill stay one more night (maybe here, maybe no), have tomorrow puttering and vaguely recovering from the trip today and finding places to eat et cint own, and then wed I will do volcano boarding (and I could always have another go at the other time of day when I return) and then move on. I really do not need to rush and a vague irrational feeling the trip is running out of time does not justify stating to hare round and ruining the relaxed vibe I want, but equally foolish to overly cling here unless I have found myself in a very friendly environment (just maybe I should switch hostel on last day by way of an experiment) or met cool people, when better things might happen elsewhere and I am likely to be back here on this very trip anyway.

Fwiw current gut feeling is yes I may go to Managua but with caution and likely on the return leg when I am more aclcimatiaes to the country, it's culture, it Spanish accent, etc

I don't say there is a strong similarity but I am inavoidably reminded of the Brits sitting around in the European Club in Burnese Days complaining about no ice and a (not checked the text of course) still sultry atmosphere.

I may have said but too lazy to scroll up, i think today wa sonly my second sea border crossing everm getting uses to itm I guess the passprt handling en masse for the whole group is maybe a general feature of auchvthings, even if it is completely different to most land and air crossings.

2107 maybe it's the beer but I feel quite chilled. Half wish I had more bwer bit would be good to be up early. There is a cat here and fwiw rationally or not I feel ibsaw quite a lot of cats around on my walk ealelierm

The absolute key thing is I need to fight any tendency to rush. No, do not geatuotoualy waate time. Don't be lazy. But equally for example charging into colcano boarding tomatoes is silly  I am tired ish, a day puttering round and drinking frappes and finding places to eat is fine. I don't have forever but ihave a long time and I can come on holiday next year and my whole secret weapon really is not having to charge round like a 21 year old trying to do central America in three months because they will never come back because they will be working or will be travelling the entire world. I have focused the, I don't get to do six months at a stretch etc but I can come back every year somewhere etc etc. If j starts twaicng because of some silly clock ticking - especially when I am not even halfway - I throw away a lot of what makes travel fun for me, the leisure but yet combined with forcing myself to eg get up early or spend all night slogging up a volcano, the *chance* (not certainty) of a ranosmd chat in a strange place, etc. And I need to fight against the idea I am inherently annoying to other tourists due to my age or to locals becuase of my imperfect spanish and general foreignness. I don't have to believe everyone loves me, but I need to void preemptively assuming the worst.

Another beer would be nice but it's fine  I have a bit of this third left then an early night.  There is a cat there but it looks slightly qggressice and hasn't come overly close to me of its own volition yet.

2131 going into room and likely to bed. Feel borderline ok or even good actually. Today definitely a weird excessively stresy emotional kind of day for no really good {do or clear reason.

2152 just done teeth (bottled water from el Salvador despite in theory it being fine here). Feeling okish. Do need to make en effort to be up for breakfast  at 730 (til 930, but best early) and then strip sd card and other sims out of A06 and go out for Spanish practice discussing a sim and being firm and refusing to pay for something not working. Fwiw - and I am not sure what it is worth - my UK sim is roaming on claro and my Salvadoran Tigo sim is roaming on tigo and both have solid signal  which would naively suggest to me that the A06 is capable of picking these networks up with its band selection, but what do know?

Anyway, Bed. Feeling decidedly better than Blondie earlier, whether due to food, contemplation and/or the sweet brown liquor.

San Miguel-La Union

Sun 15th 0847 Black coffee on deserted terrace. Didn't sleep too badly at all, though woke up a bit maybe 6-7ish feeling a bit disoriented. Got up about 8 (thinking "oh, missed the optimal bus" but I was never aiming for it and tbh I don't take what the guy told me about that too seriously).

It is pretty nice actually here with the sun on the garden.

I am trying and moderately succeeding to view today etc as all part of the trip, AI am still abroad, it is a mild adventure, etc. I feel stupidly short of time (I am 3 weeks 2 days in and am mentally rounding it up to 4 already) but it is fine really. Every day is sort of cool in its own way with a not overly rose tinted view, getting the boat will be cool, finally getting to the hostel in Leon and having a beer will be cool,. I am stupidly dreadinng my first cash machine use in Nicaragua (how much to withdraw, which machine, which card, fees) and ditto having to sort out a local sim (handing my phone over to some random guy on the shop or kiosk) but these are really utter trivialities.

Nose continues to be sort of bunged up but the pseudo cold may be kind of going away a bit, particularly once I have been upright and put of bed for a bit.

All that said and without wasting time, it would be good to get some "I am here for 3+ days and while I want to do stuff I so not have to change rooms or hostels or towns tomorrow" vibes in. I think to some extent this will be natural, it is just that cap Morgan naturally didn't really need two days, before that at santa ana I was sort of somewhere I had been for ages mostly to do the volcano and wait to get into cap Morgan and then since then I have has travel days and places I am staying more out of convenience than to visit because I am in route to nicaragua. (Yes there is likely cool stuff to see/do here if I want, eg you can hike to top of volcano and if it is the right blend of challenging or solo or quiet that night be interesting, but I don't have infinite time and in particular if I do want to do that the time is on the return leg, not right now.)

I've just cranked the transformer llm setting all the way to the max following a random web comment I just read and let's see how that goes.

As always the raging sport tops have dried really well. I guess the material demands of socks are different but it would be so cool if I could find socks that would dry this quickly.

I am fwiw coughing a bit and was last night, in a sort of annoying but not all that deep way. This had definitely gone away for ages. Maybe part of a mid-ish cold?

I am feeling - nothing to do with illness - mildly warm and sticky here on covered over terrace but it is slightly nice and I also feel it is good acclimatisation. It is possible the fact I am wearing a water only washed top adds to this feeling, but maybe not.

If I didn't say I asked a woman in the back with some sheets yesterday morning I'd they had a laundry service here and she said something i comprehension and i should have said i didn't understand (small not novel lesson) bug I took to mean no. This is fine. I am borderline ok for clean clothes (yesterdays were genuine machine washed clean and I still have one full such set including trousers), the water only washes here the last two nights give me a lot more runway and with luck the laundry service at the hostel in leon will be acceptably cheap and/or I will be able to use a sink in private to do some of my own washing - I will at least have a bit of time in hand, and even if I somehow end up changing hostels it is likely I will be in leon for 3+ days so I won't be in the case of checking out to go hundreds of miles away and worrying about my laundry coming back from the wash in time, worst case there would be trogginf across town to pick it up after I checkout and move elsewhere.

0924 pretty solid dump this morning pre coffee, fwiw, suggestive of generally decent digestion and diet.

I feel lightly edgy about getting out of here but I don't expect major problems getting a bus (famous last words?) And even if there is an hour or two delay, I cannot check in all that early in La union anyway so I think leaving here between 10 and 11 is fine, and having thos second coffee is semi relaxing and may also have a second dump inducing effect.

1015 just packed. Checked checkout is 11. Had a big second dump btw. Having a last (third) coffee and will go. Just a tiny bit edgy there will be no bus which I think is irrational. The possibly German couple who maybe going to La union for the boat too based on what dutch woman told me are still around, which is reassuring. Could eat at that little reataurant but not mega hungry and I think I will eat in La Union.

Must remember that this kind of slightly anxious waiting and transiting and stuff is all part of the travel experience. Not quite type 2 fun but sort of.

1035 final check round in room, had coffee, been to bog, lets just go.

1104 just got to terminal and straight on a 324 to La Union for a bit under a dollar (maybe 90 cents). No rack for bag but have a double seag for moment. Sucky but not end of wld if I end up with bag in knee for an hour, although it is a bit big.

Left arm feels oddly numb!

Btw generally not putting headphones on on buses, as they are shortish and feel localish and there is stuff to see even if only listening to people tlak. I did wear headphones in the more Coachy bus from San Salvador to here though, curtains were drawn etc, it just felt less worth paying attention

1106 pulling out

1242 in room at accom, no problem.

For the record the WhatsApp contact for boat shuttle is Gekko Trails Explorer, so that is probably the right name for the company.

1342 wandered down to migration office where we have to meet and on to the sports ground and the beach. A few people in dirty water looking like they were sort of fishing with buckets but v unclear. There is a La neveria so will have a kn iced coffee later but at pupuseria marthita which is not AC but is big and shady ish and have ordered 4 pupusas (all maize I really so need to try the rice ones at some point)  and a tamarind juice.

Fwiw accom is sort of rooms off a slightly xluttered courtyard with a small family home, room is nice enough, totally fine but doubt will even want to sit out tonight. The last place was a sort of hotel but sis have a hostel courtyard vibe even if fairly quiet.

It doesn't look like there is a lot to do or are here but I have had a little wander already and will do some more. I don't wasn't spending the say here, it was semi unavoidable but in any case it is still seeing stuff and so on and I have now been up close to the sea for the first time on the trip. I didn't touch it as the shore was sort of rocky and the sea looked every polluted with floating crap.

A bird crapped on my cap-clad head as I was walking to the accom. Is this supposed to be lucky? I was deeply unsure what had happened at first. I wiped it off with a bit of tissue. At the accom I also rinsed cap in sink just to be safe and the amount of browny grot I squeezed out of it was a bit shocking (probably mostly dust but doubtless yes some lingering ancient sweat) and definitely not primarily from the wiped off bird droppings. I really will have to see if I can find a lightweight breathable and washable cap for another trip - like most mine (though not ultra cheap) has I think cardboard inside the brim and a full on wash would destroy it.

This may just possibly be the first time in my life a bird has actually crapped on me.

Tamarind juice is nice, quite an intense flavour. Not had it in ages.

I checked and tomorrow morning I can just leave the keys on the room door lock.

1646 been back at room for 15ish mins. Did a bit of exercise, hand washed today's top with soap (not doing uw as it won't dry in time, likewise since I have nothing else absolutely dirty - all tops have been at least water only washed - and don't want to have damp tops knocking around I just did today's), cut fingernails and having the last of the second aguardiente bottle with some coke zerobi brought back. Will take the unopened third aguardiente bottle with me to nicaragua.

Had a fair old wander round, lots of La neverias, had a frappe in one. Saw old railways station (not much there but it does look plausibly stationy) and went into cemetery (which is maze like and since I wasn't desperate I didn't penetrate right into the heart of it as I didn't really want to walk over anyone's grave, but saw enough and was just passing time) and got a bottle of Pepsi light at selectos and then this biggest coke zero to bring back to room. I plan to go out 6ish and have some fried chicken. I don't have any snacks for tomorrow, I don't actively expect to need any (and I probably so have some extra strong mints from home at a push plus chances are people will be selling stuff at various points) but if I get the chance to buy something suitable ly compact (I didn't see any Mani garapinado in either supermarket but maybe I wasn't looking properly) tonight I might.

It is hot but not unbearably so. But yes, hot. One street had quite a few bars which looked semi disreptuable or at least localbut also tempting but ivresisted on grounds of not wanting to feel muzzy etc and maybe on slight risk. Have seen a handful of other tourists in streets, all presumably bound for Nicaragua.

I got an email saying I am approved to enter Nicaragua, j hadn't realised the ticket number or whatever that I got after doing the form yesterday was not itself approval. But still, good news, even if in reality no one probably cares as this whole form is irrelevant for tourists.

I would have slightly preferred not to drink today but this tiny bit of aguardiente is haddly a massive overindulgence. They do sell Toño beer in the supermarkets here BTW. Not sure of I have had it before (far from implausible I have drunk it once or twice in Guatemala, for example) but I assume it will be common in Nicaragua. To be clear I didn't buy any here today.

2210 been watching some YT and intermittently repacking bag and doing some very minor putting stuff in plastic bats for the boat (nothing like the San Blas trip!)

I went out for fried chicken about 1800, didn't go via the deserted (has been all day) mercado municipal right between accom and main square as I thought one of the dogs there might get stroppy at night.

Don pollo I went to was shutting (door open but chap told me they were finished) but after going into selectos for some nuts for boat and some tortilla chips for tonight jic (stupidly long queue as usual) I found after wandering around feeling mildly annoyed another Don pollo which I had seen today but wasn't on OM and they were open so I got a leg and a breast there and sat on atreet and ate them. I wasn't going to drink tonight but om way back I saw a small convenience store and decided to buy a can of Pilsener and can of Fresca so I had them back in room while watching YT.

Afaik no free drinking water here but with all these soft drinks I think I am fine and haven't needed to break out my as yet unused chlorine dioxide tablets or buy any water.

I should probably move towards bed so will send this now. Mildly apprehensive about tomorrow but notmassively so. In some sense once I get on the boat I should mostly be being shepherded along all the way to the Leon hostel.

I suspect that in Nicaragua just as to some extent in El Salvador I have/will done mainly backpacker trail type obvious stuff, but since it is my first visit to both countries and I don't claim to be novel that is fine. I just don't need to do backpacker trail stuff that I don't fancy and be open to semi -independent sidetracks (eg spending time in San Salvador is maybe sort of there) when they do appeal.

But let's send this and go to bed.

San Miguel, Saturday

Saturday 2612 (??? Did I mean 1612?) Valentines day btw.

On hostel terrace. Just finished booking to go to Nicaragua on Monday. I have booked a night in La Union (front desk guy here says there are buses every half hour), two nights in Leon - both private room, this feels mildly over indulgent but given it is an international border crossing sod it, I can do some dorms after. I paid 70 USD plus a bloody booking  fee for the Gekko tours or trails or whatever boat+shuttle to Leon, the boat is 50 and while I could probably get a local bus for a few dollars I figured it is one of those situations where it isnt worth scrimping and saving for its own sake or for the diy ethos.

No air con in La Union or Leon but we will see how it goes. I may well stay on on Leon more than two nights and perhaps switch to a dorm or another hostel but two nights will do for an initial booking. Fcdo advice is not saying anything about advising againat travel, plus of course lots of people who have just come from there have personally told me it is fine.

Massively stressful. Even though I think it is not relevant for tourists the Gekko people want you to fill out a Nicaraguan govt form which is incredibly badly designed, doesn't work in portrait mode on a smartphone and asks for all sorts of stuff which (to be fair, because I think officially the form is not for tourists) I cannot answer properly and the Gekko hints were inside WhatsApp nested browser showing their portal on my A06 and I could no longer see them once I was filling the form in. But it is done and I have a code and so on if anyone asks, though I suspect they will not.

Had my tukan beer when got back to hostel before doing this.

Stayed in room stupidly late but maybe it is ok to enjoy private and aircon, although really going out in relatively cool earlier morning might have been more sensible). Left about 11, walked down to cathedral (apparently shut) and adjacent pkaza. On way over just opp super selectors was a small restaurant and on a whim I went in and had a very nice relleno de papa with rice and a salad and some fantastic chan drinks (35 cents, I got another after) for under three dollars. Very hot but not actually that bad.

Then trogged up aroind the big green fenced off as it turns out area around parquet La cueva, still, it is exercise and acclimatisation and seeing the "real, ordinary" country. Bit of dog barking from inside houses and gardens but no street dog trouble. Went for brief wander in parque el eden (cemetery of sorts) and also accidentally discovered that parquet La cueva is a assuming pool, but didn't pay to go on and not swimming here open air, did it recently, not that close to accom etc.

Went into super selectors hoping to get beer on way back but the queues inside for the tills were absolutely insane, tailing right along (I snapped a probably bad photo) across the aisle in front of the tills, so I said fuck that for a game of sokdiers. Did overpay for a USD 2 beer (German import!) in a small shop and might have that in a minute.

Bit edgy about nicaragua and the border crossing but should be fine. I may not have done this area justice (eg this is a half decent jumping off point for Alegria) but as I think I said before, I am not on a one way tour like many backpackers, I will be passing back through here nearer end of trip, and it feels like I need to get over into nicaragua ASAP and rip the bandage off on that, rather than dithering. I suspect i wasted the USD 4 I paid for my Tigo credit but not end of world, and it may turn out to be a comfort to know I am available via WhatsApp away from Accom if Gekko decide to message me etc, or something else may happen to make it useful, or if I am really really lucky the credit will also work in nicaragua.

I am going to have another alcoholic drink now and I may go out for something to eat after dark etc.

Oh, I had a chocolate ice coffee frappeish thing at La neveria (?) Nearish the cathedral and while it cost as much as my meal and was obviously super unhealthy I did enjoy it.

1630 coke and aguardiente. I do have vague have I wastes the day (and time here) feelings but I needed to stop somewhere on way east, I have sorted out nic trip for which I prob should give myself some credit and I have seen a bit of the town and had some low key pleasures like that meal and the frappe and wandered round to help acclimatise etc.

Very brief pip pip with woman about my age from Amsterdam who walked past.

I could be in my aircon room but it feels better to sit out here, it is warm but it is all practice and it is sort of nice in a hot way.

Ditto brief chat with probably German woman who has got into a hammock and who I think is happy just to sit there and not talk, certainly not desiring to force it.

I may go put to super selectos in a bit although really need to not over-buy beer given timescales and if anything it would be good to drink all this aguardiente up, I have nearly finished the "second" bottle but I still have another. This is the expensive one at a whisker over a dollar :-) but I could take it to nicaragua with me and if it is confiscated or something no real harm done.

To some extent just sitting here (outside or in my room) is having a semi restful time and semi enjoying the warm weather vs being at home etc and is a reasonable way to use time on trip and "store up" energy for active phases to come (think Leon is where the volcano boarding is) and not a waste of time.

Gmaps says super selectors closes at 9, so no rush to go over there. (It is "selectos" but autocorrect keeps kicking in.)

1642 it does, and perhaps inevitably, feel like I am now sort of just waiting to get to nicaragua and am in a transit kind of mindset. To be clear, I am not fed up with el Salvador, there is lots left to see and do here and I look forward to returning in a few weeks, but since I decided I was going to split my time between the two countries and the next couple of days are all about getting to nic  rather than visiting cool places or doing cool stuff in es, I guess the transit feeling is not surprising.

2015 On terrace with straight coke. Just had brief chat with Dutch woman about sharks in the sea if the boat capsizes. (There is a shark jaw on the wall which she was asking the staff guy about.)

So I went out about 1700-1730 and had pupusas at (randomly wandering) Pupuseria La Mama which was OL but when I asked after if they had change for a 20 the woman just looked and me and shook her head slowly and sadly without saying a word. And there was some weirdness at start when I asked if they has revueltas and they looked at me like I had two heada. But basically fine.

Went to selectos and got two beers and a packet of jalapeño tortially chips for later.

I half wish I hadn't drunk this afternoon, thought it was sort of OK. I don't think I was drunk when went out for pupusas and to supermarket but I had this vague muzzy feeling which maybe combined with a certain vague sweaty dirtiness to make me feel like I was drunk and/or a bit disgusting.  But rationally I don't think I really was.

Came back,  had a shower and no soap washed three tops in the shower and shaved and had a bonus tooth clean and am now sitting out here.

It isnt a novel thought but perhaps I can articulate it better tonight: there is a real luxury to nights like last night/waking up the following morning when I know I am not moving the next day and I do not have to be up early or really do anything specific.  A private room is an orthogonal different kind of luxury on top of this, I think.

Obviously tomorrow I do have to move and the boat trip looms but it is not as if tomorrow is a big travel day, I think it is about an hour to La Union.

Sun 0007 was outside having two beers. Sort of playing with phone, not super relaxed. Dutch woman said staff guy had told her no busses tobaome nearby swimming place on Sun so I asked him, after initially beating to go at 8AM he relented and said there would be buses but I night have to wait an hour or two. I plan to leave here about 10ish (checkout is 11) and hope it is OK.

Watched a couple of YT videos. Feel OK, not super relaxed. anyway, I will send this and go to bed.

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.