Santa Ana, Monday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Self control" just came on. :-)

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

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

"Staying Alive"

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

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

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

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

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

We're off.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anyway, let us are what happens.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But let's send this.

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

Juayúa-Santa Ana

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

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

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

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

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

Have photoed the bus.

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

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

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

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

Some other tourists sharing vicious dog stories in English btw.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1740 shaved. Feel slightly bloated.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Juayúa, Sat

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

But finally bed!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Juayúa, Wed-Fri

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2053 back at hostel. Will go to bed soon.

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

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

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

One other person already in dorm iirc.

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

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

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

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

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

Ataco/Apaneca, Tuesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not impressed to say the least.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Queen playing for last several songs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Santa Ana-Ataco

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

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

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

1221 we seem to be off.

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

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

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

Have upped transformer strength to 7.1 FWIW.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2309 surely bed at last?!

San Salvador Thu-Sat and San Salvador-Santa Ana

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

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

Will probably do Duolingo and go to bed.

2251 ffs, bed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And my beers are still in the fridge...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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