Monday, 9 February 2026

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.

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