Saturday 2612 (??? Did I mean 1612?) Valentines day btw.
On hostel terrace. Just finished booking to go to Nicaragua on Monday. I have booked a night in La Union (front desk guy here says there are buses every half hour), two nights in Leon - both private room, this feels mildly over indulgent but given it is an international border crossing sod it, I can do some dorms after. I paid 70 USD plus a bloody booking fee for the Gekko tours or trails or whatever boat+shuttle to Leon, the boat is 50 and while I could probably get a local bus for a few dollars I figured it is one of those situations where it isnt worth scrimping and saving for its own sake or for the diy ethos.
No air con in La Union or Leon but we will see how it goes. I may well stay on on Leon more than two nights and perhaps switch to a dorm or another hostel but two nights will do for an initial booking. Fcdo advice is not saying anything about advising againat travel, plus of course lots of people who have just come from there have personally told me it is fine.
Massively stressful. Even though I think it is not relevant for tourists the Gekko people want you to fill out a Nicaraguan govt form which is incredibly badly designed, doesn't work in portrait mode on a smartphone and asks for all sorts of stuff which (to be fair, because I think officially the form is not for tourists) I cannot answer properly and the Gekko hints were inside WhatsApp nested browser showing their portal on my A06 and I could no longer see them once I was filling the form in. But it is done and I have a code and so on if anyone asks, though I suspect they will not.
Had my tukan beer when got back to hostel before doing this.
Stayed in room stupidly late but maybe it is ok to enjoy private and aircon, although really going out in relatively cool earlier morning might have been more sensible). Left about 11, walked down to cathedral (apparently shut) and adjacent pkaza. On way over just opp super selectors was a small restaurant and on a whim I went in and had a very nice relleno de papa with rice and a salad and some fantastic chan drinks (35 cents, I got another after) for under three dollars. Very hot but not actually that bad.
Then trogged up aroind the big green fenced off as it turns out area around parquet La cueva, still, it is exercise and acclimatisation and seeing the "real, ordinary" country. Bit of dog barking from inside houses and gardens but no street dog trouble. Went for brief wander in parque el eden (cemetery of sorts) and also accidentally discovered that parquet La cueva is a assuming pool, but didn't pay to go on and not swimming here open air, did it recently, not that close to accom etc.
Went into super selectors hoping to get beer on way back but the queues inside for the tills were absolutely insane, tailing right along (I snapped a probably bad photo) across the aisle in front of the tills, so I said fuck that for a game of sokdiers. Did overpay for a USD 2 beer (German import!) in a small shop and might have that in a minute.
Bit edgy about nicaragua and the border crossing but should be fine. I may not have done this area justice (eg this is a half decent jumping off point for Alegria) but as I think I said before, I am not on a one way tour like many backpackers, I will be passing back through here nearer end of trip, and it feels like I need to get over into nicaragua ASAP and rip the bandage off on that, rather than dithering. I suspect i wasted the USD 4 I paid for my Tigo credit but not end of world, and it may turn out to be a comfort to know I am available via WhatsApp away from Accom if Gekko decide to message me etc, or something else may happen to make it useful, or if I am really really lucky the credit will also work in nicaragua.
I am going to have another alcoholic drink now and I may go out for something to eat after dark etc.
Oh, I had a chocolate ice coffee frappeish thing at La neveria (?) Nearish the cathedral and while it cost as much as my meal and was obviously super unhealthy I did enjoy it.
1630 coke and aguardiente. I do have vague have I wastes the day (and time here) feelings but I needed to stop somewhere on way east, I have sorted out nic trip for which I prob should give myself some credit and I have seen a bit of the town and had some low key pleasures like that meal and the frappe and wandered round to help acclimatise etc.
Very brief pip pip with woman about my age from Amsterdam who walked past.
I could be in my aircon room but it feels better to sit out here, it is warm but it is all practice and it is sort of nice in a hot way.
Ditto brief chat with probably German woman who has got into a hammock and who I think is happy just to sit there and not talk, certainly not desiring to force it.
I may go put to super selectos in a bit although really need to not over-buy beer given timescales and if anything it would be good to drink all this aguardiente up, I have nearly finished the "second" bottle but I still have another. This is the expensive one at a whisker over a dollar :-) but I could take it to nicaragua with me and if it is confiscated or something no real harm done.
To some extent just sitting here (outside or in my room) is having a semi restful time and semi enjoying the warm weather vs being at home etc and is a reasonable way to use time on trip and "store up" energy for active phases to come (think Leon is where the volcano boarding is) and not a waste of time.
Gmaps says super selectors closes at 9, so no rush to go over there. (It is "selectos" but autocorrect keeps kicking in.)
1642 it does, and perhaps inevitably, feel like I am now sort of just waiting to get to nicaragua and am in a transit kind of mindset. To be clear, I am not fed up with el Salvador, there is lots left to see and do here and I look forward to returning in a few weeks, but since I decided I was going to split my time between the two countries and the next couple of days are all about getting to nic rather than visiting cool places or doing cool stuff in es, I guess the transit feeling is not surprising.
2015 On terrace with straight coke. Just had brief chat with Dutch woman about sharks in the sea if the boat capsizes. (There is a shark jaw on the wall which she was asking the staff guy about.)
So I went out about 1700-1730 and had pupusas at (randomly wandering) Pupuseria La Mama which was OL but when I asked after if they had change for a 20 the woman just looked and me and shook her head slowly and sadly without saying a word. And there was some weirdness at start when I asked if they has revueltas and they looked at me like I had two heada. But basically fine.
Went to selectos and got two beers and a packet of jalapeño tortially chips for later.
I half wish I hadn't drunk this afternoon, thought it was sort of OK. I don't think I was drunk when went out for pupusas and to supermarket but I had this vague muzzy feeling which maybe combined with a certain vague sweaty dirtiness to make me feel like I was drunk and/or a bit disgusting. But rationally I don't think I really was.
Came back, had a shower and no soap washed three tops in the shower and shaved and had a bonus tooth clean and am now sitting out here.
It isnt a novel thought but perhaps I can articulate it better tonight: there is a real luxury to nights like last night/waking up the following morning when I know I am not moving the next day and I do not have to be up early or really do anything specific. A private room is an orthogonal different kind of luxury on top of this, I think.
Obviously tomorrow I do have to move and the boat trip looms but it is not as if tomorrow is a big travel day, I think it is about an hour to La Union.
Sun 0007 was outside having two beers. Sort of playing with phone, not super relaxed. Dutch woman said staff guy had told her no busses tobaome nearby swimming place on Sun so I asked him, after initially beating to go at 8AM he relented and said there would be buses but I night have to wait an hour or two. I plan to leave here about 10ish (checkout is 11) and hope it is OK.
Watched a couple of YT videos. Feel OK, not super relaxed. anyway, I will send this and go to bed.
On hostel terrace. Just finished booking to go to Nicaragua on Monday. I have booked a night in La Union (front desk guy here says there are buses every half hour), two nights in Leon - both private room, this feels mildly over indulgent but given it is an international border crossing sod it, I can do some dorms after. I paid 70 USD plus a bloody booking fee for the Gekko tours or trails or whatever boat+shuttle to Leon, the boat is 50 and while I could probably get a local bus for a few dollars I figured it is one of those situations where it isnt worth scrimping and saving for its own sake or for the diy ethos.
No air con in La Union or Leon but we will see how it goes. I may well stay on on Leon more than two nights and perhaps switch to a dorm or another hostel but two nights will do for an initial booking. Fcdo advice is not saying anything about advising againat travel, plus of course lots of people who have just come from there have personally told me it is fine.
Massively stressful. Even though I think it is not relevant for tourists the Gekko people want you to fill out a Nicaraguan govt form which is incredibly badly designed, doesn't work in portrait mode on a smartphone and asks for all sorts of stuff which (to be fair, because I think officially the form is not for tourists) I cannot answer properly and the Gekko hints were inside WhatsApp nested browser showing their portal on my A06 and I could no longer see them once I was filling the form in. But it is done and I have a code and so on if anyone asks, though I suspect they will not.
Had my tukan beer when got back to hostel before doing this.
Stayed in room stupidly late but maybe it is ok to enjoy private and aircon, although really going out in relatively cool earlier morning might have been more sensible). Left about 11, walked down to cathedral (apparently shut) and adjacent pkaza. On way over just opp super selectors was a small restaurant and on a whim I went in and had a very nice relleno de papa with rice and a salad and some fantastic chan drinks (35 cents, I got another after) for under three dollars. Very hot but not actually that bad.
Then trogged up aroind the big green fenced off as it turns out area around parquet La cueva, still, it is exercise and acclimatisation and seeing the "real, ordinary" country. Bit of dog barking from inside houses and gardens but no street dog trouble. Went for brief wander in parque el eden (cemetery of sorts) and also accidentally discovered that parquet La cueva is a assuming pool, but didn't pay to go on and not swimming here open air, did it recently, not that close to accom etc.
Went into super selectors hoping to get beer on way back but the queues inside for the tills were absolutely insane, tailing right along (I snapped a probably bad photo) across the aisle in front of the tills, so I said fuck that for a game of sokdiers. Did overpay for a USD 2 beer (German import!) in a small shop and might have that in a minute.
Bit edgy about nicaragua and the border crossing but should be fine. I may not have done this area justice (eg this is a half decent jumping off point for Alegria) but as I think I said before, I am not on a one way tour like many backpackers, I will be passing back through here nearer end of trip, and it feels like I need to get over into nicaragua ASAP and rip the bandage off on that, rather than dithering. I suspect i wasted the USD 4 I paid for my Tigo credit but not end of world, and it may turn out to be a comfort to know I am available via WhatsApp away from Accom if Gekko decide to message me etc, or something else may happen to make it useful, or if I am really really lucky the credit will also work in nicaragua.
I am going to have another alcoholic drink now and I may go out for something to eat after dark etc.
Oh, I had a chocolate ice coffee frappeish thing at La neveria (?) Nearish the cathedral and while it cost as much as my meal and was obviously super unhealthy I did enjoy it.
1630 coke and aguardiente. I do have vague have I wastes the day (and time here) feelings but I needed to stop somewhere on way east, I have sorted out nic trip for which I prob should give myself some credit and I have seen a bit of the town and had some low key pleasures like that meal and the frappe and wandered round to help acclimatise etc.
Very brief pip pip with woman about my age from Amsterdam who walked past.
I could be in my aircon room but it feels better to sit out here, it is warm but it is all practice and it is sort of nice in a hot way.
Ditto brief chat with probably German woman who has got into a hammock and who I think is happy just to sit there and not talk, certainly not desiring to force it.
I may go put to super selectos in a bit although really need to not over-buy beer given timescales and if anything it would be good to drink all this aguardiente up, I have nearly finished the "second" bottle but I still have another. This is the expensive one at a whisker over a dollar :-) but I could take it to nicaragua with me and if it is confiscated or something no real harm done.
To some extent just sitting here (outside or in my room) is having a semi restful time and semi enjoying the warm weather vs being at home etc and is a reasonable way to use time on trip and "store up" energy for active phases to come (think Leon is where the volcano boarding is) and not a waste of time.
Gmaps says super selectors closes at 9, so no rush to go over there. (It is "selectos" but autocorrect keeps kicking in.)
1642 it does, and perhaps inevitably, feel like I am now sort of just waiting to get to nicaragua and am in a transit kind of mindset. To be clear, I am not fed up with el Salvador, there is lots left to see and do here and I look forward to returning in a few weeks, but since I decided I was going to split my time between the two countries and the next couple of days are all about getting to nic rather than visiting cool places or doing cool stuff in es, I guess the transit feeling is not surprising.
2015 On terrace with straight coke. Just had brief chat with Dutch woman about sharks in the sea if the boat capsizes. (There is a shark jaw on the wall which she was asking the staff guy about.)
So I went out about 1700-1730 and had pupusas at (randomly wandering) Pupuseria La Mama which was OL but when I asked after if they had change for a 20 the woman just looked and me and shook her head slowly and sadly without saying a word. And there was some weirdness at start when I asked if they has revueltas and they looked at me like I had two heada. But basically fine.
Went to selectos and got two beers and a packet of jalapeño tortially chips for later.
I half wish I hadn't drunk this afternoon, thought it was sort of OK. I don't think I was drunk when went out for pupusas and to supermarket but I had this vague muzzy feeling which maybe combined with a certain vague sweaty dirtiness to make me feel like I was drunk and/or a bit disgusting. But rationally I don't think I really was.
Came back, had a shower and no soap washed three tops in the shower and shaved and had a bonus tooth clean and am now sitting out here.
It isnt a novel thought but perhaps I can articulate it better tonight: there is a real luxury to nights like last night/waking up the following morning when I know I am not moving the next day and I do not have to be up early or really do anything specific. A private room is an orthogonal different kind of luxury on top of this, I think.
Obviously tomorrow I do have to move and the boat trip looms but it is not as if tomorrow is a big travel day, I think it is about an hour to La Union.
Sun 0007 was outside having two beers. Sort of playing with phone, not super relaxed. Dutch woman said staff guy had told her no busses tobaome nearby swimming place on Sun so I asked him, after initially beating to go at 8AM he relented and said there would be buses but I night have to wait an hour or two. I plan to leave here about 10ish (checkout is 11) and hope it is OK.
Watched a couple of YT videos. Feel OK, not super relaxed. anyway, I will send this and go to bed.
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