Awake at the first ray of light were Erick, Christian, and myself. Not a drop of rain descended from the heavens as we slumbered peacefully deep in the northeast of Morazan. We wash up and then take a donation to Miguel before we opt for a refreshing dip in Rio Torola
Today we were prepped for a long journey back to Erick's house. And standing at the museum entrance, flies and mozzies were bothering us until a bus heading north pulled up. Aboard we were and on our way, whizzing through the mountains in the stingy sunlight. My my, was it beautiful! I never realized how much I'd fall in love with this place! And I chose to come here out of randomness. By early afternoon we disembarked in the charming mountain town of Joateca, where women dress in traditional skirts and men don their cowboy hats, and there's so much colour! We're only a few kilometres from the Honduran border.
We were all starving and I was down for another cup of warm cacao but there was none to be had, but we did get some tasty carne with a side of salad, rice, and beans before we visited a friend of Erick's. Briefly snoozing in the hammock in the front room, the other guys seemed to get a laugh out of it. Travel exhaustion? Maybe. Contrary to belief, travel is, at least the way I do it, very taxing and demanding. Either way I was enjoying the journey even with the little Spanish that I speak. The three of us sit there for awhile waiting for a vehicle to pass by that'll take us back to Perquin or Ciudad Segundo Montes. Finally a truck came and as I sat I kept my face away from the sun so I won't be burnt again. In front of Erick's house we were one hour later. After putting our stuff away we made a run for the internet cafe about a 10 minute bus ride away; I wanted to email my host in Suchitoto and let him know that I was most likely going to be there tomorrow. I'll be hitchhiking but it's not a terribly long journey. Whilst El Salvador looks big on a map it's the smallest country in Central America. Heading north, we got off at the perfect spot to gaze at the sunset! The three of us lay in the grass for about an hour or so as the sky transformed from a bright orange to a vibrant pink, and then the few lights on the distant mountain came to light.
Before it was too dark, we walked the rest of the way home. Back at Erick's house we opted for dinner at the pupuseria next to his house for the food that speaks El Salvador like no other: pupusas. Basically its a tortilla with fixings in the middle; often it's cheese and refried beans but it can also be meat, zucchini, etc. Pupusas are often eaten with this cold cabbage concoction that's similar to kimchee.
As much as I don't care for cheese, pupusas are mighty tasty, and my eyes were lit up when I noticed they had hot cacao. It's very cheap to eat here; the pupusas are only $0.25 each and I had three. As a toast to a great day I threw some rum in a cacao drink when I brought it home. I was down for another one but the pupuseria had closed by then. Whilst earlier I was thinking of staying another night, I'm heading to Suchitoto tomorrow! It's been only three nights in El Salvador and I must say I've been richly rewarded!
