El Salvador wrap up and a little bit of bacon!

We are coming to the end of our time in El Salvador. Its been truly amazing. For memory sake (mine seems to be slipping) and in case you ever wanted to head this way here is what we did.

We flew into San Salvador and grabbed a cab to Suchitoto. We stayed two nights in town (we fled quickly because the Christmas festival was occurring. If you remember, it wasn't charming. Rather, it was fit for an episode on Jersey Shore). We stayed one night at Los Almendros de Lorenzo (www.hotelsalvedor.com) and one night at La Posada Suchitlan.

Mama and baby on our room's porch at Hotel Posada Suchitlan

We rented a car (totally the way to go) from Manuel and Rolondo (aka El Salvadorian Laurel and Hardy) who delivered it to us in Suchitoto, thereby allowing us to skip picking it up in San Salvador. We headed to Lake Coatepeque - beautiful, peaceful and an easy 1.5 hours from Suchitoto. From there we hit the "Route de Flores" - a road that winds through several small towns and twists through the heart of El Salvadorian coffee country. We then spent two nights in Tacuba at a charming guesthouse called Mama y Papa. They loved Henry and called him their first "tourist baby". They were truly Mama y Papa.  From there we drove back to Ataco (we had passed through Ataco on the way to Tacuba but a cheesy festival forced us onward). In Ataco, we stayed at Hotel Santa Domingo and ate at a great restaurant called El Boton - where they have a fabulous and famous Salvadorian goat cheese. From Ataco we headed south to the coast and landed at El Tunco. We stayed at Tekauni Kal. And, minus a few slight flaws it was the best spot in town with ocean views, an outdoor shower and two plunge pools. Last but not least, we're back in Suchitoto. We are now 2 days into rest and relaxation.

Suchitoto, as I've said before, is so amazing. Each evening we head down to the hotel La Posada de Suchitlan, where the terrace overlooks one of the most amazing views on earth! Its gorgeous. And, each evening I think of my grandmother. She taught me how to see color. She taught me that a green landscape is not simply green. Rather, there are hints of yellows, blues, navys, blacks etc.. all buried in the green. There are so many shades of green in this landscape. Its vast and its impressive! Its worth a trip to El Salvador in and of itself.

 View during the day

 View at Sunset

View just before Sunset... you can see it never looked the same twice!

Randomly, but also in line with the subtle class and beauty of this town, there is a non-violence campaign against women. It goes like this.. on almost every house, next to the front door, painted in stencil is a picture of a bird in mid-flight with a saying that translates to read something like this "this house is a non-violent house and does not support violence against women". Its unreal classy and everywhere. I've never seen anything like it.

This was on the facade of most houses in town.

Another tid bit about this town: there is a shop on the corner of the main square. In it sits a machine. The machine is essentially a giant Cuisinart. Women, and some men, line up with their ingredients. Such ingredients might include those to make a salsa or those to make the dough for tortillas.  When its their turn, their ingredients are dumped into one side of the machine and out the other ends comes the desired end result-either salsa or dough for making tortillas or whatever else. Its wild. There is a little, hard working man who runs the whole thing. And, at the end of the day, he can be found diligently and proudly cleaning the machine. Yesterday, the line was out the door.

The giant "do everything" Cuisnart

On Wednesday we will wake up way too early and take a bus to Esteli Nicaragua.Our itinerary in Nicaragua includes Esteli, Leon, Granada, Lake Ometepe and the corn Islands. Ill keep you posted. Oh, and we'll be in Leon for Christmas.

And, now for the bacon bit. Henry, my little non- meat eater dove into some bacon this morning like it was going out of style. From no meat to bacon. Hum?!