Bouncing through El Salvador...

Lago de Coatepeque: pristine lake surrounded by volcanoes and nearly untouched by human beings...

Juayua: weekend food fest...watch out belly. Chocolate covered strawberries dipped in peanuts, music, break dancing, and of course pupusas (beans and cheese cooked into the middle of a thick tortilla).

Santa Ana: So if the room is .50 cents an hour that means it is $6 for an entire night? I´ll take it! Walking up to the hotel I noticed that the scantily dressed women leaning against the building had excessive make-up on....I spent that night sleeping on the floor wondering what life is like for the women who spend time in the bed.

Ruta de Flores: A long bus ride that passes through mountain villages where yellow, purple and pink flowers sprout up in green vines all along the road.

Apeneca: When I got into this small town I found myself walking down the middle of the main street, alone with the wind and whisps of dust around my ankles. As the dust cleared the townspeople who lined the sides of the street silently stared as I made my way through the town center...silent...absolute silence. It was the first John Wayne moment of my life.

Playa El Zonte: The beach...wow! I spent my first day there with a Norwegian couple, and while we lounged in the sand and rolled through the waves I squeezed their brains about the local politics...those scandinavians are so well educated. My second day was spent with a lifeguard from Huntington beach; needless to say, I felt safe y contenta as we explored under water rock channels and tunnels along the coast. The brown pelicans, my favorite bird at the moment, would fly in groups along the crest of the waves before the water spilled over and crashed into the sand. I didn´t surf, but I am gearing up...no matter how hard a wave tosses or smashes me, the ocean always gives me respite before slamming me into the ground again (I will avoid the enormous analogy temptation here...).