How do you spell Surfer Paradise? E L S A L V A D O R

We decided to drive south of Monterico, Guatemala and proceed into El Salvador. The border is an amazing example of government incompetence and bureaucratic red tape. We had stamps on top of stamps and had to make copies of stamps on top of stamps. The whole process took almost 3 hours to complete. They wanted to know the size of the engine, year vehicle was made, on and on. Incredible to think this backward country should even want to care about such stuff given the other problems it faces. Something we learned about Banana Republics, they divert your attention until the problems leave your mind, but they never really fix the problems. They wear you thin to the point you are willing to pay someone, anyone to assist you. It wasn't even for the language issue. How can you tell when the car was made? Not the year of the car but when it was actually made. I found out! It is on a sticker on the frame of the car behind the engine. But who cares? I am 44 years old and never ever needed to know a car's date of birth and some how I survived. It was not just us getting frustrated, though. The poor truck drivers wait 3 days to cross the border in 4 mile long lines of parked semis. The day before we arrived the computers crashed and El Salvador wanted to close the border and apparently riots broke out between the truck drivers and the border guards. In many cases, the truckers are carrying perishable goods and need to get them to the markets, so I can see their frustrations. Either way, the Norte Americanos made it through the gridlock and now we are in El Salvador.
Once you leave the border area and skirt the coast it reminded us of driving on the Pali on Maui. The arid land with Mesquite trees and plunging cliffs to the rocky coast below was just like thousand peaks. It is easy to see why some surfers call this their Mecca. Hundreds of Miles of unspoiled beaches and perfect waves. In fact, this morning the kiddos and I, ran out to the beach to play in the water. Zoe found a perfect, large, sand dollar and some pink shells, almost immediately, and was so delighted. Sierra found a hermit crab and some dead jelly fish. This is what the kids crave and why we wanted to be here. And out of the blue, I here Zoe scream, "A cow!" I turned around and sure enough a cow was running along the beach. I wish I had a camera for that moment. I am kicking myself in the behind right now because I wanted to bring it but thought the camera would get in the way. Well, this is El Cuco, maybe I can get a second chance tomorrow?

You can barely make out the shack on the beach. Would you need anything more than this?

Dead jellyfish make great toys :)

Zoe proudly displaying her treasures

Zoe found these within a minute of playing on the beach this morning. She wanted to get a close up for posterity

Surfer chicks rule!

Our hotel is Azul Surf in El Cuco, southern El Salvador.

                 

Monterico and the smallest ferry boat ever

This is Mike...
We left the Guatemalan highlands for the beaches of Monterico, on the Pacific coast. The drive was pleasant enough once we were on the Pacific slope. I cannot reiterate enough about how the steep grades combined with unimaginable vehicles became more of a hassle than it was worth. We made a decision to go to the coast and be by the ocean again. Our goal was to recharge our batteries and let the kids be kids. When we arrived in Monterico the waves were gigantic. We are talking 10 to 15 foot shore breaks with steep sand embankments. The sounds of the crashing waves was incredible and they even shook the hotel room where we stayed. We had a good time swimming in the hotel pool, but it just was not the same. We will be going on further south to see if the waves mellow out a bit.   

Elise was taking a well-timed photo of Zoe with the 10 shore breaks behind her.

The ferry boat was barely wider than our SUV. Once we took off, we were incredibly nervous about tipping over. The boat had barely 10 inches of topside clearance before taking on water. 

The Marshland and Mangrove we pass through by ferry were quite nice. The journey was at least 5 miles by boat.

A view looking down on the SUV to prove how skinny this boat was on the ride

The oncoming ferry created wakes that entered our boat. We were very scared at this point and even plotted how to abandon ship with important papers and the kids. The other ferry was much higher off the water than our ferry because of the weight differential and is probably the reason they were going fast.

Santiago de Atitlan

This is Mike...
Santiago de Atitlan is a fairly large city on the banks of the lake. There are many aspects of the Mayan culture that are fully integrated in the daily lives of the folks here. For example, there is the Maximon (pronounced Mah shee mon). This is a special statue that is set at one home for a period of a year. During that time the homeowner's take care of the statue like it is a part of the family. In fact, they usually don't work for a year to take care of the statue. Villagers come by and make offerings and drop off cash for the caretakers. After a year the statue goes to a new home. We wanted to find Maximon and pay tribute but arrived on Sunday and the city was shut down for market day. We almost got the car stuck in the narrow allies two times trying to get out. To say the town was gridlocked is a complete understatement.

Santiago de Atitlan is at the end of a bay on the lake

The view of the town from the Bamboo Inn

An early morning fisherman on a wooden boat

The water level of the lake fluctuates tremendously and is best seen by the palm in the background submerged 8 feet under water. This is probably one the reasons many of the Mayans choose to live in the hills rather than near the water.

Look anywhere and you'll probably see a volcano. I have to say the view are stunning in the highlands.

  

San Luis Toliman, lake Atitlan

This is Mike...
Lake Atitlan is such a beautiful place. The topography alone makes it so unique, even amongst other Central American lakes. The Mayans also proudly display their cultural heritage with the clothing they wear. This is what makes Guatemala such an amazing place even after accounting for the immense corruption. Lake Atitlan is ringed by several active volcanoes which can be a little unsettling when you think about it and where we are relative to the volcanoes. The roads going into Atitlan are so steep that our brakes over heated and failed. I had to pull over and let them cool off before driving further. To say we were frightened by this is an understatement. We have never seen any roads like this in any country to date.   

This is looking down from the highway above. We were higher than helicopters and it was a white knuckle drive. Elise is afraid of heights, so she was nervous for the majority of the drive. Truthfully, we were all nervous until we finally got to the bottom of the volcano in one piece.

In the morning, we noticed two volcanoes belching steam from their vents.

A local gentleman in a wood carved boat, a rare site in this fast paced world.

The coast line for lake Atitlan

The lunchtime view from our restaurant at San Luis Toliman, on lake Atitlan

Shopping Mayan Style

This is Mike..
The girls love shopping in all of the local markets. For me, I find it boring for the most part but every now and then I get a good chuckle. Tonight the girls got the full Mayan treatment at the bazaar. We had a blast and stayed for a long while. Somehow, I ended up buying a cool shirt in the process. We all played dress up and I have to say it was fun. We were given gifts, imagine that! It was quite an experience, I hope the girls remember this as it was truly unique. We all spoke broken Spanish, they with Mayan and us with English but found a way to make it work and laughed a lot.

Sierra getting the true Mayan fashion treatment from very sweet Mayan ladies

Zoe looked great in her outfit and played her Mayan of a maiden role very well

The finished product, Spectacular!

The Three Musketeers at the town fountain, in San Luis Toliman. Notice my new Mayan shirt.

Dancing in the rain

Having a blank slate can be a blessing but can be daunting as well. We can drive east or south or not at all, we are free. When I was at my office years ago, I would catch myself staring, day dreaming of something better. Now that we are here it can be tough staring into the constant newness. Also the avoidable situation Guatemala is in as a country. Corruption, from the top down, affects every aspect of life for the citizens here. Our interactions with the regular Guatemalans has been nothing but awesome and is why we are doubly upset at their government. Imagine having a lovely dinner overlooking a lake with the people you love talking about things that matter to you, oblivious to the world. Then a little boy, 8 or 9 years young, comes to the table asking for a little money. That boy had severe facial deformities and was doing what he could to make a living. We were moved to his situation but also felt guilty of how well we have it. The next morning we were strolling to the nearby bakery and saw a mother without legs trying to cross the street using a piece of carpet under her crotch to move without ruining her clothes. Of course, we were moved to help her as best any passing person can. These people and the many others we have seen are not wretches, they are people with souls like you and I. The fact the needy are left to their own devices speaks of the immense greed of the Guatemalan government. This place is not poor, it is mismanaged.
There are some things we cannot change no matter how inspired we are. As tough as it is, at times, we need to pull our boot straps up and move forward. If anything, this trip has taught us how to dance in the rain, not between the drops.          

The colorless shanty towns of poverty

At least 15, but maybe 20 people packed of this Toyota truck on the highway around lake Atitlan. 

Leaving Antigua

We left Antigua after a couple of weeks of Spanish school under our belts. We had fun in Antigua but the poor air quality left us desiring cleaner air in a big way. Our walk to school was a half of a block from our condo. The proximity of the school was very nice especially when we were running out the door back packs in hand. We were all good estudiantes and punctual "most of the time."   

We had a typical Guatemalan dish delivered to our condo for dinner. We all loved the food, I had to take a picture of it because it was a full spread of deliciousness.

We had Zoe's hair cut before leaving Antigua and regretted it.

This is us saying goodbye to our teachers. They were all very nice people, down to the bone good folks!

This is what we mean by a suicide shower. Notice the 120 volt electrical wires attached to the shower head!

Zoe got the worst hair cut ever. Notice the unevenness! We were pretty ticked off and had to re-cut her hair ourselves.