ere you don’t even need to contribute anymore than an “uh-huh” from time-to-time. He also repeats everything several times, as if he believes you haven’t understood the first time around. But he does take an interest in people and things going on around him, asking curious questions such as “what has your experience been of dentists in Mexico?” or “what do Australians eat?”. Everyday he wakes up at 5.30am and goes for a run, returning around 7.00am and starting on his first beer for the day. Everyday he would say that he would come out with us and everynight he would pass out at approx. 7.00pm and not wake up till the next morning. He practices chiropractics as a hobby (self-taught) and uses anyone as a test dummy (I never dared to…!). He lives in a room with a bathroom attached. No need to say, it was a very small space for all three of us!So I spent a week there with the intention to clear my head and figure out where to from here. But I wasn’t able to get any head space living there, as well as the fact that I spent the week going out every night as my friend was about to start working in a bar on the beach and we received free drinks (most of the time). The second week I moved out to a friends house (who I met on the beach the week before) and had a much more productive week working out what I wanted to do next. I decided that I wanted to travel down by land as much as possible and avoid flying. Therefore this meant that I would need to go by bus from country-to-country, travelling down Central America. My first stop would be El Salvador. It was decided and time to move on after two weeks in Playa.
On my way to El Salvador, I passed through San Cris one more time (fourth time!) to see a friend. While there I had once again, the best falafel roll I have ever tasted and of which I dreamed about when living in Palenque. I was also introduced to the best quesadillas I have ever tasted in a little eatery which has no name and only opens from 8pm to 10pm, 6 days a week. It’s owned by a young couple who are the most inviting two individuals I have ever met. And the food… ummm! They’re very adventurous with their fillings, changing them every night with such things as garlic prawns, tempeh in a peanut sauce, mushrooms with pumpkin flower…! Definitely not to be missed if you are there!
While in San Cris I also got to try peyote, a cactus found in central Mexico which is quite horrible to eat (even dry as I tried it!) but it does heighten your senses and sends you on a long journey inside your mind! It’s used by many indigenous tribes in the north of Mexico in traditional ceremonies, religious and also for healing purposes. We spent an incredible night camping in the wilderness, taking eery photos, full moon shining on our heads, speaking beauty to our eyes until the coldness seized me and shut me away from the brilliant world around me and made me shudder to the inside of the tent where I battled the cold along with fits of intensive moments. The next day we woke up to find that workmen had already started the day, breaking away the rock from the mountain beside us, smiling at us as we woke up from a dazed sleep. Two little kids giggled at the sight of us, as they played with the wheel barrow. Everything remained glowing. The trees held an amazing green about them, the sun shined on as if it diffused gold on the ground and I felt content but exhausted from so much activity inside my head!
I left Mexico feeling slight pains of melancholy but also ready to continue on my journey to new lands, cultures and adventures. I arrived in San Salvador after 24 hours of travel by bus, greeted by my beautiful friend Mar who is half French and half Salvadorian. I fell into good hands and was welcomed very warmly, into a colourful and relaxed home with two young girls. I was also received with open arms into Mar’s group of friends who are all lovely, interesting people with very mixed cultural backgrounds. I was reintroduced to meditation and took part in an amazing meditation on the beach with the sound of the waves breaking and gently helping us empty our minds. I was also taken out by a lovely Melvin (a CS/musician) who took time out of his days to show me his city, even while I was sick as dog from eating the curtido (fermented vegetables) that come with pupusas (a stuffed tortilla).
For the first time in many years I felt what I use to feel just before Christmas thanks to Mar and her daughters. The youngest one is eight years old and still believes in Santa. The excitement and belief she still has for Christmas made me remember what it felt like to look forward to this holiday. We also had a Christmas part
y at a finca located right on top of a mountain with a 360-degree view of mountains, volcanoes, San Salvador and out onto the Pacific. The day consisted of a large group of friends gathering with their kids, presents exchanged, a piniata battering and lollies playfully fought over, alcohol being swirled in glasses under a beautiful clear sky, mountains of fine dining food, an 80’s band playing in the late afternoon, everyone dancing and kids timidly looking on until loosing their inhibitions. To top it all off fire works were let off from the garden as we gazed over the amazing view that surrounded us.El Salvador feels alike to Mexico in many ways. People have similar features although there seems to be a little greater mix of cultures here than in Mexico. The markets are chaotic places full to the brim (just like Mexico), people yelling out what goods they’re selling and for how much, the occasional comment in English as you walk past and a mishmash of clothes, food, kitchen items, hardware’s and sometimes even animals. After asking many passers-by I discovered that there really wasn’t a historical centre as I had imagined it. San Salvador’s city centre is more to the point, one big market that extends on for kilometres, covering the crumbling old buildings which were once vibrant places where people lived and worked. The cathedral marks the centre but even that is covered by market stalls and lacks the feeling that is required for the centre of a capital. Tired, a little lost and feeling once again like the odd one out, attracting comments because of my height and white skin, I felt a little home sick in the initial few days, but this time not from Australia but from Mexico! After five months of living there, I felt quite comfortable and at home, accustomed to the people, the accent, the customs and culture as well as the friends that I have made. I always find it hard to move on from a place and get use to a new land. But El Salvador is a beautiful country and with the help of Mar I quickly got over this home sickness. 20 volcanoes populate the small nation and good surfing beaches are also found to which many Australians flock to. During this time of the year it’s sunny everyday and reminds me of the clear, bright skies that Australia is renowned for. The violence and the maras (youth gangs in El Salvador) that everyone talks about was not visible to me while in San Salvador. But people who can a
fford it live in residencies, which are walled off communities that are lined with barbwire and hold guards at the entrance. Many people also have full time maids and nannies for the kids, which quite surprised me. There has been a change of government this year, for the first time since the end of the civil war in 1992, FMLN, the guerrilla who fought against the government for 20 years, has now taken power. People are hopeful that this left leaning government will be the change that they are hoping for. So far the government has sent military in conjunction with the police, to patrol the streets of San Salvador to combat the gangs. Although early to judge, people say that there has been a decrease in violence since this initiative.In my last few days in El Salvador, Agus the Argentinean who I met in Cuba joined me to travel down Central America. We had been in contact after I had left Cuba and it was decided that we would adventure together! We went to visit a set of villages in the North-East of the country where the guerrillas held power during the civil war. We went to visit the cave, located in the mountains of El Salvador where the guerilla radio was located in secret, a huge cave that was the centre where the guerrillas worked out of and where many slept and hid out. We also saw remnants of bombs that had been dropped in these small villages, causing craters and killing many. Astounding to think that this was the government doing this to its own people.
And today… We're off to Honduras!
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