A touch of "Delhi belly" early yesterday kept me here for another day & today the imminent prospect of a temporary cash shortage is keeping me from moving on immediately. So I took advantage of the hotel laundry service & will have clean clothes tonight!
I'm still on the fence about visiting remote, mountainous Perquin, but the Lonely Planet advises there are no ATMs in this town of 5000 for when I expect a funds transfer to be completed on Thursday. Lonely Planet also claims that Perquin is a highlight "for most visitors" to El Salvador, whatever that means. It sounds cool to me, though.
Thus I'm at a crossroads of decision (or "indecision" might be a better way to put it). Perquin sounds exactly like something that's right up my alley, but of course the longer I don't move, the further I remain from my ostensible destination goal in Venezuala.
Today I took a bus to a point about 5 miles west of town where there was a great view of this region's main geographical landmark, the 2130 meter Volcan de San Miguel which looms like a towering, fire-eating god over this city. Today its massive cone was shrouded in an envelope of ominous looking clouds that seemed ready to burst with rain. This short trip to the outskirts of town was rewarded with a noticable cooling of temperature--a welcome relief from the brutal hot in the centro.
The volcano is less than 20 miles from here, but my guidebook explains that a trip there is a bit of an undertaking: you have to rent a car or take a bus & then a taxi to get to the base; if you want to climb to the top, it's a 9 hour trek & you have to hire police escorts ("reserve two weeks in advance"). Lonely Planet also reminds us that you have to provide lunch for your escorts. Now that's "mordida"!
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