Hard Travel on a Rugged Coast

It didn't take long yesterday to get to the coast from the Salvadorean coffee highlands, but once I was there I discovered a largely undeveloped but beautiful region of high forested cliffs, rocky coves and small isolated beaches with big waves(but possibly dangerous undertows).

This is the back way, or the slow route, from Sonsonate to La Libertad. What I thought might be a simple day trip from the quiet fishing village of Los Cobanos (The Coves) to El Zonte beach turned out to be a half day's hard travel on local buses. In fact, I didn't even reach my destination. After a 90 minute trip the bus went down the coast only so far as La Perla where I would've had to change for another bus, but by the time I arrived in La Perla it was getting late already--I needed to be back "home" well before dark.

By the end of a very hot day (93 degrees Farenheit) I'd decided to give the rest of this coastal area a miss but only because there are almost no hotels to choose from. The dubious room I ended up with in Los Cobanos was perhaps the worst value I've encountered thus far: an overpriced $15 for a hot (and not so clean), mosquito-infested hovel with no windows, AC, TV or any other amenity. The only things this place has going for it is it's right on the beach and the attached restaurant serves an excellent $7 fish dinner.

So I made straight for the capital city San Salvador early this morning to grab what turned out to be the best value so far in a very clean $20 room at the Hotel Villa Florencia (Centro branch). This room is terrifically graced with windows, AC, TV & the other amenities! I'll be here for two days, then it's on to San Miguel in eastern El Salvador, then on to Honduras & Nicaragua.

Since I need to start making miles, I'm seriously considering booking a seat on a Tica bus--the first class airconditioned option--to go, if not to Panama City in one fell swoop, then maybe as far as Managua. I'd like to revisit the grand colonial city of Granada & the quiet little paradise of San Juan del Sur before crossing into Costa Rica.