Considering the fact that this part of western El Salvador is a major coffee producing region, it sure is difficult to find a good cup of coffee! Sure, I´m a latte snob but this is getting ridiculous. Today, however, I scored a home run with the discovery of The House of Coffee, an upscale joint in the village of Ataco which has the first espresso machine I´ve encountered since Guatemala City.
Follow the winding Ruta de Las Flores east out of hot, stifling Ahuachapan for just a few miles and you are transported into a totally different climate of misty, fog covered mountain greenery dotted with several large finca--coffee plantations--and just two or three very easy-going market villages. Ataco is one of them.
Further along the route you arrive in Apaneca & Juayua, where I´ve snagged a room for the night. Up here it´s cool enough not to require AC & it looks as if it might even rain again. We hope not, however, as El Salvador also suffered its share of mudsliding this past weekend--the evidence of which is apparent all along the roadside where workers are still busy cleaning the debris three days later. MSNBC says El Salvador reported 10 killed in the storm.
My cash situation has mysteriously resolved itself: yesterday I was able to draw enough dollars to last me for the week.
Tomorrow: to Sonsonate & then Playa Mizata/El Zonte for some Pacific beachside doings. . .
Showing posts with label Tropical Storm Agatha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tropical Storm Agatha. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Tropical Storm Agatha Devastates Guatemala
Check out the link to the upper right for some facts on the recent storm in Central America which hit Guatemala particularly hard, leaving at least 145 dead, 53 missing, and more than 100,000 homeless. Tropical Storm Agatha was the first major storm of the season and it also hit southern Mexico and the area of El Salvador where I´m writing this now.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Ahuachapan, El Salvador (Day 8)
The news was fairly grim today in Guatemala as flooding, mudslides & roadside avalanches were reported all over the country this past weekend. Although my Spanish is extremely lame I was able to catch the gist of things on the TV news and so discovered that damage wasn`t limited to the poor village of Los Esclavos but was even worse in areas near Lake Atitlan. I am told that up to 80 people were killed nationwide but I haven`t confirmed that from news sources.
This morning I caught a ride south toward El Salvador with some water engineers who were on their way to a town about halfway to the border on business. The older of the two spoke some English and he was the one who told me of the fatalities. I don`t usually hitchhike in Latin America but I have experience at it in Europe and Southeast Asia. These guys were leaving at the same time I was from the hotel. Hitching can be a good way to get around if you`re friendly but cautious.
The Guatemala-El Salvador frontier is one of the easier ones in the region because by treaty the Guatemala 90 immigration stamp is also good for El Salvador, Honduras & Nicaragua. A couple of short bus rides late this morning and I was quickly over the border and at my destination, Ahuachapan. The cheap hotel I was looking for has gone out of business--oh well! But I found another place, just a little more expensive, that will do just fine.
El Salvador has dollarized its economy--greenbacks are the legal tender here which is good since I have some cash dollars and am uncertain still about my ability to get cash from my account at home. One of my first chores here today is to check the ATMs.
This morning I caught a ride south toward El Salvador with some water engineers who were on their way to a town about halfway to the border on business. The older of the two spoke some English and he was the one who told me of the fatalities. I don`t usually hitchhike in Latin America but I have experience at it in Europe and Southeast Asia. These guys were leaving at the same time I was from the hotel. Hitching can be a good way to get around if you`re friendly but cautious.
The Guatemala-El Salvador frontier is one of the easier ones in the region because by treaty the Guatemala 90 immigration stamp is also good for El Salvador, Honduras & Nicaragua. A couple of short bus rides late this morning and I was quickly over the border and at my destination, Ahuachapan. The cheap hotel I was looking for has gone out of business--oh well! But I found another place, just a little more expensive, that will do just fine.
El Salvador has dollarized its economy--greenbacks are the legal tender here which is good since I have some cash dollars and am uncertain still about my ability to get cash from my account at home. One of my first chores here today is to check the ATMs.
Sun May 30 Los Esclavos (Day 7)
So I take another day here in this quiet & beautiful corner of the world but I`m really not in any hurry (unless I`m in a hurry to get to Merida, Venezuela). Saturday was impossible because of the rain & I had to wait longer for some laundry I`d sent out--clothesline in the wind is still their primary dryer in this part of the world.
Then I`ve been vexed by what`s turning into a major annoyance with my bank during what happens to be a three day weekend in the States. I cannot call them til Tuesday; meanwhile do I stay in Guatemala to do that or should I soldier onward & see about it in El Salvador?
Finally the local area has experienced a natural disaster--if not of epic proportions, then it`s been enough for crowds of local Sunday tourists to stream in all day long to rubberneck like me. Although at least three houses were badly damaged or destroyed, I am not aware of any injuries or loss of life. Most places in the area, including my hotel, still have electricity--although the owner told me the telephone is out & now he has to accept credit cards manually, the old fashioned way, with carbon copied slips. Remember those?
Some local people are busy cleaning up at the stone bridge, which was partly damaged last night. By the ferocity of this roaring muddy, swollen river I`m amazed that the whole bridge wasn`t swept away. The guilt-plagued "wealthy" Western tourist in me wants to help them if I can, but the pragmatist in me says I don´t have appropriate footwear for the task. These people are wearing rubber boots or real shoes.
Then I`ve been vexed by what`s turning into a major annoyance with my bank during what happens to be a three day weekend in the States. I cannot call them til Tuesday; meanwhile do I stay in Guatemala to do that or should I soldier onward & see about it in El Salvador?
Finally the local area has experienced a natural disaster--if not of epic proportions, then it`s been enough for crowds of local Sunday tourists to stream in all day long to rubberneck like me. Although at least three houses were badly damaged or destroyed, I am not aware of any injuries or loss of life. Most places in the area, including my hotel, still have electricity--although the owner told me the telephone is out & now he has to accept credit cards manually, the old fashioned way, with carbon copied slips. Remember those?
Some local people are busy cleaning up at the stone bridge, which was partly damaged last night. By the ferocity of this roaring muddy, swollen river I`m amazed that the whole bridge wasn`t swept away. The guilt-plagued "wealthy" Western tourist in me wants to help them if I can, but the pragmatist in me says I don´t have appropriate footwear for the task. These people are wearing rubber boots or real shoes.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Los Esclavos in the National News (Day 7)
Well, there`s plenty of excitement here today with Los Esclavos on national TV, and the locals are gathering at the bridges to check out the devastation caused by yesterday`s rains--which never really let up until early this morning.
Rains, flooding, and mudslides took out a number of trees and sections of a road in the village down by the old stone bridge and power plant. These in turn pulled down several electric lines and poles, which did further damage to homes nearby. The police and ambulances are here, as is the electric company--and everybody from the village.
The scene has also drawn gawkers from Cuilapa and other nearby settlements. Many of these people have come to take photos and to telephone their friends and relatives. A couple of them have professional looking cameras, so I take them for local media.
I also took some photos but I`m still unable to upload to this site. I hope to be able to do so sometime in the not-too-distant future.
I should be leaving for the border today but the excitement has caused some delay in those plans. And for the record, I still can`t get cash from the ATMs!
Rains, flooding, and mudslides took out a number of trees and sections of a road in the village down by the old stone bridge and power plant. These in turn pulled down several electric lines and poles, which did further damage to homes nearby. The police and ambulances are here, as is the electric company--and everybody from the village.
The scene has also drawn gawkers from Cuilapa and other nearby settlements. Many of these people have come to take photos and to telephone their friends and relatives. A couple of them have professional looking cameras, so I take them for local media.
I also took some photos but I`m still unable to upload to this site. I hope to be able to do so sometime in the not-too-distant future.
I should be leaving for the border today but the excitement has caused some delay in those plans. And for the record, I still can`t get cash from the ATMs!
Sat May 29 (Day 6) & the Rains
When it rains it pours! And it`s really coming down today. I took advantage of a brief lull & grabbed a bus into town so I could check the ATMs again. I still can`t get cash from my account, though I`m still able to use the card for debit/credit. This is very inconvenient long term because I have only a limited amount of cash dollars which are a hassle to change and which I need to preserve for emergencies. I can last a few days but I hope I don´t have to call the bank.
The rain is so relentless today that I really didn`t feel like dealing with any travel at all, but I took advantage of the time to research the next leg or two. One option, which I`ve just about rejected, is to make my way to Guatemala`s nearby Pacific coast. The town of Monterrico in the coastal preserve Biotopo Monterrico-Hawaii looks kind of interesting for the turtle sanctuary but the hatching season doesn`t start til June. Meanwhile the guidebooks tell me that Guatemala`s Pacific beach towns are either run down or sleazy (or both). Much more interesting would be the stretch of beach towns just west of La Libertad in El Salvador. Apparently this little corner of Central America has some of the best surfing in the world--and lessons for $10!
Tomorrow, rain or shine, I think I`ll make straight for the El Salvador border and then to Ahuachapan, a pleasant colonial city I visited in 2008. This town is close to a couple Mayan ruins sites & some little-touristed mountain villages in El Salvador`s western coffee plantation region. From there I can visit the beaches then proceed to the capital San Salvador & points beyond.
The rain is so relentless today that I really didn`t feel like dealing with any travel at all, but I took advantage of the time to research the next leg or two. One option, which I`ve just about rejected, is to make my way to Guatemala`s nearby Pacific coast. The town of Monterrico in the coastal preserve Biotopo Monterrico-Hawaii looks kind of interesting for the turtle sanctuary but the hatching season doesn`t start til June. Meanwhile the guidebooks tell me that Guatemala`s Pacific beach towns are either run down or sleazy (or both). Much more interesting would be the stretch of beach towns just west of La Libertad in El Salvador. Apparently this little corner of Central America has some of the best surfing in the world--and lessons for $10!
Tomorrow, rain or shine, I think I`ll make straight for the El Salvador border and then to Ahuachapan, a pleasant colonial city I visited in 2008. This town is close to a couple Mayan ruins sites & some little-touristed mountain villages in El Salvador`s western coffee plantation region. From there I can visit the beaches then proceed to the capital San Salvador & points beyond.
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