Still Looking for the Bus in San Miguel (Day 14)

I'm posting this from San Miguel in eastern El Salvador, gateway to Honduras & points further southeast. This town isn't as bad as Lonely Planet makes it out to be. Sure, it's blisteringly hot & humid, but so are a lot of other places.

From my perspective San Miguel has a lot going for it. For one, I'm staying in an excellent hotel just across the street from the bus station and the central district with the usual central plaza, cathedral & market is just a short walk away. True, the hotel is a bit above my budget, but at least they accept credit cards. Even better there's a Pollo Campero right across the street. Pollo Campero is Central America's answer to KFC and though this is my third trip in as many years to Central America, I still haven't tried Pollo Campero but I think I might do so tonight.

My room has all the amenities including the most important one, air con. The hotel also features free high speed internet and a nice courtyard with a swimming pool. And we have our very own hired guard, a "special forces-type" gentleman dressed in civvies who totes a very lethal looking double-barreled pump action shotgun.

My only problem, as I see it, is I'm still looking for the first class bus to Managua & beyond! But this town is small enough that I was able to invest a couple hours today on foot, trudging my way around for some 3 or 4 miles, still looking for the Tica bus--or at least the Tica bus office so I can book a seat for tomorrow or the next day.

I did manage to get a clue from a couple helpful citizens along the way, and I've been advised to show up at 8.00 a.m. sharp tomorrow morning at a certain location in town near the main road going south, etc. etc. So hopefully in about 14 hours I will know if I can get a seat on one of these elusive "avion de terra" buses!

Meanwhile, this is not at all a bad place to be. I'm not too far from the town of Perquin which was the headquarters of the anti-government FMLN during the civil war and which the Lonely Planet recommends as a destination in its own right. I may take a day or two there before I continue--depending upon what I learn in the morning.