2019: El Salvador

Feb 3, 2019.  La Casa de Itzel ($20), Santa Tecla, El Salvador.

• Tough finding anything open on Sunday , especially it being Voting Day in El Salvador.  There have been lots of flags, banners, signs and billboards everywhere, and crowds at each of the polling stations in the towns that I pass through.  But it also means a lot of tourist sites closed.  I was able to get into Cihuatán on foot, but no luck at San Andres / Joya de Ceren.  Had a nice snack of a naranja and fresa licuada along with some dried platanós and chilies, and stopped to photograph an amazingly decorated cemetery beside the road.  

• Drove on to Parque Nacional El Boquerón, and not only was it open, it was mobbed with locals on family outings. Short hike to look into the crater, then some blackberries and a kind of raspberries with a coffee at one of the many restaurants near the end of the road.  Back down a few short kilometers to this hostel (recommended by Carlos at Hostal Casa Verde), where I am now ensconced and resting for my big night at the Paseo El Carmen.

• Which turned to be no big deal - very few tourists, lots of closed shops and restaurants, no music.  Still, pleasant enough to stroll around.