Travelogue: El Salvador, May 2007, Part II

La Libertad, El Salvador

Hey Everyone,

Ha! You’re going to have to hear from me again! I suppose you can delete these emails if they get too monotonous. The AC just feels too good – and the $1 an hour to use the internet is well worth it!

Yesterday I did not surf, or go out in the sun for that matter. My skin and shoulders thank me today. Aside from heading into town, spent most of the day reading in a hammock and ´talking shop´ with the other surf travelers here (1 Kiwi, 2 Canucks, 2 Ozzies, 2 Gringos).

So I did go into Puerto La Libertad, to look for an ATM and get groceries (this place has an open communal kitchen(!)). La Libertad is the town you are most likely to get mugged in. It was Sunday, so it was crowded! There was a fish market set up under tarps on the pier (with waves peeling off Punta Roca in the background), and a couple streets had vendors set up – a very busy open air market.

Not many gringos here – I could count the number on one hand. People are generally friendly towards outsiders – and tend to want to start conversations (real conversations, not just ´niceties´). My Spanish skills are getting a real workout – I’m glad I attended a few lectures of that Spanish course I dropped in the spring and brushed up on my past tense verbs (it helps me sound less like a five-year old… maybe I’ve graduated to six year old).

La Libertad has ´scammers´ – looking to separate gringos from their money. And a couple crack-addicts doing the same. As one of the only gringos, I stand out, so I took the warnings and did not bring a camera or bag – too bad, there were quite a few interesting sights. After arriving and walking through a bad part of town on a Sunday – there were salvatrucho who would wave me over and want to talk to me. Sometimes, it’s a good thing to act like you don’t speak Spanish so you can smile and walk away (one even made a hand-pistol and pointed it at me). Yeah, I bet some of those barrachos would not be shy about asking gringos for their possessions once the sun went down.

I did have lunch at Restaurante Punta Roca, and got to watch las olas de punta roca pick up as the tide came in. It looks like a great wave – great shape and fast. Unfortunately, there were thunderstorms when I was there – the unfortunate part was the smell of the water that was running off into the ocean. I probably won’t surf there.

Talking to other travelers, the ´traveler’s curse´ (also known as Montezuma’s revenge) strikes everyone here – no matter how careful you are. Actually if you are careful, it slows you down for 24 hours then you acclimate. If you are not careful, you can get amoebic dysentery. I fell to the curse and spent the rest of the afternoon reading in the hammock.

After a 12 hour sleep, I was up before sunrise and managed to be the fourth one in the water. Dead glass and overhead sets. I lasted an hour before I was drained from ´the curse´. Oh well, there were 20 people in the water at that point. The swell was fading, and people are trying to get what they can.

It was hot today. Hotter than usual. I thought I had a fever to go with the curse (which meant dysentery… I think) until I heard everyone else complaining. Just laying in the hammock, every single movement can make one sweat more. I would turn my head to watch a set wave – more sweat. Take a drink of water – more sweat. Turn a page – more sweat. I could literally feel waves of heat rising from my body. It was like every pore was wide open and releasing evaporative heat – like every pore was a hot panting dog mouth, and every hair was like a panting tongue.

Anyways, I had time to reflect on the heat today… and stretch… and write email… much better than being a data nerd at work!

My gut is getting back to normal, and it’s just about time to go surf the evening glass off.

Paz.

(Read Part III)