I spent the last few days with the family of my excellent New York-Salvadorean friend Rebeca.

I had a wonderful time practising Spanish with her mother, who is a very kind, warm and elegant woman, and being shown around. I stayed with her sister Teresa, her husband Jaime and her little boy, Diego. Also their crazy dog, Toy, whom Diego follows around very faithfully. The dog is in control of that relationship, I'm afraid.

Yesterday we all went to the beach near the port of La Libertad, just half an hour from the capital. The drive was lovely - you can't imagine how nutritious it all looks in this part of the world. The countryside is just busting its big green head off. Green springs up wherever it possibly can - there's lush clover-like grass by the roadside, moss all over the stones, great green vines creeping up the rock face and then big trees, their trunks clinging with lichens, reaching their emerald limbs across the road. Occasionally I see a bunch of my tall, pale, elegant compatriots, with ther greyish gum-green leaves - I greet them with my mind as I pass by in the car - but otherwise it's just as juicy-green as you like. And the deliciousness available by the side of the road! I have eaten so many scrumptious, bizarre fruits in the last few weeks. My favorite thing, though, is the coconut juice. Tastes so perfect you feel it should go directly into the bloodstream. They serve it in the nut, with a straw poking out, then you bash the nut against the ground and eat the flesh. Jamie was being very rustic and trying to fashion flesh-scoopers out of coconut shell, but he had some trouble.

I was very pleased to see the Pacific Ocean, too. The beach is black and the water is very warm. I spent most of the day on my back in the sun, reading "The World According to Garp" which I can't recommend highly enough.

The day before, Saturday, Jaime, who had a terrible headache after drinking five beers and eight tequilas with us the night before, drove a little party of us out to Lake Coatepeque, which is a gorgeous lake sitting in the crater of an ancient volcano.

It has all been most relaxing. I am now back with Regina Davila in Guatemala City after a very pleasant bus trip this morning (I love the bus - so nice looking at the countryside and women with delicious food keep hopping on and selling it to me for next to nothing). I have finally had a chance to meet Regi's kids, Ricardo and Valeria, and they're super cute. All the Davilas are excellent - Rebeca's sisters share her warmth, her sense of hospitality and her strength of character. I've very much enjoyed getting to know them better.

Off to Mexico tomorrow for the next leg of this excellent trip.