Discovering the Unexpected
Day 60
Travel is all about discovery. Meaning anything from discovering a new culture, meeting new friends, whitewater rafting or just discovering new beer, its all part of the thrill of discovering new things. Best is when you discover something unexpected. It feels as if you are in on a secret.
When we left our comfortable room this morning I wondered what we would discover in El Salvador later in the day. Whether it was reading about El Salvador or listening to others talk about El Salvador it was mostly all bad. When we told a Guatemalan that we were headed to El Salvador next they gave us a look like we were crazy. Then they would tell stories of how they knew or heard about someone who went to El Salvador and was beaten then robbed. This was a common story. Thing was nobody we talked to had actually been there themselves.
Reading the statistics on crime reconfirmed their words, however statistics don’t always tell the full story. On the average 10 people a day are killed in El Salvador, that’s really high. Actually its about the highest per capita murder rate in the world, making the country known as the most dangerous in Central America. Its something you can’t ignore. Thing is a huge number of those murders are gang related and tourists are rarely targeted. Gangs are a major problem in El Salvador. The infamous M-13 or Mara Salvatrucha are not a group you want to get mixed up with. These guys are seriously hardcore and you wouldnt believe their numbers and power world wide. The majority of gang members were actually living in the U.S.A. But were deported back to El Salvador in the ’90’s.
As our bus pulled up to the Guatemalan/El Salvador border I gazed out the window at a beautiful landscape of mountains and trees. Crime and the severe deforestation of El Salvador was absent here on the quiet border with a river running through it. I changed money at a great rate from Quetzales to U.S. Dollars with a black market money changer. We breezed through customs and then were on our way to Ahuachapan where we hoped to find another bus to Juayua. We were dropped off on the side of the highway and before we could be robbed by anyone a tuk tuk came by and whisked us away to the bus station. There we waited no more than 10 minutes in the heat before a Juayua (I still can´t say Juayua correctly) bound bus came by. The surrounding countryside was beautifully mountainous and forested. Gangs and deforestation certainly did not seem prevelant in this region of the country. We both instantly took a liking to western El Salvador. Besides the scenery even the chicken buses were well organized with a turnstile at the front and a door at the rear. This ensured people only exited at the rear, trust me if you don´t know this is a key element to running an efficient chicken bus. As our bus rounded a corner the town of Juayua, population 10,100 came into view. It sat surrounded by lush green mountains and volcano’s. In all this greenery rose the town and it´s gleaming white cathedral, it looked gorgeous and almost fairy tale like from this view.
We arrived in the quiet town square where we started our search for accommodation. It was clear that despite the issues of crime, El Salvador was more prosperous than it´s neighbour to the north. With only a few places to stay accommodation may be the only downside of Juayua. We ended up at the El Mirador in a room that had instructions on how to use a condom. Yeah, we usually try and stay clear of these places but we were stuck. In the morning we would hopefully move. It was a good thing we enjoyed the rest of the town so much because our start in Juayua was far from ideal. As we sat watching tv getting ready to head out for some dinner Jordana and I looked at each other and both wondered why the other was shaking the bed. “Was that just an earthquake?” asked Jordana. “uh yeah I think so, I can`t make the bed and tv sway like that.” It wasn’t a big deal so we headed out for dinner. Then the towns power and water went out, so we found a place with a generator. Our first meal in El Salvador was 2 cerveza Supremas and Pringles. We had no water the rest of the night but at least the power came back. No matter, we had both already fallen in love with off the beaten track mountain town of Juayua. I looked forward to exploring more in the morning and getting a room that wasn’t rented by the hour.
Tags: crime, El Salvador
Michael Coroneos
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