Rob and Anna's travel adventure

Apaneca, El Salvador

Anna's entry -

Apaneca is located in the mountains, and is considered to be the highest town point in El Salvador. It is a small, easy going town, with welcoming people. When we arrived, the only two hostels there were closed down. We were wandering around trying to find another place to stay, and one of the locals on a bike noticed us. He approached us, and told us he could take us to a local family that could offer us hospedaje - place to stay. At first we were a little skeptical to follow him - after Nicaragua especially, where we constantly got hustled - but we decided to give it a try, and he definitely was right! First of all, the place he brought us to was gorgeous, and it was only $15 a night. It was actually a huge house where the family lived, and had a beautiful traditional Spanish look, along with a kitchen and great security. We wanted to offer a little tip to the guy with a bike for helping us out, but he absolutely refused, pointing out to his heart - meaning it was a sincere gesture, and no reward was necessary. Wow - how different it is compared to the attitude in Nicaragua, Guatemala, or even Mexico! We enjoyed Apaneca very much - it was peaceful there, and this was exactly what we needed after San Salvador. We took a walk up to the mountains, trying to find a couple of lagoons described in the Lonely Planet book, but found only one. However, the views from the top of the mountains were excellent, so it was definitely worth the walk. Also, during one of our night stays in that casa, the lady of the family had her friends for a visit, and they had some kind of religious-sacrificial-not-so-sure-what-exactly-moaning, so that was spooky, but interesting. We could not see them, but could hear all that moaning coming from upstairs, pretty sure it was something religious though. The friends of the lady left smiling, and afterwards she informed me that she was just getting ready for church, so I guess it was just the introduction of a deeply believing soul, or something like that... A little different... Over all, a very good impression about Aponeca - people were very sweet, and absolutely not jaded by tourists, which was refreshing for us to see.

El Salvador is probably our favourite country in terms of people and their attitude. The country does not have the nature and excitement that Costa Rica and Panama offer, however, people definitely seem to be the most genuine and friendly we have encountered so far. Definitely glad we decided to add El Salvador to our journey.

Our next goal is to reach ruins of Tikal, and prior to that, we will make a few stops in Guatemala.

posted by Rob and Anna @ 5:59 PM