Day 1: Santa Ana, ES - The old building in the background is abandoned and the surrounding buildings are built right up to it. We went in a circle trying to find it and were only able to get one decent look from an alley with a bike shop in it...
Day 1: Santa Ana, ES - The man in the bike stall said it used to be a school, and that they were going to fix it up. There was no apparent evidence of such a thing, however.
Day 1: Santa Ana, ES - Flowers inside a bus.
Day 1: Santa Ana, ES - A view of the market.
Day 2: Santa Ana, ES - A typical El Salvadorian public bus. They are old school buses painted and converted (more of the former, less of the latter). Sometimes you see ones that aren't painted and still say, "Howard County Public Schools" or something of the sort. I.e., they are imported from the US when we don't want them anymore.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - Took a trip out to Cerro Verde National Park to climb a volcano. These guards were "tourist protection", and walked with our group to the top of the volcano and back. They looked hot in all those clothes, but never broke stride...
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - A man looks off his front porch in the town between the park and the Volcan Santa Ana.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - Looking down at the town, with Volcan Izalco in the background.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - As we were hiking Volcan Santa Ana, these random steer out of nowhere came barging down the path. We never did see how they even got up there, as we were fairly close to the top and there were no evident paths running off our own.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - We had to duck into the brush, but apparently this cow had the same idea and he wanted the spot I was in! Came right at me, but I just took a photo and laughed. Luckily he went around me because the brush was too dense for me to go in farther, and I had many more of his friends on the other side.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - Volcan Izalco, Cerro Verde on the left.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - Foliage near the top of Volcan Santa Ana.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - Me, walking at the top of Volcan Santa Ana around the crater.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - Molly and I at the crater of Volcan Santa Ana.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - Our new buddy Karina in the forefront, school kids in the middle, and a random administrative building in the background. In between the volcano and the park; the low point on the hike.
Day 2: Parque Cerro Verde, ES - Same town, in between Volcan Santa Ana and the park.
Day 2: El Congo, ES - Mike and Karina waiting for a bus on our way back to Santa Ana from Cerro Verde.
Day 2: Santa Ana, ES - Kim's Store is why I took the photo. Oddly, beneath the store name it says "Sock for Better or Worse." No explanation on that.
Day 2: Santa Ana, ES - Inside our hotel room at the Hotel Livingston. Each of us had our own bed with the most ridiculous, elaborate, mirrored and carved headboards ever. The one in this photo was Molly's.
Day 3: Santa Ana, ES - Central park is on the right, very early in the morning (hence, few people out).
Day 3: Santa Ana, ES - Public payphone in central park.
Day 3: Santa Ana, ES - Near the central park. Says, "Seek the strength for change." For those of you noticing the Jewish star, there were lots of those around ES, usually with the accompanying text which meant Friends of Israel. (Shrug.)
Day 3: Santa Ana, ES - Cathedral in the central park.
Day 2: Tazumal, ES. Tazumal archaeological remains, which were absolute shit. Really, the saddest pyramid and grounds we'd ever seen. The sloppy fencing was really a nice touch.
Day 4: Parque Montechristo, ES - "Yo soy una bromelia..." These plants are bromelias, they are air plants that grow on trees all over the place in this park, about an hour truckride outside Metapan, ES.
Day 4: Parque Montechristo, ES - Exactly what I was thinking... (This sign was just posted in greenery in the park for no obvious reason, not near anything in particular.)
Day 4: Parque Montechristo, ES - Yours truly in the orchid garden.
Day 4: Parque Montechristo, ES - A curious formation of nature! Nature in this forest shows us the union of two trees, that like a revelation, teach us about the love and friendship which should exist between the living things of this planet. For this the name is, "The Tree of Love." (As translated from the nearby sign).
Day 4: Parque Montechristo, ES - Molly and me in the truck ready to head back to Metapan. The roads are really super bumpy, so you stand up and hold on for dear life, packed in the back with many others. In our case, we hired the guy to take us up there so we only had six people back there.
Day 4: Parque Montechristo, ES - A cemetary near Tazumal.