san salvador
• 11 comments •
What can we say about San Salvador? Not too much. We left Antigua before New Year's Eve because all of the decent hotel rooms were already reserved. Because San Salvador is not the safest place, we chose to stay at a Courtyard (by Marriott) near La Gran Via - which promotes itself as a "life style centre". It is basically a large outdoor shopping mall with American stores and American restaurants. We felt as if we were in the States.
Our original plan was to transit through San Salvador, as there isn't too much to do there. However, after the "colonial chic" accommodations we had to put up with in Antigua, the amenities of the Courtyard lured us in. A comfy king size bed, down pillows, the pool, the gym, the breakfast buffet that served everything you can imagine... it was great!
After staying away from fruits and vegetables in Mexico and Guatemala, we gorged on salads and fresh fruits.
Actually, we ate way too much in San Salvador. All of the pictures we took there are of us eating.
We also spent a ridiculous amount of time watching movies. There was this theatre in La Gran Via and the admission was less than 4 dollars. The concession was a steal too. We got to see Avatar in 3D with popcorn & candy for less than $10 US - and it was a matinee so there was no one there! We missed watching movies so much that we went back the next day to watch Sherlock Holmes.
All the movies were in English with Spanish subtitles. We were told it was because jokes translate poorly and many movie-goers want to improve their English.
We noticed, as we drove through San Salvador, that the poor are very poor. While staying near La Gran Via, it was evident that there is a huge divide between the classes. In many ways it was the complete opposite of our experience at Lake Atitlan, where we stayed in a predominantly subsistence farming community. Our time in San Salvador was interesting in that we saw a different facet of modern Central American life.
11 comments
Once in awhile, it's nice to be reminded of the comforts of home, eh?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be honest,
ReplyDeletefood is one of my favorite parts of travel.
Also, I'm in love your blog.
The entire concept just makes me so excited.
I'll be back.
That avocado is killing me right now. I am craving it! Can't wait to see what's in store... going to Honduras? My mom is from there, and her side of the fam still lives there!
ReplyDeleteAs always, great post, great pics, great everything!
ReplyDeleteIt would be fun if you had a way to put a map up with pin heads showing where you have been, where you are going and the time frame of your travel. Your story would make a great travel book..
Good food should definitely be enjoyed, and it looks like you both did.
ReplyDeleteDubbing takes away so much from the dialog and acting in a movie. Also, it's nice to be able to understand what people are saying ;)
ReplyDeletetwo things:
ReplyDeletehandsome and pretty.
10-foot-tall 3D Smurfs are the same in every language.
ReplyDeleteI don't like how much you downplayed the country. It's beautiful and worth exploring if you ever get the chance to again
ReplyDeleteIliana Petite - My apologies if we offended you. I have several friends from El Salvador who recommended that we visit the rest of the country, which we didn't get a chance to. We had fun in the one city we visited, even though we didn't really experience many facets of it. I do hope to go back someday.
ReplyDeleteNo need to apologize. I think it's amazing all the different cultures you've had a chance to be a part of, I don't blame you for wanting to take a break from it all at times. Although it has a bad reputation for crime, you can also meet many heart-warming and welcoming people.
ReplyDelete