Last night I went back to where I ate dinner and I met a man and his brother. Both of them from Kentucky. HIs brother works in Guatemala. I met two girls. One from Britain and another from Australia. Both friends. Then I met a Swedish girl and I ended up in a swimming pool with her and here friends at their hotel. I also had a broken conversation with a bartender at a different place about music. The DJ last night played a lot of American club music. One local asked if I was jewish.
This morning I went to use the internet but the internet cafe was closed so I headed out of town. I had to take a ferry to leave Monterrico. It was basically a long pontoon boat with wood laid down to support the weight of vehicles. The ride across the swampy marsh was lovely. I sat on the side of the boat. Many other ferries with people and cars passed by.
Leaving Guatemala and entering El Salvador was very easy. There weren’t many people because it was Sunday. As soon as I approached the border I was approached by a guy wanting to help me. He showed me around to each window and where to get photocopies. He did not ask for money and I did not pay him.
About thirty miles into El Salvador my car broke down. At first I thought it might be the transmission. But I was just out of gas. The needle hadn’t moved all day and was was stuck at midpoint. I got out of my car and approached two boys and a man on bicycles behind me. They were of great help. We pushed the car up the road a bit and another man on a bike rode up and offered to go get gas. He found a container and headed off. It turns out the man who helped push my car is a minister of a prophetic word church. The ladies were outside coking dinner and all the ladies inside the church wore head coverings. The guy with the gas returned and we went about trying to put it in the tank. He took out his machete and cut off the bottom of a water bottle to make a funnel. But the spout was to large so I took a stick and pushed open the circular covering while another guy held the makeshift funnel in place. Still the car wouldn’t start. They said push it back a bit. So we did. Then the car started fine. I went to the church to wash the gas off my hands and thanked the minister.
At a Texaco I filled up and tried to use the ATM but it wouldn’t process my card. I will have to find a bank later.
The road to La Libertad is long and twists its way around cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There are horses and dogs and cattle and people all over the road. I wanted to stay somewhere cheaper than I am but I needed to be sure they would accept my Visa because I don’t have enough cash. I believe I’m the only guest at this hotel.
After dinner, a messy club sandwich unlike any club sandwich I’ve ever had, I went for a walk towards the pier. One of the waiters stopped me. I think he was trying to tell me that it wasn’t safe to go out but I didn’t understand him. It was dark but the area was still lively. One of the restaurants on the walkway had a Mariachi band playing from table to table. The pier had a covered area up front where merchants were still selling fresh fish. Most of the stores were closed. The entire pier smelled heavily of fish guts and seawater. After the market area the rest of the pier had fishing boats lined up and there were people fishing off the pier in between boats all along the rails. I left the pier and continued walking but all the shops were closed so I returned to the hotel. The beach here is littered with trash and rocky. I’m sure the pier is abuzz with activity during the day. I can hear the ocean waves breaking outside.
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