#19 - A Beach trip to El Salvador

Our Airbnb house in Panajachel had already been rented to others during Easter Week, or Semana Santa as it is known here. So, we needed to vacate our place for about 10 days.  A perfect excuse for another road trip! We decided to take a trip with some friends to the LDS temple and a waterpark, then our family continued on to El Salvador for a fantastic beach vacation. It was a delightful and relaxing time, and we checked a new Central American country off of our list.
 

(Click below right for more . . . . )

Highlights:

• Quetzeltenango LDS temple trip with great friends
• Xocomil waterpark (best and biggest water park in Central America)
• Magnificent beach house on the El Salvador Costa Azul beach
• Freshly harvested coconuts for breakfast (lunch and dinner)
• A week without wifi
• San Salvador LDS temple

 
Lowlights:

• Crazy border crossing into El Salvador
• Sad Airbnb with severe lack of amenities

Highlights:

• Quetzeltenango LDS temple trip with great friends – We took a trip to Quetzeltenango with our friends the Kellys, Jensens, and Bytheways, all gringo LDS families living in Panajachel, Guatemala. We stopped at a nearby mall for roller-skating and bowling and pizza, then spent the night at the temple housing. All 30 of us fit into the multiple dormitory-style rooms there. We had a great time eating together, playing together and serving in the temple together.

 

• Xocomil waterpark (best and biggest water park in Central America) – The following day we all loaded up in the cars and drove about an hour south down to Xocomil waterpark. This is an American-style waterpark with slides, rafts, wave pool, lazy river and everything else you could want. The rides were fun, the lines weren’t too long, and the weather was perfectly warm for a day spent in the water.

 

• Magnificent beach house on the El Salvador Costa Azul beach – After the waterpark, we took the next day to drive to El Salvador (See the border crossing description below).  Our Airbnb was described as a beach house. Upon arrival, we discovered exactly that: a beautiful open air house, with thatched roofs, an open kitchen and breezeway for a dining area, coconut trees in the yard with 10 hammocks strung all over the property, and a back gate that opened directly onto the wide expanse of beach, with about 100 feet of sand before the crashing surf. It was a little slice of heaven; relaxing and comfortable. We spent four full days there, only leaving when necessary: a trip to the supermarket and a visit to church in Acajutla on Sunday.  I was impressed with everything about El Salvador, the people, the roads, the stores.

 

• Freshly harvested coconuts for breakfast (lunch and dinner) – On the property, there were more than a dozen coconut trees full of ripe water-filled coconuts. The gardener on site would scale the trees and cut down large bunches of yellow or green coconuts, and upon our request, would hack into the top with a machete - leaving a quarter size portion of white coconut meat exposed. We would then poke a straw through and drink all the delicious fresh coconut water. Once emptied, we would then hack open the full husk to scoop out all the meat. Delicious!! We were all happily supplied with a constant stream of coconuts.

 

• A week without wifi – At first the kids were all complaining about the lack of wifi at the property, but after the first jump in the pool, a swim at the beach, and a hammock reading session, no one ever complained again. We had also brought our instruments down (4 violins, electric cello, and electric piano) and we used the screen-free time to engage in quintet strings practice, since the kids have been asked to play some music for their cousin’s wedding in Dallas in late April.

 

• San Salvador LDS Temple – We included a 2nd temple visit on our trip, attending the San Salvador temple in the capital of El Salvador, which had a beautiful complex, with the temple, patron housing, distribution center, mission offices, cafeteria, and beautifully landscaped grounds.  It was wonderful to perform baptisms for the dead there, and feel the spirit in the midst of a crazy, crowded, city.

 
Lowlights:

• Airbnb with severe lack of amenities – the night after Xocomil, we stayed in a nearby Airbnb. Upon driving in, the place looked decent, with an outdoor pool and huge Mango tree out in front. But upon closer inspection, the house was lacking in every basic amenity. There were no towels, no top sheets or blankets, no toilet paper, not a single utensil or dish in the kitchen, no drinking water, plus the place just felt unclean inside (think ants and standing water and the smell and mosquitos that come with it).  It was one of our worst stays . . . . .

 

• Crazy border crossing into El Salvador – The border crossing from Guatemala into El Salvador that we chose was along a long stretch of flat road south of the mountain range, and was a prime trucking route.  Because of this, we found ourselves at the border behind a kilometer-long line of trucks (no joke), all waiting up to 3 days to cross.  We followed the other passenger cars and decided to bypass all the trucks and drive on the wrong-side of the road, swerving around approaching cars and trucks when they approached. The further we drove towards the border, the more surrounded our car became with guys on scooters begging to help us cross the border.  These guys wanted to help with the visa/passport/customs/car import paperwork on both sides of the border, for a small fee.  Even after we chose a guy, another vendor/helper came up to our window, time after time, begging us to choose him instead. We had our windows rolled up, but he would not leave us alone, begging, pleading, cajoling us to change our choice and choose him. It was annoying at best, aggressively pestering at worst.  The border crossing itself was long and slow, and even with the help, we needed to exercise extreme patience through the 3-hour ordeal.  Much longer and more painful than any other border we’ve crossed thus far, which left us driving into El Salvador in the dark, something that left us quite uncomfortable.