With a Name Like That, You Know It's Charming!

Trip Start Mar 19, 2010
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Trip End Dec 16, 2010


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Where I stayed
Vista del Lago

Flag of El Salvador  ,
Wednesday, June 2, 2010

I had been psyched about Suchitoto for about a month, since I'd read about it in my guide and heard endless tales of its reputable charm from fellow travellers. Thankfully, I hadn’t had to drag Benn there (but I had found myself asking him repeatedly, "So... we’re still going to Suchitoto, right? 'Cuz you said we could...") It was really beautiful, that was for sure. However, just like anything you build up in your mind, it’s going to disappoint. I guess what it missed was some magnetic field that would just charm the pants off me – which, thankfully for the conservative El Salvadorans, it didn’t. Nonetheless, I savoured it’s cobble-stone roads that were cloaked in green moss, and the stretching narrow streets spattered with quiet, simple homes, and the kind people who tipped their hats when you passed. It’s unassuming beauty compelled me most of all. You wouldn’t know that this town is renowned as the most lovely in the country. You just walk in, soak in it’s glorious aroma, and leave with a pleasantly stamped memory
Suchitoto
Suchitoto
.

The hotel we stayed in was gorgeous. (El Salvador severely lacks hostels, as evidence of its lack in tourism – which, by the way is invertly proportional, in my experience, to its charm). It was called Vista del Lago, or Lake View, and aptly so. It hung graciously over a cascading hillside, overlooking the lake looming below. Ok, honestly it required a bit of squinting to see this lake, as well as head-cocking around the plethora of trees that hogged the line of perspective, but I didn’t mind the extra effort while eating breakfast.

Benn stayed two nights, and I three. We spent our days wandering aimlessly along the peaceful roads and ate in the village centre, filling on pupusas and potato things whose name I’ve forgotten. In the evening, we played cards on the balcony over candlelight. We hiked to the waterfall that pours over jagged stones (see photos). This adventure required a bit of rock climbing and descending, but proved well worth it. In a search for another waterfall we got a bit lost, but ended up walking to the lake and meeting a family that owned a house their, along with their livestock.

Benn left earlier than I for reasons mainly situated in the fact that spending weeks together can lead to dangerous levels of tension. So, to avoid ripping each other’s heads off – it might have been a close call at one point, actually – we parted ways, planning to meet again in three days in Honduras.

And we did. Which was good, because he left behind his scientifically-proven-to-dry-faster towel behind. And, I missed him.
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