This Beach is Weird

Trip Start Jun 02, 2010

Trip End Jul 12, 2010

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Esencia Nativa El Zonte

Flag of El Salvador El Zonte, La Libertad, El Salvador
Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Mike here! After a totally relaxing time in Suchitoto, we were ready to head to the Pacific coast for a day at the beach. We caught a bus from San Salvador to the busy market in La Libertad and then a seemingly "rare" bus to Play El Zonte, a surfer's beach. Let me say that I have only once been to a Pacific coast beach and that was on a nice sand beach in Torrey Pines, San Diego. It was a complete surprise to me that the beach was black-sand, rocky and had sharp pieces of reef all over it. Needless to say, there was no swimming at this beach, but it is, apparently, great conditions for surfing. As we walked on the rocks and tidal pools to watch the ocean as the sun set, I got a firsthand lesson in the dangers of a Pacific surf beach as I cut my toe on a sharp piece of old reef. "Nurse" Elana came to the rescue with our first aid kit and bandaged me up. We enjoyed a quiet evening on the roof of our hostel watching the surf and hit the bed early for some well-earned Zs.

The next morning, we slept in, had breakfast, and headed out to hunt the ultra-rare route 192 bus back to La Libertad

Playa El Zonte

. We waited just under an hour, but finally boarded. We took another bus back to San Salvador (ugh) and checked into our hostel - if you can call it that, it's only 3 months old and the nicest place we've stayed - they even have free internet! As we were checking our e-mail, my sister forwarded me a note from her friend warning of an escalation in gang violence in San Salvador. Although we knew the city was dangerous and didn't plan on taking any local buses, we were alarmed and saddened to hear about the extreme disregard for innocent lives exhibited by the gangs here. So, parents, you will be glad to know that we spent the afternoon in an upscale mall eating at a knockoff Au Bon Pain and shopping. I finally found an El Salvador soccer jersey - I have bought the national jersey of each country we have been in so far. Onto Nicaragua tomorrow!

Slideshow

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Our Hostel	Driftwood	Caribbean to Pacific in 4 days	Sunset over El Zonte
A house in the hill

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Comments

-O- & D on

Certainly glad to hear you are taking steps to keep safe! Also glad to see that Lisa is watching out for you. Take care of your toe, Mike. Stay safe and well. xoxoxoxo

Feline Clan on

Toady 25-June, mother and father Feline's are married 38 years. We will celebrate with a quiet dinner tonight. Last night we went to Barnes & Nobles just to stretch our legs. We were surprised to see so many young people. To my dismay, they have removed the listening stations where you could preview CD's (That is how I discovered much great music, including Netrebko while working in NJ).

Mom bought Jonathan Alter's new book: "The Promise" about Barack Obama's 1st 100 days in office. There are tributes to Emily (my cousin). and her family in preface and jacket cover.

I bought Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, considered by many to be his grandest work after reading a great article in NYT. It is rarely performed because of its scope and difficulty.

We have had very bad thunderstorms with lots of trees down. Yesterday one of my projects was approved by governace committee to proceed into first time in man. We will file IND with FDA on July 15th. They have 30 days in which to respond. No response means we can proceed. They can respond with comments or clarifications. They can also place you on clinical hold and request additional information.

Your trip does sound amazing, challenging and very adventurous and definately not for the faint of heart. I can't imagine traveling to a strange city, finding accomodations, food, etc. The photos are simply exquisite. I can't wait to see them all.

Nurse Elana must be doing quite well. I hope you both fare well with GI issues. Be mindful of crime and unscrupulous individuals who prey on unsophistocated tourists. Are there are a lot of foreign travelers? I bet you both miss a good bed with much lesure time. I can't even begin to imagine your bus escapades.

Meow & Meow

Lisa on

Estan aprendiendo mas espanol? Espero que si. You two should be experts by now!

Glad I got a blog mention, but obviously, terrible terrible circumstances. Glad you guys are safe and sound.

You guys gonna watch the US - Ghana game tomorrow? I'm excited!

Mike Franchell on

Mike and Elana- I was talking with your folks and they gave me your blog. Sounds like a great trip. The chicken story reminded me when I was in Korea long before you two were born and we rode a local buses with straw, branches and of course a lot of chickens. Any time you got on a bus the chickens were headed out somewhere. Have an enjoyable trip.
Mike Franchell
It has been years since I took Spanish to here is my attempt.
Mike y Elana - yo estaba hablando con tus amigos y me dieron tu blog. Suena como un gran viaje. La historia de pollo me recordó cuando estaba en Corea mucho antes de que los dos nacieron y nos montaron un autobuses locales con paja, sucursales y, por supuesto, un lote de pollos. Cualquier momento que tienes a un autobús que los pollos estaban encabezados fuera en algún lugar. Tienen un viaje agradable.
Mike Franchell