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PART #3

DAY #3
6:00am (CST)
Hotel Villa Florencia
San Salvador, El Salvador
February 9, 2013, Saturday

I slept for 10 hours last night, plus or minus the mosquitoes. I decided to go to the clerk and get a can of spray. They gave me the old pump kind and I sprayed the room. It is interesting here in El Salvador. The days get very hot and the nights get very cool, almost blanket sleeping weather. As I look out over my balcony, I can see clearly the mountain. There are no clouds and the lights are on the mountain from the residents. Today, I shall travel to the beach in La Libertad. This villa is spectacular. It is lighted totally by the sun. It is a antique museum of Spanish Colonial antiquity. As I sit in the lobby preparing to leave, the earthy tones of the terra cotta is waking me up. It shall be another bright and hot day in San Salvador, El Salvador.

8:30am (CST)
La Libertad, El Salvador (The Beach)
February 9, 2013, Saturday

I am writing this entry while sitting high on the rocks looking out over the Pacific Ocean. The beach sand is black. La Libertad has black beaches. The cost from San Salvador to La Libertad was only $1.20. When I got here, I decided to do some body surfing in the Pacific. The Pacific Ocean is warm this morning. I did not expect the water to be this warm. It felt really refreshing and invigorating. The scenic bus ride from San Salvador, west to La Libertad is very beautiful. We went high up into the mountains then down to the ocean. You could smell the ocean, when you began to reach La Libertad. The ocean rock formation, here, is very beautiful. I decided to brave the scaly rocks, across the crabs and journey farther into the rocks. It was also keeping my eye on the water, because I did not want to get trapped nor have my camera wet. It is very peaceful. Not a soul on the beach. I caught the attention of several locals, as in El Salvador, it is rare to see a black man. There are many ocean pool formations amongst the rocks. One could actually take a bath in these huge ocean pools. As I dry myself with the sun in these rocks, I am contemplating about doing some more body surfing. The Pacific Ocean is very blue, however I have not seen the huge waves mentioned, but they are larger than my home North Florida Atlantic waves. There are beach condos and local tropical houses mixed together here. The city of La Libertad is behind me, but a whole new world is in front of me: El Salvador, Pacific Ocean.

9:15am (CST)
La Libertad, El Salvador (The Beach)
February 9, 2013, Saturday

I remained at the beach and listened to the waves. I decided to go further down through the rocks and photograph. I did some more body surfing and now I can feel the salt and the sun starting to make me sticky. A feeling I am very use to from Florida. I came across an aquatic ocean pool aquarium. As I sit above it, I could peer down and see these tiger fish. It is very clear salt water. So, I decided to feed them a piece of my banana and they took right to it.

10:30am (CST)
La Libertad, El Salvador
February 9, 2013, Saturday

I am writing this entry while sitting amongst one of the La Libertad beach ruins. You can tell that one point in time, this use to be a huge community and touristy beach town. It is very peaceful and tranquil. The Pacific tropical breezes are really cooling the people. The ocean from up here is the color of a deep turquoise blue, with the coconut palm trees swaying. Almond trees and mango trees are everywhere. This is definitely a beach town. The people are just relaxing under the Pacific breezes. It is so relaxing I decided to take my sandals off and take a quick nap.

11:30am (CST)
La Libertad, El Salvador
February 9, 2013, Saturday

I had lunch on the street of La Libertad. Meaning literally, eating on the streets. I purchased an El Salvadorean Cheese Steak sandwich, for $1.00. I have had a Philly cheese steak and a La Libertad cheese steak and they both are good. I went to the grocery store and brought some papaya and cold water for a total of .65 cents. I took all and sat on the stoops of someone’s house and ate while people watching. Most people were watching me as, I, were them. I am full. The La Libertad cheese steak is loaded: steak, cheese, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, peppers all warmed on a foot long sub roll…Delicious!!!! It is very hot, but the tropical breeze is very cooling. It is not noon yet and I am getting very tired because it is 1:00 (eastern standard time). I may shop for dinner in La Libertad.

6:00pm (CST)
Hotel Villa Florencia
San Salvador, El Salvador
February 9, 2013, Saturday

Today was a very refreshing day. My entire soul has been refreshed. I have never seen this much ocean beauty since Honolulu, Hawaii, however, this is untouched by foreign tourists. The bus ride back from La Libertad was very scenic as well. I got a chance to see children swimming in the river and women washing clothes in the river. The foliage is the same, very jungle and tropical with all kinds of fruit and vegetation. La Libertad is one of El Salvador’s hidden secrets. I took a walk down to the pier and it was another outdoors market which sold seafood shrimp, fish, clams, octopus, stingray etc. It is the first time I saw stingray livers. Boats are lined up on the pier ready to be lowered into the water. As I walked to the end to look back at the town, it is picture perfect. The people of La Libertad, seems to rely on themselves as well. I did not see one single tourist besides myself. The town seems to be self-maintained. It is a very hilly place with houses embedded into the hills. At the ocean, it is very beachy, but one block away it reminds you of a San Salvadorean outdoors market. I got a chance to experience both. One of my largest inspirations was seeing the ruins and seeing how high the waves can get, to form these ocean pools which are about 8 – 12 feet high. In La Libertad heyday, these attractions were used by the hotel as natural forming pools, because I saw an El Salvadorean family using the pools to the fullest. When I returned to San Salvador about one and one half hours trip, one way, I thought I was lost only to find out that where the bus terminal was, was just right around the corner from me. However, I walked the long way, until I saw a familiar structure. I came to the hotel to wash the salt off and to hit the San Salvadorean outdoors market. I first stopped at the outdoor restaurant and got another El Salvadorean chesse steak. Those things are very good. I then continued to walk to the market to pick up watermelon, a prune Danish, some of the beautiful smelling detergent, I once smelled in Guadalupana, Isle Mujeres in the Mexican Caribbean. I got some salt from El Salvador and some souvenirs. Everything was .25 cents each. All the vendors were competing with each other and yelling “a quarter”. When I finally retired to the hotel I was completely exhausted. La Libertad, as did Suchitoto wore me out. As I write in this diary on the balcony looking out at the mountain, this mountain was the one that I got up close to this morning on the bus to La Libertad. Tonight it is clear of clouds and the houses on the mountain are twinkling, as like little stars. It is a beautiful cool Salvadorean night as the sunsets in the Pacific Ocean. It would have been a beautiful sight to see…a Pacific sunset. The orange-redness of the sky is slowly turning black. The show is over for today, as an indication by the twinkling lights on the mountain. Good Night and May God Bless. Tomorrow the town of El Congo, El Salvador.