On The Sea Again, I Just Can't Wait To Get On The Sea Again: EL SALVADOR and guatemala

Saturday we were in Acajutla, El Salvador for our first visit to that country. That brings our country count to 98 - closing in on one hundred!

We looked at 2 different excursions to give us the opportunity to see the country. One went to the capital of San Salvador and the other so Santa Ana. Both involved long bus rides from the port. We opted for Santa Ana since it seemed to be more historic. The bus ride was indeed long. It took 2 hours to get to the central area of the city. There was a busy square surrounded by the theater, the cathedral, and the city hall.

We were given a nice tour inside of the theater.

We then visited the cathedral.

Lastly, we walked into the courtyard of the city hall where, for some reason, they have a replica of the famous Manneken Pis statue from Brussels.

Next up was lunch which turned out to be a bit problematic. We had informed our guide (who was quite good) that we were vegetarian (it's easier than saying pescatarian). He sent a message to the restaurant and they came back with 4 vegetarian dishes for us to choose from. We both picked vegetable crepes. But, when we dug in they were loaded with chicken. Oh well, we just ate the potatoes that came with it. After lunch it was time for the bus ride back to the port. Thankfully, it was a bit shorter going back. Driving around El Salvador proved to be quite interesting. We saw volcanoes and sugar cane. And we could get a sense of the lives of the people.

It seems very primitive by our standards, but who am I to judge?

In the end, we were not terribly impressed with Santa Ana. Perhaps if we ever return to El Salvador, we'll have to try San Salvador or something outside of the cities.

Today, Sunday, marks our return to Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. Last time we were here, we did a wildlife excursion. This time we decided to not do an excursion. Instead, we just took the local shuttle bus to the actual port terminal. We were docked at a more remote pier while a Princess ship was docked right at the terminal. After the 15 minute ride, we walked around the market area at the terminal until we had enough. As you may remember, shopping is not our thing. Let's just say that the goods for sale were the same crap, just from a different country!