Highlights of El Salvador and Honduras    (September 2006)
click for larger image	With a dangerous reputation and slowly emerging from the shadow of a horrible Civil War, El Salvador is way off the tourist trail. We had no idea what lay in store.	El Salvador and Honduras Fast Facts: Best Thing: Our first pupusa: delicious fried maize pancakes, filled with cheese and beans Worst Thing: Our last pupusa: after 10 days of greasy pupusas for breakfast, lunch AND dinner! Big Surprise: Our bus to mountainous Perquin decided to crash straight into a taxi Fun Fact: Local tradition seems to mandate that all men wield a long, scary machete at all times!

click for larger image

click for larger image

Mission Impossible Against wiser council, we took a wet season hike out into the isolated forests of Parque Impossible. Led by a staring-eyed local maniac with just a little too much love of his machete, we slipped, slithered and splooshed along the 'trail' (a.k.a mudbath), picking up nasty injuries for souvenirs. A small consolation: we spotted a rare pair of mating ospreys in flight.

Off the beaten track El Salvador is full of pretty cobblestoned towns, like Suchitoto. With no tourist infrastructure (like signs indicating which house might be a hotel), we had a fun time trying to find places to stay and eat!

click for larger image

click for larger image

El Mozote Memorial In the north east of the country, we visited a rebel stronghold from the civil war that ripped the country apart. The memorial at El Mozote commemorates 900 women and children massacred by U.S.-backed paramilitaries for supporting the rebels. It made a big impact, seeing how global Cold War politics devastated local communities like this. Since people in Central America naturally assume that all visitors (gringos) are from the U.S., we quickly made our excuses and left.

Funny Place for a Beach A secluded beach on the banks of a river near El Mozote where we could escape the tropical heat.

click for larger image

click for larger image

click for larger image

Hello-Goodbye Honduras We crossed the southern tip of Honduras in a blazing 2 hours. Walking across the bridge into Nicaragua, we saw these young kids swimming from Honduras with tanks of contraband gasoline, in full view of the border guards. Clearly Customs is a bit more relaxed here!

- See more pictures from this section - Go to next section : Nicaragua - Go to previous section : Guatemala