Only the Second Most...

Apparently San Salvador, El Salvador is the second most dangerous city in Latin America. That little unknown fact did not stop me from using my 7-hour layover there to do something other than window shop at Duty Free. I got there and decided to go to the beach. So I grabbed my bags, went though immigration and customs ($10) and set off to the beach. I was greeted by what seemed like a sea of small El Salvadoran people lined up at semi-permanent fences in bleacher-like formation. Then I was greeted by some pretty aggressive "taxi" drivers. After getting someone down from $25 to $16 for a 35k trip to the beach (La Libertad), I headed out to the parking lot with Manuel. Then he unlocked his white, unmarked, Toyota pickup truck and told me to get in. So I did. Gotta live, right? So as I tried my best to memorize our route (it was only 2 turns), we drove toward what I was desperately hoping was the beach. Otherwise, I would have a few people angry with me. Luckily, he was not a killer, rapist or abduction artist, and I made it to the beach in one piece with a little Spanish practice in for the day. I gave him a $2 tip for not killing me or taking me to an undisclosed location. Then I hit the beach... but I had my bags, which I didn't want stolen, so I was a little weighed down... which made beaching a little difficult, so I lunched. I ordered pescado (fish) without seeing the menu, and then realized about 20 minutes later what took so long: my food came to me wearing a toothy grin and a glimmer in its eye. I hadn't eaten a whole fish since I was in Benin, so it was a little shocking, but tasty.

Then I met William, the Salvadoran Surfer, and after a nice conversation he helped me find a bus back to the airport. About 45 minutes and 95 cents later, I was at the airport 1.5 hours before my flight. So I made it. I flew into Managua and the next day, we started our journey to Ometepe, the volcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, which is the 3rd largest lake in Latin America, and the 21st largest in the world.