"Off the bus!" ..adventures in El Salvador
Not too much to report on our trip to El Salvador. We took a bus to the capital city of San Salvador on Saturday morning. It's about a 4 hour ride. The Pullmantur bus was a very comfortable ride and they even served a meal and showed a couple movies. It felt like flying but was much more comfortable. We got a good deal on bus tickets and hotel. We stayed at the Sheraton Presidente, which was very nice. We relaxed by the pool on Saturday afternoon before checking out a huge nearby mall. We decided to opt for a solid American meal at Tony Roma's. Sunday morning, however, we were able to sample El Salvador's famous pupusas, which are the tortilla's version of the calzone. We went to Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, did some shopping at a local artisan market, and then it was time for more relaxing by the pool.
When we crossed the border, the immigration officers came on the bus to check our passports, and we were singled out both times. Going into El Salvador, the officer said, "you must leave Central America before November 7th!" I thought maybe something was lost in translation, so we asked for the help of someone else. Sure enough, that's exactly what she said. We finally figured out that our work visas were not yet reflected on our passports. Probably should get that processed soon.
Coming back into Guatemala, it got even more interesting. The bus was stopped at the border for a long time. We were watching out the window, as they were making a passenger get off the bus and get her bags. I decided we needed a picture of the "El Salvador Immigration" sign... which happens to have the security building right behind it. Next thing we know, a huge immigration officer storms to the back of the bus, looks at Sarah holding her camera, and motions for her to come outside. The bus attendant explained that you can't take pictures, so we need to go outside with the camera and our passports. Needless to say, Sarah was not too excited about this development. (I, of course, was as cool as cucumber, and knew that all my time on the streets growing up in Herscher would serve me well in this tense situation.) They demanded the camera and proceeded to look through every picture. Luckily, Sarah had recently deleted most of the pictures, so he had 40 to look through instead of 200. We nervously explained we would gladly delete the pictures, but he pretty much ignored us and stared at the photo of the sign we took. Just before I was about to break out my ninja moves, he decided that the picture was harmless and "released" us. So... no pictures near the border. Remember that.
It was nice to hit some tropical weather again, as El Salvador is down, out of the mountains. We had planned on checking out the Cathedral downtown and the memorial at Central American University where 6 Jesuit priests were martyred in 1989 (we needed a tour guide, Michael). However, in getting directions from the hotel, they convinced us we were better off not wandering into that area. Luckily, we understand the word "peligrosa" (danger). We were happy to settle for a relaxing weekend at the pool.
We are looking forward to a quick trip home this weekend for the ND-UCLA game. (did you really think I would go an entire season without attending at least one game?) We have another Guatemalan school holiday Friday, so it worked out well. Don't worry, the camera will be safely tucked away at all border crossings.
Go Irish!
When we crossed the border, the immigration officers came on the bus to check our passports, and we were singled out both times. Going into El Salvador, the officer said, "you must leave Central America before November 7th!" I thought maybe something was lost in translation, so we asked for the help of someone else. Sure enough, that's exactly what she said. We finally figured out that our work visas were not yet reflected on our passports. Probably should get that processed soon.
Coming back into Guatemala, it got even more interesting. The bus was stopped at the border for a long time. We were watching out the window, as they were making a passenger get off the bus and get her bags. I decided we needed a picture of the "El Salvador Immigration" sign... which happens to have the security building right behind it. Next thing we know, a huge immigration officer storms to the back of the bus, looks at Sarah holding her camera, and motions for her to come outside. The bus attendant explained that you can't take pictures, so we need to go outside with the camera and our passports. Needless to say, Sarah was not too excited about this development. (I, of course, was as cool as cucumber, and knew that all my time on the streets growing up in Herscher would serve me well in this tense situation.) They demanded the camera and proceeded to look through every picture. Luckily, Sarah had recently deleted most of the pictures, so he had 40 to look through instead of 200. We nervously explained we would gladly delete the pictures, but he pretty much ignored us and stared at the photo of the sign we took. Just before I was about to break out my ninja moves, he decided that the picture was harmless and "released" us. So... no pictures near the border. Remember that.
It was nice to hit some tropical weather again, as El Salvador is down, out of the mountains. We had planned on checking out the Cathedral downtown and the memorial at Central American University where 6 Jesuit priests were martyred in 1989 (we needed a tour guide, Michael). However, in getting directions from the hotel, they convinced us we were better off not wandering into that area. Luckily, we understand the word "peligrosa" (danger). We were happy to settle for a relaxing weekend at the pool.
We are looking forward to a quick trip home this weekend for the ND-UCLA game. (did you really think I would go an entire season without attending at least one game?) We have another Guatemalan school holiday Friday, so it worked out well. Don't worry, the camera will be safely tucked away at all border crossings.
Go Irish!
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