Monthly Archives: March 2014

Our El Salvadorian Vacation

Hi! My name’s Maya, and this is my blog. Um, no! This is, and always will be my blog, thank you very much! Clearly there is nothing going on in her head, what would she even tell you about? Ugh! Anyway… I’m here today to tell you about El Salvador, the fourth country we have visited on our trip so far.

I couldn't believe my luck when we pulled up and parked right next to the beach.  I got to run and play in the sand every day when we were in El Salvador!

I couldn’t believe my luck when we pulled up and parked right next to the beach. I got to run and play in the sand every day when we were in El Salvador!

We woke up before the sun on Lake Atitlan, packed up the camper and the big white truck, and headed off for the border of El Salvador. I had heard My Family discussing the trip, so I knew it was going to be a long day. Victoria had plotted out the trip in detail, while Jason drank a ton of coffee, trying to make up for the fact that he was up all night with the stupid puppy. Seriously, this Maya dog was really making everything difficult. Since I don’t have thumbs I couldn’t ‘accidentally’ unhook her leash and leave her behind in San Pedro, so I reluctantly settled in on Victoria’s lap for the drive, making sure to give Maya the stink eye at every opportunity.

The roads were smooth, and Guatemala is so pretty that the trip to the border was a breeze. As soon as we got to the busy border, a nice man name Jorge rode up to us on his motorcycle, offering to help. My Family is usually wary of these ‘helpers’ at the border, because they’re normally very loud and pushy, and despite their job title not particularly helpful. I could smell that Jorge was different, and that afternoon he helped us out a lot. The border was confusing, and with Maya in tow everything was super slow and complicated. Thankfully we got through the process and into El Salvador without much of a problem.

The first thing I noticed here is that it was hot. Boy, was it ever HOT! All I could do was lay on my back on Victoria’s lap and pant. I do have to admit, Maya was pretty good in the truck. It was a super long travel day, and she never pooed or peed in the truck, and she didn’t even cry that much. Pretty good for a stupid baby. Finally, after eleven hours (!) of driving we reached our first destination in El Salvador, a hostel called Horizonte in a small town called El Zonte.

This is the view out our back door!  Yaaay!

This is the view out our back door! Yaaay!

As soon as I got out of the truck I could smell a big difference between here and Guatemala. The salt in the air, the breeze, the low whoosh in the distance. Yep, we were back at the beach! My Family spoke with the nice man who runs the hostel, and he set us up with a covered camp spot right next to the sand! We were all exhausted, but that didn’t stop us from immediately having some runaround time. I don’t know about you, but I think the absolute best thing in the world is running around on the beach. I’ve even gotten a bit more used to the water. I don’t like the waves very much, but they’re pretty fun to chase and bite at. Saltwater’s pretty delicious too, even though My Family doesn’t like me drinking it. Maya got her first taste of the beach as well. She was born on Lake Atitlan, and everything so far has been totally new for her. Her first car ride, her first new country, and her first time stepping on sand! She’s pretty much scared of everything, but once she saw me running around she began to get the idea.

This is Maya peeing in the ocean.  Victoria said it's okay because lots of humans pee in the ocean as well.

This is Maya peeing in the ocean. Victoria said it’s okay because lots of humans pee in the ocean as well.

We stayed in El Zonte for several more days. It was really pretty there. The hostel had two pools, the sand was at our doorstep, and delicious restaurants were all around us! It was full of surfers who all wanted to play with me and Maya, and every single one of them asked My Family if they surfed too.  They don’t but we sure love the beach!  The heat took some serious getting used to, however. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jason sweat so much! Maya had an especially hard time getting acclimated. She really likes My Family, but she had a tough go of it those first few days in El Salvador. She just smelled sick. My Family took her to the vet twice because she had worms. I came too, and got a shot of my own (what did I do to deserve that?!). Maya also got blisters on her belly – pretty gross. She slept a lot, and My Family was pretty worried. I never make My Family worry like that. Luckily they were able to find the right medicine, and after a few days Maya was a lot happier. Of course, that just meant she spent all her time biting at me and trying to eat my food. Seriously, I don’t know about this baby thing.

This is me relaxing on the roof deck.  We spent a lot of time up here while My Family sat in hammocks, read books and forced me and Maya to go in the pool.

This is me relaxing on the roof deck. We spent a lot of time up here while My Family sat in hammocks, read books and forced me and Maya to go in the pool.

As the weekend came around, My Family packed everything up and we drove a few towns further into El Salvador, to a place called El Tunco. The travelers we had spoken to called El Tunco the ‘party town’, and I saw why right away. The air was jam packed with the smells of food and people, and music played day and night. After failing to find a hostel that would take us campers, we discovered Sol y Mar, which is basically a dusty parking lot, but it had a little market (called a tienda) and a restaurant, and was close to everything else in town. We also had some super cool neighbors, an Italian couple named Didi and Gaetano who are camping their way through Central America in a Volkswagon. They had just adopted a local dog of their own, a cute girl named Mancha. Maya and I spent a lot of time playing with Mancha, while our families hung out, sharing stories and that nasty human drink called beer. Maya seemed to like licking the bottles, but I’ve just got no taste for it. It makes humans do stupid things but Maya does stupid things without any help at all!

Playa El Tunco as seen from the wall.  It was nice to look down on everyone for once!

Playa El Tunco as seen from the wall. It was nice to look down on everyone for once!

We had a lot of fun in El Tunco, even though it was pretty busy. Maya and I walked with My Family basically everywhere, so I got to meet all sorts of cool people and taste some delicious food. The beach here is great for swimming and running around, packed with people from all over the world, other dogs and even some horses! We would watch the sunset, sitting on a stone wall overlooking the ocean, and then sit in outdoor cafes trying to cool off. We even met another family with a Chihuahua, a nice boy named Lucky but he wasn’t that into me. We probably would have stayed in El Tunco longer, but our campsite was a little complicated. We couldn’t park in the sun, so Jason had to keep lugging out the generator to keep everything working. That, coupled with the constant heat and so many people, made My Family decide to pack up and head back to Horizonte

This is me taking it all in on the wall in Playa El Tunco.

This is me taking it all in on the wall in Playa El Tunco.

We did just that, and spent another couple nights relaxing in the shade and peacefulness of El Zonte. Victoria would drag me and Maya under the outdoor shower from time to time or make us swim in the pool, trying to cool us off. I didn’t particularly like it, but I have to admit I felt better afterwards. We would relax at camp, cooking and staying out of the sun, go for walks on the beach, and eat delicious pizza at the hostel next door. There was even a movie night! They showed a movie called NORTH SHORE. It was pretty terrible, but everyone was laughing and cheering, so I guess it’s the sort of thing that humans like. Maya started feeling lots better; she’s even growing a bit now, and doesn’t look quite so scrawny. I finally let her play with me, although most of the time she just gets annoying and I have to knock her down to stop the constant nipping. It’s been a while, but I seriously don’t remember being that pesky as a baby. Victoria thinks Maya might be like this for the next year or so. Great.

Finally it was time to put El Zonte behind us. We packed back into the big truck and drove for a couple of hours to a place called Playa El Cuco. Back at the beach, down a super bumpy dirt road, we found a place to camp called Rio Mar. We were the only ones there, and it was absolutely beautiful! A long beach to ourselves, and delicious food at the locals’ restaurant next door. Everybody there loved me, and paid just as much attention to my cuteness as they did to Maya for once.

One of my favorite things about this trip is all the beaches where I get to leave the first paw prints.  Playa El Cuco was empty except for me and My Family (and Maya).

One of my favorite things about this trip is all the beaches where I get to leave the first paw prints. Playa El Cuco was empty except for me and My Family (and Maya).

We enjoyed watching the sunset, and I heard My Family talking about the long driving day were were going to tackle in the morning. Apparently, this was the sun setting on our time in El Salvador. All in all, it felt like a vacation. We had finally gotten back to the beach, which we hadn’t done in ages. We’d met some great people, spent a ton of time relaxing, ate delicious food, and helped the puppy get well. I guess that means we’re stuck with her. We went to sleep that night to the smell of burning garbage and some noisy roosters, while Jason fretted over the day to come. Apparently we were going to attempt something major: the crossing of two borders in one day! Was it going to work out? Would it be our longest driving day yet? Would we be okay in Honduras? I’m sure glad we had such a great, relaxing vacation in El Salvador. We’d need all of our energy (and a relaxed puppy), to navigate what was in store.

PS:  To see some of the photos My Family took during our time at the beach, click here!

27
Mar 2014
POSTED BY Neli
POSTED IN

El Salvador

DISCUSSION 7 Comments

Language Lessons in Gringolandia, and an Unwelcome Surprise: Guatemala Pt. 3

This is me tearing it up n the garden at Corazon Maya.

This is me tearing it up n the garden at Corazon Maya.

I knew it was coming, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. After two weeks in this super fun town called Antigua, we were headed back to Lake Atitlan. In case you’re new to my blog, I’m a pretty easygoing dog. I love people, I’ll eat just about anything and if you give me a sunny day and a lap to snuggle in, I’m pretty much good to go. There are only a couple of things I don’t like, and one of them is big bodies of water (I’ll get to the other thing later). So to put it simply, knowing we were about to spend some time on the edge of a giant lake, that very same lake I was forced to ride back and forth across in a tiny boat, and I was less than a happy camper. As always, My Family didn’t ask for my vote. So we left the nice people at the Tourist Police at drove off for the lake.

The roads to Lake Atitlan (or Lago de Atitlan, as the locals call it) are pretty smooth, but boy do they twist and turn! We spent a bit of time on the actual Pan American Highway, something we hadn’t done since early in our travels through Mexico, and then turned off to head down towards the lake. Our destination was the town of San Pedro, which was one of the places we had visited with my Grandparents two weeks before. We were taking another road down the huge mountain towards the lake. Holy cow, I had never seen such a steep road before! Jason smelled awfully nervous as we slowly made our way down. At one point in the trip, Jason pulled us over to give the big truck’s brakes a break. They weren’t that smelly, but I could tell for a moment that Jason wasn’t sure how the rest of the trip was going to go. Victoria walked me around so I could sniff the delicious scents of the jungle, while Jason hunkered down to watch the other trucks go by. Seeing these huge vehicles packed with logs, metal bars or dozens of people with their bags rocket down the hill way faster than we had, Jason seemed to realize the proper approach. We got back in the big truck and headed down, matching the other vehicles’ speedy descent. And aside from a couple of switchback turns when my eyes nearly popped out of my head, we got to the bottom without any issues!

San Pedro La Laguna is a pretty special place, even for us dogs. The town is a perfect mix of travelers from around the world and Guatemalans who still stick to their Mayan culture. Smells of cooking linger in the air along with that special, sweet smell of burning garbage we’ve found at every stop along the way. And the dogs live the life here! Although they’re not as lucky as me, with my bed and my special food and My Family to snuggle with, they all seemed pretty happy. We drove through town and pulled up in front of Corazon Maya, the Spanish school where we were going to stay for the next week. As always, I thought we were going to camp out, but my heart leaped when I saw we were going to stay in a little house! It had a yard all our own, a cool porch for lounging, and plenty of nice neighbors to pet and scratch me. There was even a camp dog who was super nice, and didn’t mind me sniffing around at all. We settled in for our first night in San Pedro, with our camper safely parked up the hill.

Our casita at Corazon Maya, complete with our own front yard!

Our casita at Corazon Maya, complete with our own front yard!

The next day we got up and out pretty early, so we could explore the town. Our first stop didn’t pan out so well (no dogs allowed at the pool with the yummy barbecue?), but the day was full of fun exploration. San Pedro is almost like two towns in one. Up the hill is ‘Centro’, where all the locals live and shop and pass the time. Down the hill by the lake are the super cool walk streets, which everyone calls ‘Gringolandia’. It’s nothing but shops, restaurants, bars, Spanish schools and happy tourists lounging by the lake. I got to wander with My Family pretty much everywhere (they love dogs here!), close enough to the lake to enjoy the breeze, but far enough away that I surely wouldn’t have to swim. Locals and tourists alike were all super nice and friendly, and since a lot of people come to this town to take Spanish classes, all the people were super patient with My Family’s attempts at communication.

Grindolandia.  It's so beautiful here and full of delicious smells.

Grindolandia. It’s so beautiful here and full of delicious smells.

We fell into a nice routine during the next five days. In the morning, Jason and Victoria went to Spanish school. I usually came with them, running from one little room to the other so I could get good lap time with both of them. It was pretty funny listening to Jason try and speak spanish for four hours a day! Victoria was definitely better, but I think I understood the teachers better than either one of them. In the afternoons I would relax on the front lawn while Jason worked. And in the evenings we would go out to explore, eating yummy food, meeting nice people and enjoying the cool weather by the lake. After our second day of Spanish school we met a couple of super nice campers named Kenny and Jenn. They’ve been traveling as long as we have, and also came from California! It was pretty cool to meet people who knew about my home, and we hung out with them a lot. I didn’t always get to go out with My Family as they wandered around town, but even when I was left at home I didn’t mind. We had a comfy bed, and I felt super safe in this place. I knew we weren’t going to stay forever, but I was very happy when My Family decided to stay and spend a second week in this great place.

This guy lives at Corzaon Maya and is really chill.  I repeat, he lives at Corazon Maya.  Not with us.

This guy lives at Corzaon Maya and is really chill. I repeat, he lives at Corazon Maya. Not with us.

The days passed quickly here. Jason got to experience a little more of the Mayan culture, taking part in a couple of ceremonies to mark the new year on their calendar. I got delicious bits of bacon when we went out with our new friend Benjamin to an all you can eat brunch! Victoria spent a lot of time reading on our front porch. I got to eat fresh banana bread! Jason and Victoria went out with Kenny and Jenn, ran around in the rain, and tried delicious restaurants basically all the time. I got to chase a cat around Corazon Maya. All in all, a perfect week.

Things changed really quickly, and I had no warning at all. One morning, Jason and Victoria left me at home for quite a long time. I knew they were planning on visiting another town along the lake called Santiago, so that they could help some of the local dogs and cats. Before the Big Adventure Victoria had found an organization called Ayuda Perros Y Gatos, run by a nice woman named Selaine right here in Lake Atitlan. They take sick dogs and cats off the streets and give them medicine. Apparently, those dogs I kept seeing roaming around weren’t as well off as I thought. Nobody takes care of them, so they don’t feel very good. Jason and Victoria left me at home so they could help take care of some of these animals. They came home, and I was super happy to see them. Then I noticed a new smell coming in with them: another dog!

Maya, Maya, Maya! Not only does she cry, poop and pee all the time she also steals my toys.  My family thinks everything she does is cute.

Maya, Maya, Maya! Not only does she cry, poop and pee all the time she also steals my toys. My family thinks everything she does is cute.

My Family never asked my opinion, which I surely would have given them.  They just went and decided to bring one of these Guatemalan dogs into our house! Her name is Maya, and she’s just a puppy. She doesn’t know how to do anything right, and basically they expect me to welcome her into our family? At first I thought that maybe she was just going to spend the night, until she started to feel better. But the days kept passing, and every morning she was still there! Not amused. At the beginning of this post I mentioned there were two things I don’t like: Large bodies of water and Surprise Siblings.

Since we now had this interloper with us, Victoria and Jason decided to spend one more week in San Pedro. This little whiner who just pees and poops all over the place ALSO needs all sorts of shots and medicine! The plan had been to head off to the beach, but because of Maya we were staying on the lake instead. Our Spanish lessons were over, however, so it was time to move on. My Family found another place to park, outside of a coffee shop in the middle of Gringolandia. That’s right. I lost my front lawn AND had to deal with a puppy all at the same time.

The coffee shop was pretty cool, though. I had room to run around, and there were some super nice campers there as well. Henry and Kristina came all the way from Canada in a minivan, while another couple was here from Germany. Sweetl! Everyone was super nice, but that didn’t make up for the fact that this stupid puppy was now always around. In fact, people started saying hello to her before even noticing me! C’mon, I’m seriously the cute one, right? Just because Maya’s small doesn’t mean she’s cute. She doesn’t do anything! Even worse, there were a bunch of nights when Jason wasn’t snuggling with me in bed any more. The puppy is so whiny that Jason ended up sleeping on the couch with her. Seriously, I don’t know what My Family was thinking.

The gardens at the coffee shop were really fun to run around in. Plus? Maya can't get up stairs!

The gardens at the coffee shop were really fun to run around in. Plus? Maya can’t get up stairs!

Finally, it was time to leave San Pedro, and since we had spent an extra week there it was also time to leave Guatemala. Now the real shocker: Maya came with us. We missed out on the beach, AND I apparently now have a sibling to deal with. I really REALLY loved Guatemala, and My Family felt the same way. This ‘Maya’ situation, though, was about the most unwelcome surprise I could imagine.

Somebody please save me from my new life with the puppy...

Somebody please save me from my new life with the puppy…

PS: To see some photos My Family took click here.

16
Mar 2014
POSTED BY Neli
POSTED IN

Guatemala

DISCUSSION 2 Comments