Got up. Got packed. Got out.

First person I talked to said something about a terminal. I headed in what I understood to be the right direction. Didn't see what I wanted. Hung around about 10 min, watched a couple buses go by. Saw a man and his family up the road (across from the first little mall) and asked him. He said down the road and on the left. There's a long hill that seems to go nowhere, but down I went. At the bottom of the hill is a crossroad. I asked somebody there, and I needed to go left of the direction I was headed in.  

 
 
So I'm trekking along, I see nothing of a terminal, but I did see a couple buses pass me and turn to the right a ways down the road. So I kept on, going by this huge market: it's on the outside of town, but it wasn't lacking for business. This thing is about four blocks in each direction.  


Just past the market is the 'terminal'. It's on a turn, and no signs: not so easy to find. All the so and so's that I talked to yesterday must have been hoping that I wouldn't find it. It's possible that the same tactic was used in Malacatan to keep me from getting to Xela.  

The buses come in, get in line, unload, then take on a new bunch. Not only could I get a bus to Xela, but they had buses going directly to Guatemala City - and they were first in line!  

What a change from yesterday when nothing seemed to go right! Shortly the bus left. Next stop Guatemala City. Got there at 12:30, and the bus leaving for San Salvador was at 2pm.  
 











 Got my tickets, all the way through to Panama City, and room reservations: TICA BUS runs their own mini hotels (maybe not so mini: I think some have around 30 rooms). I think they started doing this because some of their stations are out of the way. I've seen a couple of hostels nearby at each stop so far, though.  















 

 
Then I got lunch: just chicken, potatoes, macaroni and a drink ($5).   
 


 
 


 
 
Took some pics of a couple of towns and the countryside. The traffic jam was due to a funeral procession.  

 

 


 
Tried to get a pic of the yellow and green.  

 
 
 


 
 
Nice lake. The road went around three sides of the lake: looks like it's owned by one person who raises cows and maybe does some farming.  

 
 



 
Went through El Salvador customs without a problem; spent maybe 30 min there.  

 
Arrived in San Salvador about 8:15. Was in my room by 8:30.   
 
 

The room was decent, and had everything: $24. I was only passing through, so I didn't stock up on cash. Salvador uses the $, so I pulled out the twenty dollar bills I had under the linings in my shoes. One side of the bills was a little discolored, so they wouldn't take them. I went to the side and dug out a hundred I had stashed. 

Probably should have gone straight to bed, as I had to get up at 3:30 am to catch the next bus.  
But my stomach was growling, and I had no idea when I'd get to eat next. So I went out and walked down to a busy intersection. There was a Wendy's and a Pizza Hut. From what I saw of San Salvador, it's quite clean and very americanized. I'd been craving pizza: so I ordered a medium supreme for $15. I ate 6.5 pieces and had 3 beers at $2.50 ea. They only had two kinds of beer: I didn't like the Pillsner, and the other one was so-so. I couldn't take the pizza on the bus, so I ate all I could: boy, was I stuffed! I gave the waiter those two twenties: no problem.  

I didn't take my camera, because, from what I could see, the area didn't look too safe. The Hut may be the largest I've ever seen: there were four dining areas, including a kids play area. The servers worked hard and efficiently; wages must be pretty good here.  

Got back about 11pm. Set my alarm. Nodded off pretty quick.